New Constellations’ Harlee Case offers us a glimpse into the band’s future

Hailing from Portland, New Constellations invaded the music world with “Hot Blooded,” an ethereal retro-infused song that begs to be played on repeat. The band, made up of Harlee Case and Josh Smith, recently signed to Nettwerk and made their label debut with another dreamy track, “Believe Again“. The duo played over 26 sold-out headlining shows across the US and is gearing up for the release of their highly anticipated debut album.

Kateryna Topol: Hello Harlee Case and Josh Smith, how is your week going?

Harlee Case: Our week’s going great! How are you? We’re on our way to Orlando, staring out of the window at any body of water, hoping to see an alligator.

KT: That sounds like a great way to kill some time! Doing well here too, thank you for asking. Let’s start at the beginning – how did this partnership come about?

Harlee Case: We’ve been friends since we were 13 and 15, and Josh actually recorded the first song I wrote in his childhood bedroom. But we didn’t start actually making music together until 8 years ago, when we formed New Constellations. We had both given up on our musical dreams but decided to try one last time together.

KT: Wow! Ok, looking back at the early days, at what point did you know music is what you wanted to do?

HC: When I learned to speak, I learned to sing. I didn’t realise it was a job you could do till I saw Jo Dee Messina at the Britt Festival. She had red hair like I did, and I remember thinking that I wanted to do that. As I got into high school, I learned guitar and started writing my own music, and quickly started playing my first shows at 14 in local bars, where I would have to be escorted off stage the moment I got down singing.

Josh Smith: I’ve always been interested in music, but when I knew I wanted to be a performer was in middle school at church when a local band was playing a bunch of Good Charlotte covers. They were only a few years older than me, and it made me realise that that was an option or something attainable. I asked my mom for a guitar that Christmas.

KT: Very early on! What did you listen to most growing up?

HC: In high school, I loved John Mayer, Dido, Feist, Trishan Prettyman, and religiously listened to the OC soundtracks [smiles]

KT: I mean, naturally [smiles]. Congrats on the release of your latest song, “Believe Again” – it’s definitely a repeatable one. What’s next for you two?

HC: We spent the last few years working on an album that we were very proud of. It’s gonna be 10 new unreleased songs. We are dropping a handful of singles before that and then a full album in May.

KT: Very exciting. Not gonna lie, “Hot Blooded” has been living rent-free in my head for many months now, and it seems I’m not the only one with the track being #1 on your Spotify. Did you expect it would have such an effect?

HC: We had no idea that it would become the success that it has. This track truly changed our lives, and we are so grateful for that.

KT: What would be your dream performance venue or location, anywhere in the world?

HC: We went to The Gorge Amphitheatre in high school as well as over 10 times to see Dave Matthews Band perform. One of our biggest dreams is to open for them at the Gorge. It’s the best venue out there in our opinion [Grant County, Washington, United States].

KT: What do you like to do when performing in a new city, if there is time?

HC: The real tragedy of the tour is that we never get to spend real time in any of the cities. In between sound check and the show, we will always try to grab some local coffee and food in the neighbourhood. Even though we don’t get a lot of time in the cities, we do hang out and meet our fans after every show, so we do get a small taste of the city through the people.

KT: Any plans to tour outside of the US?

HC: Touring internationally has always been a dream of ours, so we are planning for some major tour expansion next year

KT: Excellent, looking forward to it.

Images courtesy of the band.