From the Exeter to Istanbul
How does an Adelaide band that hasn’t released any music end up playing some of the biggest festivals in the world? Any Young Mechanic tells CityMag how it happened.
When CityMag sat down with Thea Martin, Sam Wilson and Jachin Mee for a drink at the Exeter the three were days away from releasing Any Young Mechanic’s debut single ‘Snug Barber’.
But before it was released, ‘Snug Barber’ was kept cozy in a vault full of unreleased music, and passed around music execs as proof the band were worthy of a spot on major international lineups.
Violinist and composer Thea Martin says it was “very lucky” to be “the first band ever in Reading and Leeds history to be booked with no music out” – an accomplishment the art-folk five piece landed in 2025.
The past year saw their name share posters with artists like Chappell Roan, Empire of the Sun and Queens of the Stone Age across the UK’s Reading festival, France’s Rock en Seine and Istanbul’s Babylon Sound Garden.
Sharing their sound throughout Europe wasn’t pure luck, but a combination of a well-oiled live act, their UK-based management’s sweet talking and “a lot” of leaked studio recordings.
Their first album The Modern Shoe is Ruining the Foot is slated for a June release, three years after the band started recording it, back when they were known as Wake in Fright.
You might like
There was no “comedic pantomime villain” in their name change story, but simply a trademark hiccup. Their coexistence application was declined by the trademark holder of the former band name, inspired by a 1970s film they loved.
“We were like, if we have any kind of belief in ourselves and getting beyond the city we might as well change the name before it becomes a huge problem,” Thea says.
“It’s really annoying while it’s happening, and you’re like, ‘wow, we’re really connected to this name’ and then once you do it, people are happy to get on board.”
“Then some relative will be like, ‘I never liked ‘Wake in Fright’,” Sam adds.
“Yeah it’s like when the ex is out of the picture and everyone’s like – I never liked them,” Jachin laughs.
The new name – inspired by Richard Whiting’s ‘Hooray for Hollywood’ – has the dual benefit of meaning “anyone can be famous in this crazy world” and “easy joking with the crew”.
Subscribe for updates
“A lot of sound guys like to call to us, ‘are there any young mechanics around’,” Sam says.
The album’s slow burn can’t be put down to the name change though, but rather to the fact that a “debut album is sort of sacred to both audience and industry”, Sam says.
“The overnight success allure, it’s a good story for people, I get it,” Jachin adds.
“But also, as an artist, I’m a little bit suspicious of it because a lot of the time things have to be presented as overnight successes, even when they’re not.”
But despite the album’s lead time, the band still “really believe in this music” and it hasn’t stopped them from making more.
“Yeah, none of us hate it, and the record’s not getting worse,” Jachin says.
In March, music lovers will get a taste of it at WOMADelaide, which the band says is a “dream gig” – and not just because of the free four-day ticket the musicians receive.
“WOMAD’s been like my favourite festival growing up,” Jachin says.
“It’s a beautiful festival and we’ve got quite a long set as well; we’ve been given an hour set, which is pretty crazy for us,” Thea says.
“Particularly having done our first run of international festivals, they’re short spots, and we’re very grateful for them, they’re super fun, but they’re half hour spots, so you’re kind of in and you’re out.”
Any Young Mechanic are playing WOMADelaide on Saturday, March 7.
This story was first published in CityMag’s 49th print issue, Festivals 2026.
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
