French
DeutschCaleb Harper
Caleb Harper | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Harper performing at Laneway Festival, Sydney in 2020 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 11 September 1996 Geraldton, Western Australia, Australia |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
|
| Labels | |
| Member of | Spacey Jane |
| Formerly of | Sicchino |
Caleb Harper is an Australian singer and rhythm guitarist who is the frontman of indie rock band Spacey Jane. He formed the band in 2016 alongside Ashton Hardman-Le Cornu, Kieran Lama and Amelia Murray. Harper has served as their lead songwriter across three studio albums, with Sunlight (2020) and If That Makes Sense (2025) in particular being lyrically informed by his relationship breakdowns and experiences in young adulthood.
Early life
[edit]Caleb Harper grew up in Geraldton, Western Australia, about 400 kilometres north of capital city Perth,[1] with his stepdad, who was a musician. Harper would play in church groups.[2] He met Kieran Lama at high school, where they played in a four-piece grunge band called Sicchino. They would busk and upload music to Triple J Unearthed.[1]
Harper and Lama moved to Perth in 2015, where Harper studied chemical engineering and finance at the University of Western Australia.[3][4] He had depression and lost touch with his parents at the time, describing himself as "a sort of chameleon-like person trying desperately to find community."[4] He dropped out of university after two and a half years.[2]
Songwriting and influences
[edit]Harper's early musical influences included Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys, Pixies and Wilco.[5] He said songwriting from the age of 16 helped "simplify [his] experiences and surroundings."[5]
Harper's lyricism, as Craig Mathieson of The Sydney Morning Herald summarises, often "delve[s] deep into his teenage depression, subsequent bouts of indecision and self-destruction, and heartbreak that comes tempered with regret and despair."[3] In an interview with Rolling Stone Australia, he said that writing about the worst parts of himself and the world is often easier than the opposite, as it provides "a licence to be melodramatic".[6]
Music career
[edit]In 2016, Harper and Lama, with two of their university friends, Ashton Hardman-Le Cornu and Amelia Murray, formed Spacey Jane. The four-piece played their first show in Harper's dad's backyard.[7]
Spacey Jane's first album, Sunlight, took Harper 18 months to write from mid-2018. In that period, he experienced the beginning and end of a relationship which lyrically informed the record.[8] The band released their third studio album, If That Makes Sense, in May 2025. Most of the lyrics were informed by Harper's move to Los Angeles in 2022 to write and record the album, specifically the uncertainties he faced throughout this time characterised by "intense loneliness, loss, and tumult."[2]
Personal life
[edit]Harper moved to Los Angeles in 2022, after the band's second album Here Comes Everybody was released.[2]
He delivered the celebrity first ball on behalf of the Perth Scorchers in their Boxing Day match against the Brisbane Heat in 2024.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Petersen, Justice (7 May 2025). "On Your Radar: Spacey Jane". Melodic. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d David, Laura (14 May 2025). "Spacey Jane are jetting to new heights". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ a b Mathieson, Craig (6 August 2022). "From Triple J to chart-toppers: What's next for the all-conquering Spacey Jane?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ^ a b Lancaster, Brodie (22 June 2022). "'I got sick of talking about myself': Spacey Jane is back with music for the Covid generation". Guardian Australia. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ^ a b Cesari, Marie-Pauline. "In Conversation With Caleb Harper, Frontman Of Spacey Jane". Numéro. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ Revell, Jack (3 August 2022). "Spacey Jane's Caleb Harper, the Rolling Stone Interview". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ^ Bryant, Gareth (28 October 2017). "Fremantle Indie Rockers Spacey Jane Really Love Their Dogs". Scenestr. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- ^ Harper, Caleb (12 June 2020). "'I Didn't See The Point In Hiding It': Spacey Jane's Caleb Harper On The Writing Of 'Sunlight'". The Music. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
- ^ Barrett, Jackson (24 December 2024). "Big Bash League: Spacey Jane drop big music news as frontman Caleb Harper to bowl Perth celebrity first ball". The West Australian. Retrieved 13 May 2025.