The Secret Whisper

The Secret Whisper's debut album Le Jeune Amour is unexpectedly impressive.

Le Jeune Amour is short and sweet but you won't find yourself wanting to skip any of the six tracks. The Secret Whisper’s style of female vocals over rock guitar, drums and synth with occasional male backup vocals could be compared to Paramore but they have developed a solid sound of their own and use a musical structure that breaks the usual soft rock / pop writing mould.

Track three The End of ME is a favourite with progressively building intensity through drums, guitar and vocals but the album has no low points and easily holds attention from start to finish then leaves you wanting more. - Scope Magazine

UP-AND-COMING BRISBANE ROCKERS THE SECRET WHISPER ARE BACK IN TOWN TO LAUNCH THEIR DEBUT EP AND COULDN’T BE MORE EXCITED. SINGER AND KEYBOARD PLAYER JESSICA MINCHER FILLS IN KATHERINE EDMONDS ON HOW THEY GOT STARTED AND WHERE THEY’RE HEADING NEXT.


“We all grew up in the same home town of Gympie,” Mincher recounts. “Music has always been a part of our lives prior to The Secret Whisper... It was just lucky that we found people as motivated as each other with similar musical aspirations for the sound we want to create.”
And it’s that sound they’ve been working on for the past six months, recording their debut EP, Le Juene Amour, with Sonny Truelove in Sydney as well as working with producer Elvis Michael Baskette, famed for his work with iconic rockers Incubus, Iggy Pop and more.
“For Elvis Michael Baskette to even consider working on our EP was incredibly humbling and he did an amazing job mixing our record, we couldn’t be happier with how it sounds,” Mincher marvels of the new project.
Now the group is back in Brisbane to launch their latest work and see if all their hard work has paid off.
“The band hasn’t played a show for over six months so we’re busting to get out there and finally play!” Mincher exclaims. “I’m really looking forward to playing our third track on the EP, The End of Me... It’s got great tension and for me creates this melancholy state of numbness. We’ve written a separate intro to it for our live set as well and have an extra drum tom on stage which our guitarist is playing so it really builds up and has a lot of energy.
“We want to create excitement and intensity but most of all we just want the crowd to enjoy themselves.”
But there’s no rest for the wicked, as Jess explains. “We’ve got a little south-east Queensland tour going from Noosa, Hervey Bay and Gympie following the week of our EP launch. After that we want to be touring anywhere and everywhere!”
WHO: The Secret Whisper
WHAT: Le Juene Amour (Independent)
WHERE & WHEN: The Zoo Friday May 13


- Time Off

THEY might be called The Secret Whisper but this Coast band is certainly no secret.

Since their formation 18 months ago, this promising band has been gathering momentum. And with the scheduled release of their six track debut EP, Le Jeune Amour on April 27, The Secret Whisper is destined to take the world by storm.

Made up of brothers Billy (guitar) and Chris (bass) Stewart, Joel Forman (drums), Jessica Mincher (vocals) and Tom Rooney (guitar), The Secret Whisper combines female vocals, hints of synth and piano, ambient guitars and romantic delays, loud bursts of classic drums and rich tonal base lines to make their ambient rock sound.

Bassist Chris Stewart said their sound can be referenced to Jimmy Eat World and Anberlin.

Chris said The Secret Whisper came to be by chance; through meeting and jamming with each other.

"Me, Billy and Joel have been playing in bands together since we left high school. We met Jess and started jamming and really loved her style. We then became the Secret Whisper but didn't play a show until Tommy joined the band."

The Secret Whisper's first performance was before a hometown crowd at the Great Noosa Campout Festival. They have since played at iconic Sunshine Coast and Brisbane venues such as The Zoo, Kings Beach Tavern, X&Y and The Villa Noosa.

The band's next gig is their debut EP release show at The Zoo in Fortitude Valley on Friday, May 13, 2011.

The album has been produced by Sonny Truelove and was mixed in the United States by renowned producer Michael Elvis Baskette.

Chris said the EP titled Le Jeune Amour means "young love" in French, which reflects what the album is about.

"The songs on the album are all about young love and being free and spreading your wings in life. It was written as a group and it really reflects Jess's vocals."

The EP will be available for preorder on The Secret Whisper's Facebook page prior to the official online launch on April 27, 2011.

After the album's release, The Secret Whisper plan to spend the rest of the year touring their EP.

"For the first four or five weeks after the EP release we are touring the East Coast playing in Byron Bay, Brisbane, Noosa, Gympie and Hervey Bay."

For a newly formed band, The Secret Whisper is going places. Already, drummer Joel Forman has been endorsed by Truth Custom Drums making him Australia’s only drummer in an independent band to be endorsed by the iconic company.

Watch out world, here comes The Secret Whisper.

- Sunshine Coast Daily

Local ambient rockers THE SECRET WHISPER are hoping the launch of their debut EP Le Jeune Amour doesn’t live up to their name. Guitarist/backing vocalist TOM ROONEY chatted to ROB NEWCOMBE about long-distance band relationships.

ROB NEWCOMBE: Your MySpace lists you as being from Brisbane and the Sunny Coast – do you all live in closer proximity now?

TOM ROONEY: Unfortunately we all still live quite a distance apart but we make it work, some of us have an hour round trip to our rehearsal studio and some of us have to drive for well over two hours one way. We are all dedicated to the band so it’s a small price to pay.

RN: How did the band get together?

TR: We are all from Gympie so we all knew each other prior to being in the band, but The Secret Whisper started out with Billy (Stewart, guitar) and Joel (Forman, drums) writing and jamming in Billy’s home studio on the Sunshine Coast. After going through a number of singers they struck gold with Jess (Mincher). I was the last to join the band, which was great for me because I only had a few weeks of jamming before we were playing shows and writing.

RN: Did any bands in particular influence your sound?

TR: We all come from diverse musical backgrounds, ranging from hardcore punk, metal, and indie to classical, so I suppose everyone in the band has their own individual influences. But in saying that we all share common ground with bands like Brand New, Temper Trap, Queen and Phoenix, to name just a few.

RN: Did the recording of your EP go smoothly?

TR: Early starts after late nights took a bit of getting used to, but it really was great. Sonny Truelove at STL Studios in Point Clare was so good to work with. It was so beautiful and such an inspiring place to write and play. We’d made heaps of demos before going down to recording so we had plenty of songs to choose from.

RN: What kind of onstage shenanigans can we expect at the launch?

TR: Energy! It’s going to be loads of fun. We are all looking forward to this gig, we have lots in store for the night but I’m afraid you will have to come and see for yourself!

THE SECRET WHISPER unleash Le Jeune Amour on Friday May 13 at The Zoo with Montpelier and Polaroid Frame in support. Doors are at 8pm. Tickets are available from OzTix for $8+bf or $10 on the door. Check out www.thesecretwhisper.com for more info.




- Rave Magazine

ONE of Gympie's most talented groups of musicians, The Secret Whisper, is now a well-established band, recently releasing their first EP.

To celebrate, the band will be getting in touch with their roots, performing a live show in Gympie tomorrow night.

They will be supported by special guests The Benedicts and others for the local launch of their debut EP Le Jeune Amour.

Band members brothers Billy and Chris Stewart (guitar and bass), Joel Forman (drums), Jessica Mincher (vocals keyboard) and Tom Rooney (guitar) are looking forward to showcasing their original music to a Gympie audience after a successful first launch at the Zoo in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley on May 13.

The event is open to all members of the public and will be held at Gympie State High School's Hamilton Hall. Please be mindful that this is an alcohol-free event.

Food and drinks will be available from the canteen. Entry is $5, doors open at 7pm. Rock Action kick off the jams at 7.30pm.

- The Gympie Times

IF YOU were lucky enough to have caught The Secret Whisper’s local gig on Friday night, you would have come away feeling pumped.

Friday night’s all-ages gig at Hamilton Hall was a great opportunity for Gympie’s youth to check out three exciting new bands on the verge of breaking into the music scene.

But more importantly it was a chance for the region’s residents to see The Secret Whisper perform the six tracks from their debut EP Le Jeune Amour, before they begin touring.

Not one person at the gig would doubt band members Jessica Mincher (vocals and keyboard), Tom Rooney (guitar and vocals), Joel Forman (drums) and brothers Billy and Chris Stewart (lead guitar and bass) have an exciting future ahead of them.

After impressive support acts from local band Rock Action and Brisbane indie rock act The Benedicts, The Secret Whisper proved why they are Gympie’s most promising pop rock bands yet.

Combining soaring female vocals and heavy riffs with hints of synth and piano, ambient and romantic delays, pulsating rhythms, loud bursts of classic drums and rich tonal base lines has created an atmospheric sound.

Their Sydney producer Sonny Truelove, of STL Studios, predicts big things for the group.

“The Secret Whisper is a band full of diversity, which is very rare these days, mixing indie with alternative rock. Fabulous artists and amazing people,” he said.

- The Gympie Time