The Basics, a political group including singer-songwriter Gotye, have achieved official party status in Australia.
The group were granted their status by the Victorian Electoral Commission after gathering the 500 registered members required by officials. The Basics will now put party members Kris Schroeder and Tim Heath forward as as upper house candidates for the northern metropolitan region in the upcoming November 29 election.
Gotye, aka Wally De Backer, the man behind 2012 hit ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’, is bandmates with Schroeder and Heath. The Basics also have a new EP out in the run-up to the election at the end of this month. New song ‘The Lucky Country’ can be heard below.
The Basics previously stated that their three key elements are innovation, education and rock’n’roll. Their main aims include improving indigenous education in Victorian schools, compulsory first-aid training in high schools and having more access to music in rural areas.
The Guardian quotes Schroeder as saying that musicians are “unsullied” in comparison to some of the industries that other politicians move into politics from. “We all have brains, we all have higher education degrees. And perhaps we’re a little less unsullied in professional lives and networks,” he said.