History of Tame Impala in Timeline

Tame Impala is primarily the music project of Australian artist Kevin Parker, who writes, records, performs, and produces all of the music. While a solo project in the studio, Tame Impala tours as a band, including members Dominic Simper, Jay Watson, Cam Avery, Julien Barbagallo, and James Ireland. They are associated with the band Pond and were originally signed to Modular Recordings, but are currently signed to Interscope Records (US) and Fiction Records (UK).

2007: Project Conception

In 2007, Kevin Parker originally conceived the Tame Impala project in Perth.

2007: Tame Impala Emergence

In 2007, Tame Impala emerged as a home-recording project created by Kevin Parker, who posted tracks on Myspace.

July 2008: Signing with Modular Recordings

In July 2008, Kevin Parker, under the name Tame Impala, signed a worldwide deal with the independent Modular Recordings after generating interest from posting tracks on Myspace.

September 2008: Self-Titled EP Release

In September 2008, Tame Impala's self-titled EP was released, reaching number 1 on the Australian Independent Record Labels (AIR) Chart and number 10 on the ARIA Physical Singles Chart. The songs "Desire Be, Desire Go", "Half Full Glass of Wine", and "Skeleton Tiger" received national radio airplay on Triple J.

2008: "Half Full Glass of Wine" on Triple J's Hottest 100

In 2008, Tame Impala's song "Half Full Glass of Wine" appeared on Triple J's Hottest 100 list at number 75, marking their first appearance on the list. The song was also featured on the Hottest 100 compilation album.

2008: Touring and Festival Appearances

In 2008, Tame Impala's tours included supporting You Am I, The Black Keys, Yeasayer and MGMT, as well as performances at Southbound Festival, Meredith Music Festival, and Falls Festival, and national headline tours in support of their EP.

March 2009: "Sundown Syndrome" Recording

In March 2009, Tame Impala recorded their debut single, "Sundown Syndrome", at Toerag Studios in London, UK, with recording engineer Liam Watson.

May 2009: "Sundown Syndrome" Premiere

On Sunday, May 10, 2009, "Sundown Syndrome" was premiered by Richard Kingsmill on his "2009" show on Triple J.

July 2009: "Sundown Syndrome" Release

In July 2009, Tame Impala released "Sundown Syndrome" on vinyl and digitally, along with a cover of "Remember Me" by DJ Blue Boy.

August 2009: Rottofest Headliner

In August 2009, Tame Impala headlined the inaugural "Rottofest", an annual comedy, film and music festival held on Rottnest Island off the coast of Western Australia.

October 2009: National Tour

Through September and October 2009, Tame Impala embarked on a national tour in support of their single.

2009: Skeleton Tiger Tour and UK Performances

In 2009, Tame Impala's tours included a sold-out six-date "Skeleton Tiger" national headline tour and a five-date UK tour (including Nevereverland UK), as well as performances at V Festival.

May 2010: Innerspeaker Album Tour Commences

On May 13, 2010, Tame Impala commenced the Innerspeaker album tour as the opening act for MGMT's 2010 American tour.

November 2010: J Award for Album of the Year

On November 29, 2010, Innerspeaker won Australian youth-oriented radio network Triple J's highest honour, winning the J Award for Album of the Year.

2010: Debut Album Release

In 2010, Tame Impala's debut studio album, Innerspeaker, was released, achieving gold certification in Australia and critical acclaim.

2010: Big Day Out Festival Appearance

In early 2010, Tame Impala appeared at the Australian/New Zealand Big Day Out festival, performing alongside bands such as Muse, The Mars Volta, Kasabian and Rise Against.

July 2012: "Apocalypse Dreams" Free Download

On July 7, 2012, Tame Impala released the song "Apocalypse Dreams" as a free download. The first single, "Elephant", was later released on July 26, 2012.

September 2012: U.S. Feature in The FADER

In September 2012, Tame Impala's first U.S. feature appeared on the cover of The FADER publication, in its 82nd issue.

November 2012: Lonerism Wins J Award

In November 2012, Lonerism won the 2012 J Award for Australian Album of the Year, marking the second time Tame Impala had won the award, after winning for Innerspeaker in 2010.

2012: International Tour Begins

In 2012, Tame Impala began an international tour that extended through 2013, supported by The Growl.

2012: Collaboration with The Flaming Lips on "Children of the Moon"

In 2012, Tame Impala collaborated with The Flaming Lips on the track "Children of the Moon," which appeared on The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends.

2012: Lonerism Album Release and Acclaim

In 2012, Tame Impala's follow-up album, Lonerism, was released, also to critical acclaim, achieving platinum status in Australia and a Grammy nomination.

May 2013: Allbrook Leaves Tame Impala

On May 18, 2013, it was announced that Allbrook would leave Tame Impala to focus on other musical endeavours, with Cam Avery of Pond and The Growl taking his place.

May 2013: Parker's Musical Projects

Prior to 2014, Parker was touring with Tame Impala and working on other musical projects, including his disco-funk band, AAA Aardvark Getdown Services. Parker said in May 2013, that doing another album doesn't excite him.

December 2013: Grammy Award Nomination for Lonerism

In December 2013, Lonerism received a 2014 Grammy Award nomination in the Best Alternative Music Album category.

2013: Parker's Thoughts on Music Creation

In 2013, Parker expressed his thoughts on creating music, stating that limiting oneself to albums is narrow-minded in the digital age, emphasizing the endless possibilities of music production and listening.

2013: International Tour Continues

Tame Impala's international tour continued in 2013. During this tour, they played major festivals such as Coachella and Sasquatch Festival, and appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. For this tour, Watson switched from drums to keyboards, and Parker recruited Julien Barbagallo on drums.

May 2014: Inclination towards Recording Another Album

In May 2014, Kevin Parker spoke of his growing inclination toward recording another album, describing it as a seasonal thing. He also described that it's going to be a bit more minimal, more electronic inspired by Fleetwood Mac's streamlined style.

2014: Recording of Lonerism Follow-Up Begins

At the beginning of 2014, it is believed that Kevin Parker started recording the follow-up album to Lonerism, with recording taking place at the Wave House in Western Australia.

January 2015: New Album Announcement

On January 6, 2015, Spinning Top Music announced that a new Tame Impala album would be released in 2015.

March 2015: "Let It Happen" Release

On March 11, 2015, Tame Impala released a new song titled "Let It Happen" as a free download.

April 2015: Parker Discusses Royalty Issues

During the April 30, 2015 Reddit AMA, Kevin Parker revealed that he had received zero dollars from all of Tame Impala's record sales outside of Australia due to mismanagement of funds.

April 2015: Currents Album Cover Reveal and Single Release

On April 5, 2015, Tame Impala announced and released the album cover for Currents on Facebook. The band also released the first official single from the album called "'Cause I'm a Man". Later that month, on 22 April 2015, Tame Impala officially released "Let it Happen" as the second single from the album.

May 2015: Boston Calling Music Festival Performance

In January 2015, it was announced that Tame Impala would perform at the Boston Calling Music Festival in May 2015.

May 2015: Currents Album Release Date and Single Release

On May 7, 2015, Tame Impala announced that the Currents album would be released on 17 July 2015 and released the third official single, "Eventually".

July 2015: Currents Album Release

In July 2015, Tame Impala's third album, Currents, was released, winning ARIA Awards for Best Rock Album and Album of the Year.

2016: APRA Award for "Let It Happen"

In 2016, Kevin Parker won the APRA Award for Song of the Year for "Let It Happen", the first track from the album Currents.

March 2018: Parker collaborates on "Skeletons"

In March 2018, Kevin Parker collaborated with Travis Scott, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, The Weeknd, Mike Dean, and Reine Fiske on the song "Skeletons", later released on Scott's album Astroworld.

July 2018: Parker confirms new Tame Impala album

In July 2018, Parker confirmed he had begun working on a new Tame Impala album and expressed interest in headlining Glastonbury Festival in 2019.

July 2018: Tame Impala at London's Citadel Festival

In July 2018, Tame Impala played a headline set at London's Citadel Festival.

July 2018: Tame Impala and ZHU release "My Life"

On July 1, 2018, Tame Impala collaborated with ZHU to release the single "My Life".

October 2018: Parker plays bass for Travis Scott on SNL

In October 2018, Parker played bass for Travis Scott's performance of "Skeletons/Astrothunder" on Saturday Night Live, with John Mayer also in the backing band.

January 2019: Tame Impala to headline Coachella

In January 2019, Tame Impala was announced as a headliner for the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Parker also announced plans to release a new album that summer.

March 2019: Tame Impala releases "Patience" and performs on SNL

On March 21, 2019, Tame Impala released the single "Patience" and teased new music. On March 30, the band was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, performing "Patience" and a new song, "Borderline".

2019: "Be Above It" Featured in Movie Waves

In 2019, "Be Above It", the first track on the album, is featured in the movie Waves. This includes the studio version, the live version from the Live Versions album and the "Erol Alkan Rework" version.

February 2020: Release of 'The Slow Rush'

On February 14, 2020, Tame Impala released their fourth studio album 'The Slow Rush', featuring 12 tracks recorded in Los Angeles and Fremantle, Australia.

February 2020: The Slow Rush Album Release

On February 14, 2020, Tame Impala's fourth studio album, The Slow Rush, was released to further praise from music critics.

March 2020: "The Less I Know the Better" voted number one in Triple J's Hottest 100 of the Decade

On March 14, 2020, "The Less I Know the Better" was voted number one in Triple J's Hottest 100 of the Decade. It was Tame Impala's highest ranking and first number one in any Hottest 100.

March 2020: Parker features on The Weeknd's album After Hours

On March 20, 2020, Parker produced and provided background vocals on the track "Repeat After Me (Interlude)" on The Weeknd's album After Hours. Tame Impala also won five ARIA Music Awards in November for The Slow Rush and Best Group.

March 2021: "Elephant" covered by The Wiggles

In March 2021, the band's 2012 song "Elephant" was covered by The Wiggles for triple j's Like a Version segment. The Wiggles' cover version went on to place at number one in 2021's Hottest 100.

October 2021: Deluxe box set edition of 'The Slow Rush' announced

In October 2021, Tame Impala announced that a deluxe box set edition of 'The Slow Rush' would be released in February 2022.

February 2022: Release of The Slow Rush B-Sides and Remixes

In February 2022, Tame Impala released The Slow Rush B-Sides and Remixes.

May 2022: Tame Impala and Diana Ross release "Turn Up the Sunshine"

In May 2022, Tame Impala collaborated with Diana Ross to release the single "Turn Up the Sunshine", the lead single from the Minions: The Rise of Gru soundtrack.

Loading Video...

August 2022: Tame Impala features on Gorillaz's "New Gold"

In August 2022, Tame Impala was featured on Gorillaz's song "New Gold".

March 2023: Release of "Wings of Time" for Dungeons & Dragons film

In March 2023, Tame Impala released the song "Wings of Time" from the soundtrack of the film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

Loading Video...

April 2023: Collaboration with Thundercat on "No More Lies"

In April 2023, Tame Impala collaborated with Thundercat and released "No More Lies".

January 2024: Collaboration with Justice on "One Night/All Night"

In January 2024, Tame Impala collaborated with Justice on the single "One Night/All Night" for their album Hyperdrama.

April 2024: Tame Impala appears on Justice's album and co-writes Dua Lipa's album

In April 2024, Tame Impala appeared on another song, "Neverender", on Justice's album Hyperdrama. Parker co-wrote and produced Dua Lipa's third studio album, Radical Optimism.

May 2024: Sony Music Publishing purchases Tame Impala catalog

On May 15, 2024, Sony Music Publishing purchased the catalog of Tame Impala from Parker for an undisclosed amount.

June 2025: Parker previews new song at Nitsa Club

On June 7, 2025, Parker previewed a new song while DJing at Nitsa Club in Barcelona during Primavera Sound, telling the audience "there's no going back from this point on".

September 2025: Release of "Loser" and "Dracula" as singles

On 3 September and 26 September 2025 respectively, the songs "Loser" and "Dracula" were released as singles with accompanying music videos. The "Loser" music video stars Joe Keery.

Loading Video...

October 2025: Release of fifth studio album, Deadbeat

On 4 September 2025, Parker announced the title and album cover for the fifth Tame Impala album, Deadbeat. It was released on 17 October 2025 to polarizing reviews.