Keeping it together

Concrete examples of cohesion in Australian band culture today aren’t as common as you’d first consider. Gyroscope however is one band who fit the category perfectly. Together 12 years, they found their beginnings as 17 year old school mates. Hailing from the Eastern Suburbs of Perth in West Australia they’ve worked harder than most to establish themselves alongside heavyweight Oz rock acts such as Wolfmother and Grinspoon. Today, they remain as the original outfit (minus one), something the latter bands cannot boast. A gradual ascendancy over this period has afforded them a significant following; particularly among the valuable Triple J live music listener and the pub-rock patrons. This appeal has allowed them the grace to evolve and experiment with their sound. They themselves are critical of their variety-filled career, conceding that 2008’s offering Breed Obsession could have been from a variety of their previous work, the result fragmented direction.

According to Zoc (Zoran Trivic), the guitarist in the band, the lads were so comfortable with the idea of cohesion, especially as being representative of both their performance side and personal lives, they decided to adopt it as the title for their upcoming fourth album.
“Cohesion was with the song writing between the four members of the band and our lives in general,” says Zoc.

“I just got married, Dan’s married, Rob’s got his girlfriend and we’ve all got friends and family back in Perth and to take off three months at a time, to the UK or US, you’ve got these extra stresses. We’re not 17 anymore, so cohesion was about making sure everything in your life - the music and everything – was working together,” he continues.
Seated and enjoying a well-earned afternoon Corona on the deck of their Brisbane-home (The Point Apartments, Kangaroo Point), Brad Campbell (bassist)and Zoc aren’t showing signs of fatigue. This is despite day one of the five day, fly-by-night promo tour (taking in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Alice Springs, Brisbane and Perth probably should have left them bleary-eyed from lack of sleep. Take the freak storm which left them grounded on the tarmac at home for three hours to their less welcoming delayed arrival into Brisbane at three in the morning – no cabs at the closed airport, aswell a day spent trekking across town and to the Gold Coast for commercial radio promo and other press engagements, the two present as remarkably composed creatures.

Laid back, these instantly likeable guys, settle quickly into a very ‘cohesive’ conversation style, bouncing from one to the other with ease, at times it’s as if they’re one person in speak-sync. Clearly no novices to the game they play, both are image-aware, while remarkably individual in their looks. Zoc as the immaculately dressed, beret to the side and sunglass affixed, contrasted alongside the wild and wiry (Sideshow bob-like) mopped Brad whose piercing blue eyes are intent on maintaining eye contact there is never any question that these two aren’t sure who they are or what they’re about.

The intensity and passion the close like brother musos emanate serves them well both in their on-stage and off- personas. Visibly upbeat and excited to tell the journey behind this album, their pride for it is immediately evident. And why shouldn’t it be - their personal sentiment is it’s the best thing they’ve produced yet. Fortunately this time around the four were lucky enough to be offered a salary by their newest label recruit, so the pair admit the ride is one they are completely appreciative to be on.

“People go you know we’ve seen you on tele and on the radios and you’ve got a couple of successful records, you guys must be raking it in, but well the story of Australian music is you’ve got to work so hard for so long for so little return. You’ve just got to love the music you know and we’re not rich or famous or anything but to be able to make music for a living is all we’ve ever wanted to do,” Zoc says sincerely.
The group, who share studio quarters with Perth all-stars, Karnivool, and End of Fashion, were disciplined in their approach. Seeing their reprieve from their ‘boring’ day jobs as time to get serious and treat the making of their music like a ‘real job.’

“We were fairly strict on ourselves, which is good, because otherwise it’s pretty easy to get lazy and drink beers every day, but if you treat it like a job it was worth it you know,” says Brad.

Amidst the long hours spent writing and demo-ing in the studio – a flurry of chicken feathers escaping through the window of the nearby chicken factory - the band produced at least 30 quality tracks which gave them as Brad suggested room for b-sides if they needed them.

The progression then from demo to recording presented an unbelievable (even to the group) opportunity, one which they dreamed of as school boys when first starting their band. Gil Noughton, producer to bands including Queen, The Pixies, Coldplay, Oasis and idols to Gyroscope the Foo Fighters, had agreed to take on the boys and their project.

“He’s been on our list since we started, to get him on this record was pretty special,” says Brad. “He’s the one producer ever since we were kids (Foo Fighters: Colour and the shape) favourite records, so one day if we can make a record with this guy, “ Zoran adds.

Absolutely over the moon with their new producer, the boys hopped a plane (at Gil’s request) to Wales and found themselves entering the renowned Rockford Studios, a music museum for any avid music fan, none of it’s memorabilia and heritage was lost on a zealous Zoc. “It was cool. We’d be working away and someone would go, ‘Oh yeh, you know that tree out there, that’s where Coldplay came up with Yellow on their album Parachutes. And that wall over there is where Liam used to sit and write his lyrics and we call it the ‘wonder wall’ because that’s where he came up with Wonder Wall.’ You know there was just so much history.”

The pinnacle of this nostalgic studio for Zoc was in fact playing keys for a couple of the songs on the same piano Freddy Mercury had done for Bohemian Rhapsody. A solid eight or nine weeks in the studio (with the exception of one night out to London to be Gil’s wingman to the touring Pixies who’d requested Gil to attend their show) and the band’s dedication to the record was beginning to pay dividends. Praise from the taskmaster and ‘dad figure’ Gil unexpectedly delivered the lads to top two bands to work with.
“He did tell us that we were the most hardworking band, most prepared band that he’d ever work with and we were like, are you serious – actually second most, equal first with Dave Grohl.”

As the cloak is lifted on Cohesion the album the lads remain firm that they’re committed to Australia because their Australian fanbase is established it doesn’t make sense to leave that all behind. Besides it adds to the overall sense of cohesion of the band is shooting for
“That’s the whole idea of the album, feels like everything is working properly now, everyone knows their role sort of better at what they’re doing and I don’t know everything just sort of seems right at the moment.”

Gyroscope’s fourth release: Cohesion is available through Universal, www.getmusic.com.au

Ruth Bailey

Posted: April 22nd, 2010 under ALBUMS, Australian Interview.
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Sid O’Neil is as typical Gen Y, as they come. Creative, artistic and entrepreneurial he’s also susceptible to losing motivation and struggles to pay attention to the things that don’t matter to him. As the front man to original Melbourne-based trio The Vasco Era he’s currently erring on the side of stimulated, but it’s not because of the music he and his band mate’s brother Ted O’Neil and Michael Fitzgerald recently produced. Rather it’s the shift in perspective he’s undergone while waiting for their latest album to be released.

At just age 23 Sid claims to have undergone a quarter-life crisis attributable he believes to the sophomore album (recorded almost a year ago) being delayed for release. Too much time spent wondering how it would pan out prompted him to make some radical life decisions. Those choices have proved to have profound implications on his day-to-day to living.

“I thought maybe I should quit being a musician and do something meaningful with my life and I just took a plane to Queensland the next day stayed on people’s couches and stuff, then I ended up with a girlfriend and I’m studying social work now, by correspondence from a uni just near Byron so I’m a bit more balanced these days,” he said.

It’s obvious as he speaks in a dopey, freshly woken voice he’s recently enjoyed either an afternoon kip or a ‘morning’ wake-up call mid afternoon. Sid oscillates between excited and apathetic when he’s asked about The Vasco Era’s latest record Lucille. “We recorded it like a year ago, so it’s a weird thing, our excitement about it isn’t so relevant anymore.

“All of the responses we’ve had and the reviews about it so far have been really good, so it’s kind of exciting to get that, to get some credit, cos our last one didn’t review nearly as well.

Sid is fairly impatient for the release to occur so he and the lads can get on and start a new project.

A brief history lesson for those unfamiliar with The Vasco Era’s catalogue, they released a debut LP : Oh we do like to be beside the seaside (no doubt referencing their Apollo Bay roots) back in 2007 and then have not really been heard of since, reasons for which Sid is matter-of-fact in explaining. Basically his creativity was being compromised.

“I was homeless in Melbourne, trying to write songs, getting really pissed and taking lots of drugs and those things don’t go together cos you’re not that creative when you’re taking heaps of ecstacy unless you’re the Happy Mondays.

“I have spent a lot of time not making anything good up, so that’s why it took so long really.”

Lucille (as an album) takes a narrative approach, following the lives of two central characters, Lucille and Sam. The idea for this record he claims was generated by a chance visit to a town in Northern NSW at again a time when he was struggling to come up with ideas for songs.
“I went there for a party for two days, cos it’s like a place I wouldn’t usually go and it was something different, and I met this couple.
“She’s a stripper, and I don’t know if he was like religious or priest dude and he was acting fairly jealous and he didn’t act like he liked what she was doing but he liked her and that’s where the idea sort of came from.”

The fruits of his findings are cleverly expressed via a bluesy baseline and rockabilly sensibility. Despite Sid’s noticeably laconic nature, he’s assured of his ability to make good music. Though he will admit the ability is spread evenly amongst the three members. “Ted’s [older brother] got better general knowledge and he’s probably academically a little bit more talented but musically I’m more creative than him.

“If you ask him any question about anything he’ll know the answer but … I’m better at making up songs,” he laughs.

Whereas, Michael, he’s completely different, he’s technical, he went to the conservatorium in Melbourne, to learn about the f…cking xylophone and I don’t know, triangle or whatever you do in the orchestra, symphony and stuff. “He’s obviously talented in a whole other way, the technical kind of way so it works pretty good the three of us, cos I’m not technical by any means.”

When broached with the concept he’s talented, Sid pauses and after some protesting awkwardly accepts the compliment. Choosing instead to reference musical genius, John Lennon’s belief that there is no such thing as talent you just do things for a long time and you end up pretty good at it. “I was good at drums when I was a kid but I didn’t think I’d be a good guitarist which is what I do in this band, it’s more just that keeping on doing it, for ages.”

As the trio prepare to tour their record, he’s at peace with fame as a concept, and reveals he’s not so much interested in being recognised, but that he’s keen to be recognised for his music and has adjusted his expectations for his musical career trajectory. “I’m not so reliant on what people say or how the music goes really, which is a better balance especially in Australia to try and be a musician for a living, it doesn’t work, unless you want to make music to deliberately sell records, like deliberately cap your music which I really don’t want to do.

“Unless you’re one of those that makes music by compromising what you want to say and I couldn’t live with myself if that happened, so I’m going to be a social worker and help other people that take drugs.”

The Vasco Era take their new album, Lucille on the road throughout April /May. Visit www.myspace.com/thevascoera for dates and purchase their album via Universal’s www.getmusic.com.au.

Ruth Bailey

Posted: April 22nd, 2010 under Australian Interview.
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Song sung blue

Brisbane band, Yves Klein Blue have been around for a little longer than most people realise but following their win in an MTV Kickstart competition (which recognised their greatness by injecting them with cashflow to the tune of twenty thousand big ones) they got smart and decided to record a debut EP – and in name and practice they worked out how they could draw attention to themselves.

That was some time ago (2008 in fact) and since then they’ve enjoyed opportunities afforded through the signing to label – Dew Process, which have included tours with big name acts, the likes of which include, Reverend and the Makers in the UK.

“We were playing big venues too. It was so weird we were in Bristol and playing to like 2000 people, we were like what is this, we’re on the other side of the world playing to more people than at home. It was pretty awesome,” says bassist Sean.

The frenetic and fiery (three of the four members are red heads) lads: Charles, Michael, Chris, and funny-man Sean give the sense together their apt to mischief. For Sean the lure of playing their own first headline gigs (off the success of their current album: Ragged and Ecstatic) is amusing and exciting and well worth paying money for.

“Our own tour, it should be interesting, being the last band on hopefully people will enjoy it, do a few things make it fun, experience for people make it worth people coming out and making worth whatever ticket price we’ve probably set.”

Sean speaking from his childhood home in the semi-rural reaches of Brisbane’s outer western suburbs allows himself time to reflect on his and his band-mates ascendency but with plain irony he concluded that perhaps not all that much is different.

“Feels like everything around us has changed, we feel like we’re just doing the same thing, but now all these other people are kind of looking over our shoulder. The Management, they’re all awesome people, but they weren’t there at the start and now they are,” he muses.

As well as their own tour, the Yves Klein blue lads have also been named alongside big name act La Roux, as jumping aboard the Bacardi Express which means travelling down the East coast of Australia aboard one mean locomotive. The train, joy-ride kicks off its tour from hometown Brisbane in late March. The idea of which is quite enticing to Sean.

“I wouldn’t say that we’re train enthusiasts, we’re not quite, we don’t have trains set up, I think maybe Charles and I have trains but they’re not set up but um we like trains and we’re all pretty excited about travelling on one.”

To this savvy twenty something the fact that the Bacardi Express is (as its name indicates) likely to deliver them free alcohol whilst aboard (always a benefit to a struggling rock musician) it is not the only reason Sean can think of for why this experience is set to be awesome.

“It will be a dangerous two days I think. It’s like a really old train and it full of musicians, who will sleep there, eat there, jam there, there’s a jam room there and there is also like three or four bars serving an abundance of alcohol.

Catch the raucousness of Yves Klein Blue when they headline their own tour visit: www.myspace.com/yveskleinblue for tour dates. Their album Ragged and Ecstatic is available through Universal Music; www.getmusic.com.au.

Ruth Bailey

Posted: March 14th, 2010 under Australian Interview, INTERVIEWS.
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Riding out of the dark and into the light

Conventionally speaking, a band’s evolution is characterized by their forming, writing of quality songs, shaping these songs, showcasing them live, taking the show on the road and building a fan base from each gig played - that’s the general rule. The Black Ryder of Sydney, on the other hand, isn’t about to start subscribing to any conventionality. If in fact they had not been presented with an opportunity to play alongside an internationally renowned act early last year, they may not have even contemplated leaving their studio.
 
“We never started the band with the intention that we’d be a live touring band. It started as a touring project and to be honest with you, the only reason we initially put a band together was because Black Rebel (Motorcycle Club) asked us to support and I think we only had three songs.”
 
So says one half of the duo, Scott Von Ryper who along with partner in music and life Aimee Nash is on a journey intent on making music for arts sake rather than popularity.
 
Adopting moods that oscillate between dark and brooding, shoegaze in its execution, smattered by reverb encased by eerie vocals (from Nash) and layered instrumentation which sometimes results in a country feel, at the time of our interview Von Ryper is preparing to preview the latest works from The Black Ryder, Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride.

The preview will take place in the slightly unusual setting, of Monster Children magazine’s art gallery HQ in Surry Hills. It’s no surprise to learn that it’s not just any old record launch, no as with everything the band does it’s planned to be executed a little left of centre.

 
“They [Monster Children] approached us to see if we’d like to do a listening party and as we spoke to them we developed the idea a bit more into a multimedia, so it will be a listening party but at the same time some photos will be on display that were taken on a film shoot that we did last weekend, we’re going to be premiering our new film clip.”

It’s an opportunity to celebrate the photography and the director from that shoot at the same time showcasing the work of the Black Ryder, “ Von Ryper continues.
 
As he recounts their weekend away filming (for the film-clip) it’s increasingly apparent that Von Ryper is only interested in dealing and co-creating with those who share in or enhance his vision - to make breathtaking, unusual and confronting artistic pieces.
 
The album which is due for release this month was self-produced by himself and Nash, and is the collective resonance of their styles.
 
“In the end we just realised what we were creating, the scope needed to be much bigger and it was ok to have tracks that were melodically different to others. 

“So there are tracks on there that are quite epic and wall of sound and then there is lonely more, country songs as well.

“Quite a large gap exists between some of the tracks on there, and in the end I think that was to our benefit,” Von Ryper reflects.  

Boasting a number of special guests including stable-mate Ricky Maymi of the Brian Jones Town Massacre (who camped on the sofa of Scott and Amy’s house throughout recording) as well as Peter Hayes from The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
the pair feel they’ve been blessed by the outcomes of many a chance encounter shared whilst traveling.
 
“All of the connections [with bands] have come about in a kind of different way I guess,” says Von Ryper.

“Amy and I connected with some of these bands during our travels of the previous band, being on tour with them in the States with them meeting them through our own music.”

Whatever synchronicity emulated throughout recording, all paths have led to The Black Ryder retaining ownership of their debut. An ideal situation arose which enabled them to negotiate signing to a large label for distribution, (EMI) but their own newly formed label: The Anti Machine Machine is the signatory. Von Ryper takes a big breath, almost a sigh of a relief, as he recalls the twists and turns that made it possible for The Black Ryder to complete their record ready for sale.
 
It didn’t come about that easy it was a long journey to get from there to having being in the situation we ended up with.

“We couldn’t have dreamed of anything better, It took a long time to get there.”
 
The Black Ryder’s debut album, Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride is available through EMI distribution. They play one show only in November: The Tote Hotel (Vic) November 19.

Ruth Bailey

Posted: November 16th, 2009 under Australian Interview, INTERVIEWS.
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Golden times for Valentinos

“Children of the Sun, see your time has just begun, searching for your wares through adventures of the city of gold.”

These were the lyrics to an eighties, retro cartoon from our collective childhoods that one Sydney indie five-piece, Lost Valentinos have proverbially run away with, creating a whole new musical genre - Conquistadisco.

Their forthcoming debut album borrows part of the cult animation’s title: Cities of Goldfrom Mysterious Cities of Gold as according to Nik Yiannikas, front man for the band, the lead character Esteban’s exploration for lost treasure, together with his South American comrades is a somewhat fitting metaphor for his band, Lost Valentinos.

“It’s a good name for the album not just cause of the cartoon but because it suits it in a lot of ways, we’re definitely big fans of that cartoon and we were watching a lot of it at the time which kind of sort of inspired a lot of the songs that are on the album.

“So we thought it was an appropriate name.”

Now, Lost Valentinos, they began their career as The Valentinos almost ten years ago. Yiannikas a constant member since the band’s humble origins considers that their album debut is the culmination of things falling into line for the band and perhaps some long overdue strategic direction emerging.

“In the beginning there wasn’t a lot of continuity in the line-up and we had no goals when we first started cause we weren’t expecting anything to happen you know,” says Yiannikas.

“But now you know the songs that we just put out recently and the songs that are on the album are the result of a more focused effort I guess, over a long period time after we’ve learnt from our mistakes and that kind of thing,” he continues.

A recent tour of Europe and the UK under their belts enabled the lads (like their cartoon friends) to travel. Highlights according to Yiannikas so far have been playing to packed clubs in London and the two and half thousand fans that saw their set in renowned venue Razzamataz in Barcelona. Mistakes seem few and far between and as the European summer hits full tilt the band have the added luxury of being accepted by the punters overseas.

“They are starting to catch on our single came out there like two weeks ago (Midnights) and they’ve been playing it on BBC 1, umm we got a write up in The Guardian the other day as their new band of the day, yeah they’re finding it really good, which is good.”

Perhaps the UK fans are lapping up what’s currently being fed to them by Lost Valentinos because of the uncanny similarity Yiannikas vocals (demonstrated on Midnights) resemble to that of revered British music legend, Ian Brown of The Stone Roses.

“I don’t think it was intentional, he says indignantly.

“I mean I’m not surprised, I was listening to a lot of Stone Roses at the time, I guess I was influenced definitely, and there are people who would say they are one of my fave bands.”

He’s not unashamed of the comparison being drawn either.

“It’s funny you should say that, I read a review the other day, Stone Roses produced by Quincy Jones.

I’ll take that one,” he says laughing at the compliment.

Back on home turf, Nik discusses their upcoming Australian tour with a relaxed tone. He’s already admitted that he’s stopped listening to the album for fear it might get a bit annoying for him when he’s actually playing it live daily.

Does he see the prospect of splitting his time between Europe and Australia as a problem?

“I’m happy to go where the music takes me to tell the truth; just playing to people who want to hear our music, you know is an awesome privilege.”

As the boys prepare for a national tour which kicked off with a performance last month at Splendour in the Grass (Nik’s all-time favourite Australian music festival) like Esteban of the cartoon world, Mysterious Cities of Gold Nik has his sights set firmly on conquering the search for treasure, indicating a debut album as long as theirs in the making, is like having a baby.

“It’s not just a bunch of songs that we recorded it’s kind of like our whole life up to this point.”

Ruth Bailey

Posted: August 31st, 2009 under Australian Interview, INTERVIEWS.
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Calling from the top

Matt Lambert, aka MC Suffa, makes up one third of the supremely successful Australian hip hop act Hilltop Hoods. Full-fledged Aussies, their established national fan-base is testament to their innovative lyrical poeticism.

It is difficult to fathom when speaking to Matt that he could be a groupie himself. But that’s exactly how this down to earth Adelaidian comes across when he let loose about the ‘Hoods’ recent opportunity to work with Pharoahe Monch.

“Yeh we’ve been massive fans of him, me and Dan since we were like 13.

“When he got here I pulled out like 20 vinyls for him to sign.”

The collaboration with renowned US rapper and producer, Monch came about due to the Hilltop Hood’s latest project, their third album proper:State of the Art. Which upon listening will tantalise even the most mundane of music listeners. Following in a similar vein to that of their previous efforts, The Calling and The Hard Road this album feels like it the lads have matured and ripened with age and given the time off they are energised and ready to rumble once more.

These laidback larrikins, born and bred in South Australia, can be accused of teasing their fans recently with their most recent outpourings being a remix of sorts. That is they took album two: The Hard Road and combined it with a symphony and repackaged it as the The Hard Road Restrung. For Matt who claims he’s still too close to it to comment it’s being touted as a departure from their upbeat and fun rhymes, this time they’re packing more of punch.

“We’ve always been who we want to be we just you know we just wanted to make a heavier album it is just the way we were feeling, but you know The Hard Road and The Calling and all that, that’s exactly the records we wanted to make,” he says.

Quiet for just on two years, they’ve been burrowed away pretty much for the entire duration, doing Matt assures nothing more than but the norm…

“Just working – it took along time to put together, cos when we do something like this, I usually make over a hundred beats and we’ll write a ton of stuff and people will go how long do you take to make twelve songs?

“You’ve got to make a lot more to get down to these sort of twelve songs.”

Matt professes to enjoy the making beats side of the music composition than the writing rhymes side of it. He’s not formally musically trained but he’s from musical stock, with his mum a music teacher, his dad a jazz-music collector and two of his three brother’s both in bands it’s any wonder he loves what he does and calls it his one and only and passion.

Perhaps this is also what has driven the cue ball right into the socket for the Hilltop’s latest offshoot - their label. It’s a chance Matt sees for them to influence the music industry in a positive way and give back some mentoring opportunities for those talented and upcoming in their industry.

“When our contract with Obese sort of expired, we thought about what we wanted to do, we wanted to control everything ourselves and we wanted to work to our own timelines and almost as important as that we wanted to put out the music of friends and of those who we respected as well.”

With speculation rife over the ‘Hoods’ decision to cut ties with Obese executives Matt is firm when he explains at the end of the day he and his band-mates have always done their own music.

“It’s just going back to what we’ve always been doing,” he states.

The year ahead looks likely to be spent touring the new album. Matt’s tone becomes serious when he discusses the task ahead of them, building their fan base overseas. Where does he think they might have the most success internationally?

“We’re definitely not as well known overseas…The UK for a couple of shows and Germany, where we’re doing a tour supporting Atmosphere, and a couple of shows on our own and then we’re finishing up with a festival in Switzerland.”

Then they’ll be back in time for their national tour which will take in most capital cities and of course the nation’s favourite winter festival – also Matt’s fave too, Splendour in the Grass.

“We haven’t played festivals overseas until now, so you’ll have to ask me again in a little while as it’s unfair to compare to Splendour anyway, ‘cos it’s my favourite festival.”

Ruth Bailey

Posted: July 7th, 2009 under Australian Interview, INTERVIEWS.
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Sweet notes

They say home is where the heart is, and for Simon Leach guitarist for the little-heard-of-lately Little Birdy, that’s certainly true.

Nestled in the Yarra Valley in country Victoria, a quietly located rural homestead provides solace for this sometime-recluse while still allowing him to stay close to his family roots.

With his granddad and nana in close proximity so too his aunty and uncle near enough to be able to enjoy a home-cooked meal, the change of scenery was necessary for this over-toured musician who was also in need of recovery from an ended relationship - he’s happy here.

“I grew up here in Victoria and I moved to Perth and my mum, dad and my sisters sort of followed but my nan and granddad and my aunty and uncle live here so I get to hang out with the family I haven’t really seen for sort of 14 years.”

Not so surprisingly, band counterparts, front woman Katy Steele and drummer Matt Chequer followed suit and decided to pack up their base in Perth and now they call Melbourne home too.

The break from formal band duties and responsibilities was according to Simon par for the course in a band who had been touring for over six years.

“We kind of just needed it as all people do you need a holiday and it might seem like fun and everything but it’s really tiring especially for someone like me – touring just takes it out of me I’m a real home-body.”

The move to Victoria/Melbourne has however proven fruitful for songstress Steele providing fodder for a new era of song writing. What could have quite easily been her foray into solo performing quickly became a natural progression back into a performing - Little Birdy.

“Katy was thinking of doing a solo album in the time we were taking time off but we started hearing the songs and we just sort of said we’d like to keep that as Little Birdy and she was just like all for it,” says Simon.

“Me and Matty we do the musical side of the songs, we do the production and all that so she trusts with what we do, so we just decided to start working again,” he adds.

Their third album Confetti in store this month is a return to their original acoustic sound. A return it seems, to keeping it simple and not being influenced by the music fads of the day. Complete with a distinct country feel, a little bit of Burt Bacharach peppered by some Dusty Springfield overtones the songs are the culmination of experiences relevant to Katy’s life since last they were heard touring Hollywood. The time out, maturity and rejuvenation allowed through living independent lives is something Simon believes has given the band a renewed vitality and somewhat of a new-band feel again.

“I think it was good for Katy because with the first album a lot of those songs were sort of written from a bedroom and when we did Hollywood that was written from the road a lot, so this album has got that feel of us being a new band again.”

Rehearsals have begun for this their upcoming national tour and whilst preparing to tour again could perhaps prove daunting for Simon the self-confessed home-body he’s choosing to concentrate on the job at hand, learning the music and mastering the tracks the band have grown to love.

“’Into my arms’, that is one of my favourites.”

“Just when we play it has a real vibe to it and a real sort of emotion, I also like Hair do as well – it doesn’t even sound like Old Joe Cocker but it just reminds me of it.”

The tour will see the band take in some previously undiscovered spots like Maitland for Groovin the Moo and further on in the year the well visited Byron Bay will this time give the band their first-time billing on the Splendour in the Grass line-up, but there is one place on the itinerary which makes touring worth while for Simon.

“Probably will be good to get back to Perth, so I can go see my family, my mum and dad and all that and my brothers and sisters um that’s about it really I’ve got friends everywhere in every city so it’s kind of like every city has got a bonus to it.”

Catch Little Birdy when they play a swag of dates through May. Check out www.littlebirdy.net for show and album info.
Alternatively, if you are wanting to get your Splendour on: don’t forget ticket sales for Splendour in the Grass featuring Little Birdy commence Thursday 14 May via www.splendourinthegrass.com or www.oztix.com.au

Ruth Bailey

Posted: May 5th, 2009 under Australian Interview, INTERVIEWS.
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A neat turn of Phrase

Take any number of renowned collaborators, work with a talented mc and musician known only as Phrase lay some tracks, bundle it all together post produce it as an album then… wait two years for its release.

The loss of his A&R rep and an overall lack of interest from his label caused Phrase’s blood sweat and tears to produce this his sophomore album to be it appeared all in vain. Initial completion saw it remain on the shelf. It wasn’t until Phrase took things back into his own hands that he started to make things happen again.

“It was sitting in the background for a certain time and that was pretty tough on me, I’d not put anything out in a long time, I’d kind of finished up touring and I was stressing out about when the record was going to come out, so eventually I took a song to Triple J off my own back and said: ‘listen this is what sort of happened and this is my record can you do something with it?’” He said.

That’s the bare bones tale behind the making of Australian Hip Hop artist Phrase’s latest offering Clockwork. Due in stores this month, it’s been a difficult journey for the 27-year old but he’s emerged from the confusion stronger for the forced hiatus.

“Like it really put me to the test, a lot of self doubt, what if the record wasn’t good enough, and I got to the point where I was really, really stressed out and really depressed and then finally I was thinking do I just do something else in life?

“Then there was the twist of fate, boom it was on the radio and the record label got inspired again and things have been really good again,” he reflects.

24 months later or there about did Phrase feel the need to revisit any of his content?

“To be honest I thought I was going to have to, but it’s weird, the more I listen to it, the more it seems all really relevant to me now, content on there, topics seem really relevant to where I’m at, I feel like although a lot of the content on there sort of comes from a dark place to me it kind of feels like I’ve used that dark place to push forward and do something positive.”

“That’s sort of the cycle of what happened with the album,” he adds.

Featuring a re-recording of Wendy Matthews hit: ‘The day I went away’ and working on other tracks with friends and touring partners Bliss n Eso making Clockwork was full of one-off special experiences. One in particular was the inclusion of a track about the death of his friend who fell victim to Australia’s mental health system.

“It’s been a few years now since my friend passed, you eventually sort of move on, recording that song, I did the vocals it took me nearly two hours to get through that I had to just do a little bit at a time You know at the end of the day I revisited that song and I thought should I put it on the record you know it’s a pretty personal thing and maybe it’s too indulgent on my behalf …I think at the end I thought: ‘you know what it’s a nice tribute from us to him.’

“The more I think about it loss is a pretty widespread thing, why not use my grief, a lot of people have to deal with it,” he continued.

No matter the stories behind each track on this album all are representative of Phrase as he is today.

“A lot of people ask me what the difference is between this and the previous album Talk with force. I think that Talk with Force I wrote that record when I was 18 and when I think back I sounded like such a pent up angry young man I felt like I really had something to prove and this time around not mature in a boring way, I’ve kind of found my feet and I’ve gone out there and done what I’ve needed to, self-discovery, toured the country and I think now this record is coming from a certain place.

It appears the album though could not have been timed better for release. Phrase has just finished touring solidly including support shows with N E R D while Pharell and his crew were in the country and the support he’s noticed from the ever-building crowds is only getting stronger.

“It’s awesome to see how much of a difference it makes playing live, the albums not out so it’s not like people can be huge fans of this record and come along to gigs knowing all the songs.” He says.

Ruth Bailey

Posted: May 1st, 2009 under Australian Interview, INTERVIEWS.
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Kramming it in

It’s been something of a long hiatus for Spiderbait heavyweight Kram, but after almost three years in production, a year of fatherhood under his belt and a renewed, much more grounded view of life, he’s emerging as a solo artist. His latest exploits reflect something of a mixed tape.

“It’s really a whole bunch of different ideas all swimming in the same bowl,” he says.

“Kind of the idea is I wanted to just play it all myself but make it sound like a bunch of different bands, just like you’ve kind of made a mix tape for someone of all the different records.”

Recorded in the confines of a Manhattan Chinatown studio, Kram’s Mix Tape project is the culmination of a much needed new creative outlet.

“I realised I needed to do more than just Spiderbait, and now I’ve done this I feel that I’ve got this whole extra thing, this whole extra arm that I can wave around at parties, you know, I feel very liberated by it.

Working with his good friend and accomplished album engineer Andy Baldwin in the big apple proved just what Kram needed to get this project to completion and delivering something he could be both satisfied and proud of.

“We just had such a good time making the record just the two of us I really wanted to finish it with him and it was also cool because I wanted to sort of take it away from Australia and just kind of reinvigorate my enthusiasm for it.”

Kram or Mark Marr’s foray into solo recordings (Kram is Mark spelt backwards) is a revealing cacophony of musical musings, each song representative of the many layers to Kram.

“The way you pick up on music is a gradual thing and when you end up making that tape of music that you want to hear um, it can come from all different places,” he says resolutely.

Unashamed in expressing this, his newfound tender side, Kram acknowledges his partner (the love of his life) fathering little Loni Marr and the responsibilities associated with those two human factors as creating the shift for him in his career.

“It started as a thing just by myself but now it’s becoming definitely something for the three of us, I have tried to make a record that came from a lot of different place and a lot of different times.”

“Just kind of being open to writing sort of sad songs too, I really like that, just celebrating that I’m really happy and in love with my girl – loving life, I’m lucky to just be here and be happy I am,” he continues.

So eager is Kram to share his current lust for life he eludes to a second side of the mix tape already in production, performing his work is the next challenge, with a few intimate club shows already set down, he hopes to take it to a US audience in the near future too.

“It is looking like some people in the States like it, things are looking pretty good at the moment.”

Kram will continue to concentrate his energies on Spiderbait (that project will never end, lest someone dies in the band) but for now his focus is solely on his Mix Tape.

“I’m really proud of it, I’m glad it has turned out cool.

“I’m just glad I could cut it, you know you have the idea but you’re not really sure how it’s going to turn out.”

KRAM’s Mix Tape featuring single “Silk Suits”, is out through Universal Music. www.universalmusic.com.au

Ruth Bailey

Posted: March 22nd, 2009 under Australian Interview, INTERVIEWS.
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Nothing tame about these guys

World-wide recognition looks to have arrived at breakneck speed for a band who only too recently remember the days of scrimping to pay their rent out of their monthly gig earnings. Perth lads and self-confessed lay-abouts (prior to their ascendancy) Tame Impala find themselves at the end of 2008 poised for world domination. Well perhaps not quite yet.

According to Jay Watson, drummer for the trio, he understands the importance of having a good label behind you and their influence in opening doors. An appearance at a media launch party which led to them being seen by the right people is probably the luckiest turning point to date. This in turn has allowed the grungy-psychedelic rock act to land some most illustrious billings including their label Modular’s 10th Birthday Party tour, NeverEverLand, but also a string of tours none more coveted than the support slot for New York funsters MGMT.

“We played at a Vice Magazine party in Melbourne and MGMT’s label manager saw us playing, I think he dug it, and set up the MGMT tour,” says Jay.

It could be they’ve got just the right amount of psychedelia to complement the electro – trip-haze of MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular offerings. Whatever it is they’re stoked and it seems a long way from the months before where doing nothing was a regular activity for Jay and his flatmate Kevin.

“It’s better than life at home we don’t really do much when we’re at home in fact we do nothing so touring is pretty cool,” he says.

Clip for ‘Half Full Glass of Wine’ from Tame Impala

The laconic nature of Jay filters through the telephone as he explains the band are right now taking a half hour break between visiting their base hotel in Sydney, showering and taking off again for a show in Wollongong. This time supporting heavyweights of Australian music, You Am I.

A life of touring appears abundantly obvious as the band look ahead to covering not just their label’s NeverEverLand billing, but also The Falls Festival, St Jerome Laneway Festivals and the recently announced V Festival in 2009. Not to mention one-off festivals like Southbound, and Meredith thrown in for good measure. The skills that the lads are learning though as they take each tour in their stride are essential to smooth runnings.

“We didn’t really prepare at all so the early shows we played were pretty sloppy we’re learning all that goes along with the organisational side of touring though,” laughs Jay somewhat skeptically.

“We used to just rock up to shows in Perth all dishevelled and have half a drum kit so we’d borrow other bands gear, now we’re learning it’s a lot more disciplined and there is so much lifting involved!” he adds.

Jay is nonchalant about how dynamics of the band play out. The best friend relationship of Kevin (lead vocals, song writer and producer) and Dominic seems to have been usurped in Jay’s mind by his and Kevin’s living together. Although he and Kevin do argue a lot Jay is easily swayed towards acknowledgement that Kevin is running the show and Dominic and himself are lucky enough to be along for the ride.

“Kevin is quite particular about how everything should be played.

“He is a control freak about his music ala Billy Corgan or Stevie Wonder he plays all the instruments on our recorded EP himself as he needed it to turn out well.

“He’s quite a perfectionist.” Jay offers.

This could prove somewhat problematic for the lads when they look at laying their first LP next year. Currently in discussions with who will produce, it could well be a battle of the wills if Kevin’s desire for perfection is anything to gauge.

Beneath their cute-accidental famed muso exterior though, shines clever, insightful savvy business entrepreneurs in-development, especially when it comes to securing future success.

“We were actually talking about this before this label has sort of the same formula for success so if you can anticipate the formula you’re not going to be to get on too badly.”

Catch Tame Impala when they play a swathe of gigs including:

NeverEverLand Modular’s 10th Birthday Party vist: www.modular.com.au
The Falls Festivals: visit www.fallsfestival.com.au
St Jerome Laneway and V Festival: visit www.lanewayfestival.com.au
V Festival: vist www.vfestival.com.au

Ruth Bailey

Posted: December 9th, 2008 under Australian Interview, INTERVIEWS.
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