Music Interviews

Collaborating on projects like this is relatively new territory for you – is it something you’d like to explore further now?

Yes! Definitely something I’d like to keep doing and get better at. I’ve always been relatively closed off with my song writing, so I’d like to one day make a collaborative project of sorts!

How did you first link with KP Hydes and how do you think his presence on ‘Lush Lyfe’ changed the original idea you had for it (if it did)?

I met KP a while ago at a gig in Canberra. He’s really good friends with one of my good friends/band members, and of course we have a really cool bond. To be honest, the original idea wasn’t really a song at all, just a drum groove that I had on my hard drive for a while. Wasn’t till KP had come for a visit one night we decided just to work on it. Lush Lyfe came about really, really quickly.

Is this the sort of music we’d hear you listening to outside of your own project? What’s the sort of music that’s getting you by these days?

Such a hard question to answer, simply because my tastes change so often. I’ve been listening to hip hop for a while, but also have been getting into more of an electronic vibe these days. It really depends what mood I’m in.

It’s a vibe of a track that spotlights your vocals as it does KP’s – what was the best part of this experience for you as a vocalist and songwriter?

Funnily enough, the vocal hook at the end of the song, was originally part of another song I had written about a year ago, but it just seemed to fit in perfectly. I think the best thing about this collab though was how easy and fun it was just to mix something with KP. We didn’t have to stress or try too hard, just kind of went with it.

It also shows a lot of versatility for you as a performer – how important is it for you to remain pushed and challenged creatively?

This is something that I’ve actually thought about a lot recently. I think it is definitely important to always push yourself, and I try to approach song writing, practise and even just listening to new music in the same vein. I’ve only just noticed that I don’t ever really stop thinking about music.

You’re back on the road, how has it been preparing these shows after not being able to tour for so long?

I guess it’s both weird and not weird at the same time. I love being on the road but also love being at home making music and hanging with friends! I think a good mix at the moment is doing me really well.

Now ‘Lush Lyfe’ is out, what is coming next for Oly Sherman?

I’ve just wrapped up an album, so plenty to come from that!

Saturday 17th April Since I Left You Sydney
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Friday 7th May The Bearded Lady Brisbane
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Thursday 13th May Treehouse on Belongil Byron Bay
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Friday 14th May Flow Cafe Old Bar, NSW
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Saturday 15th May Sol Bar (Loungebar) Maroochydore
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Thursday 20th May The Lansdowne Sydney
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‘Lush Lyfe’ is out now.
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‘Leaps – Miles Apart’ is out now via Leaps and Bounds’

Scottish party starters Colonel Mustard & The Dijon 5 have announced their new album ‘The Difficult Number 2’released on 30th April digitally and on special limited-edition vinyl.

Produced by Paul Gallagher – front of house engineer for synth-pop pioneers CHVRCHES – the new album features a whole host of eclectic guests from Larry Love (Alabama 3) to Gavin Mitchell (Still Game), combining a mixture of tried and tested fan favourites with brand new tracks featuring the band’s signature singalong magic. The lead single, G.T., was championed by BBC 6 Music’s Amy Lamé, as was follow-up single Ted Dancin’ which reached No.7 in the Scottish Charts.

Big, warm and immediately uplifting, The Difficult Number 2 was born out of a love for dance music, affirming the eleven-strong outfit as joyful, genre-hopping purveyors of music to move your feet to.

It’s preceded by the EP ‘This Is Your House’ which is out today and features  dance music icon Mary Kiani and Dopesick Fly frontman Ant Thomaz and a remix from Micky Modelle

Listen to the EP here and buy it here now.

We caught up with John McAlinden, aka The Colonel to hear more…

Where is the band currently based? 

We’re like Neapolitan ice cream a mixture of Glasgow , North Lanarkshire and Ayrshire. People can make their own assumptions on which area we consider to be chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. 

When was the full band first formed?

It was the 10-year anniversary of our first gig last year, but for a while we were a massive collective sometimes up to 20 bodies, wild but brilliant days. There were points that different people in the band hadn’t met each other until they were onstage playing a gig together. In the last 3 years we’re down to a starting 11 with a couple of subs and it’s the best we’ve sounded , but the collective chaos years were fun. 

What influenced the sound of your second album, The Difficult Number 2? 

Some  songs I can’t pinpoint the exact influences like Ted Dancin and Peace Love & Mustard it’s more about fun happy vibes, community and dancing, but other songs have more obvious influences, part of what we do is to hop in and out of different genres. G.T. – Bowie/The Beatles/Elton John,  Cross The Road – Toots and The Maytals/Madness/Road Safety, Funkier Than Funk – James Brown/Funkadelic/INXS, we were lucky 2 of our heroes agreed to sing on the album Mary Kiani who used to sing with TTF and is now based in Australia. We love our dance music , a few of us would go to every night we could in the Arches nightclub in Glasgow and the song This Is Your House name checks all the nights we loved there Colours, Inside Out, Slam, Relief, Pressure , Death Disco. The Arches was a special place. Larry Love from Alabama 3 sings on Country As Muck,(Country As Fuck if you buy the vinyl). Alabama 3 are one of the best bands of all time. Unique bringing Acid House and Country Music together,  inspired and inspiring to us. 

What inspired the title of the album? 

We couldn’t decide on a working title, but I came out with The Difficult Number 2 to the band and they all laughed and liked it, so that stuck. As a band we focused most of our energies on being the best live act we could be and there are so many of us, it can take time to get a consensus or get everyone on board working on songs. It’s taken 7 years to bring out a 2nd album. Other bands have split up , got back together and recorded a 2nd album quicker than it’s taken us to do ours. It’s just seeing the funny side of how shit that is. Most bands 2nd album doesn’t live up to the 1st, but Garry John gaffer from our label Button Up calls it a greatest hits album because half the songs we play live and we know our audience loves them, so I think it’s been worth the wait. We’ve got enough new songs to give folk something fresh and exciting. I also like the fact the word cult is in difficult as we’ve often been accused of being one. 

What’s the creative process like for a band of eleven?

Every song is different. My cousin Gary who plays bass , but started on keys then moved to guitar writes 1 classic song a year. Pretty much fully formed other than lyrics and melody and I come up with those. Cross the Road started just as a song I would sing to my kids , but then I came into jamming and the guys were playing a reggae/ska groove and it just fitted well on that. Some songs develop like Disco Colin , that we jammed then played live,  but without set parts,  but once we’re in the studio recording the brass will spend time working on parts and we all tend to step our game up. This is Your House and We Are The Dinosaurs were fun ones because we developed them further when in recording the album. Gal our producer has loads of amazing synths and drum machines as well as ideas, so we all enjoyed messing about with his gadgets. I write lyrics most days  so it’s generally something I’ve been writing about that will make its way into a song if I’ve got a message or idea I want to convey, or just some nonsense or something I find funny that I hope comments with people. If a lyric comes with a melody normally I’m onto a winner.

When was the album recorded and how did you approach the production process? 

We recorded it before lockdown over the course of about a year, just occasional weekends and days here and there. Gal who produced it, helped inspire us to try new things and up our game and take the sound to a different level. The band all had input , but by the time we had everything recorded. It would mainly be me , Gal and Disco Colin(Keyboard) sitting listening, bringing things in and out. Doing that as a 3 was a good thing as its democracy in action. My philosophy is to serve the song. If your idea isn’t the best for the song you need to put your ego to the side. 

How has a band so renowned for their live shows been coping over lockdown? 

We’ve all had our ups and downs , but I think we’re all in a pretty good place at the moment, we’re lucky we all have day jobs so it wasn’t as difficult for us, as other musicians and crew. There are more important things going on and we know when live music returns we’ll be part of bringing happiness to people, so we’re really looking forward to that. As a band that’s been together for a long time it’s probably been a healthy thing to have some space for a while, as we can appreciate each other and what we do collectively more. It’s not how we planned it , but you need to try and take some positives out of negatives if you can.  

Where are you most excited to play live when the time comes?

Festivals, festivals , festivals. All the festivals!!! Playground , Belladrum , Party In The Park, Party at The Palace , Lindisfarne and Woodzstock. 

What track off the new album are you most excited to play to a live crowd and why? 

Ted Dancin’, loads of 6th Dijon have sent us videos of them dancing around their houses to it. Folk are going to go wild for it live. This Is Your House and We Are The Dinosaurs as well, just to see what happens , how the crowds react and what interaction and connection we get with them. 

What does the rest of 2021 hold for the Dijon 5? 

We were lucky to get some funding from Creative Scotland to do an album launch streaming gig from our spiritual home the Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom, that will go out on the 1st of May. We’re recording in the Barras Market as well as the Ballroom and parts of the building, so will be great for folk to see different bits of the Barras they’ve never seen before, with some history, comedy and usual Dijon visual explosion, because there’s no crowd we’re pulling out all the stops so it’s all singing all dancing, all kicking our own height. After that any live music at all even if that’s playing in peoples gardens. 

https://www.facebook.com/colonelmustardandthedijon5

What is your name and role within Kyoshi Mother?

My name is Leah Wilkie, I front the band playing keys and singing, and I do quite a lot of the song writing as well.

Where are you currently based?

I live in Newtown, the boys all live in and around Newtown and Marrickville too so we’re more or less based in Sydney’s Inner west – a great hub for local artists.

What’s been happening recently and how has your Covid experience been so far?

Well, Covid for me personally was amazing. I loved being able to slow down, and to do a lot of self-work and self-reflection. We don’t get a lot of opportunity to do that in our society, we really have to make time for ourselves if we want it. I felt that collectively too, everybody really needed to realise the importance of slowing down and learning to sit with ourselves. On the other side of that, I am also excited that things are opening up again for everybody – although I do hope that everyone can find a bit more of a balance coming out of their experience in 2020.

Your new single ‘Mother’ is out today, what influenced the sound and song writing?

Collective feminine energy was the big inspiration for Mother! I really felt energised by a lot of the amazing women in my life, and inspired by some of the leading female artists in the scene too like; Allysha Joy, Moonchild and Nai Palm. I really wanted to honour the creativity, and the divinity that lies within us and is all around, through nature, connectivity and love.

How did you go about writing Mother?

Well, I was sitting at the piano, I had the bass line and the vocal melody in my head already, and then I settled on some chords. The lyrics really just flowed straight out of me at the time – something that does not happen often in the writing process for me. It was something that I just really needed to express – It was also a reminder to myself to honour my own creativity and divine femininity too. To always show myself more love!

Where and when did you record/produce/master and who with?

We did most of the recording at Coda Audio and at Yianni’s house (our guitarist and synth player) over 2019 with our recording engineer Felix Abrahams. Felix also mixed our record, we did that at his place, and Madalyn Henly from Viking Lounge Studio is our mastering engineer.

How did you approach the recording process?

We went in a little blind, it being our first record and all. We definitely learnt a lot coming out of the experience, we know what we would do again and what we would totally change next time round. But we had a lot of fun recording and adding parts in, we really took our time with everything too. We preferred to sit on ideas and flesh things out as they came rather than rushing.

You’re playing 8th April at Waywards – Newtown, what do you have in store for this gig?

Yes! We are so so excited for this show, I am bursting to play live again. The show is going to be huge, we’ll be playing some tunes off our upcoming record, there will be ethereal soundscapes and improvised interludes and jams (amongst other things) – we always love throwing in some improv and just vibe off each other.

You have a debut album pencilled in for around August 2021, can you give us a hint of what to expect?

The love child of a caramel slice and a sticky date pudding, but for your ears.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

I’ve been loving Edu Lobo’s album Cantiga De Longe, some delicious Brazilian music, Yussef Dayes’ and Tom Misch’s latest creation What Kinda Music, Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange – some crazy creators from Melbourne, and Epoch by Alfa Mist.

What do you like to do away from music?

I love to read actually, always got a couple of books on the go. I practice yoga often, I run small groups for friends too – honestly it keeps me sane! I’ve just started running women’s circles too – something I am extremely excited about continuing. Cooking is also a very cathartic practice for me. I’m also a music teacher, so I pour lots of my energy into that. I absolutely adore the crazy cycle of knowledge, and sharing something that I’m so passionate about with others is just so incredibly rewarding.

What’s planned for 2021?

For me, 2021 is all about honouring my own needs, and really becoming the person I want to be, surrounding myself with beautiful humans, and creating my own opportunities. I’m also really excited to see how Kyoshi’s path unfolds this year, really focus on expanding our flavour but mostly just really enjoying one another and enjoying the journey.

https://www.triplejunearthed.com/artist/kyoshi

https://www.facebook.com/kyoshiband/

https://www.instagram.com/kyoshi_band/

Her unique take on Americana music (infusing it with pop, rock and neo-roots) sets her apart and makes people take notice.  Her new single, “Have It All” is no exception.  A soaring tune, that showcases her vocal prowess, and not to mention songwriting skills – the new single is a powerful anthem for those finding their voice.  “This song is for anyone who can’t use their voice,” says Toner, “whether it’s out of fear or because the system has told you to be quiet, this is for you.”  The SOCAN Songwriter of the Year grew up in New Brunswick, and was surrounded by music.She was classically trained on the violin and spent many years with the prestigious New Brunswick Youth Orchestra with whom she played Carnegie Hall. She continued on to study theatre in Toronto and spent 10 years in a successful acting career including shows produced by Mirvish Productions and Soulpepper Theatre. Three Toronto productions Toner was part of have won Dora awards. For 7 seasons she was an integral part of the repertory cast at the Charlottetown Festival before returning to her first love: songwriting.

https://aliciatoner.ca/

https://www.facebook.com/aliciatonermusic

https://www.instagram.com/aliciatonermusic/?hl=en

Where are you currently based?

I still live at home with my parents in Temecula, California.

What’s been happening recently and how has you Covid experience been so far?

My COVID experience has been pretty positive because that’s been the most time I’ve ever had to work on music and to really just delve into what I love.

How did you first start playing music?

I’ve grown up with a lot of music. Mormons have an entire hour… Well, not an entire hour, but they sing a lot in church and a lot of Mormon kids get piano lessons. So, my family was always musically inclined and all of that. So, I’ve always played instruments and stuff, but I got my first guitar and I’m the best at the guitar. I got my first guitar when I was 13.

Your new single ‘Violent’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting?

I would say the sound, it’s a Lil Peep type beat. So of course, Lil Peep influenced it. The writing, what influenced the writing is honestly, I wrote that song really fast. It literally just came to me, but at the time, I was in kind of like a bad relationship. So, I’m sure the reason those kind of painful lyrics came to me so easily is because that’s kind of what I was feeling on the inside.

How did you go about writing Violent?

I just found the beat and then it was really catchy. I just decided to write to it, and in 30 minutes, it was done.

Where and when did you record/produce/master and who with?

I recorded it in my bedroom on my Apple headphones late at night. I actually couldn’t even sing that loud because my parents were sleeping. So, on the, “… back door,” part I had to kind of do it quietly, which it probably wouldn’t turn out maybe better if I had full done it, but I don’t know. Then it was produced by a guy named Khalil in Turkey. Yeah, it was a YouTube beat.

Violent blew up on TikTok, how did this come about?

Someone just asked for it on TikTok. They were Like, “I need Violent on TikTok,” and I was like, “Say less.” So, I put a screen recording of it up and then it kind of just went from there.

How has this massive exposure impacted your life, I hear it led to you being signed?

Yes. I got signed, which has been really great, and it’s also impacted my life. It’s stressful in a way to have that many eyes on you, but it’s also really rewarding in a way that I feel kind of a responsibility to speak out on issues and just be really honest and be a good person in the industry because obviously, there’s a lot of good people, but I feel like there’s a good place for me to… I’m really relatable and a lot of people can… I’m a good story of success because I came from a really bad place and look at me now.

You grew up as a Mormon with a very strong connection with your mother, how has life changed over the years?

I’ve always been really, really close to my mom. I think I would say the person I got closer to, I didn’t used to be very close to my dad, but I’m really close to him now, too. I have a really good relationship with both my parents, but I left the church when I was 13 or 14. I just kind of stopped going and told my parents, “Oh, I don’t believe in this.” But they’ve always been very, even though I don’t believe in… Obviously, it’s been a struggle telling your parents you don’t believe in that and I was always super rebellious and kind of a bad kid sometimes. So, our relationship was really strained, but I think my parents understand now. They just understand who I am, why I did those things. Yeah.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

I listen to a lot of Slug Christ and I was into a lot of Future and Earth Eater. I listen to a lot of Midwestern emo music like The Story So Far. That’s lately.

What do you like to do away from music?

To be honest, my other hobby is literally just smoking. I like to bake, and I like to cook. I really like to eat. I’m a foodie.

What’s planned for 2021?

To release the best album that’s ever been made.

Favourite food and place to hangout?

That’s my favorite food and my favorite place to hang out in my garage. I know it sounds crazy. I love my garage. I have done everything in this garage. There are so many memories here, but now, we have a nice TV and a couch. Yeah, I just like hanging out in my garage.

Where are you based?

Glasgow, Scotland 

What influenced the sound behind your debut EP on In The Event of Capture Records, titled Pàrtaig?

I wanted to make something that combined my love of warm, emotional, electronic music with my Scots Gaelic heritage. Trying to bring a stomping barn dance vibe and the club energy of Glasgow together. I tend to see my music on two sides of the fence.  Either being industrial and driven, like Glasgow or slow and melancholic, like the Outer Hebrides. I wanted to try and fit these two headspaces together, so set out to make a bunch of tracks that contained both, rather than being opposed to each other and this is the result.

How did you approach the recording and production process for the EP?

It was varied.   Mostly trying different composition and structural techniques and pieces of equipment out.  The majority of it was made on my modular system, mostly just jamming with bleeps and bloops, hooks, samples and percussive things then fleshing out ideas and parts until they came together in a satisfying way.

What track are you most excited to play live when the time comes, and why?

Hard to choose!  The title track definitely, but it’s Yamazona I’m most excited to hear.  It’s got a dense thump and a slightly odd but glowing feeling to it. I think it will be potent over a big system.

The title of the EP is the gaelic word for Partick which is where you’re from in Glasgow. What do you think makes the city’s nightlife and club scene so special? 

A satisfied Glaswegian crowd is a formidable force. When an artist plays the right song in the right setting, crowds just explode with energy.  It’s spontaneous, No one can really predict it but when it happens, you get this intense feeling in the air which is palpable for everyone involved. It’s hilarious, genuine and long may it continue! I personally think it’s a combination of endless optimism and being continuously disappointed by the weather that gives us that extra special something. 

What is your creative process like and how much has lockdown influenced this?  

Good question.  It’s definitely changed since last year but I’m not sure if that’s entirely lockdown related or just that things were naturally at a crossroad for me in terms of my workflow.

 I’d been working on my studio setup for about 3 months prior to lockdown to encourage this new process so they weirdly dovetailed in March. Suddenly I had a lot of extra time and a new studio environment to distract me from the external chaos. I think I possibly did a year’s worth of problem solving and ironing out snags in a week, and got straight into making music with a sense of urgency which I think was in part due to the anxiety of the situation.

In my creative space, I’ll typically have thought about something that day or I’ll become aware of being in a certain mood.  Pick a sound, possibly manipulate a sample or find a nice oscillator tone and within about 5 minutes I’ll have a basic idea, then I just follow my instincts. Sometimes I can feel it instantly adding up, sometimes it doesn’t. I just try to trust my gut and ignore my head. 

How did you begin working with ‘In the Event of Capture’?

Through a mutual friend who had sent ITEOC a bunch of tracks I’d been working on late in the summer.  We then got in touch and discussed the possibility of doing something together and it all just seemed to naturally take shape from there. 

When did you first decide you wanted to make music? 7 years old. Listening to a compilation of electro music. As soon as I heard a synthesiser/drum machine/sequencer combo for the first time. I will never forget it. I was instantly obsessed. 

Who are your biggest musical influences?

Cristian Vogel, UR, Boards of Canada, Delia Derbyshire, Carl Craig, KDJ, Aphex Twin, Stefan Betke, CAN, Parliament Funkadelic. Also by my two grandfathers, who were both musical.

Once the world can dance again, where are you most excited to play?  

Any outdoor music event, preferably in the sunshine

What does the rest of 2021 hold for you? 

Clearly keeping myself and those around me safe and well, and hopefully lots of interesting musical adventures.  Getting more confident performing with my modular system (in the studio for the moment).  Releasing more music, I have an album ready that I think explores the more experimental/weird side of my musical mind. It’s turned out sounding like I am having an internal conversation with my ancestors via a modular synth! Really keen to work with a filmmaker and bring other dimensions into that. Have an  EP in a similar vein to Partaig which is done and dusted and some other tracks recorded and ready for something. A thumping summer party track that’s almost finished. Lots of music, Be nice to get to the Western Isles at some point later in the year (lockdown permitting)  just to breathe and remind myself of life outside the city. I daydream that I’ll be able to take a battery operated drum machine with me and I’ll find a PA system setup on the beach to entertain myself with the seagulls and sheep all nodding along.

www.facebook.com/intheeventofcapture/

Intheeventofcapture.bandcamp.com/

www.instagram.com/we_should_hang_out_more/

“Andy John Jones brings a mesmerising mix of eccentric Funk/Disco mashed with a very British-esque unhinged rock n roll vibe, a fresh, brash and ragged sound that tingles every pore of the body.” – The Partae

Where are you currently based? 

Currently I’m based in Tuscany, Italy where my girlfriend is from. We were  previously based in London but after the pandemic happened there was only so  long we could stay because of obvious financial reasons. My girlfriend grew up on a  farm here so we moved last June to be with her family.  

How did you first start playing music?  

Well I was writing from a pretty young age. I wanted to be a screenwriter/actor and  star in my own films so I was brimming with ideas for stories etc. I used to play  amateur rugby for my local hometown under 16s and broke my leg when I was  about 14. I had had an interest in music but it didn’t really blossom til my mum  brought a copy of Walk The Line home to watch when I was at home in a cast. I  was just mesmerised with the Johnny Cash story and his music and that lead me  onto Rock bands and Blues artists like Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and  Muddy Waters. I was still pretty fixated on screenwriting and acting, however, until  me and a group of friends snuck off to Glastonbury in 2009 when we should have  been doing our exams. There I saw Bruce Springsteen headline the festival and it  was like nothing I had ever seen. I didn’t really know any of his music but after that  show I was totally converted. I felt like I was at church and I had found my religion.  Since then it’s been all I want to do.  

What’s been happening recently and how has your Covid experience been?

Well we’ve been in Tuscany for almost 10 months now and I couldn’t be more  grateful for it. When the pandemic kicked off my girlfriend and I were not in great  financial situations. I had been busking full time in London for 4 years, at that point  trying to move onto gigging full time for various hotels, bars and agencies, and she  was a barista trying to get onto the London Underground for a better wage. Our  financial situations were precarious at best. When the pandemic happened I lost a  hotel residency I had in Kensington, the agency I had literally joined 3 weeks before  lost all their gigs and she was fired from her job. I had no money and had to take a  job working for the forestry commission on the Scottish border just to cover some  rent for the initial couple of months. When the job had finished by May it didn’t take  us long to make up our minds and head back to her family’s home where the  difference in pace, the familial solidarity, the weather and the food has certainly  made a huge difference on our mental health. Outside of working for her old man  I’ve really been able to sit down and focus on how I want to get my recorded music  out there.  

Your track ‘Come Bring Your Hype Here’ is out now, what influenced the  sound and songwriting? 

The song had a lot of influences to be fair. The opening riff came first which I kind of  felt was like what Alex Turner might do if he did an impression of Jimi Hendrix and  that kind of set the tone for the rest of the song. My band and I took a lot of classic  Funk and Disco style tropes and just kind of meshed them together but wanted to  keep that very British, Arctic Monkeys-esque attitude. 

 Then came the lyrical content. At the time I was busking there were protests  nearly every weekend and it was frustrating if you were depending on the weekend  for the vast bulk of your bread and butter. It could get a little frustrating because a  lot of the time you’d agree with the cause which made it all the more frustrating  when you couldn’t earn any money or get home. It was annoying when you’d speak  to people in the protests and they just wouldn’t seem to get that or, worse yet, even  know a damn thing about the reason why they were there almost as though they  were joining ‘a hype’. But one of the best things I noticed was come the evening  time us buskers, when we finished, usually cracked open a few cans and  sometimes even had a jam and that would attract all sorts of people over.  Sometimes you’d get two completely opposing opinions from the protests/counter protests and just watch as they’d argue and then just talk it out as human beings.  Agreeing to disagree.  

 Social media and mainstream news has us believing there are these huge  divides in society and they have a lot to answer for in my opinion. You’ll be  surprised how reluctant people often are to get into disagreements if they’re face to  face like human beings. Now, obviously it wasn’t always the way but when it did  happen it was great. It reminded me of a Bill Hicks skit where he’s making the  argument to legalise weed and how much the world would just be a better place if  they did. “Shut up and smoke this!”. Well for me it was much more British. “Come  on, why don’t we settle this over a pint?”. So the song kind of evolved out of this  idea of ‘what if utopia were this crazy dive bar where there was only one rule; you  leave your differences at the door’.  

How did Come Bring Your Hype Here come about? 

Well that was all the beginning of the song. After that I kind of based the bar on the  pub I worked in for two years when I was 19 which just made sense because it was  an Indie Rock Bar and the style of the song was very much heading in that  direction. The other great thing about it was that everyone in the town seemed to  pass through at least once in the night. It was class. It just had this universal  appeal. I’ll never forget that.  

Where and when did you record/produce/master and who with? So the funding for the track came about after a Kickstarter crowd funding campaign  I set up in the back end of 2019. My fans subsequently funded the recording of my  debut album, which is due for release October 22nd, and CBYHH is the next single  from that. The song has been recorded with one of my best friends who saw me  busking back in 2016. He was in his first year of a music production course at  university and asked if I wanted to work with him and we’ve been working together  ever since. Minus the drums, which we did at his university, the bulk of the album  was recorded in the various bedrooms he was staying in in London. Come Bring  Your Hype Here was his flat in Richmond I believe and was one of the ones we had  to finish during lockdown in May/June. I was renting Boris bikes and cycling to his  flat, avoiding public transport for obvious reasons, just so we could get the album  done before my girlfriend and I had to leave the country.  

How did you approach the songwriting process?

Well I always try to make sure the song is either playable or malleable to being  played solo because I can’t always afford my band mates, The Ginkgo Milk, who  also play on this track. So it’s important the songs are engaging with or without a  band. Interesting guitars are a priority as is a vocal melody. My main passion is for  the lyrics though. As a writer I try to make them as impactful as possible with  respect to the theme or mood of the song.  

What programs/instruments did you use? 

So the program we used was Pro Tools. Instruments wise it’s your classic Funk  Rock song. Drums, Bass, Guitars. What else do you need, right? Haha  

Who are you listening to at the moment? 

At the moment I’m listening to a lot from the Black Pumas who I’ve been in love with  since that album came out. A lot of Frank Zappa too. What a genius he was! Hailu  Mergia and the Dahlak Band’s album Wade Harer Guzo is not far from my ears  these days as well as various Jazz artists. I’m also pretty big on John Mayer and  Norah Jones.  

What do you like to do away from music? 

I’ve done MMA in my spare time, on and off, when finances have allowed since I  was about 20. It’s purely amateur, hobby and fitness related though. I just find a lot  of them totally fascinating, character building and great fun. I’m hoping to compete  in amateur bouts some day but I think there’s a long way to go. They also keep me  out of the pub which I think is my number one hobby as a true English man haha! I  also love film, literature, hiking/camping, cooking, history, politics…I’m a bit of a  Jack of all Trades master of sod all haha! So many interests so little time, I guess.  

What’s planned for 2021? 

For 2021 I’m going to be releasing singles until the full album is out come October.  I’ll also be growing my YouTube channel, recording more music and just trying to  connect with current fans and building new ones to the best of my ability. It’s a great  time to be a musician because of this first hand access social media allows us to  have with our audience and I look forward to trying to use these tools to reach out  to potential listeners.  

Favourite food and place to hangout? 

Crisps and pubs haha!

LISTEN/DOWNLOAD

https://ampl.ink/2LzQJ

This album is a collection of a bunch of creative phases for you, it seems – what does it mean for you to have this music packaged up in this way now?

With regards to the new material on Echo Lodge, how does that music sit with you in terms of its significance now?

It’s an ambitious thing to release music in this way – did you have any apprehension over the roll out?

What does making music (the craft of it) mean to you now as we come off the back of 2020?

You’ve been able to perform some shows recently, how were those experiences?

Being based in Victoria, how are you anticipating this year with regards to being able to bring your music to more stages as the year progresses?

What is your name and role within Inklines?

Will – I sing and play guitar.

Where are you currently based and how has your Covid experience been so far?

We’re all based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. The last year has been interesting, with how much the whole environment of live music has changed. There’s been a lot of down time but we’ve kept busy writing and recording new music. Jamming heaps! 

How did Inklines form?

I asked Tom if he wanted to drum with me after I saw him playing in a mate’s band, at a local show. My brother Jason was playing bass for a while, but he wanted to do other things so we called up Dan, who Tom knew from school, and convinced him to join.

What’s been happening recently?

We’ve been jamming heaps which has been really good. Keeping busy with promoting and preparing singles. We played our first show in 12 months just a few weeks back, which was great fun! 

Your new single ‘Blossom’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting?

I think I was mainly just going for simplicity. I got the idea for wanting to do a big outro riff from Madison Cunningham’s song – “Song In My Head”.

How did Blossom come about?

I recorded the riff into my phone recorder a year or so ago. It just randomly popped into my head one night and I started writing bass lines under the riff. For about a week, I would record a different little line or chord voicing and add it on there until I just worked out what I wanted, where. 

Where and when did you record/produce/master and who with?

We recorded this and 6 other songs in a house on a farm just outside of Goulbourn. Lachlan West engineered, produced, recorded, mixed and mastered the whole session.

What programs/equipment did you use?

You’d have to ask Lachlan about the programs – I think Logic? The guitars in this track are primarily a Fender Telecaster & a Gibson SG Custom, with a J45 for some extra percussive textures. Tom played on an old Ludwig kit that Lachy owns. Dan uses a J bass & a P bass, I’m not certain what he used on this track but my guess would be P.

How did you approach the recording process?

We always like to get the fundamentals down from a live session. So, all the bass & drums and some rhythm guitars are taken from one of the 7 or 8 takes we do, of each song. Then I add all the extra guitar layers and vocals in later.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

I’m not actually listening to much at the moment. I’ve just kind of been relistening to things from the last 2 or 3 years. My most recent obsession was The Neighbourhood’s “Chip Chrome and the Monotones”, and I still love to listen to that, but I haven’t much else that I’ve been super excited about since.

What do you like to do away from music, now things are less locked down?

Recently I’ve mostly been busy preparing to be a father! My daughter is due in May. So I’ve been spending lots of time with my girlfriend, building cots, shopping for small clothes and all the rest! We also have a small business so I’ve been focussing on pushing that as much as possible.

You’re playing Saturday, March 27th Secret Location, Brookvale Sydney, what can we expect from an Inklines show?

We’ve actually just rescheduled the show for April 2nd! Normally you can expect us to play loud and hard, but for this one we’re taking it down a notch and giving the acoustic “unplugged” thing a go.

What’s planned for 2021?

We’ve got a bunch of songs to release so that will be the main focus! We’ll definitely play some shows when we can but it’s a strange world out there at the moment, so we aren’t rushing into anything.

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