Where are you currently based?
Melbourne.
How did the band form?
Tetsuians formed out of the ashes of a previous band The Wireless, with Andrew Jackson and I (Trent Price), teaming up with Amber Craske on bass. That line-up lasted for two albums.
What’s been happening recently?
The addition of Chris Corvetti (lead guitar) and Luke Guan (bass) has been pretty revelatory. The sound we imagined we could produce with a full line-up was realised almost immediately. It’s a credit to their innate ear for what works musically.
You have a new album on the way which you are launching on Saturday September 3rd @Mama Chen’s Footscray, Melbourne. What do you have instore for this show?
We have Melbourne band Billy Cart supporting us, who have promised to bring some interesting visual effects and undisclosed ‘surprises’, so not to be upstaged, I guess we’ll have to execute some upside-down drum solos. Failing that I’ll probably have to nail myself to a gantry or something.
What influenced the sound and songwriting for this album?
A lot of Supergrass, Wild Flag and Teenage Fanclub. So if you love them you’ll probably hate us.
How did you approach the songwriting process?
It’s become almost clichéd now but 90% of this album was written in lockdown, but I had a pretty serious hospital scare last year which gave me a lot of downtime to hone the lyrics, which in retrospect was kinda useful. I wouldn’t recommend it as a regular writing technique though.
Where and when did you record/produce/master and who did you work with?
This is our second album with Brad Jackson at Supersonic Recordings, who’s been brilliant to work with. One of the easiest guys to work with but he has a subtle way of pushing you to do better, so there’s no risk of getting too comfortable. The album was mastered by John Ruberto at Mastersound. What’s great is that John wasn’t going for overall volume and really focused on bringing out the textures of the recordings. It’s still a punchy record, but it steers away from the current trend towards waking the dead. Streaming has had a massive influence (largely negative) on that type of recording.
Please tell us about the recording process:
We did basic tracking in early 2021, then went away to muse on how the finished product might sound. You always have an idea, but sometimes it’s good to let it gestate and experiment a bit. Being in and out of lockdown meant we had a mixture of home and studio overdubs. We were recording the same time as our mates the Maggie Pills were recording their new album, so we saw a lot of them and got to hear a lot of sneak previews. It’s gonna be sick when it comes out!
What do you have planned for the remainder of 2022 going into 2023?
After our album launch at Mamma Chen’s we’re going to be supporting Grups for their residency at the Tote on September 17. The vinyl for our new album is running a bit late, so while we’ve got CD’s we’re likely to have another special vinyl launch on the next month or so. We’re also in talks about some gigs on the Apple Isle in January so stay tuned…
Who are you listening to at the moment?
‘Cockroach in a Ghost Town’ by Slang and ‘Chomp’ by Pylon.
Favourite food and place to hangout?
If you like chocolate and records, you can’t go past Oh! Jeans Records in Fitzroy. The have the best collection of NZ artists and confectionary you’ll find this side of the Tasman Sea and probably the best coffee in Melbourne. It’s also run by two of the loveliest people you’ll ever meet.
Socials
https://www.facebook.com/Tetsuians
https://www.instagram.com/tetsuians/
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3asjMtKj3yCeZ3Lg2hVl4m?si=AoNbQV0yTyOm7QlWx0Gang
