Interview: Biffy Clyro

PHOTO CREDIT: Michelle Grace Hunder

Mere hours before Biffy Clyro made their triumphant return for Melbourne fans, we find ourselves in the guts of The Forum, where tech crew and band members are readying themselves for showtime. Soon enough, we’re joined by the Johnston brothers – James and Ben – raring to go off the back of a momentous gig in Auckland only a few nights prior.

“We fully did not expect to be playing in front of that many people.” Ben says of their Spark Arena show. “It was a wonderful, lovely surprise to get that many. We had a great time in Auckland, we had a couple days to acclimatise and get our jet lag dealt with. It was a great start, we weren’t expecting it to be so awesome.”

Finishing their Ellipsis tour cycle in Australia, both Ben and James feel the effects of such a stretch of time out on the road with this record. With a new album already in the mix, as well as Biffy’s first time scoring a feature film in the pipeline, the band looks ahead to the exciting projects on the horizon, while also relishing these last threads of Ellipsis action.

“It’s been fun,” James says. “We’re playing the record to people who haven’t heard it before, so it’s not over! It’s just starting here. It’s always nice to move forward, we’ve got a lot of exciting things planned. We’re going to do a movie soundtrack when we get home and we’ve got another album coming.”

The next major release for Biffy Clyro is the much hyped MTV Unplugged recording that will be released later in May on both DVD and live album formats. Recorded at London’s Roundhouse, the trio brought their beloved back catalogue into an intimate setting Ben admits they didn’t think they were worthy of.

” We thought that we weren’t a big enough band to be asked to do that,” he admits. “It was a real pinch yourself moment. It took a while for it to get confirmed; we’d been asked and we thought it would never happened because we’re not a big enough band for this, but it did. We’ve got a lot of songs that work in the acoustic guise; we can definitely do that. Our wonderful live players helped us out, it was a really smashing night. Really special. I’m so glad that we’ve gotten an album out of that and a DVD.”

“I think we made the mistake, you see all those 90’s performances being so iconic, of going back and watching them all.” James adds. “We got really nervous and naturally we compared ourselves to some of our favourite bands, which was a mistake. We’re not Nirvana, as much as we love them, we’re a different thing. We just had to be ourselves, as corny as it sounds. As Ben said, it’s really nice to just play those songs stripped back and let the song be the star of the show.”

Known for their high energy shows, thrashing live presence and of course, Simon Neil‘s frenetic frontman qualities, how did Biffy Clyro deal in an environment that called for a more grounded performance vibe?

“There was nowhere for the energy to go,” James says. “There’s a lot of tension. Usually you get to smash your drums or beat your guitar and run about on stage and scream and sweat. The energy just didn’t go anywhere, so for three days after we were [pent up]. It was really strange. I think the audience, to some degree, had the same feeling.”

“We went to play the song “Bubbles” at the end and everyone started clapping out of time; the audience ruined it, basically!” he laughs. “To see that restrain…they were definitely restrained in some way. That’s the beauty of it though, it’s a different sort of thing, compared to a rock show.”

“We always used to stand with our back to the audience, mumble a hello and not say too much.” the bassist remembers. It’s such a cliche of letting the music do the talking, it’s really lazy, I know. I think we’ve gotten a bit better. I think it’s best not to take it too seriously, what you’re going to say to the audience. You’re going to say something stupid before too long.”

“It’s fun to acknowledge it as well,” Ben adds. “If it’s tense, you just say that it’s tense. That, in itself, loosens everyone up a little bit.”

It was important for Biffy Clyro to eschew as many of those ‘studio audience’ vibes as possible for their MTV Unplugged gig; down to the dressing of their stage, to the natural environment they conjured to have the connection with their fans remain as engaged as it is on any festival or headline stage.

“A lot of MTV performances in the past have been filmed in a TV studio, so it’s a bit of a sterile environment.” James says. “That’s why it was important for us to go to The Roundhouse; a place where the audience was familiar with seeing bands. It’s been a real iconic venue for decades, back home. I think that was a real big part of it, dressing the venue to look like an enchanted forest! It felt like we could make the venue our own, in that respect.”

“If you file a bunch of people into a TV studio and then expect them to act an appropriate way and get a cool vibe, it’s not going to happen.” Ben adds. “It was important it was in a venue and when you see it, it feels like gig. It doesn’t feel like a TV show.”

Above us in the main theatre hall, fans decked out in ‘BIFFY FUCKIN’ CLYRO’ t-shirts filed in excitedly, while support band WAAX prepared to take to the stage for what was to be a killer opening set. The vibe down in the artist’s area remains chill; Neil is taking his own time pre-show to rest his voice, while Ben and James are casual in the face of performing to over a thousand people out in Australia for the first time in just over four years.

It is of no real surprise though, these guys take successes and challenges as a band in their stride. For fans, this unplugged release is as much a gift from the band as it is a bucket list moment ticked off for them.

“It’s a nice bookend in a way for this period of the band,” James says. “It’s a nice way to take a wee break before we move on to the next thing; a way to celebrate the history of the band through the songs and do so with the people who have supported us all along the way.”

Interview: West Thebarton

PHOTO CREDIT: Nick Astanei
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE AU REVIEW, MAY 2018

The debut album from West Thebarton – Different Beings Being Different – will finally be unleashed on to eager fans this Friday and we can safely guarantee that for the Adelaide fans who have been on the journey with the seven piece since the beginning, this is the perfect culmination of what’s been a grind of a career over the last three years.

Pangs of nostalgia and a familial love hit hard with each reference to Adelaide watering holes and the venues that have held the band (and their other projects) up through the years; a portrait of terrain well trodden by these musicians who have been quick to establish themselves as a South Australian rock behemoth still gaining speed.

To speak with any of West Thebarton about their successes up to this point, and the impressive international and domestic commitments they’ve already got in the calendar as 2018 enters its second half, there’s no ego. And there never has been.

“It’s so humbling.” vocalist and guitarist, Ray Dalfsen says. “Growing up in Adelaide, you watch bands slog it out and you watch bands really hustle; you’re used to seeing them piss off to the east coast before they get a record deal. I guess Bad//Dreemswere the vanguard of that here and it feels really nice to be like, ‘You know what; I’m kinda setting the precedent for bands being able to stick it out in Adelaide’. To do well and show that that slog and hard work, playing to ten people in the crowd early in your career, is worth it if you’re ready to capitalise on things and ready to put in the hard yards.”

Set to release Different Beings Being Different on the newly formed Domestic La La record label, helmed by Violent Soho‘s James Tidswell, West Thebarton have found themselves in the same company as Dear Seattle – making this roster one that has started out strong.

“There’s this funny photo of Tom Gordon with Tids at the 2011 or 2010 Laneway Festival,” Dalfsen laughs. “It’s pre-pubescent looking Tom with his idol and it’s really surreal to think, ‘Oh shit – we’re on a label with not only someone who gives a shit about us, but someone who is so passionate about our music,’ after we’ve been listening to theirs for so long.”

“Around 14 months ago, when the album was all done and stuff, we were ready to just put it out ourselves. Somehow that’s grown into releasing it on Domestic La La. It’s definitely been a learning curve and it’s definitely been a cool ride.”

The ride is only just beginning too, with a massive national tour set to take West Thebarton through June, before their first international jaunt awaits. With festival appearances at Reading and Leads, Pukkelpop in Belgium just the tip of the iceberg, the band is making their entrance to the UK and European market a memorable one.

“We’re all really humble people, you know that.” Dalfsen says, looking ahead at the band’s next few months. “I don’t think we’ve ever bought into expecting those things; it is still so awesome playing these gigs. When we got told we were playing Reading and Leeds, we were freaking out. When we got told we were playing Splendour, we were still freaking out; when the line up got dropped, we were all just talking about how good it was going to be just to be at the festival. Then we realised, ‘Oh shit – we’re playing this festival, how awesome is that?'”

“We’re all just super hyped and that’s what makes the band so fun, in the first place. We get to do things that are just awesome. I’ve been watching videos from Reading Festival since I was a kid. Arctic Monkeys videos from 2007. To think that we’ll be playing Reading is just awesome.”

Approaching these shows obviously brings some nervous apprehension, but sometimes it also pays to feed into this energy and churn out the frenetic live shows Australian crowds have been associating with West Thebarton for some time now.

“I went to Primavera a couple of years ago,” Dalfsen says. “I was thinking, ‘How’s this going to go?’ – like, I doubt The Replacements could speak Portuguese and everyone was just vibing on it because it was a rock and roll show. Run the Jewels was the same – it was an awesome show and it didn’t matter than it wasn’t in the language. The language barrier doesn’t exist, as much as a cliche that is.”

“A good friend was telling me a couple of weeks ago, ‘You only have one debut album.'” he furthers. “You only have one debut album, so lap it up. That’s all that’s really going through my head; we’re getting all these chances and I’m so thankful for them because essentially, we’re untested. We haven’t had a debut album and we haven’t played to international crowds who have never seen or heard us at the Exeter before. We’ll get that chance and I can’t wait. Us playing live is really our strong point, so showing it to crowds overseas is going to be nuts.”

Before they tackle international shores though, there’s this little matter of their Australian tour to conquer first. With Pist Idiots and a slew of selected local bands on for the ride, West Thebarton are aiming to bring Different Beings Being Different to the stage in full.

“We’re making sure the tour is going to be tight,” Dalfsen says. “These are the biggest rooms that we’ve headlined to date. We’re going to be playing a longer show and we want to play the album in full. We haven’t been playing it in full, so that’s something we’ve been rehearsing. We’ve been actively writing new songs as well. Because there’s seven of us, someone’s always got an idea.”

“I’m in the pre-season at the moment, I think that’s what we’re all thinking. Being at the eye of the storm is the best descriptor of it, I think things are really going to kick off and it’s going to be awesome fun. It’s going to be us doing what we do best.”

When you listen to Different Beings Being Different, the authenticity that you see bursting through each West Thebarton show is presented in a pure and unadulterated fashion. There’s anger, there’s euphoria, there’s reflection and there’s an unashamed love of the genre and the environment each member has come up in musically; it’s made this debut album the best snapshot possible of where West Thebarton has come from and the band they are now.

“With “Reasons” as an example, one of the songs around the middle of the record, I had this desire to really show off raw emotion, all those feelings that it made me feel.” Dalfsen explains. “Even when I sing that song live, I feel angry. I feel pent up anger and so much frustration. It’s really funny because when we were recording that, I was getting really angry with myself because I wasn’t happy with the vocal takes. I kept on going at it and I think that is a defining moment of the record because I knew how I wanted things to sound, and it was just getting there that was the tough bit. When we got there, I think all that raw emotion really shone through.”

“I guess that’s a way of describing our career. It’s just slogging it out and it’s really working at it; we know what we want, and it’s getting there.”

Interview: Ecca Vandal

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE AU REVIEW, OCTOBER 2017

Shimmering keys production leads into a pounding marriage of drums and guitar. Enter Ecca Vandal‘s banshee high range, soon to be joined by Jason Aalon Butler‘s guttural notes and punk royalty Dennis Lyxzén. The latest weapon out of Ecca Vandal’s musical arsenal is “Price of Living” – a hip hop licked punk fireball, it’s a statement on the harsh realities asylum seekers face everyday.

Drawing upon some well made networks in bringing this collaboration to life, “Price of Living” is a remarkable example of the way Ecca has managed to defy genre expectations.

She knows it too.

“I’m really passionate about community,” she says. “I’m really passionate about breaking down walls. Normally, you wouldn’t see those particular names together, but why not? That’s my question. Why not? We’re all stuck in our little communities or our pockets of social scenes but it’s like, ‘Why can’t the punks hang out with the hip hop kids? Why can’t the coloured people hang out with the white people?’ – all of those concepts are ones that I think about a lot. I think, conceptually, that’s what I’ve done. I’ve, hopefully, brought people together.”

The long awaited debut album from Ecca Vandal drops on Friday and from what we’ve heard of Ecca Vandal already, the record charts the Melbourne musician’s chaotic journey from “White Flag” to now pretty damn accurately. But while the hype continues to grow and the international interest is getting stronger (Ecca heads out on tour in the UK with Frank Turner & The Rattlesnakes in December), Ecca herself remains calm and collected. If she isn’t, she’s got incredible poker face game.

“I’ve gone through the whole process, you know?” she laughs. “I’ve loved the album, I’ve not known if I’ve liked it, I haven’t been sure if it’s any good. All of those thoughts have gone through my head over the last six months and right now, I’m feeling excited.”

“It is challenging and it does take a lot of energy, thought and time.” she adds. “The self-care that is needed amongst it all is bizarre.”

She reflects on the making of Album Number One with a sense of nostalgia, almost; Ecca Vandal may be the album to bring newcomers to the fold but for the leading lady herself, this has been a long time in the making. A part of a much larger story.

“I felt the progression,” Ecca muses. “I have definitely felt like I’ve grown as a songwriter. I definitely feel that I’ve been the most free in this process. I think I’ve always tried to maintain that sense of freedom and removed any kind of limitations or restrictions applied by styles and genres and categories.”

“I really started that mission a long time ago, but with this particular record, I think it’s really exploratory and I’ve really allowed myself to go into those areas. I didn’t want to put any restrictions on it; in fact, I really wanted to show different sides of myself. There’s so much more vulnerability, I think, in some of these recordings than say, “Battle Royal” or “White Flag”. There are delicate moments and there are really abrasive moments; they’re all part of who I am.”

The tour that is due to kick off around Australia next month brings Ecca to some of the largest venues she’s ever played. From club venues to the Corner Hotel in Melbourne, the excitement she speaks with is infallible.

“Everything is really interesting in terms of the live process,” she says. “It’s been recorded and tracked already, so we’re trying to work out how to do that in the live atmosphere. Everyone is playing everything live and I’m really proud of that, that we don’t have to rely on other backing tracks. It’s going to be a fun run of shows; these are my biggest shows, so it is nerve wracking but it is exciting. I mean, I’m going to play the Corner Hotel, it’s an iconic venue!”

While artists like Ecca have the platform to switch things up, musically and performance-wise, in bringing music fans an experience they can properly sink their teeth into and escape the normal banalities of life through, it’s still a struggle in a lot of ways. While, to many, Ecca Vandal is still a new name; the graft she, Kidnot and her band have been putting in extends years prior to now. With Ecca Vandal showcasing the likes of not only Lyxzén and Jason Aalon Butler, but Sampa The Great and Darwin Deez on the credits too, it’s obvious that pushing through restrictions or any boundaries put in place for Ecca, boundaries put in place decades ago, is something this artist relishes.

 perfect contender for stages like that of the annual UNIFY Gathering (where’s her call up, organisers?), the punk fireball we mention at the beginning is only just heating up and getting started.

“I think we’re getting there,” Ecca says, commenting on the diversifying of Australian music. “I think there’s definitely a lot more experimenting happening. I do think there is a lot of great music out there, but I do think a lot of it sounds the same. I think, personally, the magic happens when the combo is right and when you can put different combos together and go, ‘Okay – what can we create?’. That’s when we are actually being really creative, not when we’re being copycats. When we’re being artists and when we’re doing what we’re supposed to do as artists. I think that that’s all in the combination. That’s why I really love having unexpected collaborations and processes. I never thought that I would write a song like this with Darwin Deez, for example, on “Your Orbit”. I think it’s great. It’s about being inclusive and being open minded; it comes down to being up for the adventure of it too.”

“You get challenged and somebody will put an idea forward from a different perspective and you go, ‘Wow – I never thought about it like that,’ and it challenges you to open your thinking process and ultimately, improve. I think that’s a positive thing, it’s a win-win situation. That’s why I’m a massive advocate for embracing that, it’s important for me to keep doing that.”