Françoise Hardy’s cover of “Suzanne” in French:
Author: aftertheshow (Page 135 of 191)
Melbourne-based musician Jess Cornelius generously answered some questions about what’s next for Teeth & Tongue (the upcoming album, GRIDS, will be released in early April 2014, and new single “Newborn” comes out later this month):
After The Show: I really like the complex rhythms and lo-fi guitars on older songs like “Vaseline on the Lens” and “Unfamiliar Skirts.” How does GRIDS sound compared to your past work?
Jess Cornelius: Thanks! There are definitely some similarities, but with this album I was experimenting a lot more with layered vocals and harmonies, and using the voice a lot more for rhythm and texture. We’ve also used synths a bit more, and retained the not-so-subtle ‘fake’ drum machine sounds rather than opting for ‘live’ sounds. I also found myself choosing this really harsh, digitally-processed fuzz guitar sound for a couple of the tracks, which I hadn’t felt comfortable with before, but it’s used sparingly!
What is “Good Man” about?
It’s kind of about making poor decisions! And the difficulty of trusting your own instincts when there are so many distractive influences. I didn’t set out to write the album this way, but it seems like a lot of the songs on it follow this theme of being happy with what you’ve got, knowing when to accept things, or when to change things, and when you’re just asking way too much. I guess it’s about finding satisfaction, and not always searching for something better.
How does that song fit into the rest of GRIDS, sonically?
Sonically it’s not quite as integrated in the album as a whole. There are certainly other tracks on the record that use a similar percussive vocal layering, but there are a lot more guitars on the rest of it I think. “Good Man” was one of the most simple songs in terms of arrangement, and I wrote it for a solo US tour because I was quite restricted in what I could perform on my own. Sometimes restrictions really are the best.
That’s cool that you also work as a copywriter & editor, but (ideally) someone of your musical caliber should have the freedom to focus on music full-time. How do you balance the two? Are you more encouraged or discouraged by the music industry today?
I just think the world is different. It used to bother me that some of the great (and relatively successful) musicians around me weren’t able to make a living from music, but I’ve increasingly found it sort of liberating. I really enjoy the work I do and I only do it part time so I’m lucky.
It means that when I make decisions about music—whether it’s creative decisions about the music itself, or management or touring decisions —I don’t have to make choices based on what might be popular or commercially viable. It becomes more about doing what you love rather than turning it all into a business enterprise. Of course, it still is a business in a way, and there’s still lots of boring decisions to make, but I’m not writing songs that I think will end up on a soft drink ad just so I can pay the rent. I’ve also found it really valuable to have interests and occupations other than music to act as a bit of a counter balance. Putting yourself out there all the time, in a fairly fickle industry, can be hard on the psyche.
Travelling to the US (and then touring from state to state) is a big investment…do you have plans to play in LA or NYC in 2014?
It is a big investment and the first time I did it solo because of that. It was quite hard the second time (for CMJ) with the whole band, but it was fun, and we got some financial help from the arts funding bodies here too. I would love to come back and play in New York, LA, San Francisco and even Austin again, but we’ll have to wait and see! It’s always a good time.
Keep an eye on TeethandTongue.com + (fyi) “Family Home” will be the last song on GRIDS.
Uh Huh Her were nice enough to share a first listen, one minute preview of their new single “Innocence” (which comes out on February 4th) AND answer some questions about their upcoming “Avant Pop” LP, Future Souls.
After The Show: What is “Innocence” about…what inspired you to write it?
Uh Huh Her: Without giving too much away, the song is mainly about lost innocence in a world where most people have seen so much at tender young ages because of…the media, on tv, and social media. Knowing everything at all times is such an all encompassing part of existence now, and the song plays to the scarier side of that.
How does “Innocence” fit into the rest of the Future Souls LP?
It plays into the record in that the questions the songs pose are mostly philosophical in nature. I tend to ask a lot of questions and am constantly wondering…what existence even means, where we are heading and what we are evolving as a species into. It’s super light material. HA. Future Souls is kind of synonymous with those questions.
Anything you want to share about the recording process?
It was very leisurely and experimental and without limitation, so we had a really good time making this album. We got to collaborate with some amazing folks as well, so that was pretty ace.
I love the vocal harmonies on older songs like “Run” and “Say So.” How does the upcoming album sound compared to Common Reaction?
It’s similar in that we went back to a more electro/pop sound with a little added soul and avant garde structures. Some songs are like 5 1/2 minutes long and normally we would think twice about that, but this album we just kind of let it all flow. When the songs end, they end but not because we are trying to fit them into a 3:30 second radio format. We like to call it AVANT POP at the moment.
How do you balance art and business? Will you do anything differently business-wise this time around?
They are hard to balance. Obviously we could use more help in so many areas, however with that help comes the loss of control and sometimes money because you’re shelling the majority of it out for all the “help”. We enjoy the process of knowing our own business from front to back, but some tour support would be nice!!! =)
“Innocence” will be released on February 4th on iTunes
+Pre-order Future Souls at UhHuhHer.com
I’m so glad I saw UK-based band The Melodic last night (Tuesday 1.28.2014) at the Satellite.
I didn’t know much about The Melodic (except that they’re from the UK), but I thought I’d catch their set because of the headliner Johnny Flynn (who co-stars with Anne Hathaway in the upcoming movie Song One, scored and composed by Jenny Lewis & Johnathan Rice).
First off, I’ve never seen The Satellite so crowded — the show was sold out, and it was completely packed.
I was very pleasantly surprised with The Melodic — their music was relaxing and gentle, yet still upbeat and interesting. It can be tough to straddle the line between mellow and boring, and they weren’t boring at all.
The band’s 5 members kicked off their brand of indie-folk with “Hold On.” The drummer used brushes a lot, and the tiny tambourine he had on top of his hi-hat really made a big difference and contributed to their sound.
Highlights were “On My Way,” featuring a nice trade off between male and female vocals, and “Come Outside,” with Johnny Flynn playing the fiddle part.
The penultimate song of The Melodic’s set was a really nice cover (I didn’t catch who wrote the original) — stripped back acoustic with just the female singer on vocals.
For more on The Melodic, visit their website + their Facebook
“Stop and Think It Over” by Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles — in the style of early ’60s girl groups:
“Take Me To The Sea” by Brooklyn-based band Salt Cathedral: