RECORDING RITUALS WITH JACK DAVIES & THE BUSH CHOOKS
Jack Davies and the Bush Chooks gave us a run down on their usual ‘recording rituals and their creative process behind their funky folky tracks.
Jack Davies and the Bush Chooks gave us a run down on their usual ‘recording rituals and their creative process behind their funky folky tracks.
Our ritual for recording generally involves lots of snacking and jamming and pacing around. We’ll try to get there at around 11am (We’re not morning people). We never really plan for lunch and usually end up getting a burrito, which in the confined space that is a recording studio can be a bit of a challenge. Dinner then usually gets left till whenever we stumble home.
Some days, when we’re treating ourselves, we’d also do a coffee run in the morning, and a bottle-o run in the evening. Otherwise we’re stuck with instant coffee and whatever five dollar bottle of wine we can find hiding away in one of our backpacks. Also a kilo tub of hummus and turkish bread was a frequent sight, snacks in the afternoon functioned well as a sustainer of the good mood… Snacks aside, we started off early in the year by live tracking seven songs; mostly older songs but a few new ones too.
After lock down we came back and recorded a whole bunch of new songs and dropped some of the older tunes, I guess it was our way of moving forward when things changed, and it felt like the right thing. We didn’t keep all the new ones either though. But I would be keen to come back to all those songs at some point in time, when we have more resources I guess. Maybe in an album.
Anyway, back to recording… We never really had much of a warm up ritual, generally Elise would have a cuppa tea and play through the melodies a few times, George would have a beer and turn the amp up real loud, Chet would hang in the car park and I’d go find somewhere to yell. Sounds chaotic but actually it was really calm, usually it’s just one person recording at a time so the rest of the crew get to hang out and keep the good energy going.
CHECK OUT LATEST RELEASE ‘HALF FROZEN BEER’
INTERVIEW: CHRISTOS ON ISOLATION, INFLUENCES, CATALOGUE-BUILDING, AND WORKING WITH HIGH-PROFILE PRODUCER JAMES ANGUS
New BackBeat team member Milli had a chat with up-and-comer Christos (Chris Kallis) about his latest release, his writing process, and building his creative catalogue.
New BackBeat team member Milli had a chat with up-and-comer Christos (Chris Kallis) about his latest release, his writing process, and building his creative catalogue.
How does it feel to be releasing music through this weird time- were any of your methods changed or different?
It definitely is a weird time at the moment but I personally think its a good time to be releasing music. A lot of people are still stuck at home with not much to do so us artists have to use that to our advantage! I've just tried to be more interactive online as that's where a lot of the attention is during this time.
I know you come up with songs based on your life experiences, what do you think is the best topic to write or sing about?
For me writing about relationships that I've been in is the best topic. Whether its being in love or being hurt, it's something a lot of people can relate to and I like to express these emotions and feelings through my music in hopes of connecting to my listeners.
I noticed that Movin’ leans a bit more towards the ‘cloud rap’ type genre than the other songs you’ve put out and Calling is different still, would you say that your style differs depending on the song?
For sure, I like all of my songs to sound different in their own way. At this early stage of my career I'm trying to build my catalogue to show my versatility as an artist. I love experimenting and I'm always trying new things with my music and style.
How would you describe your sound?
It's hard to limit my music to just a single genre, I would describe it as a mixture of a few genres. My sound is mainly Hip hop, R&B and even Pop while my style is melodic rap.
Who are your influences or musical idols?
A lot of the new gen artists like Juice, Trippie and X. I love how those guys have underlying messages that are usually quite sad, coming from their own struggles and experiences, similar to my music. Each of those artists still produce their stuff in an upbeat and vibey way. When I am creating music across genres, other influences would be Travis Scott and Don Toliver. Funny, because I grew up listening to a lot of bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Violent Femmes and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. A lot of Michael Jackson, Andre 3000 and Chris brown too. It was just always something that was playing at home or on the radio.
What were you thinking about when writing “Calling?”
I remember pulling the beat up, vibing to it for a bit and I instantly had a melody in my head that I wanted to use. From here I wanted to take my listeners on a personal journey of an up and down relationship. Each verse kinda builds on this, making it something people are able to relate to with their own experiences. You know when someone is trying to reach out to you but you know you shouldn't go back down that road with them? That was the motive for this track.
How was it to work with James Angus?
Basically I was looking through his BeatStars and stumbled across this really cool beat but it was super short! Only like a minute long I think. I hit him up and sent him the demo I made and he liked it so he extended the beat for me, sent it over and I made it into a full song! It was really cool to work with him being the high profile producer he is.
What do you do in your spare time, when you’re not creating?
When I'm not making music I'm working some part time jobs and spending time with my girl, friends and family but managing my own career as an artist definitely is the most time consuming!
What are you working on right now?
I actually just finished filming a music video which I plan to drop a few weeks down the line so stay tuned for the 'Calling' visual! At the moment I have a bunch of unreleased music that I'm planning to release over the rest of the year.
Last question- Ice cream or cake?
That's a tough one because I enjoy eating them both together.... But it's gotta be ice cream.
Actual last question: top 3 current Aussie artists and why?
There are loads of talented Aussie artists breaking through at the moment but some of my favourites would have to be Oliver Amun, Vic August and Youngn Lipz. I feel like they are all making dope music and their melodic rap style is what I'm also doing with my own music.
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INTERVIEW: FUTURE STATIC - ALL ABOUT ‘FATALIST’
We chatted to Future Static about the response to and creation of Fatalist, their mission as a band, their biggest influences, what cats dream about, their top 5 isolation bangers, and whats up next!
“Where the previous release 'Want' expressed a need for answers, 'Fatalist' - produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Christopher Vernon (Belle Haven, Better Half) with help from Darcy Handley (Terra) - is fury and confusion. 'Fatalist' is the realisation that just because you want an answer, doesn’t mean you find one, and as Future Static emphasise, "If you can’t get even, just get mad."
The group released singles "Choke" and "Dead End" a few weeks ago and have had a massively positive response, beginning with a SOLD OUT "Choke" single launch show, plays on Triple M's Hard N Heavy, triple j Unearthed love, both added to rotation on The Faction, Spotify playlisting on Homegrown + Heavy and Rock Out., a number of shares across social media and national publications as well as worldwide with a spotlight from Kill The Music.”
We chatted to Future Static about the response to and creation of Fatalist, their mission as a band, their biggest influences, what cats dream about, their top 5 isolation bangers, and whats up next!
You’ve had a fantastic reception to Fatalist, was this something you expected? What has been the best/favourite word of praise?
As artists, you always want your work to be recognised and reviewed positively. We hoped that it would be received well, and we had a pretty good feeling about the whole process. But we had no idea that the record would resonate with people the way that it has, both in publications and in our general listeners. It really blew us away, and we’re so grateful for the warm welcome that the EP has received from so many people.
In terms of words of praise, our personal favourite has to be, “I struggled writing this up because I just wanted to listen and listen and listen, and that was it.“
Fatalist is a collection of emotional, rather angry (head)bangers - what was the songwriting process like, and given the angry, honest, emotional nature of the tunes, was it taken from personal experience?
Lyrically, the EP dives into some pretty heavy places, and whilst this sometimes meant emotions were running high, we were fortunately surrounded by great people through the whole process. Every day involved a lot of laughs and funny stories, which we definitely needed to get us through it.
The lyrics are definitely taken from personal experience and then expanded on. This is something we have always wanted to be a part of our music; we wanted it to be a cathartic experience for us as well as something our listeners could relate to and feel a part of.
Musically the record also comes from a dark, angry, nihilistic place. It was a definite experience of catharsis for us, every chord or note is played with a ferocity and anger that we’ve never really utilised until now.
Fatalist’s release day, April 3rd, was also National Chocolate Mousse Day, National Find a Rainbow Day, and World Party Day! Did any of you inadvertently celebrate any of these? We were partying because of the release of course.
Definitely sad we missed those! We had a little zoom party with some friends and drinks as it rolled out.
Favourite track on the EP?
BM: My favourite track would have to be The Fatalist. Lyrically, it’s quite heavy and it’s a song that a lot of listeners have resonated with. It’s got this absolutely huge feel to it, and I feel like it’s the perfect ending for the record.
RQ: Defs “Never Miss” It’s just flat out riffs from start to finish, a challenge to play live, but one that I’d be happy to take on again and again.
JT: Dead-set, Dead End. It’s my absolute favourite track to perform live. I’m a hardcore kid at heart and Dead End scratches that itch with it’s dark and edgy sound
KN: For me it’s The Fatalist. After the huge journey the EP takes you through, to have this big, emotional epic finale to tie everything together is something I’m really proud of, and always hits me hardest when we play it.
JS: My personal favourite from Fatalist is Adaptive Manipulator. It’s succinct and undeniably aggressive, a thematic turning point and will leave a mark on anyone who hears it.
What's something you'd like listeners to take away from your music/your message in general?
Our main mission in Future Static has always been to instil a sense of strength and unity in our audience. The main thing that we’d like listeners to take away from our music is the fact that you are not alone, and that with the help of the people around you, you have the power to get through whatever it may be you are struggling through.
You had a sold-out show for the single launch of ‘Choke’. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it, but we hear it was awesome - how was that for you guys?
Ridiculously good. We pulled together an incredible line-up with Stand Tall, Furious George and Excuse for an Exit, had an amazing audience of familiar faces and new supporters, and it honestly felt like our strongest show yet. Not knowing how serious the lock down would be at that point, we’re incredibly lucky to have that show be such a high point, and selling it out was the cherry on top of what’s turned out to be an awesome release cycle.
Biggest influences - personal and/or professional/musical?
KN: It definitely helped that we wrote and recorded this record with Christopher Vernon, but Belle Haven are a huge influence for me. From how they interact with each other and their ability to have fun with each other while being able to write such high quality music with a huge spectrum of sounds, they’re definitely people and musicians I look up to.
BM: Yungblud is someone I look up to on a personal and professional level, probably because those two worlds seem to overlap seamlessly for him. His energy onstage is nothing short of electric and his shows are so much fun, but he also speaks out about real issues and uses his platform to inspire real change.
RQ: Definitely Lee Malia from Bring Me The Horizon, he’s an incredibly versatile guitar player with a great knack for playing to suit the song. He’s also a great riff writer, something I aspire to be.
What 5 songs would you put into a Top 5 Isolation Bangers playlist to perk up your day?
Want you in my Room- Carly Rae Jepsen
Hard Times - Paramore
Sell Out - Reel Big Fish
Allergic To The World - Sleep Talk
If I Fall - The Story So Far
What are your plans once we’re allowed out of isolation? What have you been missing most during this time?
BM: I miss just going outside. I’m someone who lives life spontaneously, so not having the freedom to just go out and see what the day brings is kind of excruciating. I can’t wait till I can hang out with my friends at gigs again, sometimes I feel like it’s the only time I feel alive.
JT: I miss my friends, hanging out at shows and being up on stage performing our music together. My fondest memories were created in and around shows; either the ones we produced or the ones we go to. I miss the atmosphere at live venues.
KN: Definitely friends and shows too. We were so lucky to have our last pre-isolation show be our incredible single show, and it’s definitely a memory I’ll treasure until we can get back out there again. There are a lot of people getting a lot of hugs when it’s safe to give them!
JS: Saturdays with the boys; what else are Saturdays for?
RQ: Being able to kiss the homies goodnight
What do you think cats dream about?
RQ: Electric Sheep.
KN: Electric Mice.
Seriously though, final question; what now / what’s next?
More music, exploration of new and exciting sounds. We’re not a band that likes doing things twice in a row, comfort is complacency, and we’d rather be pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones in terms of our capabilities in a live or a studio setting.
Thanks so much to the guys and gals from Future Static for their time, and don’t forget to check out the new EP if you haven’t already - and check out our own review of the EP HERE!
The 'Fatalist' EP is available now to stream and purchase at all good online outlets and streaming platforms!
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