Gotye

  

the bell speaks to Wally de Backer aka Gotye about his soon to be released album Making Mirrors.

De Backer’s album art is endless, a vast terrain of tessellations and shapes. Painted by his father it was these reflections that catalyzed the title of his latest album Making Mirrors.

As a continuation of his album art de Backer’s film clip for his latest release Somebody That I Used To Know features both himself and Kimbra as living murals painted head to toe in the same geometrical shapes.

“It’s was three days worth of hours squashed into two days. Both Kimbra and I had some little moments of what felt like quiet painful meditation just going into our own head, trying to stand still and straight up for six, seven hours in a row.”

Language is loaded and this idea is no more prevalent than in this wrenching piece. It’s difficult to lay blame on any one half of the relationship as both the male and female voices intertwine and struggle to be heard.

“The song was written in a linear way, I had the music, I had the melody and I wrote the first verse, I wrote the second verse and I had the wobbly guitar sound that operates as an instrumental break.

I got two minutes in to the end of the first chorus and it was then that the song was telling me, you’ve said all you need to say. There needs to be another side to the story. ”

It leaves me with the thought that perhaps a true soulmate is a mirror – someone who reveals your vulnerabilities, aspects of yourself unknown to you. That's before they leave. 

“i think it’s quite direct, the paint that first inscribes me and engulfs her in the context of the background and then for her to be unpainted is a direct symbolic representation of how your lives become intertwined and when that breakup happens… there’s a cut there.”

There’s a saying that in an all blue world colour doesn’t exist. This makes perfect sense. But in our own varicoloured world who’s to say that my version of blue is the same as yours?

“When it comes to simple or trivial things it’s almost not worth worrying… It’s on a level of function, how we use the word blue in our daily lives. But it’s different when it comes to saying I love you and someone else saying I love you too.”

Eyes Wide Open tells of an entirely different story, one we know all to well. How we as humans continue on a path of disregard towards the environment – although we are fully aware of the consequences.

“The weird thing for me is that the song has I think, an unsettling but also strangely alluring sense of nihilism about it. As if there’s this inevitability… It’s almost like we’re triumphantly walking off a cliff.”

There’s always another side. To ourselves mostly. De Backer’s tracks, jagged at first, come together like the shards of a mirror split into infinite pieces. Making infinite reflections, making mirrors. 

Making Mirrors is released next Friday, the 19th August. Be sure to check out Gotye's tour dates on the gig guide and if you feel like listening to some extended audio of our chat it's posted below. x Steph

Gotye interview  by thebellmusic 

Pluto Jonze

With the release of his debut EP and a host of live shows just around the corner 2011 will see everything fall into place for Sydney artist Pluto Jonze. 

 Take his unique brand of sound, mix it by the likes of Tony Espie (Midnight Juggernauts, Cut Copy, The Holidays) and what you'll get is something pretty spectacular.

I best not spoil a good story though, have a little read and listen yourself (I promise you - It's thoroughly entertaining).

How did you first become involved in music?

Well I had piano lessons from about 8 or 9 til about 14, when I wanted to quit. Hated scales and exams etc. Thanks to my dad, I got a new piano teacher at that point who basically just taught me pop songs, you know, Beatles standards, things I cold sing along to, and THAT saved my career on the keys. My dad’s also a keys player and producer, who’s had a home recording set up a few doors down from my bedroom for pretty much my whole life, so I fooled around in there as a youngster, got into the concept of overdubbing myself onto myself very early, taught myself a bunch of different instruments, and I think that’s informs my approach to writing/recording to this day.

In terms of music, did you find living in Berlin inspiring?

Yes. The electro/dance/minimalist scene over there is a branch of music I would probably never have stumbled across of my own accord in Australia, but which I became fascinated with when living in Berlin. It’s actually quite orchestral, a lot of it, it’s all totally focussed on arrangement because there’s mostly no lyrics, and particularly with the minimalist electro stuff I love the idea of doing more with less. I feel like a lot of the bass sounds and bass lines in my songs wouldn’t have happened had I not lived in Berlin. 

How would you describe your sound?

Like a band from another planet playing 60’s music.

Next week sees the release of your debut EP Pluto Jonze; tell us a little more about the writing and recording process behind the record…

I’ve poured my heart, my brain and my guts into this EP. All the songs on there were written and demo’d in my bedroom at my Bondi sharehouse. From there it took a while to realise that these songs didn’t need a producer, just the odd re-recording, particularly for drums. Drums were re-recorded at BJB Studios, Surry Hills and my dad helped re-record anything else that needed it at his home studio in Redfern. But I’m glad to say that a lot of those original bedroom recordings made it to the final mix (by Tony Espie – Avalanches, Cut Copy, Holidays), so what you’re hearing on record is often the first take, the creative spark of something being performed for the first time. I like that spontaneity, it’s something you can never really get back.

Having seen you live, I can’t get over your expert control of the theremin. How did you two first become acquainted?

One misty afternoon a few years ago while rummaging through my dad’s balcony junk I came across this spooky looking contraption. After trying to explain to me that it was an instrument you played without touching it, just by waving your hands around NEAR it, dad plugged it in and demonstrated to my disbelief. He was no expert, nor am I even now to be honest, but ever since that day I’ve been hooked. The theremin is the wildest, sexiest, most out of control instrument I have ever played – to an extent you can’t control it, and if you try to, it loses the magic of the sound, in my opinion. Purist theremin players would probably wrench if they saw my live show.

What can we look forward to from Pluto Jonze in 2011?

Plenty of theremin antics, a bunch of live shows around the country to promote the EP, and I’d like to say there’ll be the debut full length album out before year’s end, but I know how long these things can take. Most of the album’s already been written and demo’d, but getting things properly re-recorded and mixed can take ages. Fingers crossed I’ll be able to find the time.

Given your pick, if you could take to the stage with any artists (alive or dead) who would they be?

I have to say Beck back in his Midnite Vultures days would have been an awesome act to play with – to me he was at his absolute best when trying to be Prince – I want his kooky back up dancers. And it would have been a buzz to play alongside Blur, original line-up, back during Britpop’s height at somewhere like the Hammersmith Palais. Screw it let’s just take it back to ’64 and support the Beatles at Shea Stadium.

Here at the bell we're pretty stoked about Pluto's debut EP launch this Friday at the Gaelic (details on gig guide) and the fact the record will hit stores later next week.

Karoshi

When you listen to Karoshi's Sleepwalker you listen with all your senses. It's easy to allow yourself to become lost within the arcing melodies, the ethereal, weightless sound.

Sleepwalker is without a doubt one of the most refreshing albums Australia has seen in recent times.

Beres describes his interest in producing electronica as “an evolution of sorts.”

“I was a guitarist for years, playing for artists and singer songwriters. It wasn’t until one of the bands I was in finished up that I wanted to try writing some of my own music. The only things I had at my disposal were a guitar and laptop.”

Living in Glebe at the time, Beres would often find himself in the one record store. Sifting through recommendations and exposing himself to a wide range of music that he wouldn’t have heard otherwise.

“That was an important phase for me because I knew that I was interested in these different sounds coming out, I was always a fan of Bjork and Radiohead and I would always go into there to discover new music.”

Beres then began to create his own music, ornamenting his songs with select sounds to create a distinct feel. As he puts it " to add little pieces of interest into the music."

Beres proves that there is quite a degree of experimentation involved when it comes to achieving just the right feel,

“I usually sit down and have an idea of a beat, or a rhythm first or an idea of a piano line. Just building it up layer on layer, I can get really lost in that process. It can take a lot of time tweaking sounds and mixing things. Especially working with computers and keyboards it’s limitless what you can do.”

Sleepwalker was recorded and mixed in a relatively short period of time. During production the band enlisted the help of Jordy Lane who was able to add that little bit extra.

“He came into the project quite late, and he had really fresh ears on everything so that helped with getting feedback.”

The result was a cohesive album, each track a separate entity but belonging seamlessly to the one whole. Beres reflects on the process,

“It’s nice to be doing something different, I’ve always been interested in strange alternative music and I feel quite lucky that I can do what I want, try out new things like that and it’s going to have an audience.”

With Sleepwalker set to be released the 1st of April and having just been awarded the Sound Clash grant Karoshi has only moved from strength to strength. 

Already with a new album in the works, we can expect to hear a lot more from Karoshi in the near future. Thankfully. 

As always, feel free to follow Karoshi on Facebook and Myspace. Also drop into any reliable music store to get your hands on Sleepwalker.