1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:01,320 Speaker 1: Taking a walk. 2 00:00:01,400 --> 00:00:04,520 Speaker 2: We're not trying to chase any momentum. You know, the 3 00:00:04,519 --> 00:00:08,080 Speaker 2: fans that come to our shows are really just music 4 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:11,720 Speaker 2: lovers and they've kind of been brought into what we do, 5 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:14,320 Speaker 2: and it's a really nice place to be. I have 6 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:17,200 Speaker 2: to say, I think I would much prefer this slow 7 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:20,000 Speaker 2: way of doing things as opposed to any kind of 8 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:23,080 Speaker 2: very very quick form of success. 9 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:27,040 Speaker 3: Um, Buzz night and welcome to taking a walk. You 10 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 3: know that feeling when a song comes on suddenly you're 11 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:35,560 Speaker 3: transported somewhere else entirely. Maybe you're in a forest, maybe 12 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:39,279 Speaker 3: you're remembering a moment you thought you'd forgotten. That's the 13 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 3: magic of the band, The Paper Kites. They don't just 14 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 3: write songs, they craft entire atmospheres. From their humble beginnings 15 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:51,839 Speaker 3: busking on the streets of Melbourne to becoming one of 16 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:56,800 Speaker 3: Australia's most beloved indie folk acts, the Paper Kites have 17 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 3: spent over a decade perfecting the art of musical storytelling. 18 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:07,160 Speaker 3: Their breakout hit Bloom, has been streamed hundreds of millions 19 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:12,960 Speaker 3: of times, soundtracking everything from quiet morning coffees to life's 20 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 3: most pivotal moments. The Paper Kites on taking a Walk, 21 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 3: Taking a Walk. I'm so excited to have Sam Bentley 22 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:28,920 Speaker 3: from The Paper Kites on the Taking a Walk Podcast. Hello, Sam, 23 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:34,280 Speaker 3: Hi boz Hey, doing fantastic. We're here to talk about 24 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 3: the seventh studio album from The Paper Kites. If you 25 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 3: go there, I hope you find it. I love that 26 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:46,120 Speaker 3: title and also the new single which I love, every Town, 27 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:50,280 Speaker 3: and we're going to talk about that. But Sam, since 28 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 3: we call this crazy podcast Taking a Walk, before we 29 00:01:56,440 --> 00:01:59,680 Speaker 3: embark on our little conversation, if you could take a 30 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:03,880 Speaker 3: walk with somebody living or dead, who would you take 31 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 3: a walk with them? Where would you take that walk? 32 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 2: M That's a very good question. I don't know. I mean, 33 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:15,360 Speaker 2: I'm a big fan of a lot of different songwriters 34 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:18,640 Speaker 2: for different reasons. It's very hard to pick one person, 35 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 2: and a lot of the songwriters that I would say 36 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 2: are kind of my people, I would be too afraid 37 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:30,200 Speaker 2: to take a walk quick. But you know, I saw 38 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 2: Warren Allis recently and he's an amazing composer and he 39 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:39,519 Speaker 2: bears the violin for The Bad Seeds with Nickay. But 40 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 2: I don't know if you you know he's worked with 41 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:49,040 Speaker 2: them and have this very strange connection in that my 42 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 2: dad and my uncle, so Josh, who was my cousin 43 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:56,240 Speaker 2: in the band. My father and his brother are brothers, 44 00:02:57,080 --> 00:02:59,519 Speaker 2: our parents and Parnellis. They all grew up in the 45 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 2: same town in Ballarat, in Victoria. And I actually got 46 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:08,799 Speaker 2: to see Warren recently. He just released this documentary which 47 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,560 Speaker 2: is a beautiful film about his life. My uncle was 48 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:16,120 Speaker 2: given this guitar by Warren's dad, who taught him how 49 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:19,240 Speaker 2: to play, and it's this beautiful old Maten guitar that 50 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 2: kind of has been in the family for all these 51 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:25,320 Speaker 2: years and I never actually inquired about it until semi 52 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 2: recently asking him, you know, where did you get this guitar? 53 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 2: And he told me that Warren Ellis's father gave it 54 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:34,920 Speaker 2: to him. So I had a very brief opportunity at 55 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:38,120 Speaker 2: this film screening. It was like a q and a 56 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 2: sort of situation where I got to tell Warren about 57 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 2: this guitar that belonged to his father. My uncle still 58 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 2: had it and it was still in our family, and 59 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 2: he was really really happy to hear that. So I 60 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:51,120 Speaker 2: think if I could walk with him, and you know, 61 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 2: I feel like we'd have a lot to talk about, 62 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 2: which would be really nice because he's one of my 63 00:03:56,120 --> 00:04:00,480 Speaker 2: favorite favorite musicians. Yeah, definitely, what. 64 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 3: A great story. Thank you for sharing that. Appreciate that. Sure. 65 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:07,680 Speaker 3: So for those who might be discovering The Paper Kites 66 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 3: for the first time, describe the sound to someone who's 67 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:12,080 Speaker 3: never heard your music. 68 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:15,839 Speaker 2: I mean, I think I don't know if you can 69 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:21,320 Speaker 2: describe a sound as you're kind of honest, that's that's 70 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:23,360 Speaker 2: always what we've tried to do. I mean, it's it's 71 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:26,919 Speaker 2: always been based around kind of folk folk music. I 72 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:30,560 Speaker 2: think at the heart of things. You know, we certainly 73 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:35,159 Speaker 2: draw a lot from the singer songwriters of all back 74 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:39,760 Speaker 2: in the day, and and a lot of what I 75 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:44,200 Speaker 2: kind of based my songs around is structurally, you know, 76 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 2: folk songs, particularly just thinking about some of the songs 77 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:52,520 Speaker 2: on this new record, Yeah, always kind of just sitting 78 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:55,039 Speaker 2: down with a guitar, and and most of the time 79 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:59,920 Speaker 2: guitars are very heavily featured in the music. It's rare 80 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:02,480 Speaker 2: these days that we'll get a song out but doesn't 81 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:07,400 Speaker 2: have guitar in it, so you know, it's it sort 82 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 2: of starts that way. But I think my mum always 83 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 2: says that your music is very hopeful, and I've always 84 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:21,200 Speaker 2: kind of liked that, and I think I read this quote. 85 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:25,559 Speaker 2: I don't often read, you know, people's comments about our music. 86 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:29,360 Speaker 2: It is never always good for my house. But this 87 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:33,480 Speaker 2: person did say that their music is bursting with humanity, 88 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:36,440 Speaker 2: and I was very very happy with that. 89 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 3: I love that and the hopefulness. We all need hopefulness 90 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:45,920 Speaker 3: more than ever now, So I love that About the 91 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:51,040 Speaker 3: paper Kites. You've been making music for over a decade now, 92 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:55,919 Speaker 3: which is something you must be proud of. What keeps 93 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 3: you so connected as a band through all the change 94 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:02,360 Speaker 3: is in the music industry. 95 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean we've been we've been friends but longer 96 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 2: than we've been a band, and I think that has 97 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:17,000 Speaker 2: been kind of the foundation of what has made this work. 98 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:22,679 Speaker 2: And there's been periods of time where you know, certain 99 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:25,840 Speaker 2: members haven't been able to tour and sort of be 100 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:29,719 Speaker 2: a part of the team for whatever reason, you know, 101 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 2: family situations at home, or you know, quite literally starting 102 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,720 Speaker 2: families themselves. And so we've always said, like, the only 103 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:40,120 Speaker 2: way that we're going to navigate kind of moving through 104 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,280 Speaker 2: the different seasons with this band is if we kind 105 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:48,280 Speaker 2: of make it first and foremost about about our friendship 106 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:51,800 Speaker 2: and our family. So we've really been very careful to 107 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:57,440 Speaker 2: do not push too hard in many ways like you 108 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 2: often can, especially if you're feeling the pressure of you know, 109 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:06,160 Speaker 2: feeling like you need to tour or consistently release music, which 110 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:10,600 Speaker 2: we have, but it has been around sort of long 111 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:13,400 Speaker 2: breaks at home and just I think that's where we 112 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 2: kind of recharge, and that's where we're kind of the 113 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:19,200 Speaker 2: happiest is at home in our sort of little build 114 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:23,960 Speaker 2: bubbles with our families. And I really do think we've 115 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 2: just been very careful to keep the friendship preserved and 116 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:33,800 Speaker 2: keep the family aspect preserved, and that's what we've been 117 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:36,400 Speaker 2: able to do, which is a really fortunate place to 118 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 2: be in because I think I was talking about this 119 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:44,120 Speaker 2: with someone the other day that a lot of artists 120 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 2: they're not really thinking about music in a long term 121 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 2: kind of way at the moment. You know, they're not 122 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:54,480 Speaker 2: thinking about it as a career. That's very much about 123 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:56,520 Speaker 2: the how can I be seen now? 124 00:07:56,720 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 3: What am I doing now? 125 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 2: And you know, a lot of the long jem doesn't 126 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:05,400 Speaker 2: necessarily last past kind of two or three records, particularly 127 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:07,440 Speaker 2: as a band. You know, a solo artist is a 128 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:09,680 Speaker 2: different thing, but a band, you know, you've got five 129 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:15,160 Speaker 2: different personalities that play five different kind of opinions that 130 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:18,440 Speaker 2: can often kind of rub up against each other. And 131 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:22,480 Speaker 2: so we've been yeah, really really intentional to kind of 132 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:26,800 Speaker 2: try and get through and just keep putting our heads 133 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:29,880 Speaker 2: down and releasing music. And you know, here we are, 134 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:32,400 Speaker 2: as you said, about to release kind of our seventh record, 135 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:36,080 Speaker 2: and it's in a really nice rhythm now where we 136 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 2: we're not trying to chase any momentum. You know, the 137 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:42,720 Speaker 2: fans that come to our shows are really just music 138 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:46,400 Speaker 2: lovers and they've kind of been brought into what we do, 139 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:49,000 Speaker 2: and it's a really nice place to be. I have 140 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:51,880 Speaker 2: to say, I think I would much prefer this slow 141 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:54,680 Speaker 2: way of doing things as opposed to any kind of 142 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:57,760 Speaker 2: very very quick form of success. 143 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:06,960 Speaker 3: I view your music is cinematic and a great atmospheric quality. 144 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:12,920 Speaker 3: When you're writing, are you visualizing these scenes and these stories? 145 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:19,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think I've been very sort of visually inclined 146 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:21,760 Speaker 2: over the years. I mean, I've had a lot of 147 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:25,080 Speaker 2: different writing spaces and that sort of play down in 148 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:29,120 Speaker 2: different ways. And I know when I was making on 149 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:32,320 Speaker 2: the train ride home that record and the sort of 150 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:35,800 Speaker 2: sister album on the corner where you live, I had 151 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:38,880 Speaker 2: sort of projector set up in the studio and I 152 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 2: was just kind of watching films that I loved, and 153 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:44,920 Speaker 2: I would just kind of mute the sound and composed 154 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:49,480 Speaker 2: to scenes, just trying to capture, as you say, kind 155 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:54,640 Speaker 2: of moods and atmospheres. And I've recently built a news 156 00:09:54,640 --> 00:09:57,720 Speaker 2: space to write in which I chose to paint green. 157 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:01,880 Speaker 2: That was a bold choice, and you know, just bringing 158 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:04,760 Speaker 2: in I've like kind of had to work out what 159 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:07,720 Speaker 2: I want to fill the space with in terms of 160 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:11,600 Speaker 2: art on the walls and things like that. The visual element, 161 00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:16,040 Speaker 2: to me is probably really the driving force of the 162 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:19,400 Speaker 2: song other than the feeling. It's really those two things 163 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:23,160 Speaker 2: that I would sit down with anytime I'm writing and 164 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:26,400 Speaker 2: kind of say, firstly, how am I feeling? How do 165 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:30,240 Speaker 2: I want the listener to feel? Because you can certainly 166 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:33,720 Speaker 2: write with a great deal of intention in that way, 167 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:38,280 Speaker 2: firstly working out what is the shared experience that we 168 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:41,600 Speaker 2: want to have, But then it very much comes down 169 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:44,800 Speaker 2: to what am I seeing, whether it's colors or a 170 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:49,720 Speaker 2: very specific kind of place or image, how am I 171 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:52,320 Speaker 2: going to convey that to someone else? And we've always 172 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:56,559 Speaker 2: been very deliberate about the album art and the videos 173 00:10:56,559 --> 00:10:59,079 Speaker 2: that we make, and everything is tied together in the 174 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 2: visual think I've spoken about this before, but the visual 175 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:07,200 Speaker 2: element is just as important as the music and the 176 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:12,560 Speaker 2: things that you choose to I suppose pair with your music. 177 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:16,839 Speaker 2: The people to see is really what they what they 178 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:19,920 Speaker 2: connect with your music. You know, you think about sort 179 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:22,520 Speaker 2: of a lot of your favorite artists. You're not just 180 00:11:22,559 --> 00:11:25,080 Speaker 2: thinking about the songs. You're thinking about, you know, the 181 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:28,160 Speaker 2: record covers that you've seen, affairs, or you're thinking about 182 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:31,319 Speaker 2: the videos or even the live performances. It's all the same. 183 00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:35,880 Speaker 2: So yeah, we're very very intentional and very careful about 184 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:38,880 Speaker 2: how we present ourselves in that way. 185 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:43,280 Speaker 3: I love how you focus on the whole package, if 186 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:47,360 Speaker 3: you will, because that's often a lost a lost art 187 00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:52,079 Speaker 3: these days. So hats off for all of that aspect 188 00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:52,640 Speaker 3: of things. 189 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:55,320 Speaker 1: We'll be right back with more of the Taking a 190 00:11:55,360 --> 00:12:03,600 Speaker 1: Walk Podcast. Welcome back to the Taking a Walk Podcast. 191 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:09,760 Speaker 3: Can you take our audience through how your songwriting process 192 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:16,520 Speaker 3: has evolved since your early EPs, like like Woodland to 193 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:18,199 Speaker 3: the more recent work. 194 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:24,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I was talking with someone about Woodland 195 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:27,800 Speaker 2: the other day. I mean, we obviously we had a 196 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:32,080 Speaker 2: good deal of it wasn't necessarily a success in the 197 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:36,000 Speaker 2: way that you might sort of consider success to be. 198 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:39,800 Speaker 2: We have still never really been much of a band 199 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:42,839 Speaker 2: that receives any radio play, which was was kind of 200 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:48,280 Speaker 2: the doorway really back then, and it was still, i mean, 201 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:52,959 Speaker 2: things like YouTube was still a way to be seen, 202 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:57,520 Speaker 2: but it was still in its somewhat earlier days. And 203 00:12:57,559 --> 00:13:00,320 Speaker 2: so you know, when we put out Bloom and that 204 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:03,840 Speaker 2: EP as well, we were just kind of not really 205 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:07,200 Speaker 2: sure how to how to navigate the music scene then. 206 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:10,760 Speaker 2: So all we really had was the fact that we'd 207 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:15,600 Speaker 2: been in other bands previously that we loved playing in, 208 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:18,800 Speaker 2: but we never really had any kind of success, and 209 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:23,120 Speaker 2: for some of us, myself mainly kind of felt myself 210 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:26,160 Speaker 2: being pulled in this other direction with a great love 211 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:28,640 Speaker 2: for folk music, and that wasn't the kind of music 212 00:13:28,679 --> 00:13:31,600 Speaker 2: that I was playing at the time. So yeah, it 213 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:35,360 Speaker 2: really just started off, let's kind of write songs that 214 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:38,800 Speaker 2: are a little truer to the kind of music that 215 00:13:39,559 --> 00:13:43,839 Speaker 2: we're passionate about and we're listening to. And so that 216 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:49,719 Speaker 2: record or that EP very very simple songs, and it's 217 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:51,839 Speaker 2: funny I look back on it now. I mean that 218 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:57,679 Speaker 2: EP was fifteen years ago now and the songwriter I 219 00:13:57,720 --> 00:13:59,840 Speaker 2: am now and the songwriter I was that. I mean, 220 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:03,839 Speaker 2: it's really the one, the one kind of profession, or 221 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:06,840 Speaker 2: not the only one. I shouldn't really be said definitive, 222 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:09,920 Speaker 2: but it's one of the professions that you really do 223 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:13,920 Speaker 2: kind of get better at as you get older. And 224 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:17,400 Speaker 2: as I look back on this song and I am 225 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:21,880 Speaker 2: amazed at the simplicity of them, and I think that 226 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:24,920 Speaker 2: can be a beautiful thing. You know, sometimes you can 227 00:14:25,960 --> 00:14:30,000 Speaker 2: get too lost down you know, this kind of whole 228 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:32,880 Speaker 2: of like discovery and pushing yourself as an artist and 229 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:37,080 Speaker 2: trying to really break barriers. And I've never been interested 230 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:41,080 Speaker 2: in that. I've always just tried to be a good songwriter. 231 00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:45,680 Speaker 2: So I think in that regard it hasn't changed because 232 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:49,280 Speaker 2: I've first and foremost been about the song and is 233 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:53,160 Speaker 2: just going to translate to other people? But I don't know. 234 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:57,360 Speaker 2: I have, somewhere along the way cared very much about 235 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:00,120 Speaker 2: the humanity of the thing, you know, like, can you 236 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:02,800 Speaker 2: you hear? Is there a sense of longing? Is there 237 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:07,040 Speaker 2: a sense of yearning? Is there is there soul in 238 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 2: the song as much as there can be for a 239 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:13,360 Speaker 2: band like us, You know, we're not like and we're 240 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:14,840 Speaker 2: not a groovyous band. 241 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:15,440 Speaker 1: Out there, you know. 242 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:18,840 Speaker 2: Vocally, like the way that I sing, you know, it's 243 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:22,560 Speaker 2: not It's not the most soulful voice that I've ever heard, 244 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:25,560 Speaker 2: But I think there's a little character in there, and 245 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:29,000 Speaker 2: can I show that through what I what I do. 246 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:32,280 Speaker 2: So a lot of those earlier recordings vocally, you know, 247 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:35,400 Speaker 2: we were kind of doubling all the vocal tracks. Gave 248 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:38,280 Speaker 2: it this kind of indie sound. We call it the 249 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:41,800 Speaker 2: indie double where you would sing a whole song and 250 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:44,560 Speaker 2: then you would track the vocals again over the top, 251 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:47,240 Speaker 2: and it kind of just smooths the whole thing out, 252 00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:51,960 Speaker 2: kind of covers any kind of vocal imperfections. And I used. 253 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:52,600 Speaker 3: To be very. 254 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:57,920 Speaker 2: Self conscious about my own voice and whether I I 255 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:00,760 Speaker 2: just I feel like I didn't have any voice, and 256 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:03,800 Speaker 2: I didn't have anything that was going to be engaging. 257 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:06,880 Speaker 2: And so every track back then that was on the 258 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:10,560 Speaker 2: first two EPs and the first record. I think we 259 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:13,240 Speaker 2: stopped it a little on the first record, but mostly 260 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:17,520 Speaker 2: it was done on those early releases, and it wasn't 261 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:21,920 Speaker 2: until the second record that I kind of felt like 262 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:24,520 Speaker 2: I need to step out a little from behind the 263 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:29,160 Speaker 2: safety of that and really have a go ats just 264 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:36,360 Speaker 2: like presenting myself very plainly and hopefully there'll be something 265 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:40,280 Speaker 2: that connects. But that's been very important as the years 266 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:43,920 Speaker 2: have kind of progressed, I feel like, I mean, musically 267 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:46,720 Speaker 2: is one thing. We've all certainly grown as musicians and 268 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:52,720 Speaker 2: matured and changed together, but vocally for myself at least, 269 00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:55,920 Speaker 2: I can say I feel like each record has become 270 00:16:56,080 --> 00:17:00,160 Speaker 2: more and more comfortable with who I am and how 271 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:04,840 Speaker 2: I sound, until up until this recent record that we did, 272 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:10,199 Speaker 2: which was really just done live in the studio trying 273 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:15,120 Speaker 2: to be okay with the imperfections of my voice, and 274 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:18,000 Speaker 2: to me, like the older I get, I don't really 275 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:23,440 Speaker 2: care about perfect singers anymore. I'm interested in like voices 276 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:26,240 Speaker 2: that are full of character, and I'm starting to love 277 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:31,520 Speaker 2: like terrible singings on paper. That's that's kind of where 278 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:33,400 Speaker 2: my interest seems to go. I don't know why. 279 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:33,880 Speaker 1: I just. 280 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:38,240 Speaker 2: They just sound like they've they've lived a bit, you know. 281 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:41,080 Speaker 2: So that's that's where I'm at now. But I, in 282 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:42,840 Speaker 2: answer to your question, is a very long way to 283 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:46,840 Speaker 2: answer it. I think we started off very simple but 284 00:17:47,119 --> 00:17:49,560 Speaker 2: sort of very safe as well, and as we've grown 285 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:51,399 Speaker 2: over the years, I think we've kind of ended up 286 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:55,480 Speaker 2: in this place where everyone's just very a lot bolder 287 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:59,240 Speaker 2: in terms of the sounds that we're able to make, 288 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:03,880 Speaker 2: and just yeah, the imperfections of it too, I think 289 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:06,080 Speaker 2: has been something that we just we really want to 290 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:12,040 Speaker 2: lean into. And I circle back to the humanness of 291 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:14,760 Speaker 2: it all. You know, I'm trying to communicate. 292 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:18,639 Speaker 3: That I'm so glad to hear you talk about the 293 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:24,639 Speaker 3: imperfection factor, because that is at least by and large lost. 294 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:29,520 Speaker 3: I think there's so much focus on the way technology 295 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:34,720 Speaker 3: and all of that corrects the imperfections, and I think 296 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:38,199 Speaker 3: you just highlighted the beauty, the beauty of it all. 297 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:40,560 Speaker 3: So I'm so glad to hear you say that. 298 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:43,640 Speaker 2: Really, Oh no, I'm glad to hear it. I mean, 299 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:45,960 Speaker 2: who knows where things are going to be going and 300 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:49,160 Speaker 2: the next kind of decade or so, you're already seeing 301 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:53,280 Speaker 2: a lot of these these AI bands popping out. I 302 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:56,199 Speaker 2: don't know if you heard about that, but you know, 303 00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:59,560 Speaker 2: that's one of the sort of defining things we can 304 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:04,040 Speaker 2: grasp onto as like our imperfections. I just think that's 305 00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:08,919 Speaker 2: going to be a very telling thing between music, that is, 306 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:13,639 Speaker 2: you know, kind of machine made versus the organic time. 307 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:16,320 Speaker 2: You know, how can you tell it's you know, it's 308 00:19:16,359 --> 00:19:19,840 Speaker 2: the soul. It's the soul that's in a song, and 309 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:22,960 Speaker 2: they're the very things that give it, so you the 310 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:27,800 Speaker 2: imperfections that just the transparency of the you know, this 311 00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:30,679 Speaker 2: is the person singing who has been through something. 312 00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:36,560 Speaker 3: So take us inside the creation of If you go there, 313 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,520 Speaker 3: I hope you find it. What was that process like? 314 00:19:40,359 --> 00:19:44,040 Speaker 3: And talk about what you're most excited about with this project. 315 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:49,359 Speaker 2: It's funny this this record wasn't supposed to be made. 316 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:54,080 Speaker 2: When it was made. I suppose there was another record 317 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:58,359 Speaker 2: that I had kind of finished and I presented it 318 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:02,120 Speaker 2: to the band, said this is what i'd like to do. 319 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:05,840 Speaker 2: What do you think? And it was start of met 320 00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:09,440 Speaker 2: with we really like this, but we're not quite ready 321 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:11,840 Speaker 2: to move on to this. I think everyone had a 322 00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:15,679 Speaker 2: really good time making at the roadhouse, and you know, 323 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:19,320 Speaker 2: in many ways it's kind of a very good example 324 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:22,280 Speaker 2: of kind of what we do very well, the kind 325 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:25,919 Speaker 2: of music that we play well. I think the record 326 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:28,440 Speaker 2: that I had written was kind of maybe a little 327 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:32,399 Speaker 2: a little darker in many ways, and so there was 328 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:34,800 Speaker 2: this sense of like this, this is cool but it's 329 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:37,399 Speaker 2: not really what we feel like we want to do 330 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:41,159 Speaker 2: next to follow that record up. Yeah, it surprised me 331 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:45,760 Speaker 2: a little because usually everyone's kind of we're all on 332 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:49,719 Speaker 2: the same page in terms of moving ahead. So, and 333 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:52,760 Speaker 2: this is at the time that we were renovating at 334 00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:57,040 Speaker 2: my home, so the whole home was really gone and 335 00:20:57,080 --> 00:21:00,639 Speaker 2: I didn't have a space to write. Spoke to one 336 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:03,439 Speaker 2: of our friends that own this farm, so we rehearsed 337 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:07,320 Speaker 2: out at a farm in the Yarra Valley in Victoria, 338 00:21:07,359 --> 00:21:11,120 Speaker 2: which is a beautiful part of the state. It's kind 339 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:14,479 Speaker 2: of wine country, so a lot of valleys, a lot 340 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:19,840 Speaker 2: of rolling hills, very green. Yeah, I asked her, you know, 341 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:22,679 Speaker 2: do you have a space that I can use? So 342 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:27,239 Speaker 2: they offered me this little upstairs, upstairs room, a very 343 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:31,919 Speaker 2: small room in one of the airplane hangars that they 344 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:35,840 Speaker 2: have there. And so I spent a great deal of 345 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:40,440 Speaker 2: the year writing there working on this record, and that's 346 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:43,560 Speaker 2: where most of the songs came together. And that's the 347 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:46,200 Speaker 2: same place as I said that we rehearse at. So 348 00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:48,080 Speaker 2: it's kind of nice. I would be writing there and 349 00:21:48,119 --> 00:21:50,280 Speaker 2: then presenting these songs to the band and we'd be 350 00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:54,480 Speaker 2: working on them and there's a lot of interesting things 351 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:56,320 Speaker 2: on that farm, but one of them is an old 352 00:21:56,359 --> 00:21:59,960 Speaker 2: bus that sort of sits in this field, just totally 353 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:03,359 Speaker 2: rusted over. We're kind of thinking of this album title, 354 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:08,560 Speaker 2: and I think that that little phrase was suggested, and 355 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:12,600 Speaker 2: Christina went and wrote it on the window of this 356 00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:15,440 Speaker 2: bus and it just kind of stayed there for months, 357 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:18,080 Speaker 2: and then we thought, actually, that could be like a 358 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:20,679 Speaker 2: great album cover. We took a photo of it, so 359 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:23,840 Speaker 2: that's the cover that you see there. Yeah, and it's 360 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:27,160 Speaker 2: still there. Actually, I'd feel like maybe one day it'll 361 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:32,359 Speaker 2: become a tourist destination. But yeah. It was actually a 362 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:36,920 Speaker 2: really a really beautiful process making that record because we'd 363 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:41,080 Speaker 2: come off two records that were very collaborative. We had Roses, 364 00:22:41,119 --> 00:22:45,720 Speaker 2: which was an album of dewets, the whole thing was 365 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:49,760 Speaker 2: duets with different artists, and then at the Roadhouse we 366 00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:53,439 Speaker 2: bought in three friends to join the band, and so 367 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:55,920 Speaker 2: it wasn't just the five of us, and we hadn't 368 00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:59,080 Speaker 2: really made music with just the five us quite some time. 369 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:03,879 Speaker 2: So there was a little, i won't say fear, because 370 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:08,439 Speaker 2: it wasn't that. It was just maybe a small degree 371 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:12,359 Speaker 2: of worry that we hadn't really done anything that was 372 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:16,359 Speaker 2: just back to the sort of five original members, and 373 00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:20,000 Speaker 2: we had become sort of reliant on the skills of 374 00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:22,960 Speaker 2: these friends that we brought in. We toured at the 375 00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:26,520 Speaker 2: Roadhouse for like two years. We were an eight piece band, 376 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:29,240 Speaker 2: and you know, the musicianship that they brought to the 377 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:32,760 Speaker 2: band was just something that you don't want to go 378 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:36,399 Speaker 2: without because it's so great, you know, really lifts the 379 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:40,359 Speaker 2: live experience. And so you know, pulling it back to 380 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:42,720 Speaker 2: this five people, it felt like, you know, are we 381 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:45,200 Speaker 2: still able to do this? I mean that's a very 382 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:48,320 Speaker 2: kind of dramatic thought to have. I mean, of course 383 00:23:48,359 --> 00:23:52,359 Speaker 2: we can, but I'll say that it felt like it 384 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:57,080 Speaker 2: was very reassuring to kind of hear these songs with 385 00:23:57,320 --> 00:23:59,320 Speaker 2: just the five of them sent and remember that, like 386 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:03,800 Speaker 2: we we do this because it does work for five 387 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:06,280 Speaker 2: of us, and there is this kind of magic that happens. 388 00:24:06,359 --> 00:24:10,640 Speaker 2: And this record kind of feels like a band kind 389 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:15,000 Speaker 2: of remembering the things that they that sort of made 390 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:17,280 Speaker 2: them fall in love with playing together in the first place. 391 00:24:17,359 --> 00:24:20,480 Speaker 2: I think, you know, just the three of us, Dave, 392 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:24,040 Speaker 2: Christina and myself so of singing together and just Dave's 393 00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:26,960 Speaker 2: guitar playing and then not really having like the backup 394 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:30,359 Speaker 2: of a sort of a bigger band. Yeah, it was. 395 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:33,640 Speaker 2: It was a really wonderful process. And then heading into 396 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:37,240 Speaker 2: the studio, like I said, we we are really leaning 397 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:40,399 Speaker 2: into the live tracking these days and just kind of 398 00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:43,280 Speaker 2: getting in a room together and playing a song, listening 399 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:47,439 Speaker 2: back to it, and really the conversation was always like 400 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:50,320 Speaker 2: how does it feel? Does the song feel good? Not 401 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:53,760 Speaker 2: is it is it correct? Just does it kind of 402 00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:57,240 Speaker 2: feel feel right? And that's the great thing with live 403 00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:01,480 Speaker 2: live tracking is if it doesn't, you can just go 404 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:05,399 Speaker 2: and play it again. But most songs, you know, were 405 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:08,960 Speaker 2: kind of bearing like two or three takes. There are 406 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:13,040 Speaker 2: a few songs like I Know When the Lavender Blooms 407 00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:15,560 Speaker 2: kind of took a little longer just because that was 408 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:18,280 Speaker 2: a very kind of group based song. There's a song 409 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:20,600 Speaker 2: called Deep in the Plans we made, which is just 410 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:24,320 Speaker 2: one microphone in the middle of the room, and I 411 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:27,120 Speaker 2: think Dave and Christina was still learning the song kind 412 00:25:27,119 --> 00:25:31,000 Speaker 2: of as we went, and we just had this really 413 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:34,399 Speaker 2: great take with a song just it felt like it 414 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:38,200 Speaker 2: was about to fall apart because it's so delicate and 415 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:40,600 Speaker 2: a very gentle, kind of three part harmony through the 416 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:44,040 Speaker 2: whole thing sort of rises and falls, and we got 417 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:46,800 Speaker 2: this great take and we were like, Okay, great, let's 418 00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:51,639 Speaker 2: do it again. And Matt Redlick, who engineered and co 419 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:55,119 Speaker 2: produced with us, he just so he said no, like, 420 00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:58,760 Speaker 2: don't touch it that song, like you got it, it's fine. 421 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:02,000 Speaker 2: And I think us being us, we were sort of like, no, 422 00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:03,879 Speaker 2: let's give it a few more gos, and we just 423 00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:07,479 Speaker 2: couldn't get it anywhere near what we managed to capture 424 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:10,560 Speaker 2: it at. So, you know, that's the magic of blob 425 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:13,560 Speaker 2: Drag And there's a lot of there's a lot of 426 00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:17,520 Speaker 2: character the five of us in this record. And Yeah, 427 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:19,679 Speaker 2: I think to me, if you were to ask me 428 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:22,800 Speaker 2: kind of what it was to me and what this 429 00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:25,560 Speaker 2: record feels like to me, I think it's just, yeah, 430 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:29,479 Speaker 2: five five friends, five musicians kind of coming back together 431 00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:34,800 Speaker 2: and just rediscovering, Yeah, what kind of made them to 432 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:37,680 Speaker 2: want to do this together. And the Farm has become 433 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:42,320 Speaker 2: an important backdrop to this record, but also an important 434 00:26:42,359 --> 00:26:45,199 Speaker 2: space for us as a band. We've really grown in 435 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:50,439 Speaker 2: that space and really kind of learned to, yeah, to 436 00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:55,480 Speaker 2: kind of just be a band. I know that's a 437 00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:58,720 Speaker 2: weird thing to say. If that makes any sense. But yeah, 438 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:01,160 Speaker 2: it's been a very fruit space for us. 439 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:07,000 Speaker 3: Well, yeah, you're exploring the joyous nature of collaboration, right, 440 00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:08,360 Speaker 3: I mean that's really what it is. 441 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:11,359 Speaker 2: That's right, That's right, and you know you kind of 442 00:27:12,119 --> 00:27:15,960 Speaker 2: you need a space to do that, and we've managed to, yeah, 443 00:27:16,119 --> 00:27:19,000 Speaker 2: navigate quite a few records there there, so we have 444 00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:21,000 Speaker 2: to have them and very lucky to have them. 445 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:24,960 Speaker 3: I'm so glad you took the time Sam to be 446 00:27:25,119 --> 00:27:29,399 Speaker 3: on the podcast Taking a Walk. Congratulations on If you 447 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:33,520 Speaker 3: go there, I hope you find it and enjoy the road, 448 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:36,399 Speaker 3: because the road is long and you guys are going 449 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,280 Speaker 3: to be out there for a while, but I hope 450 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:41,560 Speaker 3: we get to do this again, Sam Bentley. 451 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:44,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, so thank you so much, Bob. It's been a pleasure. 452 00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:48,959 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a 453 00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:52,880 Speaker 1: Walk Podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends 454 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:56,440 Speaker 1: and follow us so you never miss an episode. 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