05 April 2011
Melbourne indie-pop trailblazers, Architecture in Helsinki took their sweet time with fifth album, Moment Bends. Written in their Melbourne studio space, humbly known as Buckingham Palace, the five-piece reunited after not being in the same room as one another since 2005. There they spent months, instead of weeks, doing everything in their power not to repeat the mistake of Places Like This.
“Our last record was a train wreck. Emotionally, it’s very intense and it sounds like a band that’s toured too much to me,” explains frontman Cameron Bird. “We wanted to take our time to make this record and take some time off from making records and touring, and reconnect with Melbourne and our sanity... We’ve never been closer.”
“Our last record was a train wreck. Emotionally, it’s very intense and it sounds like a band that’s toured too much to me,” explains frontman Cameron Bird. “We wanted to take our time to make this record and take some time off from making records and touring, and reconnect with Melbourne and our sanity... We’ve never been closer.”
As close as they may now be, one of the big questions that often arises after an extended respite is will their fans care as much as they did before? Fortunately for AiH, the first single from the new offering,Contact High debuted at #1 on the Australian Alternative Chart. The other concern is whether the band cares as much anymore? As Bird recalls the recording process, he uses terms like “soul searching”, “exploring” and even says he “always thinks about recording as an exorcism.”
Considering the quintet even appointed a ‘time-out’ system to members who obsessed too much, it seems their hearts are in it as much as their devotees. “There was a lot of soul searching when stuff wasn’t working out. You’d have to go away and take a week out of the studio to try and get things right in your head, and with the songs.
“There were times when things just weren’t working, we do have a thing where we obsess over details,” he admits.
This obsession is reflected in the colour-blue-heavy artwork, press shots and video clips surrounding the release, proof that AiH certainly aren’t afraid of the concept record. Moment Bends is not only a lyric taken from their track I Know Deep Down but it’s also inspired by the ‘blue hour’.
“It’s about the precipice of that point when day turns to night and the light goes blue, which is called the ‘blue hour.’ Hence the artwork of it being obsessed with the colour blue,” he laughs. “It was about freezing that moment and that sentiment, and stretching it throughout the whole album.” Being an unsigned act working without time constraints meant the band would often take periodic night drives on Melbourne highways during recording, to see if the tracks were finished.
“I guess it’s that thing with music; if you’re in a car and if it doesn’t transport you or make you stop thinking about what’s going on in your life, and make you reinterpret the world around you, then it’s not working...I think we always strived for that with this record.”
The opus, set for release through their new label Modular on April 8, was signed, sealed and delivered to the label in the form the band intended it to be distributed. “We delivered it, said ‘here’s the record’, and that was it!” says Bird, lucky enough to steer clear of label politics.
In May, the band will embark on their first headline tour in three years. Bird says fans can expect an indicative AiH performance absent of set lists and pregnant with original pop joy. In fact, Bird says if they produce anything less, they’ll go on permanent hiatus.
“I’d like to think that going to see a band is all about the experience and the way the songs are put together to work as one. “We just make music that reflects our personality.”
“There were times when things just weren’t working, we do have a thing where we obsess over details,” he admits.
This obsession is reflected in the colour-blue-heavy artwork, press shots and video clips surrounding the release, proof that AiH certainly aren’t afraid of the concept record. Moment Bends is not only a lyric taken from their track I Know Deep Down but it’s also inspired by the ‘blue hour’.
“It’s about the precipice of that point when day turns to night and the light goes blue, which is called the ‘blue hour.’ Hence the artwork of it being obsessed with the colour blue,” he laughs. “It was about freezing that moment and that sentiment, and stretching it throughout the whole album.” Being an unsigned act working without time constraints meant the band would often take periodic night drives on Melbourne highways during recording, to see if the tracks were finished.
“I guess it’s that thing with music; if you’re in a car and if it doesn’t transport you or make you stop thinking about what’s going on in your life, and make you reinterpret the world around you, then it’s not working...I think we always strived for that with this record.”
The opus, set for release through their new label Modular on April 8, was signed, sealed and delivered to the label in the form the band intended it to be distributed. “We delivered it, said ‘here’s the record’, and that was it!” says Bird, lucky enough to steer clear of label politics.
In May, the band will embark on their first headline tour in three years. Bird says fans can expect an indicative AiH performance absent of set lists and pregnant with original pop joy. In fact, Bird says if they produce anything less, they’ll go on permanent hiatus.
“I’d like to think that going to see a band is all about the experience and the way the songs are put together to work as one. “We just make music that reflects our personality.”
Moment Bends is out April 8 through Modular
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