The lovely guys from OUGHT (oughtontheinternet) after their awesome show at Village Underground in London, such a captivating band live, not to mention super nice people.
TSH: How key is it for the level of focus and band dynamic to write everything collaboratively?
Tim: It definitely helps with focus; we all feel that we’re bringing something to the songs, rather than fleshing out parts. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it keeps the dynamic relatively egalitarian, and makes us feel that all our parts are valuable.
TSH: When forming music together you’ve described the process as a ‘wordless thing and then something small will happen and it will all start gelling’. How refreshing is it to have this intuitive bond?
Tim: It goes both ways: it’s really refreshing when it works out, but it can be a little disappointing when a practice doesn’t yield anything interesting. We typically try to just roll with it, knowing that something interesting will come eventually if we just keep working. But yes, it feels very special - we’ve learnt to read each other pretty well from a few years of playing together, and it’s really nice that things can happen without too much analysis.
TSH: Whilst creating the album what was the primary range of moods that were brewing within the group?
Tim: Well, we were writing at a time when we were each, individually, grappling with certain pre- or post-graduation realities. We were realising the limits and possibilities of our politics, trying to generate values and live up to them, trying to figure out how to be better and how art-making could possibly be a part of that. And that was all during a period of mass social unrest that felt very central to our lives. So our moods were predictably varied: we were trying to balance anger and frustration with potential for (personal + political) change.
TSH: The debut album ‘More Than Any Other Day’ has received so many amazing reviews and deservedly so. How do you feel the record deals with reconnecting with the world?
Tim: We were just trying to grapple with our personal world. The fact that other people have connected with that attempt is really gratifying, though, and makes me feel like there are a lot of people thinking and working through the same things. That’s really nice. I think it’s important to remember that the music we were making reflects the kinds of conversations we were having outside of the band!
TSH: How beneficial was sound engineer Radwan Moumneh in relation to nurturing the sound?
Tim: Radwan knows what he’s doing, and he was really good at providing an outsider’s perspective (particularly as I’d mixed all our previous recordings myself). I remember a few decisions - little things, volume levels here and there - that I would disagree with, and then sleep on and come back convinced that they’re utter genius. It was really productive for us to have our initial thoughts contested, a little, and it’s made for a much better record. He’s also just a stand-up guy, and his attitude through the sessions brought out the best in us.
TSH: Tell us about how students and supportive demonstrators protesting against tuition rates proposed by the Quebec Cabinet in Montreal affected the record…
Tim: I mean, it was, for me at least, the first time that I’d seen mass mobilisation against anything, let alone something that so directly affected my life. The powerful thing about the student strike was that it engulfed so many different segments of society: there were children and older people in all of the marches, as well as students. It reshaped my views on the generative power of collective action, which were forged in a deeply cynical Australian political climate. The protests were broader than tuition: no one knew exactly what they wanted, or what the answers were, but there was an incredible amount of emotion and possibility in those marches. That uncertainty can be a really powerful force, I think.
TSH: Patriarchy, capitalism and artistic limitation are all themes covered on this diverse album. There are a lot of questions on the album and reflections about things not being right... How did you primarily arrive on such features?
Tim: The music really just came out of what we were talking/thinking/living about. It would’ve been disingenuous, or weird, in some way, to make a record about anything else, when this was such a big part of our day to day.
TSH: Let’s talk about the amazing material on the album. Firstly, ‘Pleasant Heart’ with its intricate rhythms and catchy riff it really resonates so well. How do you guys collaborate and liaise together in creating such a well layered song?
Tim: Ha, thanks! That song is actually pretty old - we recorded it once, in quite a different form, on an EP we put out called New Calm. It’s a lot slower on that version, which may have led to us being able to put it together more easily. Over the years we’ve kept playing it live, and we’ve got faster as we got better at our instruments.
TSH: Moreover, during the excellent ‘Today, More Than Any Other Day’ you mention being ‘excited to go grocery shopping’ and ’excited for the milk of human kindness’. What kind of ideas shaped the song itself?
Tim: I think that song came out of starting to feel weird about the way in which we live every day - a lot of our institutions can leave one feeling pretty isolated and confused, but not feeling entirely content in simply rallying against them.
TSH: Furthermore, when sequencing the album was ‘Gemini’ the natural choice to end the album, with its resounding feel and progressive pace?
Tim: We tried it in a variety of spots, but it’s kind of hard to bounce back from the ending. It seemed to fit at the end really well.
TSH: Do you feel having a catchy and danceable edge to your music allows people to gravitate towards your sounds in a live setting?
Tim: I hope so! We definitely see ourselves as a live band - the record is essentially a document of a pretty good live show.
TSH: When you approach the live translation of the record do you like to invent new ways to make it more of an experience for the audience?
Tim: It’s more that the record was a recorded translation of the live show, honestly. But we do like to draw some things out live, and introduce some twists and turns to keep it interesting.
TSH: In the midst of the stunning album an extensive touring cycle is about to begin, what intrigues you most as you take this the journey together in venturing throughout the world?
Tim: What bands am I going to have my mind blown by that I never would’ve seen if we weren’t playing every night? What are other little music communities around the world like? Can we spend 8 hours in a van together each day without going insane?
TSH: How much of your music would you say is snapshot of your lives over different periods?
Tim: I would say that all of our music speaks to our experience, hopefully.
TSH: As you head forward as a collaborative act what are the fundamentals you hope to stay true to and maintain?
Howl! arts collective presents part one of a series of compositions by Tim Keen, beautiful violin home recordings, mixing loops and contemporary violin.
"These three violin improvisations pay homage to Warren Ellis, Owen Pallett, and Arvo Part, and were recorded in one continuous take as a set of three movements," writes Keen, "they represent the beginning of a series of short, improvised works, which will hopefully develop and mature as they progress."
A recent import to Montreal, Australian-born violinist and multi-instrumentalist Tim Keen works across a wide variety of styles, from collaborations with bands (The Crown Vandals) to hybrid-electronica performances, to television and play soundtracks, to traditional orchestras and chamber music (Australian Youth Orchestra camps, The University of Melbourne).
Classically trained, Keen has spent the last few years attempting to escape the Western violin canon, as well as re-interpret it for a new generation and is particularly interested in the nexus of art music, electronica, and contemporary rock idioms, and attempts to make music that reflect his broad influences and training.
