Smack bang in the middle of a tour and the guitarist from Sydney post-rock instrumental act sleepmakeswaves (all lowercase, no spaces thanks), Jonathan ‘Kid’ Khor, still has time for a chat about recording new material, gearing up for a busy future and just how exactly one acts at the sort of gig this particular quartet put on.
“Settling down into any sort of rhythm though is tricky,” Khor admits, “because we have tours coming at us left, right and centre. It’s hard, for example, to put aside time to write and record new material right now, [but] we’re always evolving,” he adds.
He hums wistfully before brightening, “this tour is actually the first time in about two years that we’re actually playing new material! So it’ll be really nice to get back into the studio and start recording the stuff we’ve been working on these past few months.”
It’s an exciting prospect for fans, to hear a fresh set of songs of the vocal-less band that have been around since 2008. After recording their debut album, last year’s …and so we destroyed everything (again all lower case, please) in the Wingello State Forest, the band is looking at recording in a less mobile studio.
“It was one of the best weeks of my life so we haven’t ruled out not recording in the middle of a forest,” Khor laughs. “But when you’re touring, you lose track of time and before you know it, it’s just like, ‘Oh, hang on. We’re due to put out a release’.”
The guitarist admits that while
The guitarists explains that the group are “conscious of finding the balance” between performing live and recording, “because both sides of music are equally rewarding as they are frustrating.”
After some serious bad luck in the past, including a tonne of gear being nicked and having money stolen from them, sleepmakeswaves’ past 12 months have undoubtedly been rewarding in contrast. Performing at both Peats Ridge Festival and SXSW are particular highlights and just last month, their debut was released in the United States.
“We’ve been really fortunate but it’s certainly come after a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifices,” but Khor continues with a positive outlook without any hint of cheese.
“Look, things that sounded too hard or impossible to achieve a year ago are [now] actually able to be done. I think with the right attitude you can surprise yourself at what you can accomplish.”
After letting the album stew for a while overseas, the four-piece will be leaving Australia’s borders as soon as the year is out; to sate their cult following in the deepest corners of Europe, and some particularly disappointed fans in China (they recently had to cancel, but hopefully will reschedule, a tour there soon).
“We get such a huge kick out of performing live,” Khor fervently tells, “and the live sound is something we’ve wanted to capture more of in our recordings. We get people telling us after a gig how blown away they were by the sound. It would mean going back to a more traditional way of recording: one layer at a time and just playing live like we do on stage.”
Before their jaunt in a forest, the boys from Sydney used to jam for hours on end to mixed results.
“Sometimes it worked really, really well and you come up with some cool stuff on the spot. Or the next thing you know, you’ve been playing for 3 hours and no one is happy with any of it. You lose your bearing and focus.”
These days, however, they’ve taken on a more direct route. “What’s been working for us lately is to just structure the songs in a very basic form. Our bassist (Alex Wilson) is the brains behind the drums and synths and other machines. He’ll generally come up with an idea on his computer, email it to us and we’ll take a listen.”
From there, each member will individually create ideas on their instruments and they’ll then get together a couple of times a week to flesh it out as a band. Somehow, you feel there’s more to creating a track like the ones that sleepmakeswaves do.
All they’re worried about, says Khor, is how best to get the music from the studio to the stage.
“I know some post-rock bands get really upset when the audience is being noisy when they’re playing a very delicate or quiet part – but we don’t care!” Khor chuckles before continuing. “Every show is different. I’ve seen a few people jumping up and down and I’ve even seen some fist pumping.”
The most common reaction, however, is simply awe, “especially in those intense moments of music,” the earnest guitar player explains.
“You look out at the audience and they’re not making a sound. They’re just fixated on you, not even talking to each other. It’s a weird feeling because you’re wondering, ‘Why aren’t they smiling, how come they aren’t jumping around?’ but you soon realise that if that ever happens, you’re playing a good show.”
The guitar player is certain of one thing, though: “I don’t mind how the audience reacts, so long as they’re not walking out of the room!” Khor laughs.
sleepmakeswaves’ powerful skill and equally titanic post-rock ensure its near impossible to leave any gig of theirs prematurely.
…and so we destroyed everything is out now through Birds Robe Collective. Sleepmakeswaves support Tortoise on their Sydney and Melbourne shows on October 11 and 13 respectively. Full dates and details here.
