Following from the release of their impressive third LP La Di Da Di and announcement of their visit in February to perform as part of Laneway 2016, Battles’ enigmatic loopsmith Ian Williams sat down to share his formulae for making records and taking them on the road.

“If something sounds good, it’s worth putting it out…if the music’s good we release it, and if not then who cares? Do something else.”

Get To Know Your Gear…

“It’s gotten better over the years. When we started out I would chain a bunch of devices together and get all superstitious about it, kinda praying for it all to work while an audience is staring at you wondering when you’re gonna play something. I feel much more confident about it now. The tenuous part is how we chain all these things together…sometimes stupid things.”

…And How To Look After It

“I had a keyboard I toured with for a few years, I would just check it in a bag at the airport so every time I got it out for a show, another key would be smashed. One day it finally died on stage in Sicily. I donated it to the local record store, but it was completely busted so they nailed it to the wall.”

Sometimes It Takes Time

“From 2013 we did a lot of ‘raw writing’…just trying every day to make new sounds and get crazy and inspiring without worrying about which part of the song it might be used for. Basically a long list of possible things we could fuse together, and generally we each make those in isolation. Then we would have a discussion about honing the list down and try to go for it from there.

In terms of mixing, we started going up to the studio from October 2014. We would go for different stretches, maybe a couple weeks then go home, back for another week then home. That kinda went all the way through January 2015 before we mastered it, it was really only all done in March.”

Sometimes less is more

“In the past we would usually start with loops and then overdub a melody, this time we found we could actually embed the melody in the loop…meaning the rhythmic information could also be melodic…meaning some of the songs can get away with actually having less things going on.

On our other records we always seemed to have crazy-traffic-car-crash issues with the songs, so fusing them together became an exercise in traffic control. Now I think there’s a little more space to spread things out.

The process has been different for every record. We’re in a different time, different place, using different equipment…so the results come differently. I think in certain ways we’re better at playing the game that we play, in terms of fusing different factors and variables together to create a song. So we’re better at what we do without necessarily having changed the game plan too much.”

You Don’t Always Need A Hit Single To Be A Hit

“We got in to a discussion about how to present this record…the last two records each have had the ‘obvious’ song…the single. On this new record there’s no catchy single, it’s just good music to listen to. So what do we put forward to say “here is our record”? We just performed in a room, and you watch us play music as the first introduction to the material, as opposed to the clever video and a song which everyone would judge the record by. Instead we went for a softer release, something just to show “here are the dudes in a room together playing music”. That was the idea behind that.

Lugging Your Gear Around Never Gets Easier

“Here’s some inner talk now…I live out in Brooklyn, and we shot in Manhattan, which takes forever to get to. I had to carry all my equipment that day, so by the time we got set up…and we were in a studio so we were on the clock with a guy kinda saying “you gotta be all done in 2 hours” …I was so tired by the time we got all set up I didn’t think I could even do it. I didn’t like the way we pulled it off or the way we played, but the world accepted it pretty well…it seemed to be a nice thing.”

There Are No Shortcuts In Touring

“It’s cyclical. You release a record and try to tour a lot so for that next year we’ll be on the road, and then fade out. Pick off the sweet shows the following year, and then you have to go away so people want you to come back. Then you need time to sit and be bored so you want to make music and write new songs. It’s tough to do that when you’re in an airport lobby on tour.”

Be Nice To Your Bandmates

“Everyone in this band is at least adult enough and professional enough to know how to mostly function. I’ve been in bands with people who really don’t know how to function and that can drive you crazy. Generally we’ve managed to figure it out, but there’s no easy way because at the end of the day we run as a democracy collective thing…meaning there’s no leader. The easiest is when there’s a blueprint of what to do but you still have to go with majority rule. It can be messy and complicated but it works I guess if everyone is invested. If it is everyone’s band then everyone is trying.”

Patience And Humility Will Get You Places

“We’re the kind of band who aren’t really ‘rock stars’ anywhere, but we have very enthusiastic followings everywhere…so we have to spread ourselves out to play for people. I think we’ve only missed playing Africa…and the North and South Poles. But yeah rock’n’roll is 90% waiting…maybe 10% fun…get used to turning up on time and sitting around.”

Try To Be As Elusive As Possible When Asked About Your Group’s Future

“A farmer puts his field to rest, then he plants again in the spring…I don’t know…we’ll see how it goes…maybe…we’ll see…if we’re even alive at that point.”

Is there a golden rule here?

Probably just to be yourself. Unless you can be Battles. In that case, you should always be Battles.

La Di Da Di is out now via Inertia. The band will also be in town in February to perform as part of Laneway 2016

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