We recently premiered the searing new rock record from Sydney band The Art, All In The Mind, and we’ve now been able to hear from Azaria, KJ and Jordan about how it all came together over the last few years of living the rock ‘n roll lifestyle.
Three years in the making, All In The Mind is described by the band in simple terms as “music you want to **** to”, but there’s plenty more to talk about below, from reflections on relationships and life, to riding a motorbike naked in the rain on acid and being worshipped by the Devil.
All In The Mind is out now through Golden Robot Records, and is available via iTunes, while fan bundles with signed copies, poster, guitar picks and various other goodies are on offer through the SFR Store. The Art will be launching the album at Sydney’s Oxford Circus this Saturday November 19, and you can sign up to the guest list here for what promises to be a very special homecoming show.
Sugar Queen
Azaria: This song was written in a share house on Crown Street, Surry Hills where Jordan and I were living (a few of the songs from All In The Mind were developed and written there). We lived with all these mixed sub-culture (predominantly EDM) lovers in a 24/7 party house.
I tried to appreciate the music that they’re into and identify the different sub-cultures in which I found difficult to segregate, as each had the same pulse “dancing to the beat of soul-less drones”. However, it was like learning a new language so I was persistent to understand and learn.
I became close with one girl in particular, a traditional vintage indie rocker and a candy raver fairy who I called the Sugar Queen – as she always had the goods handy. At the end of the day we bonded on Coke and having a good time and never influenced each other on where our musical heARTs lied.
It was almost like she was perfect because the Sugar Queen made everything amazing (even when listening to the music and being dragged to the shitty rave party). Things always sounded and felt amazing because she had the sugar and was the gift that kept on giving. It was more like a dream and a relationship didn’t eventuate because it was all in the mind gliding through space and time, flying on fake love – but who cares.
Life’s about the journey and the process, not about the destination; that house ended in flames, literally. It was just a dream of two kids that were high trying to find more common ground thanks to the faith and guidance of the sugar in the bowl.
Minute To Madness
KJ: I wrote ‘Minute To Madness’ after I read a book called Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill, which is essentially a rock ’n roll ghost story. I wasn’t expecting a particularly deep read, but was taken by the haunting feeling that escalated relentlessly, with the notion of being chased by something you can’t see, but cannot stop from propelling you forward until you learn how to face the chaos, and walk through the fire ‘cause you ain’t afraid to get burned.
I realised that (or maybe it’s just me) this story was a great metaphor for the times in life where you have no choice but to make tough decisions, or do the wrong thing for the right reasons… when you know you might be about to make a mess, but there’s an excitement to the danger because the scope of possibility has been cracked wide open.
Thinking About The Universe
Azaria: ‘Thinking About The Universe’ is about being in another dimension while being surrounded by murmurs of the mundane, with a brattish retaliation to wasted words and dross – “sorry, I couldn’t really hear you because I was thinking about the universe”. In the whole scheme of the universe, does the small talk really have that much relevance? Yes, it does. Because everyone has their own story going on in their minds in reaction to their own reality.
This song is just saying fuck all that. Life lasts as long as a blink of the eye, life lasts as long as a flash of light and is subjective to the individual. It would take lifetimes to understand each other. So, I say fuck the small talk, “I’m thinking about the universe”. It’s all in your mind and doesn’t mean anything in the whole notion of the universe and how long it has existed and changed shape. Our life is just a little flash or segment of time so why not think about the bigger picture?
I’m just repeating myself really and saying the same thing over and over again just like having to talk about the weather with Bob Down at the corner store. So, basically, this an after-thought of taking DMT – after visiting the shape of death and the whole concept of space and time.
War, paying rent, bitching about someone, worrying about what someone thinks of you, fashion, religion, politics; I was not consulted when laws were put in place…xenophobia, social conditioning – no, thanks! “I’m thinking about the universe”.
Trouble St
KJ: ‘Trouble St’ was written so quickly, I’m almost sure that one wrote itself! I actually wrote this song for a very close friend of mine who was at a delicate and confusing crossroad in her life. We had never been the types for girly chats about matters of the heart, but I knew some perspective and advice was needed.
I figure that we all find ourselves on Trouble St at one time or another… and feeling like the bad guy can be so lonely, but trouble can be the most fun, so fuck it… may as well throw a party and worry about it later. Interesting side note: I’m probably not the best person to go to for ‘practical’ relationship advice.
Bad Girl
Azaria: This is based on something simple – with my own experiences of being attracted to a “Bad Girl”. The girl that all the other girls bitch about and slut shame (when really, they’re just a bit jealous of them) and the girl that smashes the heARTs of her conquests because she dances to the beat of her own drum. She isn’t afraid to be open and honest with the universe about who she is.
You may be one of those people that bitch about her, you may be a lover that has sour grapes and have been totally gutted by her or you may be her father that tried to smack her. The catch is, is this beautifully crazy, multi-dimensional unicorn loves it! She loves it all, you can’t punish her because she likes it. She is totally free of any bullshit and repellent of exterior insecurities – the BAD GIRL rules!
All Nighter/Hello Sun (outro/intro)
Azaria: This title is the outro to Bad Girl and intro in Charismatic; they sit in juxtaposition to one another. It’s like a psychedelic all-nighter filled with chaos fading into the comedown as the sun rises and clarity dawns upon us.
Charismagic
Jordan: I was actually sitting on a beach, watching the waves and feeling all single and reflective. A line just kind of rolled off the wind and into my ear, “You smile, I evaporate”. It had this whole flow and whimsical kind of melody to it. “Cities are falling at your feet now” followed right after and acted as a tail to the melody. This wasn’t just about a girl, it was about a Goddess, and her power to neutralise you and cut you down to size.
I’d been exploring some really cool, magical sounding chords at the time and just found the right ones to carry the message. It actually took a long time to develop this one with Azaria…weeks writing lyrics and exploring the concept to his own experiences. The sonics had to fit the story perfectly or the message would be lost. The band instantly loved it, but we knew it wouldn’t be an easy one to capture on record.
We spent forever on tones and wanted to fully exploit the atmospheric, gothy vibe with as much ‘over production’ as Stevie Knight (producer) would allow occur in his studio! Haha. It came out lush and vulnerable, spooky, and pretty much all the other adjectives that we hoped it’d inspire after listening. My favourite thing about this song was the nostalgia it evokes.
Party Track Number: 666
Jordan: This one actually started on the drum kit. I was just belting down on the snare as a warmup or something and the pulse just immediately dictated a punky kinda guitar motif in my brain. I grabbed an axe and just let it develop from there. It’s one of the simplest songs I’ve ever written, just like a verse, chorus, verse, chorus vibe which actually marries really well with the stuff KJ & Zar had been penning around the same time. It just felt adolescent and cool, so lyrically I followed that path too.
The track’s written from the perspective of the Devil on your shoulder. He’s whispering all this anarchistic shit in your ear and I personally feel it’s really important to heed that call every once in a while. In the studio we put down a thousand guitar ideas, but wound up just stripping it all back to its skin & bones. Live, it’ll be a one guitar thing and a chance for Zar to tap into the Demon and just let fly.
Dead Inside
Azaria: ‘Dead Inside’ was written about the aftermath of THE ART touring constantly on the road for two years straight while bouncing between the USA, UK, Europe and Australia. It was written when we landed back in Australia, took a break and finally had a chance to breathe (well, me anyway). It felt like we were all heading into a dark hole and had to work some things out as a band.
This was actually the first song I wrote for All In The Mind. It was the breath that was taken after all the chaos that we fit into such a short period of time. I think the hope is the experience and all the crazy things we got to do as a touring band; every night the party came to us. Yet it was almost like living a life time within lifetimes.
KJ and I sing back and forth, it’s almost like she’s giving me shit in her call and responses where I’m being the joker. “Patience is a hurt you” I sing and KJ responds “and ME” as if I’m the pain in her ass – is my favourite line. There is a bit of tongue and cheek in the verses, however the chorus’ are big, dumb and simple to illustrate the simplicity of being dead inside. It ended up being a positive experience because it lead to us writing an album. And it was good to be home on solid ground for once to do so.
I believe our Producer Stevie Knight regained THE ART’s flight and put us back in a positive direction. He’s been a mate for years and kind of knows what this band is more than any of the members. Sometimes when you’re too close and spend so long doing something, all you’re left with in the end is a bunch of crazy stories that no one else can dive into unless they were with you upon the journey. “All in the mind” anyway.
The Calling
KJ: My original demo of the song was a very personal account of feeling torn between wanting the comfort of a lover, wanting to talk about all that’s wrong and making it right again, but fearing deep down that in that moment the words just won’t be there. At that time I tried to find peace by telling myself that some things are just bigger than us.. and sometimes there just aren’t words…and in those moments there’s nothing you can do but take a deep breath, countdown and listen to your instincts. I find I tend to struggle to make decisions and feeling conflicted can make me feel like someone’s hit the pause button on me, so more than anything, this song is a reminder to listen to myself and not over think it.
Voodoo Storm
Azaria: Voodoo Storm was written in retrospect from what I could remember about a toxic relationship that I was in. And my reaction to the situation was very immature and enabled me to pick up a few more bad habits. Trying to self-sabotage and treating myself like a joke, just to be in unison with how she treated me (yes, immature) and fulfil the prophecy.
In a lighter period of our relationship I was literally dancing in the rain like a crazy person, while she watched me with no expression from the window. I then took acid and rode my motorbike naked in the rain around Moore Park in Sydney (it seemed like the right thing to do at the time). Maybe I was just trying to get her attention, I’m not too sure, as I don’t remember that period of time too much.
I feel like it’s funny to look back on how you felt back then and wish you could go back to the younger you and say, “It’s going to be okay, this is just how you’re feeling now, be forgiving as this too will pass. PS: Be kind to your mind and body as I don’t want to have to put all that work in to rehabilitate it, you idiot!”
Satan Worships Me
Azaria: I was living across the road from Hillsong in Waterloo when I wrote this song. Christian girls fascinate me and seem to be drawn towards me for some reason. There is a bad girl inside all of them and they seem to like bad boys so they don’t have to be responsible for their own actions – so I love to happily wear that responsibility.
I’ve been called Satan before by a Christian girl I was seeing because she said I brought out the bad in her and made her feel like sex, which is obviously against her ideologies. Once more, I was called Satan by her and I replied, “Oh, no no no, Satan worships me”. And there I had a foundation for a funny song. Kinda light and funny and ends the album with a kiss on the tongue and cheek of a sweet Christian girl, attracted to an innocent guy that gets worshipped by Satan.
