Introduce yourself, maybe use some notes from your bio or press release. Tell us what you’ve got coming up. Nothing too major. Just a couple of hundred words at most.
Mildlife are a four-piece from Melbourne with a sound most can’t put a finger on – It’s something like what your dad may have dreamed the future of music to sound like in 1974. They’re a live electronic outfit, but with as much string-plucking as there is dial-tweaking ensuring they’re not lost amongst any electronic contemporaries. On stage, Mildlife weave an uninterrupted experience of dusty beats and velvet melodies, projecting library music for the dance floor. They create technicolor kraut-rock on acid with a restrained wash of live instrumentation and samples.
What’s your earliest memory of performing and who inspired you to start?
For my 14th birthday we all went to see my bro play a show at the St. Andrews pub. Later on in the set they announced it was my birthday, dragged me on stage and strapped a bass to my chest. 14 year old Kev was with me too so I dragged him along. We thought we were cookin on some wild funk groove, but I bet I was just fumbling my way through something I heard flea play on a bass tutorial once. Kev was having the time of his life wailing away next to me.
You must answer this question honestly or we steal your rider. What and where was the first gig you went to?
Probably that one. It was hot.
‘Fess up. What records have you stolen from your parent’s record collection and why?
Just the old classics really. Plenty of Zeppelin, Sgt Peppers, Abraxas. Dire Straits doesn’t get much of a spin these days but the Live Frank Sinatra double album keeps on giving, same with Nebraska by The Boss.
What’s on heavy rotation on your iPod right now?
Can’t go past the audiobook of Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot, mostly read by the great man himself.
There’s a podcast from an East Village Radio show called Chances With Wolves. It’s basically a couple of dudes with a crazy record collection, spinning some mind blowing stuff.
How do you find new music?
Chances With Wolves is good for finding old stuff that’s new to us. There’s so many good podcasts and mixes out there these days.
Do you have any particular ritual before you go on stage, or even a lucky charm you take with you?
Not really. We pat Adam’s head a lot, it feels nice.
If you could curate your own festival, where would it be, who would be on the bill, how many people would you let in and what features would it have (attractions/food/bars etc)?
We’re in the planning stages of getting Tezfest off the ground. Tom’s dad, Terry, lives on a magical hill in the Gippsland area and we’ve been talking about putting something on up there. If we had an unlimited budget we’d probably get Prince, Bowie, Lil Wayne and Tay Zonday.
When you’re Rolling Stones Big, what are you going to request on your rider: don’t be shy. We want specifics!
Obviously watermelon carvings of the cast of Seinfeld.
Because it’s more fun to do things together, which living Australian artist would you most like to collaborate with? Tell us why?
Geoffrey Rush, because I saw him at the Milk Bar the other day and he was incredibly well mannered and had a very firm handshake.
What is your band’s music the best soundtrack for?
Kayaking, milling wood, fishing for salmon, sailing a boat or driving a car, riding up steep hills on a segway, picking grapes, para-sailing.
Where we can see you play next, what releases do you have available and where can we get them? [Feel include links, dates, album titles etc.]
We’re playing in Sydney this Saturday night at The Standard then in Adelaide on Thursday the 12th at Arcade Lane. Then Melbourne Saturday May 26th at the Jon Curtin.
We have two singles out at the out at the moment. You can get them on iTunes or at mildlife.bandcamp.com. They’re also up on our soundcloud (soundcloud.com/mildlife)
