It seem a lot of Aussies are going a bit French lately, with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker undertaking a new Gallic inspired side project on top of his already jam-packed schedule.
The frontman is teaming up with French-born drummer Julien Barbagallo for a little side project they’re calling, Relation Longue Distance (no prizes for guessing what that translates to) as FasterLouder reports.
The pair have been collaborating in Paris and even played a few shows as the newly formed group. One of which included a stint at filmmaker David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive inspired venue, Silencio Nightclub. “We played at David Lynch’s bar, but we kept it kinda under wraps. We were just messing around,” the hard at work Parker explained.
Unsurprisingly hectic work schedules and ‘longue distance’ are keeping the two from expanding the project. “We want to, but unfortunately Julien still lives in Toulouse. We may do the gig via Wi-Fi,” says Parker. “It would be the first ever Wi-Fi gig. That’s a good idea actually… I’m definitely going to write that down.”
Parker seems to have a bit of a love affair with Paris, recording some of his vocals for renowned second album Lonerism in the French capital. Speaking to Tone Deaf last year, the frontman explains: “Paris was fun, I set up a little studio, it wasn’t as big as my one in Perth, but I did most of the vocals for the album there.” “We played at David Lynch’s bar, but we kept it kinda under wraps. We were just messing around.” – Kevin Parker, Tame Impala
The French connection (no pun intended) continues with the multi-talented Parker also producing Parisian local Melody’s Echo Chamber’s self-titled debut record. Melody Prochet spoke to Tone Deaf earlier this year about recording with the Tame Impala linchpin, saying, “Kevin is the best bass player, the best drummer I have met, ever, but everybody is on tour so unfortunately he can’t play with me live!”
‘Everybody’ being the members of Tame Impala and sister band Pond, who Prochet lived with while recording at Parker’s studio in Perth. “Kevin is a guru! He was a great help in this way,” she enthused. “[He] told me, ‘Look, shit’s gonna happen. Your laptop will break, your keyboards will break, and you’ve just got to go with it’.”
It’s a wonder the leading man has time for anything else outside of the world-dominating Tame Impala. The psychedelic rockers have been keeping busy of late, returning to our shores for a national tour kicking off on Friday alongside Groovin’ The Moo festival dates after wowing audiences in the Californian desert at Coachella.
The Perth locals will be entertaining Aussie fans for the next month with their headline tour before jetting back overseas. Their tour schedule includes Barcelona’s Primavera Sound, Germany’s Hurricane Festival, the UK’s legendary Glastonbury and a headline slot at Modular’s new Croatian island festival.
The Croatian island of Hvar will play host to Modular Recording’s inaugural FOR festival where Solange, Nicholas Jaar, James ‘LCD Soundsystem’ Murphy, Young Dreams, amongst many others, will join the all-conquering Tame Impala for a sun-soaked weekend in June.
It’s been a mammoth 12 months for the much-loved psychedelic outfit with their sophomore album Lonerism receiving glowing reviews (including from Tone Deaf and earning ‘Mad Props’ from you, the readers) for the follow-up to 2010’s Innerspeaker, dominating charts worldwide, debuting at #14 on the UK charts and even cracked the elusive US Top 40. The Perth band are also up for two nominations in the coveted shortlist for the APRA 2013 Song of the Year Award, for ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’ and ‘Elephant’.
Workaholic Parker isn’t the only Aussie to undertake a French-inspired project, with a bunch of Aussie acts collaborating on a compilation album of Gallic songs. The record, titled Mélodie Française, will include tributes from The Jezabels, Thelma Plum, Lisa Mitchell, Dappled Cities and a duet by Gossling and Oh Mercy’s Alexander Gow with a rendition of ‘La Minute de Silence’.
For your chance to win a double pass to see Tame Impala and a unique souvenir from their US Tour, head here and guess where in the States the band are.
