As guitarist and producer Oscar Dawson makes his cup of morning coffee, “feeling lazy” at home in Melbourne, you wouldn’t think that the indie rockers are in the middle of working on their sophomore record. Or piecing together a huge national tour in three months’ time, one which Oscar reckons is going to be “a lot of fun”.
“The last Australian tour was at the start of this year (supporting first album favourite ‘A Heroine’), but this one’s fairly extensive. There’re some places we’re not going, but we’d really love to go everywhere. We’re pretty happy with how far we’re going though, like to WA and most states. We’re not going up to Darwin though, which is a shame because I fucking love that place.”
Still relaxed and with the chinking of a spoon against his coffee cup in the background, Dawson paints a picture of a band currently in the throes of “trying to develop a show at the moment. Me and Tim (Carroll, vocals) have been chatting about what we’re going to play and how. We’ve got some other new songs we’re working on in the studio that we’re going to bring out on the stage as well… From that perspective it’s going to be exciting for us.”
Hitting the studio just last week, Dawson, Carroll and drummer Ryan Strathie have been in the middle of “pretty intensive” recording sessions. Here, the guitarist reflects thoughtfully on the process, as well as their experimentation with “different textures”.
“We have this way of recording where we tend to do these five to seven day batches. We’re all mainly living in different states at the moment, so we come together and do a few songs. Then we step out, and that gives us some time to gain some perspective on what we’ve done before going back in again. So we do it in these stages, which is really good and we can see the sound changing over time.”
“The first album (When the Storms Would Come) was recorded in a more laidback fashion, with our producer Matt Redlich in his studio up in Brisbane which is also his home. So it was a bit more relaxed, and while I didn’t always feel that way, in hindsight it was. With this one, we’re in Melbourne and Matt’s moved down here and doesn’t live at the studio, so there’s a greater feeling of intensity. We have to book it out and plan, and we don’t have the run of the place the whole time. From my perspective, that’s a positive change, because it means we have to be more decisive and focused. We’ve been doing a bunch of tracking at Head Gap Studios in Preston, Melbourne, which has a big live room that’s affecting the sounds of the different instruments.”
“Obviously we’re a guitar and drums-based band in origin, but on ‘Darwinism’ there’s some horns and more synthesised elements… We’ll start with the bare bones of a song, and then we’ll get together as a band and the question is ‘How do we not ruin this?’. Often it’s the first idea that we end up taking.”
It’s this little insight into the new track, fresh off the upcoming album and with a psychedelic music video dropping just days ago, that sparks a reflection from the musician about creating a song the boys can “seek our teeth into”.
“Tim had the initial idea for that song, and as the title might suggest he came up with that up in Darwin when we were on tour there last year. It’s not really about the place, but became more about the evolution of relationships, so we felt that fit. Then we started putting the drums to it and it felt like the beat was heavier, and I wanted to write a song that was a bit less contemplative and more upbeat.”
While Dawson admits with a laugh that the rockers haven’t taken the new cut out onto the live stage because “they haven’t actually had any shows to play at yet”, that’s set to change with their third UK and European tour slated for the next two months.
The talented Melbourne artist then turns outward, the laziness gone with the dregs of his morning beverage, as he considers “a burden with young artists” where they “look around and they’ve got this weight of history behind them of all these greats that are lauded, and some of them for almost 50 years.”
“It can sometimes become crippling for artists to feel that weight on their shoulders and go ‘How can I possibly contribute?’. So that can sometimes be a headspace, and I’ve been there in the past. It’s probably slightly the wrong way to go about it, but I think that can create this internal battle or dynamic where you just think to yourself ‘It’s gotta be amazing or groundbreaking. It’s gotta be popular, this and that’. There are all these different boxes that have to be ticked in order for it to be ‘worthwhile’.”
“So it ends up becoming an incessant dialogue in your head, and I’ve had this experience working with other artists in the studio, where I can just see them being crippled by their own sense of expectation… Really you’ve just got to make music and enjoy it. That’s all you need to do (laughs).”
Not conforming to expectations is a Holy Holy trait which extends to their live shows, and this resonates through the time the musicians spent across our east coast in support of fellow Melbourne artist Vance Joy in April. A shadow was cast over the week due to the passing of Prince, yet Dawson says that playing a tribute to the legend at Margaret Court Arena was “a funny thing because we didn’t want to be gratuitous”.
“Obviously Prince dying is a big deal for a lot of people, and he’s one of those artists that was critically and commercially acclaimed. So that song we did (‘Nothing Compares 2 U’), which was actually made famous by Sinead O’Connor as opposed to Prince… It almost felt like it was one step removed. We’re a sucker for those sentimental songs, but we didn’t want to say ‘Prince has died. We’ve got to fucking play a Prince song now’ (laughs). Tim and I weren’t going to do it but we practiced backstage and it felt alright.”
“You know how it used to be the cigarette lighter in the air when there was an emotional moment? Now I see iPhones and smartphones with the torch on, and they’re way brighter. So I opened my eyes and there was this sea of lights just flashing back at me, and I was like ‘What the fuck’s going on?’ (laughs)… But it was cool.”
Don’t miss out on hearing both old and brand new cuts from their stunning back catalogue when Holy Holy bring their spirited live show across the country this November.
HOLY HOLY NATIONAL TOUR DATES
Thursday, 3rd November 2016
Fat Controller, Adelaide
Tickets: Holy Holy | 1300 Get Tix | All Moshtix Outlets
Friday, 4th November 2016
Prince Of Wales, Bunbury*
Tickets: Holy Holy | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
Saturday, 5th November 2016
Amplifier, Perth*
Tickets: Holy Holy | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
Sunday, 6th November 2016
Mojos, Fremantle*
Tickets: Holy Holy | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
Friday, 11th November 2016
Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Tickets: Holy Holy | 1300 724 867
Saturday, 12th November 2016
The Workers Club, Geelong
Tickets: Holy Holy | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
Sunday, 13th November 2016
Karova Lounge, Ballarat
Tickets: Holy Holy | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
Thursday, 17th November 2016
Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
Tickets: Holy Holy | 02 4968 3093
Friday, 18th November 2016
Metro Theatre, Sydney
Tickets: Ticketek | 132 849 | All Ticketek Outlets
Saturday, 19th November 2016
Uni Bar – Wollongong, Wollongong
Tickets: Holy Holy | 1300 Get Tix | All Moshtix Outlets
Sunday, 20th November 2016
The Basement, Canberra
Tickets: Holy Holy | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
Thursday, 24th November 2016
Miami Marketta, Gold Coast
Tickets: Holy Holy | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
Friday, 25th November 2016
Solbar, Sunshine Coast
Tickets: Holy Holy | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
Saturday, 26th November 2016
The Triffid, Brisbane
Tickets: Holy Holy | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
*Dream Rimmy appearing in place of I Know Leopard
