Bred in a Melbourne home studio, AXOLOTL is the product of Ella Thompson and Dustin McLean, developed over a mutual love of lush, cinematic, layered production combined with lyric-focussed songwriting.
Blending the electronic flourishes of Radiohead and Little Dragon with the deft wordplay and innovation of St. Vincent and Leonard Cohen, AXOLOTL have already released their debut single ‘Garden Lane’ to rave reviews.
After supporting an eclectic array of acts the likes of The Bamboos, Bonobo, Daedelus, TZU, and Hudson Mowhawke, AXOLOTL are now prepped to promote the release of their first EP Autonomy, six self-produced gems that demonstrate their unique musical vision, and Ella Thompson sits down to answer a few questions.
You’ve recently released your debut EP Autonomy, are you happy with how it turned out?
Yes! Autonomy is our first release so it’s great to finally see it come together. We took our time with it and in a way was a tool in developing the overall sound of the band.
Your music beautifully mixes electronic and organic sounds, how do you get the right balance between the two?
I think as far as production goes we are interested in manipulating sounds, electronics gives you such a broad range of possibilities, while organic instrumentation makes it sound more human. So I suppose we were trying to get a mix of that.
What can fans expect from the AXOLOTL live show?
Playing live with the band is my favourite part! Everyone goes for it which I love. We have been working on some new songs which I’m excited to play. It’s a pretty high energy show, we also have some great visuals my friend made, which are based on Dali’s dream sequence… but I don’t want to give it all away.
Do you have any particular ritual before you go on stage, or even a lucky charm you take with you?
Not really, I usually just make sure the whole band is in the one place a couple of minutes before we go on so we’re a bit centred.
Considering your eclectic mix of influences, how hard is it to recreate that sound in the live setting?
Most of us in the band are pretty computer savvy. Especially Dustin (keys) and Leigh (drum) who have worked pretty hard in various other groups to make the sound of the record come across. Having said that, I see the live show and the studio as two separate things.
We aren’t consciously thinking while we are playing ‘let’s make it sound exactly like the recording’. It has to be an honest performance of that moment.
‘Fess up. What records have you stolen from your parent’s record collection and why?
I remember my dad always playing Sufi singers and I thought it was so weird, but recently I’ve been getting into it. My parents listened to a lot of jazz and blues, which I pretended I didn’t like. They even named me after Ella Fitzgerald.
Do you think it’s mainly helpful or restricting by listing influences when starting out?
I think everyone wants to compare you to something and that makes it easier. I would prefer to list artists that I’m influenced by, rather than a blanket genre.
What new Australian music have you been enjoying lately?
Ye,s there is lots of great Australian music. I think Ball Park Music are really good songwriters, Galapagoose makes really interesting music, Husky, Sam Lawrence, Dan and Paul Kelly, Ainslie Wills, always Nick Cave, really like Sarah Blasko’s new stuff, there is so much more.
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?
I think Meredith have it pretty sorted. If I had this great luxury it would be near the sea but with green pastures, perhaps the Otways?
It would have some lighting/visuals element to all the performances, several good coffee stands so you don’t have to wait for an hour and no $10 cruisers or VBs! Not too many people, no nipple showing singlets and denim shorts that are more like undies.
As far as music goes, some diversity that doesn’t mean your signature festival reggae band. My dream lineup would be Little Dragon, Beach House, Chairlift, Bjork, St Vincent, Talking Heads, Atoms For Peace, Dirty Projectors, and some of the Australian acts I mentioned before. I would pay big bucks to see that!
Because it’s more fun to do things together, which living Australian artist would you most like to collaborate with? Tell us why?
Oooh – imagine working with Nick Cave! I think he would really push you out of your comfort zone to do something totally different.
Where we can see you play next, what releases do you have available and where can we get them?
Our EP launch is Next Thursday October 18th at Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne and October 19th at the Beresford in Sydney.
Autonomy is out now and available on iTunes.
Pre- sales available Ding Dong October 18th here: http://dingdong.oztix.com.au
