“Hog Calling Contest,” the new single from King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s 26th studio album Flight b741 was released today, accompanied by the announcement of a mini-documentary, Oink Oink Flight b741: The Making of….
Directed by Guy Tyzack, the documentary provides a behind-the-scenes look at the band’s recording process, shot on 16mm film. This format limited Tyzack to capturing only about five minutes of footage per day, adding a layer of spontaneity and rawness to the project.
“We were tasked with capturing the band make an album from scratch in two weeks. They purposefully didn’t prepare much for the recordings, so it was very difficult for me to plan what to film,” Tyzack explained. “I just knew they’d be in one room and three of them might drop out at any moment because they were expecting babies. The room looked brown and boring, so I painted it like the sky to match the theme of the album in one 17-hour stretch with three friends and a slab of mids.”
The band shared insights into the inspiration behind “Hog Calling Contest”: “While recording Flight b741, we occasionally had these ultra-inspired tune-up/warm-up jams. Of course, we were never actually recording during these moments though. Lost to time. Except one time; this time.
“We learned to record these moments; ‘Daily Blues’ came together this way too. But ‘Hog Calling Contest’ retains a unique unhinged-ness that only comes when you’re fooling around with your mates and you don’t think you’re being recorded. Happy in mud!”
Flight b741 marks the band’s first release on their new p(doom) records imprint. This album represents a shift from their recent series of expansive and conceptual albums to a more intimate and collaborative effort. With roots in country-fried rock’n’roll, the band’s latest work is filled with the kind of effortless songwriting that emerges naturally after almost a decade and a half of playing together.
Drawing inspiration from early Steve Miller Band and The Band, King Gizzard laid down the riffs and grooves with a sense of spontaneity. The vocal recordings took a new direction, with band members taking turns at the mic, resulting in what is perhaps their most collaborative record to date.
The concept this time is ‘no concept’ — a big call for a band whose reputation is built on their genre-blending music, covering everything from psych rock and heavy metal to jazz and synth-pop and known for their prolific output of fresh new tunes.
Flight b741 will be released on August 9th. Watch “Oink Oink” Flight b741: The Making of… here:
