Hi I’m Jarrah and I’m the synth/vocalist/percussionist for Panama. I enjoy home cooked meals and don’t exercise as regularly as I should. My favourite beer is Sun Down by James Squire and I have an unhealthy obsession with vintage synthesizers. Our band’s sound has been described as Yacht Rock and ‘Hopeful House Music’.
I was lucky enough to work with Eric Broucek from the DFA Records family on the EP as well as our forthcoming album. Our debut EP, It’s Not Over is out now through Future Classic, so it’s a super exciting time as it’s been in the pipeline for a while. We’re really excited to share it with the world.
You were doing great things with your band The Dirty Secrets, tell us why you decided to create Panama, rather than just continue with the same name?
First off, thank you! Dirty Secrets was so much fun. The reason why I chose to start Panama was because I had a collection of songs I had been writing for a while that were incredibly different to the songs I was writing for Dirty Secrets. So much so that it made sense to create a new entity that better represented what I was writing at the time. It was during the recording process with Eric in Los Angeles that I realised I needed to come up with a name for the ‘new’ band. I swear naming a band is one of the hardest things you can do.
A strong 80s summer influence comes through on your debut EP, what lead to this? Was this necessarily what you were aiming for?
I love modular synths, or actually anything with valves. My girlfriend says I’m addicted and she’s probably right. If I’m not writing music you can always find me in pawn stores hunting for anything old and analogue. A lot of people don’t know this,, but my father has a huge collection of valves stored away in his shed. Maybe this sort of gear addictive behaviour runs in the family?
There are lot of artists that use strong 80s influenced sounds in their music nowadays, what sets Panama apart from just being another nostalgia act?
Making heartfelt songs that mean something to us is our number one priority. After the song comes production, I see it like this: The song is the painting, the production in the frame for the painting, and in this case yes, I do have a love for combining acoustic instruments (such as a piano) with electronic instruments (such as a Yamaha CS 60), both instruments are classic sounding (albeit in a modern way) and that in turn should create nostalgia.
You’ve been working on a debut album due out in 2013, can you tell us when to expect it and what to expect from it?
I think 2013 is right. As we’ve just brought out the EP it may be a little while before we can move on as some hugely exciting things are already coming out of the tracks that we’ve just released, so we want to give them some breathing space.
The video for “It’s Not Over” was shot in Berlin with an incredible production team called ‘A Nice Idea Everyday’ and it went on get selected for Vimeo Staff Picks, so we’ve cracked 100,000 views over the last couple of weeks. Did I mention it was an exciting time?
While recording in LA, we heard that bandmate Jim Orso almost got knifed. Scary stuff. What happened and is this inspiring a darker sound?
At the time we thought it was a crazy thing to happen, you know? I mean, if that guy with the knife had been just a little longer in the arms Jim may of copped it proper!
Jim told me that the guy with the knife was quite short, he kept swinging his arms around wildly and then someone got a trashcan and put it over the little guy’s head. Something out of the movies… I found that part a little hilarious, kind of like a comic tragedy! And yes, the album does have a darker sound come to think of it. Good point! Let’s credit our new sound to the knife wielding maniac!
On a lighter note we’ve also been told about Alvin, the studio cat. Obviously an important member of the band! Will we be hearing any cat sounds on the album?
Haha, I found out that Alvin is actually a stray cat that the studio adopted, how sweet is that? That cat would lie flat on his back on top of the most expensive bits of gear. John Vanderslice (musician and studio owner) is a very gentle and patient man.
Because it’s more fun to do things together, which living Australian artist would you most like to collaborate with? Tell us why?
Probably Flume, who just happens to be on the same label as us. It’s amazing seeing someone who is young and with so much talent make such a big splash in the industry. I’m a huge fan! We’re really lucky to have such talented label-mates on Future Classic.
What is your band’s music the best soundtrack for?
A weekend getaway spent holding hands with the person you love most. Memory-making, sun-filled days…
Where we can see you play next, what releases do you have available and where can we get them?
Yes we are doing a show with Mitzi on the 29th of November at Goodgod Small Club in Sydney. Future Classic DJs will also be in tow, it’s going to be one massive party (with Panama providing the bongos).
You can grab tickets: here
We just released our debut EP It’s Not Over today, and you can grab it here: https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/its-not-over/id569076130
You can also check out the video for ‘It’s Not Over’ here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMKZIaIN7O4
