Respecting The Process And Reveling In The Physical Form

So, yeah, I guess I like making music.

I’ve always played guitar and I started writing songs a few years back. As soon as I’d made them up, I felt like I needed to record them – so they’re, like, jotted down in a way.

Then one time when I was in the States I thought I should buy a bunch of recording gear. I bought some mics, an interface and worked out how to somewhat use it after that. That’s where the recording part of it started and Droid [Andrew Doheny] is someone who’s influenced me and got me hyped on a lot of the writing aspect. 

From there I really got into being able to record; there’s so much stuff to learn about with that sort of shit. It feels pretty sweet to sit for a couple of hours and record something which you’ve created on your own, just using techniques you’ve learnt from friends, or reading about the process and learning yourself. 

I like the mental challenge of working it all out. 

Photography

Alex Wall

It’s something I enjoy which is completely adjacent from surfing.

I’m drawn to the process of making it yourself, rather than just going to someone else to do it all [recording an album]. The first album I did, Barbie69, I did all on my own – the guitar, drums, bass, vocals. I recorded it, mixed it, and then got a little help with mastering it.

On the second one I changed it up slightly. I played most of the instruments, but I got some help with the drums. Shane [Fletcher] played on a few, Beau [Foster] played on the others, then I played drums on one song. It was cool seeing the differences in recording and the end result between the two different methods as well.  

At the moment I have an Otari mx5050 mk3, which is an 8-track tape machine, and a 16-track m 216 Tascam board. I’m probably going to start a new project with that next week, hopefully. 

Photography

Alex Wall

I recorded [the second LP] with a friend, Greg Jard, who has been mixing and doing live sound for a long time. I wasn’t super pressured doing it with him. We’d do the drums first, then I’d just go back over the drums playing guitar, vocals, and whatever.

Once the drums are down, you can do everything over the top of that. You can have it sorted out pretty quick if you’ve practiced a lot.

The vocals are particularly hard though, I’m pretty shit at singing. Then again, if you’re loving your own vocal track, that’s pretty heavy.

Mostly I like hearing all the guitar [arrangements] come together. When the song goes from being all in my head to being recorded I can compare the two. Sometimes it’s how I imagined it and other times it’s pretty different, sometimes better and occasionally worse. 

Photography

Alex Wall

I also love picking up the record once it’s finished, getting that hard copy. The cover art on the record, and putting that together is probably one of my favourite things. That’s a big reward. When it’s something physical, you have those forever and it feels real; it isn’t just up in thin air on the internet. It’s a physical thing that I can keep, look at, and hopefully others will want to listen to. 

I put out the records on vinyl and a cassette not because I thought people were gonna buy them and I’d make money or whatever, but so I could have them for myself, and if other people are stoked on it, then they can grab one too. 

I’m keen to just keep releasing music and keep cruising along, there’s no huge plans. I like making music and its a great reward if you have recorded it yourself. If it’s a venue I like, I back playing live too. 

Oh, and since we’re a surf site, how does it compare to stomping an air? 

Similar in a way. Both feel good, I more just do music for fun, but I think landing a big air is something you’ve been working on for years. Landing one is a real release of all the hours you put in and then it finally comes together in one moment. That’s pretty special and unbeatable to me.