Hiatus Kaiyote

Pushkin.

Today on the show, we have Hiatus Coyote in conversation and in performance. This incredibly talented group of four Australians have dazzled audiences, making fans of not only layman like myself, but also have some incredibly interesting and accomplished musicians like Erica Bado, Robert Glasper and even Willow Smith. They've also been able to collaborate with giants of music like Q

I'm justin Richmond.

To see the full video version of this episode, along with the band's live set, including a version of their songmak friends, visit YouTube dot com slash Broken Record podcast. But for now, here's Hetus Coyote performing their song Dimitri.

Bound down.

Chi lots of things danger.

My sick colors in the out further around and give.

It about dry.

Lots of thing danger my si colors now around and now give it about.

Up alone with the world man, fine, where have you teacher?

Definition colling me aar s f W roll the dream home way so I get try.

Concert them to.

I s t.

Try it down. I'll give it up about Yeah.

You try in a whole world.

Jun down and now give it about to you if it says too to your head time because you times if.

You sit still to your head crime, I can't hear us. Times your sid stoll to your head, I can't hear us eight times. You may find an angel, he.

Shut umble.

Unto fry Jeezo, counter thinganger monteze intend Japan, londer down and give it up, Bouser, you try to.

Until they intend to.

Well running down and half give it up.

Bout you old.

Lord the world world.

Fine, well have beauties ibund to venish.

Love joy you fack I have had the dream world War of the swagon.

You said, still digital head back mack out you, Joe said, still Tito, head back, make out here three times to persist digital heaven, Oh.

Make out here three times?

You may find as.

He your sister didn't your head back tack came? He'll says, my sister.

Didn't your hair tack?

He's a chap six in a home.

Din't your hand back us?

Did you had finger us your sister? Did you hair?

Did you look at you use your.

Sister to.

Sing you ls?

Sister?

Did you tell us stoo.

Whoa man? That was an incredible set, guys, you was beautiful, maybe even more I was happy able to see it, but maybe even more sad that there's not a l a stop on the on the tour. Congratulations on the new album. It's phenomenal. It is really good. It feels like a perfectly sequenced record too, And hold on, guys, was how many how many songs did you guys record for the record?

There's like a couple more extras. It didn't quite make it. That's kinda happens every record. There's always a fear that we were like, it's not quite it's not quite you know, cooked enough, or we gotta, you know, maybe try to reapproach it, so you know that, and they always usually end up on the next record that always but not always has been around.

For a while.

Also, the thing is like once you start the recording process and trying to document the songs that we already have, we also write a lot like Make Friends was a very last minute addition to the record because we're just like you know, in the mood to create, and so there's always like something that just sneaks in, like Red Room was like that on the last one, you know. So yeah, it's never like a set amount of songs.

How do you make Friends come together?

Then Simon wrote the riff.

Yeah, I was sitting at home on my upright piano with my wife sitting on the couch and I just started going.

She was like, Simon made an unplugged.

She was like, that's that was that's good and I was like, all right, if if a non musician says I like that, then generally that's a good thing.

What was the turnaround on that? Because he just came to the studio and was playing it and then I literally wrote to it overnight. I was like, that's excellent.

I didn't think it was going to be a higher song really now, yeah, I didn't. I didn't hear it to be a higher so he didn't present it that way. I was just playing for the studio and then they was like, what do you get this recorded on her iPhone? And then at like three am sent me audio message of her singing to it. Wow, And then it was like all right, this is going to be a hiatus And then we just went in the studio and it

You know.

We also like came up with the last vocal bit after we recorded it, and we're mixing with Mario c who is a legend. He produced like Beast Boys and shit. Anyway, we're at his house and just kind of added that in last minute, so he's singing on it, Scott our managers singing on it. So we just kind of had like a little party vibe in the answer. That was a really cute addition to the song.

What song were you guys recording when you started playing that riff?

Do you remember we're just probably rehearsing, We're just working on the record, and then I think in your room room, But it was like, I don't remember how it actually came back because I didn't hear it, Like I only heard it once and they had vocals on it, and I think we were just jamming on it in my room and then we just kind of pipped the microphones up and just recorded.

And it was telescope because it was like the Skulls when I was recording the Skulls on that don't conkkunk.

It was in that actual skulls.

Telescope has witchy but no they what are they?

Ik wood blocks, Alm sound way more bad ass. It's a great remare was Dreamboat? Like? Was was Dreamboat done before Telescope?

Or did you Yeah, there's another song, Yeah, another one that I didn't think would be a lot of the things that I bring sometimes I'm like, this is going to be the highest thing, and then all of a sudden, no, it really.

Is a highus song because everyone writes, you know what I mean, like different bits and pieces, and that's what's beautiful about this collaboration is it's like, I don't know, all these like amazing artists want to work with us, but I'm like so spoiled for choice because it's not like people just playing instruments like everyone writes, so you never really know what's going to develop into a hiatus song. Sometimes it's just like a sound or like a little piece,

And then yeah, I think Dreamboat was earlier than Telescope because yeah, we started playing it live as an intro to the set before we did the record, so that was the first kind of the I think the last tour that we did in the States, that was kind of our addition to open the set up.

And then so was Telescope like an outgrowth from dream because it's just no, no.

It's a separate thing.

Yeah, separate thing they both have concert harp on them though, do you remember that's a thought also, so that kind of ties it in Melina, Yeah, because it's like, I don't know, when Simon showed us Streamboat, it had this kind of like like Alice Coltrane elements, and I was like, we should have harp on it. And I even like, Dreamboat lyrically is inspired by a piece of hers called Lovely Skyboat, and so like a dream boat is like

Yeah, and also once we heard the harp, it's like he's kind of kind of.

Who did the harp on that?

Molina is something I played is a gijiang. There's like a Chinese harp that There's just like there's heaps of random instruments around the studio because the boys are nerds. And collect things like harpsichords and stuff.

So but that one was a jam as well.

It was just like Simon found this like synth sound and I was playing these gijang I can't actually play it, but I was just like, you know, fucking about or whatever. And on NASA's website, you can like type in your birthday and it will show you a picture of what the Hubble telescope took on your birthday. So each verse is about like we just typed in each band member's birthday and each verse is about that. Yeah, it was

From mixing Mood Valiant. Yeah, just kind of came about and then we're just like, actually, this is pretty cool. Maybe next record potentially.

And then I was going to ask about the lyrics, like if you knew about like Einstein Ring, I was like, this incredible stuff. I didn't, you know. I like to look at space, but I don't really know space is the place. I don't going on up there though, But it's like, does anybody.

Well, someone who does know who knows about Einstein Ring, which is like maybe the coolest bit of trigger I've heard about this record. But like a friend of ours is doing an exhibition at the Planetarium in New York and Neil degressed Tyson's office is down the hall from there, and like I heard our friend playing it and like walked in and was like, I think thing about Einstein Ring, And I was like, who was the best?

Like Coastline, you're joking, He's going to be.

On our next record, going to get a collabor spoken.

With this record and next record. I think that'd be incredible because it's like it really is like a like I mean, there's it's kind of like a dent lyrically, it's a little dance but you but it's also like the way you constructed it is it's concise too, Like I don't know how you got away with it.

It's I don't know how I get away with anything. Just you know, raw dogging life right now, swing it.

That's a good way to go for it.

We'll be right back with more from hiatus Kyote after the break. We're back with more from hiatus Kyote.

How do you guys change things from like when you guys are preparing to go out on tour and hit the road, how do you like and what's the rehearsal like for the album versus the rehearsal like for the road and what are you guys looking for?

They don't really rehearse for the album.

We just make ye just.

Make make things.

And then it's like, you know, the sky's sort of the limit, so you can just put any sound on the record that feels right, and then and then it's like cool, We've got to go on tour. And then it's like, oh, ship, Like how do we actually execute this? How do we do something that feels like has the scope and the you know, and and the color of the production that we've put together.

So look how many fucking pedals?

He has three boards and these.

Got simmons and he's doing live effects as the drums, which a lot of people don't really realize.

Usually I have, like, you know, I didn't need for the songs today.

But there's sampler and bass synth, and he's got to you know, JJ's got a sampler over there. So it's just this puzzle of like you know, sampling stuff on the record and making heaps of different sounds and trying to figure out how to you know, encapsulate the energy and the you know, the colors of what we did. But yeah, it's always we did ourselves a pretty big hole every time, at least at least some of the tracks on the albums, like White Rabbit.

White Rabbit was like hat like a fever dream. I mean, it's supposed to be a fever dream, but basically, like Bender, there was like an omnichord and we were running like this shitty rhythm thing from it through his distortion pedals, like his bass pedals, and like there was like a mixer called it Alice.

What is it Alice broadcast mixer?

Yeah, and it has a little picture of a white rabbit on it. So I just started singing what I could remember of White Rabbit over this curse like distorted rhythm thing of this like JANKI omnichord thing, and it was just like an experiment, just fun, and then we just kept like adding things and expanding on it, and like Benders taught himself how to play Cello's there's like cello on it, and there's a reference to like Dubussy.

On it, and like what's the diversity reference.

It's like claridalone is the B section because I didn't love the B section similar cords.

Oh god, I can't remember.

I want to hear it, but the people, yeah, the.

It and the cool thing is is like I never really expected to a cover, but it just kind of came together through playfulness, which is a big part of our ethos. But also I like the idea that with White Rabbit, it's kind of like, you know, it's it's such a like iconic psychedelic moment in time, and when people cover it, they kind of do like a throwback psych thing, and I'm like, we have a whole new level of psychedelia now.

You know.

It's like there is new drugs, there's new wars. There's like there's like social media and like tech, you know, evolutions. So there's like it's like what does what are those themes that are still very much present today that will probably always be present as long as humans are around, because you know, but what was that sound like today? And how how how do you like approach psychedelia without referencing the sixties the sound of the sound of it

Do you know where we've got it together? We did get it together so and then and then yeah, we just we just stopped.

We gave up.

What's the part that like, fuck you guys up?

Just sound wise, in headphones, it's really hard to like get because we have so many variety of sound within within all the songs. So like for White Rabbit, it's a whole new journey for us, and we don't really understand what we all need to be able to play the song within the headphones. So it's kind of like it's going to take a long time for us to get it right. But in the rehearsal room we kind of got it. But it's a different situation to how we play live. Get there, Yeah, we'll get there.

We'll get We have too much material as it is, you know, like most people like make ship and then gate keep it and then eventually show people. But we're always just like whenever something's ready, we're.

Like, you know, this is this is close enough. I feel like to rehearsal setting right.

It is, but there's so many sounds like I've got buttons, JJ's got buttons, Bender's got buttons, and then we're all playing as well.

And then it's like he's got distortion.

My ex law's got like reverb mix and there's like a whole bunch of layers on.

The song, and.

Yeah, it's distortion.

It's hard to get it right, but we'll get there.

We also have like nearly any time we go to the airport, like uber drivers just drive away. They look at the sheer amount ship we have and they're like it's not worth it.

They just know.

Way you guys don't have cars. I had a time right with the amount of stuff required.

Yeah, we do, but there's definitely been times where people just like fucked off.

And it's like, yeah, yeah, I could see that. It's it's it's intimidating to see, like I was, I was talking to you guys. Is a todo who does sound for you guys, and like it's it's an ambitious you know, getting this on the road.

And he does such a good job.

I mean, the the the obvious choice, you know, really would just be like put a bunch of stuff on a backing track on a laptop and just like have a click track in your ears and just like do that, but none of us want to.

Do that about it, Like we we'd all just like hate it and have the worst time possible.

So you know, there's a lot of complexity and just trying to recreate everything where everyone's playing as much of it as possible and we're not like leaning on any of that stuff. So you know, it's like, oh, I need to have distorted like drums on this song, you know, so that's a thing.

Yeah, and that's I got a new toy here, which is like Johnny who does find a house for us and he recorded today as well. He gave me a little distortion box and that's a new element, so like, you know, just get it's like a tire a little box.

And now I've got distortion of my drums so I can dial.

In continue to play with that so we can hear.

Yeah, I'll show you how much what it does.

Also, there's so much improvisation, Like it's very specific arrangements, but like there's by not playing to a clicking track, if you're feeling something or you want to loop something or stand something, you want to improvise, like you have the capacity to do that.

I wanted to ask about that because I did. I did notice that.

So this is zero mm hmm. This is like.

There you go.

She said, it's the microphones down here. Yeah, that's it. So I got that now, and then you turn an offense. It's a big difference.

Yeah, how many sounds can you get out of your kit?

Do you figure a lot?

Probably twenty seven?

Yeah, I think twenty seven is the maximum number. No more, no more than that.

Yeah, No, I've got like I've got like a Simmons over here that's got triggers to so that first row is a kick and I can change it the pitch of the length of that, and then like same with all the and then with all those guys that can can mix over here that does the the effects. And then microphone over here to record.

Stuff, and then.

That kind of the year you're doing something to like mess with.

Yeah, yeah, I got like can you want to tell that from the Indians?

Oh, if you don't have headphones, you can't tell you, Like you're showing a thing that No, but I feel like they in the studio.

Yeah yeah, they can hear it.

Yeah, but.

It sounds it sounds so boring.

When I'm not so umb dum dumb exactly.

It's happened before.

When I'm just hitting at timents, it's like oh ship, but you know, without the headphones on, it just sounds like I'm doing nothing.

Yeah, but yeah, it's crazy because usually like people have like big, like big kits. It's like, yeah, you know, not to say it's necessarily overkilled, but they do a lot with it all the time. Like you know, I guess you think of like a Neil Pert, you know, and he's cool to listen to, but it is like a lot that he's doing and it's a big kid, you know. Like it is cool how you choose to use things and when.

You it's coming from like a production background, and like in the beginning, like we didn't have any of this stuff, and then we'll be playing like songs off choose your weapon, and like I didn't have the Simmons either, so it'll just be like chucking things on snares and symbols to try and create like the feeling of distortion or whatever. And then eventually, like you know, found the Simmons and it was like I was able to tune the drums and then it's kind of like then I'm kind of producing.

And just keep adding on to this.

But yeah, the actual drums was only like a three piece kit really with symbols and all the other stuff.

And what came first for you? Was it production? Like did you start producing stuff first or did you start drum Like?

No producing really?

Yeah, so when did you pick up drums.

Or like I've been playing a hand percussion like for a while. And then when I went moved to Melbourne, I kind of like we moved down. I was in another band and we moved down to Melbourne without the drummer. So we had another drummer, the Fisher that was playing with us in Melbourne. But I would just picked up the drums and because I knew the songs and I'm like kind of get away with playing like basic basic patterns from just hand drumming.

And that's kind of how it started. Really.

It would have been like how twenty one twenty two, Yeah, like where we really went in where and then and then I moved in with these guys and then like they're all amazing musicians. And then I just basically like tated like a day job and just did like eight hours a day, just kept playing drums and learning so much from these guys, and yeah, it was fun.

It was initially like doing production and percussion or whatever, and it was like, actually, you're the drummer.

Now, and so yeah, Nakamara was the first song. H it was a less Skull or something like that.

Yeah, from the first record. Yeah, yeah, I was the percussionists.

That's around the time that you really started. I mean, it's that's we were.

Supposed to get a drummer. It was like, yeah, we're the drummer.

How are you.

Trapped with us now?

I'm trapped. No, it's good, it's great.

Yeah, it was like it was a little bit later on, but I just like, you know, I was, you know, I'm a big believer in like, if you want to do it, then you can you can make anything. Anything's Possiblely you know you've got the drive to do it, then you can kind of achieve a lot. So it's kind of proved to myself and other people around me

It's just crazy. I mean there's drummers who, like I mean, who are big fans of yours who've been you know, they've been playing make us think of like Quest Loves and playing since he was a toddler, or like Chris Dave, like you know what I mean, Like like you are, like twenty years after them, you're picking the instrument. It's it's nuts, It's.

But I mean those guys like paved the way.

Like I listened to the records that there's guys played on and it's like you know, hearing just hearing how it sounds and a record, and that's where I'm listening.

I'm listening to like what they're playing.

I'm listening to how it sounds on the recording, and then I'm like making up my own mind of how that's that's happening. You know, it's like naivety in a bit, like you know, like just kind of going, oh, that's probably how they did it, and it's most of the time it's not how they did it. But then it's kind of form my own sound by just making up what other people did and then just trying to achieve that.

That makes sense.

Is that a different mindset then than when you're on the road and.

Yeah, yeah, recording in the studio and playing live is a totally different thing for sure.

How do you try or how do you like how do you adjust?

I don't know.

I feel like on live gigs it's more about like being like a bit more of a timekeeper, but also.

I'm like I have them Like I feel like I have a lot of.

Freedom in the band because I don't have anything melodic, so I kind of like can I've got to just make it move, like I've got to move within everyone and try and make it feel really good for people to dance too. That's kind of like how I approach it. But in the studio, I'm like, it's more tone and

And that makes sense.

Yeah, that's really very creative. I think the thing is is like there's all these amazing drummers that have been playing since forever, and they've got chops and they've got twenty five symbols and that's amazing. But like like literally Thomas Pridgin the other day, who's like such a g you know, and he's he's the homie and he's played with fucking everyone. Yeah, and we did a show I can't remember where we were somewhere the other day and he gave pez this like I call it the orange

And it feels like you guys have even like you guys have gotten to that place even more like on the last two records, it feels like, I don't know, it feels you guys are all virtue wassick, you know, But it feels like the records showcase some of that. The last two Mood Valiant and love our cheat code,

You know, it is a film, you know, And I like, I don't know. I think a lot of people just want like collaborations and hits and songs, and it's like our attention span is just like shrinking, you know, and like that's cool. But I think to be able to create a whole universe that you can just put on and like leave and experience something is also really valuable.

And that's the most exciting thing about being in a studio.

Man.

It's like you can have so much fun and you've got like this unlimited resource of sound that you can play with. Especially these days, it's like it's crazy, It's like why should you limit yourself.

Just seeing you brought up Thomas Bridge, because I thought a lot about Thomas Bridge just for some like the way that it's just the heaviness, but the creativity in really also what you're doing.

Was Bender was the main source of inspiration for that one, and like you know, like Bender was like like I was never playing anything heavy until I met Bender, like honestly, like I didn't wasn't listening to much heavy music at all. And then he showed me like a band called Lightning Bolt, and I remember that really opened up my ears to like those sounds and like if you want to go forward from that, because like.

Yeah, yeah, definitely a Lightning Bolt was a huge influence on that song. There was a few main influences for me. It was Lightning Bolt, Deerhof and there's this particular form of West African music that like you showed me called takamba, which is like.

That's what I always wanted to interrupt and says that you say, I wasn't really listening to every music. It's like to cop like some fucking Northwest African records that are just like recorded on the most distorted like fucking shit like that is had I mean Nakana. It's like just because it's not metal doesn't mean it's not fucking yeah.

I mean, for me, I grew up like the first man I was in, you know, that was the first music that I played was like punk and metal and grunge and stuff, you know, just being in a band with my brother and you know, covering you know, Varna and Panterra and Slayer and you know Metallica and Ship.

You know, just and.

You know, and it's it's like a kind of.

World that you know, I kind of drifted away from just trying to learn as much about as many things as possible and kind of just coming back to just like you know, you know, just which is really fun, and you know, just that kind of energy is really fun.

It's super therapy.

Release the pressure is one of the lyrics. It's like, Okay, here's a moment where you can just like shed the fucking demons. And sometimes we'll be having a hard show where people like me has one two, one two, three four five six, and you just like just fucking be in the room and give us love, like we're human beings and we need that ship.

Yeah.

You know, sometimes like Cinnamon Temple can be like a palt heavy.

Heavy, you know heavy music.

It's like it's a cathartic thing, you know, and a lot of stuff gets kind of you know, very like overemphasized with all the sort of kind of cliche satanic imagery or whatever.

It's what like I don't know.

When I discovered Lightning Bolt and really got into them, they like really blew my mind because they had a really different take on it, even like you can kind of see it reflected in their cover art and everything where it's all like crazy like over the top like rainbow explosion colors, because that's kind of what it's like, you know, it's like you just get in there and it's just like being on a roller coaster and it's just fun, you know, being like elbow to elbow with

Yeah.

I was so happy.

I was so happy when it gets to that part of the record because it just I hadn't even listened to music that happy in a while. That's like, I mean, to your point, I kind of I mean I grew rest in peace like Diamonbag Daryl. I mean I used to love Pantera. I grew up on that, you know, but spent three days at ours fast. But I can't, you know, I can't. I can't really, I can't live there too long anymore.

But honestly, like I don't know, mental heads are all really nice people for.

The most part, the most part.

I mean, yeah, like crazy Norwegian like church guys and stuff who were actually really hectic, but you know, most of them are just like chill nuds, you.

Know, do you mind?

Could you play a couple of bars of the of w Temples?

Just have to put Eric down for a second.

I mean, yeah, the shark can play along please, So.

Yeah, it'll just sort of started with this initial riff.

H uh.

It's a little tyster.

It so fucking good.

I didn't even really get to hear it, but I was just hearing that.

Hit the drama go bang bang bang.

You guys have been playing that for like almost ten years now.

Yeah.

Probably we have like no concept of time. Ever, most of the time, like how long did it take you to make this thing? We're like when the record labels and it has to be finished a while.

Yeah, we have a while and it's even the recorded version of it is actually quite old too.

Yeah, it's super different, right, yeah, yeah, yeah.

We've got another song that was recorded at the same time that's still not out, you know, like, so that will probably be the next record.

Everything's just everything's just a puzzle, you know. It's just like some puzzles you solve really fast. Another ones you're like, why is this not like it yet? Like why wasn't it feel the way I want it to make me feel it? You know, So certain things are just like take a little while to brew, and then you step away from it and it's like what do we what do we record?

And you're like, oh, okay, you.

Know you kind of figure out what it needs at some point. We don't like to, you know, rush anything or put anything out that doesn't feel right.

Yeah.

That's the weird thing about recording, because it's you know, it's not it's just it's just sometimes it's really straightforward and other times it's really not. You know, it's like it's all kind of a sort of an illusion really. You know, even if you really record yourselves playing it, you know, you're not just standing in the middle of

Like the intention. So you know, sometimes that takes a while to figure out and.

Does every song need require something different?

Or that's the challenge that I mean, I feel like it's the great challenge of this project. And why the records aren't you aren't like, you know, made that quick because you know I feel.

Is there's not like one sound that suits allSome yeah.

Exactly, you know, I feel like, for example, I don't know, like someone like you know, the dap Kings, who are all amazing players, and you know it's just just incredible. You know, they will make a whole record that's like all the songs are essentially the same sounds. You know, it's the sound of this room, you know, with like one or two mics over the drum kit. You know, all the tones are like in the exactly the same universe, and you just get to take to get takes to feel.

Good, and you know, the whole record has that sound.

But for us, it's like every track is like drawing from, you know, a different genre that has a different production and process and stuffs as well. Yeah, yeah, exactly, it might be like this, you know, I don't know, Like for example, when we were making the song Attari from Jusual Weapon, it's like, okay, so this is kind of inspired by video games.

It's gonna have.

All these kind of little, you know, eight bitty kind of feeling sounds, and then goes into the chorus and that has this sort of drum and bass kind of inspired thing. So then it's like, well, now we have to embrace how that is put together, which is like you know, chopping up different drum breaks you know, that

It's super fun for us because it's like, you know, that's the full experimental part of creating a record, and we get to learn about it and go dive deeper into it. And also like you know, like with this all our inspirations musically, it's like nay, we'll bring something in, someone brings something and it's like, I really love this song at this moment, and it's like cool, like how

I think.

Also another thing to mention is it like us working out stuff and like let's go and watch a too toori about this. Like a lot of it is just listening and reimagining and it's a bastardization, but it's unique because of that. It's like how like how you like you can give art, but also how you interpret art is also creative, you know. And like even the name Hiatus coyote was kind of like a pun on that.

Yeah, that you say coyote is made up board, but you just mean like the way it's spelled coyote.

Actually.

Hiatus Kyote.

A lot of people say coyote, and I don't like what.

I like.

I like boss made up.

I've been put on notice. I'll never I'll never say it wrong again. Sorry, guys, it's fine.

It's a lot to take in with you our elaborate as.

After this last break, we'll be back with the rest of my conversation with Hiatus Kayote. Here's the rest of my interview with Hiatus Coyote.

In terms of lyrics, like lyrically, I really enjoy this album, and I was wondering specifically for this album, when did you come in? How how soon do you introduce ideas, lyrical ideas or do you often just introduce like vocal ideas and how early in terms of building constructing the tracks.

And sometimes it's the first thing. Sometimes it's the last thing. You know, there's no formula, it's.

Like we all.

Sometimes I write whole songs and bring it to the band with guitar and it's like very very formed. And other times it's a response to something like in Cinnamon Temple in that middle bit, I literally had to count out the syllables of each riff and then work out what words would make sense within that, you know, or yeah, I don't know, there's no there's no set way that

I think, unlike Dimitri, you pretty much had like the lyrics and the melody straight up. And then I sat down with Name and we figured out the chords to what was already there. It was like it was such a strong idea melodically and lyrically, and then I was just like, what are the what's with this?

And you know, so yeah, it can be really any it.

Can be a million but jillion different things. There's no Yeah.

Yeah, I was listening to st I've been listening to Steely Dan a lot lately, and I was, I was like wondering why it's like as good as they are, why didn't they write or like give tracks to other people or whole songs, you know, like And I was, I guess always had the same similar thought about you guys, like as anyone approached you guys to like take it like where to say, like, hey, can you guys write us a song like the track, the lyrics, everything, or have you guys.

Thought people lots of really really famous people, but we don't really care about that. You know, maybe it's I don't know, the thing is, yeah, is the thing is.

Yet we.

Have so much to explore creatively together, and you know, between like recording and writing and touring and photo shoots and then a tiny slither of life where you're not doing that, it's like there isn't a whole lot of like additional time to just be like, you know, I'm also very sentiment mental and my shit is like very sacred to me. So the idea of like writing something for somebody else's life experience is a little bit alien.

But then you did you like, you know, you used a little bit of like my girl in well, you know, look, I don't know if they'smoking it write that necessarily for the paycheck, I don't think, you know, I mean.

He also didn't write it for us. We interprelated it.

It's a good point.

But I don't know, I'm particularly touchy about this because I think it's a very la thing to be like, you know, I don't know part of that part of the industry and be like yeah, maybe things differently.

I think we just don't find enough time to actually make music ourselves.

You know.

It's hard enough for us to get in the studio and create stuff, let alone.

For other people. Yeah, I think we take that first.

Yeah, we have choices.

You want to write some more hiashit or do you want to write it for other people? And it's just like we're going to write more hiad shit.

I kind of think that too, like because we do, you know, do stuff with each other side quest outside.

Of the band.

You guys do have sac But I think, you know, as soon as it's like a thing.

That we're all writing, we're all invested in, we wouldn't be able to give it away. But you know, it's like, you know, it's like we're just one of us is just making some stuff with another random person. It's like

And I think it's also.

I was going to say, like, you know, I think we all like individually we all have like and also collectively we have like inspirations musically, and it's not necessarily like other singers, you know, like or it's more instrumentalists and stuff like that, because.

Like we all have love for Miguel and would like those kind of things all like you're.

Talking about Miguel.

I would first, that's true, true, true, true, Yeah, it's kind of like having these instrumental arrangers that like we really respect, and then like you know, that's like definitely a possibility and we would do that. And who knows if it's on our records or like or in their records or it is the collaboration, but like, yeah, it is.

Yeah.

I also don't.

Feel like like a lot of people like, oh, you know, what's your dream list of collaborations, Like we've only really worked with like like Pessa, like you know, like allth the Erica.

Does, Like yeah, exactly, He's an example, you.

Know, Orchestral Rangers for us or you know. I think just because I like something doesn't mean I have to be a part of it, you know what I mean, Like I love be York, but I don't know if I would need to contribute something to it because I can just like you know what I mean. It's like I don't want to need to put my flag on the moon all the time, and you don't want to colonize others I mean beautiful, but I guess like, yeah, it's like I have to be a part of that

I mean, there is kind of like an industry overtone to that.

I guess.

It's very la in Australia is the other side of the world. People are way more chill.

I mean, I'm not even just for the like Australian because I don't know that. You guys are so fucking good.

I'm like, God, how many like how.

Many people could use like you know what you guys have harnessed together, you know what I mean?

Hopefully it's inspiration.

I think that's that's how we contribute. Is like the amount of people like we didn't pop up shop the other day. The amount of people that are like, seeing you be creatively free together is like makes me want to do that and that's more exciting to me than me being like, hey, seeing this thing that I made,

A lot of people look at I mean, you know, and it's not in a crass kind of industry, you know.

But it's natural probably. I mean, we don't know because I don't know them.

Personal collaborating outside the band, that's just me. I've been I've been trying to rope lots of people into my side project this week enough so we go around.

Yeah, but by the way, fucked me up for the Like when I first heard that, I really thought it was like all Polynesian style record.

Yeah, me and some have been working on the follow up record and we've we've got a lot of amazing people on it, you know, just which is fun. It's just you know, it's something special about getting cool instrumentalists to just hang out and just like make pretty stuff. Just like we're just going to make pretty music now and you know, do some palm tree swaying energy and have a good time.

Just such a great chill time, such a great chill record.

Yeah, it's really the best fun in the studio. Just everyone's smiling and super happy, like this record.

Stressful.

I wanted to ask about Simon about the way you think about chord changes just generally, like like are there changes just when you sit down at the piano you're prone to play more than others or.

I feel like chord changes and harmony is something that is you know, when you intellectualize it and when you teach it, everyone kind of learns the same things, right, because this is the popular ones that everyone kind of

How often do you sit down just to just to play, like just improvise for or you know what I mean, not sit down to play something or write something. How often do you sit down.

Just just to improvise and play.

Yeah.

Yeah, I mean recently I've been doing it a lot more because I just made it like a solo piano record. Then I was doing some shows with that, so I was playing like a full set of just you know, a piano, and I was just getting back into playing the piano because I don't really play the piano that

Has it changed the way you approach synth or anything, or a keyboard or anything.

No, No, I just like the piano is a different instrument for me. Like I sit on the piano and that's what I grew up on. So when I start playing that, it's you know, it's so much more complex than these things, really, absolutely, Like the dynamic range on

That's amazing. And I guess also you didn't.

I don't know if you ever.

Showed the debusy that was in I think we lost that somehow, that perfect time.

Something like that.

Yeah, it's that kind of movement, And that was.

Because I'm particularly obsessed with you love as I love him and like I love like romantic, like close harmony. You know, it's just like super dreamy and beautiful. And Simon has a lot of that going on in the way he writes as well, and so I'm always assassing him to put little things like that into things.

Sorry that it was a terrible rendition of that wasize.

I'll hear it later. I'll judge it.

Later, but yeah, harmony is beautiful. Harmony is like rhythm harmony, Like I don't know, just like there's so much you can do with it, and like things like Telescope and like Love Heart cheat Code. It's like a lot of people like, oh, this album is so much more simple than the other ones. Is like it's actually the thing is it's just like refining shit, and like the chord progression for Love Heart cheat Code and what I'm singing, it's like, if you actually break down what is modulating,

Oh yeah, David, I mean David Bowie.

Changes like the start of changes, like if you go to learn, like are people just like chi ch chitches and they know that ship was like, try and learn how to play it. It is way more complicated than you think.

Yeah, so true, well cool. I know you guys gonna do red room, so I want to go. You got it?

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To mc been, just like I gotta REAYTHM man, I gotta d I got answers soon, says a Mapido.

Thanks so much to Parn Paul Simon an Apalm of Heitus Kyote for coming through Los Angeles to do that live session and interview. I also want to give a big thanks to Dale Hughes and Jonathan Maya for getting the music in today's episode recorded, mixed and mastered to perfection.

Our theme music's by Kenny Beats.

I'm justin Richmond.