Witch Hats drummer Duncan Blachford has nothing but praise for the support bands for their Revolver gig later this month. He gives a rundown of the acts: Beaches, five wild girls who are similar to Noise but with a strong guitar element, and Ooga Boogas, a crazy garage sounding band. “It is a good bill and it will be a great show. I am glad to see these guys playing,” he enthuses. In fact, Duncan is so passionate about music that he admits to loving scoping out Melbourne’s live music scene. “I am interested in seeing other bands and it is easier to find them in Melbourne.”
The band, which derives its origins from Hobart, is enjoying the high life that Melbourne allows. “I do like it here; it is a larger version of Hobart. More bands, more venues. It’s not as isolated.” Duncan and Kris Buscombe have been in Melbourne for seven years, and now they call it home.
July is looming, and with that the Witch Hats will embark on their first American tour. They are excited about it and somewhat nervous. Duncan himself has organised the bookings and logistics involved with touring. It is a progressive thing – as he makes more bookings they are better known and different venues are increasingly seeking the band. “It will be awesome, as we play more people listen and like what they hear and consequently more places want us to play.”
Duncan frowns on the label ‘psychedelic’ for their music. He argues that Witch Hats are not psychedelic in a drugged-out kind of way, but more of a traditional pop song arrangement at the heart of their songs, with added layers of abrasive sounds. “We play it loud and violently, which gives our individual sound,” says Duncan. This is evident through their grimy songs Before I Weigh, Summer of Pain and Neil Diamond Entry from their new album Cellulite Souwl.
“Our influences come from lot of music. I guess our playing stems from watching fellow Hobartians at play like Sea Scouts and Fifty Million Clowns but there are others like Sonic Youth, Lubricated Goat and Stick Men with Ray Guns, who are noisy and grimy. I like minimal sounds.”
Cellulite Souwl presented “a completely different [recording] process” for the band. Kris is usually the ideas man for Witch Hats’ tunes, before they are fleshed out during rehearsals and recorded when they are completely happy.
“This one was about preparing before we could do it,” Duncan continues. “When we made our first recording we only had two people [Kris and Duncan], one microphone and a primitive computer. It was very raw and we did it in our own time, but Cellulite Souwl was about preparation before we even got into the studio. We only had a specific amount of time – four days – this time for example. We had engineers and sixteen microphones on the drums alone.”The Witch Hats play two special shows before heading off to the States. If you’re in Sydney, don’t miss them headlining the FasterLouder stage at Come Together festival.
30 May – Revolver, Melbourne
8 June – Come Together Festival, Luna Park, Sydney
