16 Millimetre

Wed 1st Oct, 2008 in Features

Melbourne collective 16 Millimetre are heading to Adelaide for two shows and by all accounts from the indie kids in Melbourne they are well worth a look. Cara Lanyon (keyboards/backing vocals) brings us up to speed.

What’s the latest for the band? “Well…,” Cara paused. “We are driving to Adelaide this week in a 12-seater bus to play our first shows in SA. We are headlining the Grace Emily on Thurs 2nd Oct with The Pleasure of Books, and the Wheatsheaf Fri 3rd Oct with Sleepless. We are following up these shows with a gig at the Curtin Bandroom in Melbourne on Fri 4th Oct.”

Are you looking forward to playing Adelaide, several shows even? “Yes,” Cara replied “It’s great that on our first trip to SA we get to play two of the best known and most well respected indie venues in Adelaide. We have heard great things about the Grace and the Wheaty so are really looking forward to it.”

What can punters expect from your band? “From talking to people, I’ve gathered that a 16 Millimetre show can be a fairly intense experience. People tend to be blown away by the power of Tom’s voice. It’s not all heavy though – we have our lighter moments as well. A cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Rhiannon has been making its way into the set recently.”

What have you heard about the Adelaide scene? I’m learning that it’s a very open, friendly scene,” Cara believed. “People have been incredibly helpful when it comes to putting these shows together. I guess it’s from being a fairly small place, and quite isolated. Melbourne bands I’ve spoken to have had a great time over there.”

Do you know much about the supports? “Quite a lot actually! The reason we are going to Adelaide in the first place is that I went over for work earlier this year and happened to meet Matthew from Sleepless (support for the Wheaty show on 3/10). We were on the same page musically and decided to organise some gigs together. To me, Sleepless are one of those bands who disregard the trends and just do what they love, and do it really well. They have quite a folk bent and remind me a lot of the music I grew up with in the 90’s (in a good way!!) – Elliott Smith, REM, Sloan… you get the idea. The Pleasure of Books were introduced to me by Matthew as well, and also have that jangle-pop feel that’s so familiar and gives you the warm n fuzzies.”

To punters who don’t know how would you describe your sound to them? “Argghh I hate describing our sound!!! I’m terrible at it! Dark indie rock is the usual fallback but that’s not particularly helpful to most people. Tom’s voice swings between a really pure falsetto and a devastating roar, with my girly harmonies at times adding a sweeter touch. Plenty of atmospheric guitar and synth sounds, laced with organic pianos, strings and acoustic guitar. The album has been described in Inpress (Melbourne streetpress) as “breathtakingly beautiful”.”

Do you have an album/EP out or in the works? “Our latest release is our debut album – Fight or Flight. It was pieced together over various sessions spanning a couple of years with producer Robbie Rowlands (Dallas Crane, The Morning After Girls). It was officially released through MGM earlier this month. We also released an EP Simple in 2006.”

How would you describe it? “Again, I’m not much good at descriptions… I’d prefer to leave that to the experts. For us it’s a big achievement – many, many hours of work went into it. Definitely a labour of love and we’re pretty proud of the result. I quite liked this review: “16 Millimetre takes us on a journey through the darker corners of our memories, through the melancholy thoughts that flit around the wine-soaked mind of someone who has failed too many times to not care. The band provides a tried-and-true backing to the fantastically soaring and subtle tones of singer Tom Hoskins, whose lyrics are well-crafted in their simplicity. There are upbeat songs, there are downbeat songs, there is crunchy guitar and clean guitar, there are highs and lows. This is an incredibly impressive debut album.”

What do you see as the next big challenge for 16mm? “Hahaha making it to Adelaide in time for sound check on Thursday! Seriously though… we’re pretty keen to work on some new material now that the first album is finally out. Up till now, Tom has been the principal songwriter, but we would like to write more collaboratively on the next one. Finding a new method of working together creatively to push our sound forward is probably the next big hurdle for us. Oh, and working out how to get the headline spot at the Big Day Out!”

For further info check out the 16 Millimetre website and MySpace

16 Millimetre play the following Adelaide shows:
Thursday 2 October – The Grace Emily Hotel
Friday 3 October – The Wheatsheaf Hotel