Architecture In Helsinki

Fri 7th Nov, 2008 in Features

Fabulous five-piece Architecture In Helsinki have been coaxed out of studio lockdown to work on their tans at Meredith Music Festival. As the very special and very sold out festival nears, FL catches a moment with the band’s founder (and Meredith enthusiast) Cameron Bird.

What’s been happening for Architecture in Helsinki lately?
We just painted our studio space blue, so we’re all really mellow.

How is the new album coming along?
We always do a lot of conceptualising, this time around maybe more than ever. We spend a month talking about how the snare drum is gonna sound before it’s even been hit. We are about to enter a deep spring studio hibernation zone. It feels like anything could happen and that’s always the kind of attitude we like to foster.

You told a European magazine recently that the next album would “come out sounding like some kind of Black Metal and doo-wop crossover”...comments?
Really, to be honest, I just want for it to be deep passionate and romantic like Phil Collins.

Studio time vs. touring time: Which do you love more and why?
It’s all about balance. Too much studio time and you become socially inept; too much touring you become a selfish asshole. Both have their merits. At the end of the day, I would probably rather be at the MCG watching Essendon play.

How excited are you about Meredith?
Fricken pumped. Like Rocky before he fights Ivan Drago in Rocky IV.

Have you been to the festival before?
Three times. The first time I was 18 and I got hammered on pear schnapps and slow danced with myself to The Dirty Three.

I haven’t decided if I should go to Meredith yet. Whaddya reckon?
Well it’s sold out, so unless you can get a freebie or are willing to sell your house and pets for tickets, you might be in a spot of bother. I haven’t been to Confest or Earthcore, so I don’t know if it’s the pinnacle of Australian festival entertainment, but I dare say it is. It has shade, espresso, tacos and a vendor that sells Meredith dairy products. No other festival can offer that. Plus I hear they put in some nice new dunnies?

What have you been listening to in 2008 so far?
Metronomy’s Nights Out record, Sebastien Tellier’s Sexuality, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s latest, an Andrew W.K. produced LP Repentance are my three fave ‘08 records. As far as older stuff goes…Trevor Horn, Giorgio Moroder, all those Arthur Baker dub mixes and a heavy dose of Connie Plank magic.

Where have you travelled in the past few months?
The only time we have left Australia this year was for Coachella in California in April. It has been a pretty quiet year on the travelling front. We just did too much of it last year – we needed time to live normal lives with normal sleeping patterns. Otherwise we would probably never have made another record or at least one that wasn’t the sound of insanity taking hold of our minds.

When will the new album be out?
We haven’t set ourselves a time limit, so it may be done now and I am just not revealing anything, it may be a year away, it may be five. At this stage It’s called Vision Revision and it probably sounds like Phil Collins.

Are there any more Australian shows up your sleeves for the near future?
We are doing a bunch of festivals over the summer – Falls and Laneway, both of which should be a blast as well. We all decided not to do any club shows until we have a new record to play. For now we only do festivals. It gives us a chance to work on our tans without having to go a solarium.

Architecture In Helsinki is as pumped as Rocky to be playing Meredith Music Festival at the Supernatural Amphitheatre on 12-14 December.