“Defining music is a difficult thing; it’s something hard to do and I certainly never try to do,” says Liam Andrews, one third of Australia’s formidable MY DISCO.
“We’ve been labelled as almost everything and, I wouldn’t know what to call us.” Since its 2003 formation, their sound has been called everything from minimalist to dance music; and they’re the band that record stores are unsure where to place.
MY DISCO has never been a band to play by the industry rules, particularly when it comes to their sound. With several songs consisting of just one note, repetitive single sentence vocals and long sustained guitar chords, their enigmatic and sometimes impenetrable sound has left critics stumped, punters in total awe, and almost every musician at their gigs wishing it was their band.
“I don’t know where our reputation of being hard-to-deal-with guys came from,” Andrews says, rather perplexed. “We grew up listening to punk music and believing that the easiest way to have a show was to organise it yourself. That way, you can take it on your own and you can do it as you want; not how someone else wants it. In the bigger end of the music industry people rely on others to make things happen too much.”
This belief has earned the band a reputation as vigorous tourers, including shows in countries most bands have never thought of. “We’ve played on tennis courts, book stores and art galleries; for us it works better than playing at the same fucking pub every night. Changing environments and locations is healthy for the performance. The building will change the way people feel, but for us the change in acoustics makes it feel like more of an event.”
And now, after all their remote and resplendent gigs, the band are slowing the pace with just three shows left, and preparing for their next album. Named after a Big Black song, it seemed fitting that for their second album Paradise MY DISCO approached production heavyweight and music legend Steve Albini.
For the upcoming record, the band looked in the same direction, and plan to return to the Chicago studio once more. “The first time was a great experience and we kind of had no reason not to go back. If something is good, and the relationship’s there, I don’t see why we should go anywhere else. We’re very prepared before going into the studio. We play a lot and work really hard until they’re where we want them. Steve is really nurturing and respectful with our sound. The collaboration is really good.”
So while the upcoming months may be quiet on the MY DISCO front, the future sounds promising. “People are defining us differently every time we put out a record,” Andrew concedes, “but each record sounds different to the other and that’s all we’re trying to do with it. I’d hate to make a series of albums that all sounded the same.”
As a farewell to the year, MY DISCO is playing at the Forum alongside Beaches, Your Animal and Brainchild DJs as part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival. “It’s a venue I dreamed of playing at as a kid,” says Andrew happily. “And now we’re there. It’s really exciting for us.”
MY DISCO play Beck’s Rumpus Room at Forum Theatre on Saturday 17 October alongside Beaches, as part of Melbourne International Arts Festival.
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