Richard In Your Mind is an eclectic band who leaves much to the imagination. A self confessed hippie and hip hop enthusiast, Richard Cartwright happily discusses the intent of the band’s latest record My Volcano, as he talks about the affects of life’s natural elements, touring with good friends and just why Run DMC will always be his idol.

You guys have been supporting Cloud Control on the tour of their debut album. How is that going?
It has been super fun times, like a happiness montage. We are old friends so we get on really well and it is nice to experience this with them. The shows themselves have been so awesome. The gig in WA last weekend was absolutely excellent; the audience just went off and really got into it. It is great to see people enjoying themselves. We and Cloud Control have really been spoilt on this tour with amazing breakfast menus, ice-creams by the beach and spas.

You are also on the eve of releasing your second record My Volcano. How do Richard In Your Mind plan to celebrate?
We have our headline tour coming up which is very exciting. Of course we are trying to come up with unique ways to entertain the masses that are coming to support us. With the album being titled My Volcano, we have decided we need to something a bit interesting, a bit out of the ordinary. We might make some of those Bi-Carb Soda Volcanoes that people make in school. I never made one so seeing how that turns out might be unique and interesting in itself.

What was it like to work with SPOD again, after collaborating with him on your Summertime EP?
It has been really wonderful. SPOD has this persona of being bombastic and party crazed, but he is a man with extreme depth and knowledge of computers and synthesizers. He has been a dear friend for a longtime and I think that helped in the understanding and development process of our sound.

He helped us expand certain areas and made them more solid, and then let us pour through instrumentals that we wanted to be free and experimental. Having SPOD as a friend helped us with our writing and recording too, because when we needed space to just test new instruments out and arrangements, we had the ability to do so, there was no rush or high powered environment pressuring us.

The record is certainly like a journey. Is that how it feels for you when you play it back?
Yeah, after all the hard work put in I love hearing what we have accomplished and being happy with it. It is such a process that when it is finished it is both a weight off your shoulders, but then you are ready to do something else that is even better and more exciting. It is endless!

A song like I Will for instance is very different to Candelabra. Is it hard to achieve a balance between slower tracks and the more upbeat hip hop songs?
I think achieving a balance that works is the hardest thing. We really were concerned about that because we do tend to pull in all directions. It is hard when there are so many ideas floating about and you have to pick the best arrangement and the best way to present a song.

We didn’t want the album to sound like a mix tape of different genres, and that’s the risk when your influences are so broad. It is great working with the computer, because some days we just didn’t want to pick up a guitar. The computer adds a new dimension, and allows more freedom with beats, and those beats can transcend through slower songs and faster songs, so there is always that tie, that connection.

We had about 18 to 20 songs we had to sift through before we came to an agreement. It is very cool to have an album that goes different places.

What songs are you enjoying playing at the moment?
I really love My Face. It sort of has this Massive Attack vibe happening, it is very trippy and heavy in some ways. I like music you can lose yourself in, and I think you can with this one.

The album is very involved. It is layered with lush chords and different sounds. What was the key focus?
It certainly has a focus on a mixture of textures and the lyric component. I think the content in a song is very important, sometimes the way lyrics are placed in order or in a pattern is what makes the song unique. The lyrics are really what is running through my head and then put to paper.

I suppose any other focus of ours is taking our sound from recording to the stage. How we play live is different to when we record music because sometimes all components can’t be brought to a live show, so we try to develop new techniques for our on stage performances.

A lot of your songs seem to focus on elements of nature, like creation and creatures. Would you say that’s an important focus in your music?
I think the natural elements of the world are extremely important; the world is equal to our inner selves. It is important to acknowledge that there are elements stronger than us. It is definitely a focus for the band, probably because the world is composed of crazy, explosive and adventurous beings.

As humans we destroy bunches of trees and natural resources that we use and dispose of wastefully. I think through song we try to get that out, whether that is lyrically or melodically. I remember when I went trekking around India, and the surroundings were so inspiring, so the environment and its changes are inspirational. As people we shouldn’t have boundaries, we should explore those boundaries.

With musicians like Seekae and Cloud Control also developing this theme in their sound, perhaps there is something in Sydney’s water?
Perhaps! [Laughs] It wouldn’t surprise me to be honest.

What artists did you aspire to be like when you first began making music?
The Beatles! I know a lot of people mention them as a large influence on the way they see music, but that is because they are the most powerful band on this earth. Their songs feel like your songs, they are just so wonderful.

I take inspiration from other bands too, for instance when Conrad and I first started out we were highly influenced by Run DMC. I think it was our love of teeny bopper rap that brought us together in the beginning, but although our tastes have evolved since then, his music is still a favourite. Along the same lines I guess is De La Soul and Beastie Boys. I love classic hip hop elements, so rap with simplicity. The Flaming Lips and Beck also greatly inspire us.

Your sound has been compared to the likes of MGMT. Do you find such a comparison correct?
That is such a great comparison – how overwhelming! This makes me extremely happy because I think they are a very cool band. I really admire the way they made being experimental a popular thing. A lot of bands before them, and even now are experimental, but they are a cool band that made being unique a very popular thing. We listen to a lot of old music and look to the past for inspiration with our sound, and MGMT are known for that too.

Richard in Your Mind’s new album My Volcano is out now