Minute 36

Fri 27th Aug, 2010 in Features

These days, it’s not a blind assumption to say that most things in the music industry sound the same. So similar, in fact, that Minute 36 wanted to be different from the beginning.

On the brink of the release of their ‘jazz-rock’ album An Argument Between the Taste and the Feeling, you can almost smell their excitement.

“We want to do everything that we can; everything that we could do in a year we want to do in a month and just keep going like that. We want to keep focused to try and make something out of this band and our music in general,” said Kris Nelson, songwriter, vocalist and double-bassist.

“We set out to make this band to have our own sound. We’ve got all original instruments, all acoustic; the timings are kind of weird. We didn’t purposely go out to try and go against the grain but we just played what we wanted to hear from bands, I guess, and then it ended up getting on a bit of a roll and that was our sound,” he continued.

Constantly bantering and feeding off one other, it’s not hard to get the vibe that they know each other so well that they can finish off each others’ sentences.

“I’m really sick of these guys, don’t get me wrong, but then again, when I don’t see them for a few days, I just need someone to give shit to, which is Mark (guitarist), and I need someone to have a beer with, which is Nathan (drummer). When these boys aren’t here I’m lost,” said Nelson.

“We’re all pretty dedicated, I guess, so even when we do get shitty at each other it’s not so bad. We get over it pretty quickly,” Mark Neal agreed matter-of-factly.

After moving up to Perth for a few years to get used to the music scene, the boys from Minute 36 decided that the best thing for them to do was to move to Albany.

“We were playing a lot of shows that weren’t really that beneficial to the position that we were at so we moved down there to write and rehearse,” said Nelson.

“In Perth, people all lived in different spots. Nathan used to work out at a mine and he used to drive three hours to jam, and it was just really hard. Everyone was really tired. Now, down there, we just wake up, and it’s like, ‘Hey, do you want to jam this arvo?’ It’s really easy.”

Recording their album with Alan Smith from Bergerk Studios, the most important thing for them was to maintain the natural sounds from their instruments.

With barely any processing and effects, and no amplifiers, the only thing electric in the room were the microphones.

“What you hear is pretty much what we played in the room,” said Nathan Grose.

However, it was done over a fairly lengthy stretch of time. They began recording last year but could only lay down tracks every so often.

“We’d been recording, getting enough money for a week, and then going on tour again, getting some more money, and then going back in to the studio. It’s been on and off,” said Nelson.

Kris Nelson and Nathan Grose knew each other “since forever”, growing up just across the road from each other. They met Mark Neal, guitarist, back in 2004 at TAFE where they all study music. Starting out as friends, Nelson did the Minute 36 music project by himself for two years until the band was fully formed.

Before the band, as it stands now, got together, Nelson recorded the first EP by himself, fuelled by insomnia.

“I don’t mind solo but it’s so much more fun when you’ve got your mates to travel with and on stage you can feed off each other. You play better venues, too. Solo, they’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, we’ll put you in the lounge at 3pm’, and when you’ve got a band they’re like, ‘Yeah, you guys can play late, to actual people, not just crickets and dogs’.”

A lot of Minute 36’s song ideas and influences come from film scores, compositions, Billie Holliday, Gatsby’s American Dream and old school swing and soul, which, in essence, contributes to the band’s creepy undertone.

“You could play the sweetest, happiest song and as soon as you bow something (on the double bass) it just turns creepy straight away, so I just love that shit,” said Nelson.

The lyrics are all directly personal and are written from a “weird place”. According to both Mark and Nathan, Kris has a strange way of writing songs.

“Kris has this weird way of knowing exactly how the song goes from start to finish in his head before he even does anything, which is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen,” said Mark, baffled.

Kris admitted to having a different take on the song writing process compared to other songwriters he’s talked to.

“I write the riffs and compose the music and I do demos of it. When I think it’s working in my head, I’ll go to Nathan, and he’ll make the drums to it, and Mark just dances.”

“We never really jam out or anything, it’s all pretty set to Kris’ vision. I guess me and Nat must be the best band members in the world because we follow your fucking vision,” Mark said, looking at Kris.
Playing live is their favourite thing in the world as nerves aren’t a problem when excitement takes over.

“Even if I surf or do heaps of exercise and I’m super tired, I just can’t sleep. When I play shows, I sleep like a baby. It’s a weird thing,” said Nelson.

Like undergraduates graduating university, they grasp their opportunities with a firm grip and there seems to be little that will deter them from their chosen career.

“I’ve already got another album in the works now. I’ve written a couple of songs for it. It’s got a weird concept to it. We really want to fill out our sound a bit more,” said Kris.

“I like working with strings – cellos, violins. We’re bringing piano in, too – I love piano. I think still keep that dancy upbeat element. Just let the music do a bit more talking as well.”

Minute 36 will be releasing their album An Argument Between the Taste and the Feeling from the 27th August at the White Star Hotel in Albany and will be playing at the Rosemount Hotel on the 3rd of September.

For more information on their album tour, check out our gig guide