Heytesburg

Fri 25th Feb, 2011 in Features

Following a two and a half year gestation period, post-rock Quartet Heytesburg have decided to emerge from the shadows of the Perth underground scene with their debut EP From the River I Come, to the Desert I Go. Before launching the EP at Amplifier Bar on Saturday 5th of March, Nick Gardiner took time out to chat with FasterLouder’s very own midfield maestro Timmy Cahill.

First thing’s first, tell us a bit about the formation of Heytesburg, you’ve gone through a few line up changes before settling on the current set-up so how did it all fall into place?

Yeah, it really took a long time to find members and get the sounds, and the songs, that we wanted. Heytesburg as a music project or idea has been kicking around in the Perth music scene for about two and a half years, albeit most of that behind closed doors. In the end, it was kind of just finding the right things that fit the band and the sound we were going for.

We’ve deliberately kept a low profile in the local scene because when we did start playing to bigger audiences, we really wanted to be ready musically. We’re all pretty competent musicians so I suppose the launch is what we would consider the main unveiling of our sound. I think that’s just the start of it really, depending on how it goes and how far the band’s profile is raised by the EP, we’re looking at an east coast tour later in the year.

How did you come up with the sound for Heytesburg, listening to the drumming I think I can hear a bit of Snowman coming through, but who were the other influences?

Yeah we always try to keep the beats interesting and distinct instead of the standard kick-snare. There is a Snowman influence in our sound but we also play around with a lot of Far Eastern or tribal type rhythms and also some industrial beats. I think it really keeps people’s attention at a show when they’re hearing a tribal tom rumbling or an intricate Far Eastern clicking. And I suppose that’s what we’re going for in terms of sound; a modern mixture of psychedelic and industrial elements.

We also take the same approach to every other instrument in the band. Keyboards in particular but also guitars and bass. The basic premise of each song we write is to come up with an idea and find riffs and sounds that fit around and work with that idea. So for example, if the song requires a bit of mystery, we just add a heap of reverb and maybe a sampled duduk in there. But if the song is meant to sound like some industrial marching war machine, we add some clanking metal and sporadic booming bass. So it always varies according to the idea.

In terms of influences, I suppose there are obvious ones like Pink Floyd and Sigur Ros but recently, I’ve been listening some other trip-hop type bands like Stateless and Massive Attack and also cinematic scores. It varies though as each song we write represents a different idea and thus a different set of influences or approach.

Could you explain the concept behind your EP?

From the River I Come, to the Desert I Go is based on the concept of a journey, which sounds kind of corny I know, but I think it makes for a far more interesting listening experience and collection of songs. The basic idea behind that concept is that water represents life and the desert represents death, so the EP kind of follows this ‘story’ from life to death and everything in between. There is also a recurring idea of a king being dethroned so in that sense its kind of also a story about the rise and fall of a monarch or figure head and the abuse of power. But in the end, people will listen to it for the music, so the story or concept behind it is just out of interest I suppose.

What was the recording process like?

In terms of recording, the idea for the EP was to explore a sort of Far Eastern influenced sound. So we brought in or sampled a bunch of instruments that fit with the whole idea and theme. I think in the end, the instrument list was something like congas, didgeridoo, kalimba, ekpiri, rain stick, duduk, sitar and a Chinese gong! Some of them were real and others were obviously sampled but we’re using state-of-the-art keyboard software that they use to score Hollywood movies and computer games; things like that. I reckon it would be hard to pick the sampled ones from the real ones haha. The keyboard stuff is very advanced though, so listening to the EP, you’re gonna hear sounds that are unusual for live recording acts. I think that’s what sets us apart from a lot of other bands.

The EP has a very distinct sound, are you able to faithfully recreate it on stage? How are audiences finding the live show?

Reproducing the EP live is a bit more difficult, obviously you’re not gonna hear every embellishment live but I think people would be surprised how much we can do. Like I said, we’re using state-of-the-art software on stage because the technology is only just catching up with the sampling power required for the types of sounds we’re playing. I think stuff like this has only become possible fairly recently. Its almost like taking sounds that you hear in movies and bringing them into the live band context. So what I think is great about the band is that if you come to a Heytesburg show, you’re hearing sounds that you wouldn’t normally hear in live music venues.

Heytesburg launch their EP at the Amplifier Bar on Saturday 5th of March supported by Apricot Rail, Sonpsilo Circus and Shock Octopus. Tickets are available on the door