|
|
 |
The Borderland.
"I think the thing people will first take notice of with this
recording is the quality of the songwriting and the maturity
of the music," remarks Tulsa Giles, front man for The Borderland.
"I think that's the key word for what we are doing now: maturity. We've never aspired to be show-offs, and if anything we try and write the complexity out of the music so it's accessible to everybody, and as people are listening I hope it's something that opens their ears and minds; not just musically but in how they see their life and the world, and to question whether things can be different from the norm which they are used too."
Since the release of their debut EP 'Radio Silence', the group has worked through a number of issues which have had a noticeable impact on their original sound. In fact, I will be blunt in saying that the new effort is one of the most impressive local recordings which I have come across in a very long time.
"We had a few things to deal with since the first EP like line-up changes regarding Drew Scott, our former bass player who was replaced by Tim Oung, and Tulsa had laryngitis and a bad back, so we had to give him six months to breathe," states percussionist Matt Pengilly. "This did give us a chance to grow amongst that period whilst Tulsa had a chance to heal and regain his voice, and in the end it probably worked out better. It gave Tulsa a chance to sort of sit back and analyse what he was contributing vocally and what we were contributing together musically."
"I actually re-wrote the vocals for three of the tracks featured on the album," Giles adds. "After we parted company with Drew due to creative differences, I sat back and saw the direction in which the band was going with Tim, and I think those tracks which I have re-written are more of an example of where we are going now and what listeners will be hearing in future recordings from us as opposed to where we were before."
Whilst discussing the topic of line-up changes, I was interested to know whatever happened to their former turntablist/programmer Sven.
"Sven actually left right after the 'Radio Silence' CD launch, he had his own side project going on which I have heard is quite brilliant. He's always been into his electronic music and his own style, and we were quite happy to let him go so he could continue with that," states Giles. "He's truly talented at what he does, but I would definitely say that we've come back to being a rock band again now."
'Three Months Of Sundays' was recorded at NSW's Mangrove Studios by Darren Hincks and Blair Simmons. For The Borderland, it's clear that the time which they spent at Mangrove was a valuable investment; not only for this recording, but in the future of the group.
"I think our experiences in Mangrove is an experience which will be priceless for any other recording which we do," Giles explains. "I think being there advanced us ten or twenty steps to where we were before. It was just an amazing place to be, and having the chance to work with amazing people like Blair, who did the 'Diorama' demos for Silverchair, and has worked with bands like Something For Kate, Sunk Loto, Grinspoon, INXS, and pretty much any other name you can drop... Having that person behind us and constantly putting in faith and support is a really re-assuring thing.
"I think we've always reached for the skies, and have always gone for the highest possible goal, and if we fall short then we are still a lot further than we would have been had we not had those goals," Giles concludes. "That's why we decided to have the launch at the Uni Bar; I mean, why not put on the biggest show that you can, because if you want to be 'it', then you've got to live 'it', and always take the biggest risks that you can, because risks have always taken us a step further."
"There's one thing which I try to live by," adds Pengilly. "Bite off more than you can chew, then chew your arse off."
Adam Hood
 |
The Borderland launch 'Three Months Of Sundays' with an all-ages show at Adelaide UniBar on Sat 21 May with Snap To Zero, Impartial and Echo Generation.
|
|
|
The latest issue
available now!
|
