Sparkadia

They haven't even released their first album yet, but Sparkadia are doing very well for themselves, boasting stints throughout Europe and the UK with names such as Jimmy Eat World, Vampire Weekend and The Thrills. While the band enjoyed a well deserved break from travelling, I had the opportunity to chat to drummer David Hall ahead of their upcoming national tour.

"Travelling from Brussels to Amsterdam and all around Europe, and being able to play to 1500 people every night when we were with Jimmy Eat World was just amazing. We were actually really scared about how we would be received in the UK when we first played there, though. I guess we were received well there cause the summery sounds of our music helped to appeal to their grim climate," Hall laughs.

"We have way too many stories from touring over the last few months. Our bass player Nick [Rabone] got lost in Berlin at one point on the Jimmy Eat World tour. Apparently he ended up having 24 vodka red bulls in one day, and he just went missing for about 2 days after that. No one could find him and we didn't know what was happening. Then eventually we just randomly ran into him, and took him to hospital," Hall chuckles. "So yeah, that tour was pretty eventful."

If you're a Triple J listener, then you're probably getting pretty sick of hearing about Sparkadia. The band has been receiving a huge amount of airplay over the last month, and their debut album 'Postcards' was at one point featured as Triple J's 'Album Of The Week'.

"The single Too Much To Do has been great so far, but as far as the album goes, all of the songs are completely different. The reason that we called the album 'Postcards' is that it's a bunch of different ideas and thoughts, from different times in our lives. Too Much To Do kind of represents a certain time and space for the band, but I think that the public can expect something very different from our other songs when the album finally comes out."

"We wanted to make the kind of album that if you turn it up loud you can dance to it, but you can also play it in your bedroom and fall asleep to it. We wanted to make an album that has a huge variety of vibes and moods and emotions. We're not big fans of albums that are boring and only have the one mood. The album definitely moves up and down in terms of mood and emotion, which I think is definitely a good thing."

While recording 'Postcards', the band were lucky enough to work with renowned British producer Ben Hillier (Blur, Depeche Mode, Doves), and Hall reminisces on the recording process.

"Probably the only new experience this time around with recording was that we got the chance to work with Ben Hillier, which was a dream beyond what we could possibly imagine. The recording process was really quick and short lived, though. I think we recorded it all in something like nineteen days, so we didn't really have time to think. I think that really adds to the quality of the record though. The hustle and bustle of London is just incredible, and there's so much energy in that city. Sydney is a really relaxed place and whenever we would work there it was always really laid back, but I think the intensity of London definitely added something unique to the album."

Along with a full-scale Australian tour kicking off this month, the band is also set to release 'Postcards' throughout the UK and Europe very soon, and it's not very often that a local band has the opportunity to release their debut album to such a broad audience.

"The album is coming out in the UK and Europe in June. We really just want to get our music out to as many people as we can; I think that our main focus is on Australia at the moment, though. We really do love touring here and playing local shows, so we want to spend as much time here as possible, and we're really excited about this tour."

Ashley Prigent

Sparkadia play at Jive on Sat 14 June.

'Postcards' is out now on Ivy League.