Playwrite catch up with theaussieword.com for a special interview…
Give us an introduction. How did it all begin? What had you first interested in music?
Each band member will answer this question a little differently. The common ground would be that feeling of connection that music gives us, the ability to speak a universal language that transcends the usual barriers and gets to the heart of things. When you first have that moment, that one where a song or a musician speaks right to you, and through you, choices fall away and music is the thing you’re doing. The details of those moments vary and the result is 5 of us doing this thing we call Playwrite, seeking to explore, define and recreate those connections to ourselves and to everyone with the music we make.
What motivates or influences you in your quest to make great music?
Daring artists across any and every medium. Artists that are taking risks to make beautiful things. Sharing this process with 4 others is like holding up mirrors to my creative expression. They intensify the process and challenge me to stretch out bigger, look for deeper truths. We do this for one another. So just due to the fact that our output is processed by 5 filters all the time influences what that output ends up being in a hopefully positive way.
What are your biggest goals you hope to accomplish as an artist?
Being honest. Connecting with others. Remaining enthusiastic. Continuing to grow and challenge ourselves. Nurturing our relationship to each other and the music.
What can we expect from you in the coming months? Any plans to tour?
In the next few months post album launch we plan to get back to our creative process and make some new music. No touring set for 2015, but plenty of exciting stuff to share with audiences in 2016.
Tell us a bit about your latest album and how would you best describe your music?
Cathedrals was created over quite a long stretch of time. Preproduction to mastering the recordings spanned about 2 and a half years, and some of the songs were even older than that. It’s a bit of a time capsule of the band’s history to date. We wanted to honour how far we’ve come and all the events and people that shaped these last 4 and a bit years and we wanted to capture the songs in their best forms before moving on to our next chapter. Our music is earthy and dynamic. It has touches of delicate folk that spiral off into big swirling electronic washes with dashes of rowdy gang vocals and plenty of pounding drums. It’s eclectic, like us.
Success, what is the secret to it?
Communication, compromise, kindness and perseverance.
What has been your biggest career highlight?
Playing the concert hall at the Sydney Opera house supporting Elbow last year. Both on stage, facing a packed audience in that beautiful venue, and off stage watching such an incredible band from the wings and feeling so humbled and grateful for the opportunity.
Which stars of the music industry do you find inspiring?
The community of independent musicians in Melbourne is really inspiring. For the most part these are people working for the love of it, putting in awesome effort and bolstering one another. There is a great feeling of camaraderie amongst the community radio stations, artists, bookers, managers, venue owners and audience in this scene that supports ongoing vitality and innovation.
Any new projects in the pipeline?
Definitely. We just don’t know what they are yet. We are very much heading into the conception phase of what’s next. We all have solo projects and other collaborations we work on too so there’s always lots happening.
The music industry is huge, where do you see yourself a few years from now?
We’d love to have some overseas opportunities, showcases, festivals and tours. The live show has always been the main passion for us. We love travelling and time on the road together has always strengthened our relationships as a band. If we can combine those things more, continue to deliver music that excites us and our audiences, as well as strengthening our networks here at home that would be perfect.
Name a few of your favourite Aussie artists.
Our mates. Hayden Calnin, Slow Turismo, Ayawatamaya, Dorsal Fins, Saskwatch, Jen Cloher…too many to list.
The shape of the music industry has changed significantly over the years, including the use of social media, how do you feel about the industry as a whole and what does it mean to you in getting your records out into the public eye?
The industry is ever changing and there are great things about recent changes and difficult things. We’ll keep focussing on how to use the evolution of technology to reach the people who want to find us. Getting our music into people’s hands and ears is imperative, or what are we doing it for?! In some ways it’s easier now than ever and we will take advantage of every opportunity.
Thanks for the interview! What final message do you have for us today?
We love meeting new people so come find us at a show and say hi!
Website: www.playwriteband.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/playwriteband
Twitter: @playwriteband
BandCamp: https://playwrite.bandcamp.com
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/playwrite