JESS RIBEIRO
Hi Jess and thanks for taking the time out to speak with us at Musicology. Firstly, congratulations on the new single Stranger. The tight bass lines and angelic harmonies frame the washed out guitar sections so nicely. Was there a strong vision for this track right from the get go or a piecemeal process that gradually gave rise to what we hear as the album opener?
Yes. There was a strong feeling from the get go. I had a crush on someone and a song came out.
The cyclic concept of your record is reminiscent of Charlie Marshall’s album Sublime with the A side tackling the grandiose constructs of cosmology and the B side of particle physics and the world of the unimaginably small, all eloquently set to music. LOVE HATE is in a similar vein but what were your expectations of the record and what you wanted to explore within it?
The expectation was to record an album in ten days loosely inspired by the Arabic stages of love.
In working with producer Ben Edwards were there tracks that he wanted to alter that were particularly hard to let go of considering the essential tune had been with you since its inception and now with his guidance, began to take on an unfamiliar complexion?
Chair Stare was first recorded in Dave Mudie’s shed in Melbourne with our friend, guitarist George Hyde, myself and Jade. It was lo fi, minimal, and captured a great energy and moment in time. This was the only song that I found hard to let go of in the studio as I preferred the original version.
This being your third album, was there a feeling of confidence and boldness in how you approached this record or was it just as demanding and challenging as any of your previous LP’s?
There was a determination to record all the tracks in a set amount of time. There was trust that we could do this. We did it. It was satisfying. Challenges came after we left New Zealand when I chose to do extra overdubs and continue mixing by correspondence. After leaving the studio in which we were fully immersed and coming back to Australia, the momentum was lost as daily life quickly consumed us. I’m better at being present in the company with someone rather than over email.
As an artist evolving emotionally and musically from album to album, do you find it hard or even redundant performing some of your earlier material when the person you are today maybe completely different from the person you were when you first put pen to paper?
No. I am much kinder to my old songs now than when they first came out. I’m not as critical and harsh on them. But I only play old songs that I like, so the ones I play I have compassion for them.
Tracks like Young Love with its slow stepping commentary and minimal beats as well as Cry Baby with its doo wop 50’s vibe, shows the musical refraction you are so famed for. In what ways did you want to push the sonic boundaries and for that matter yourself in writing and recording Love Hate?
I had a bunch of little summer ditties including Cry Baby. Bits of songs like Cry Baby I write a lot. I had an idea to try and include some of these bit of songs and so we decided to record them all in the same key with the same BPM but with different production so the extended versions which you don’t hear on the record can be used for dance remixes, as I like dance remixes. You Should Be With Me, Cry Baby and The Spirit In White are the result of this.
I guess it is fair to say that music has been the one underlying constant in your life and the prism through which the world is viewed, analysed and reimagined. How do you approach the dichotomy of introversion in writing about deeply personal matters and the extraversion of performing those pieces on stage?
You just do them. One is in solitude, one is public. It’s like light and dark and yin and yang.
In working alongside Dave Mudie and Jade Imagine, what did each of them bring to the table that really shines through on this record?
They each brought their own beautiful unique soul essence and artistry. Lot’s of light and love. Those two are the best. That shines through.
There are many Australiana elements to your work; visually, lyrically, musically but what global aspects feature in LOVE HATE that hark back to your days of travelling and adventuring around the world?
LOVE HATE was conceived in Europe during an oceanic jape. Good Bye Heart was recorded in Berlin during this time by Alexander Hacke from Einsturzende Neubaten the day after his friend, the great musician, Alan Vega died. We recorded this song in 2016 or 17 and I included it on the record.
