INTERVIEW: SENS DEP

1. How was your introduction to music? does it run in the family?

Music for me was informed by hearing my Uncles playing acoustic guitars at family gatherings. They are all talented guitarists and they would all bring along their guitars to birthdays, Christmas etc, and after the meal sit around and play, not so much songs as long form improvised jams. My uncle Phil had a little recording set up in his bungalow that he let me loose in at a very young age to play with an analog delay machine (Roland DM100) which I now own, a mixer, guitar and a microphone. I was hooked on making weird sounds from then on. (BY)

2. Music takes us back in time. Can you instantly remember the oldest memory in your life which is associated with music? which song?

Happy Birthday - I vividly remember sitting in my high chair on my first birthday with my family singing happy birthday to me - otherwise many of my early memories involved my older sisters and brother bringing home new records and playing them on the Sanyo radiogram (which I had restored and sits in my living room). It was mainly bands such as Queen, ELO, Abba, REO Speedwagon, Pink Floyd, XTC. (CG)

3. Name one artist or band, living or dead, that influenced your music-making the most.

Arvo Pärt taught me about gateway drugs. Cormac McCarthy’s writing appeals to me in a similar way. On Pärt, his music is so evocative and yet with a veneer of simplicity. By simple, it’s not fucking simple at all! Anyway, Pärt appears to use a mathematical type approach to composition balanced off with a core of inspiration from his religious beliefs. It is the concise, evocative approach that acts as a gateway to open an audience to accepting more challenging aspects to the work. McCarthy draws you with clean, visual writing then before you know it, you’re knee deep in a philosophical rant accepting it all.
Pärt also provided me with lessons in understanding yourself and your work. Which is critical in any attempt to create something loaded with meaning that doesn’t buckle under its own weight.

I work primarily from the gut however this can lead to meandering and self-indulgence. To create anything with brevity I must work against my instinct through careful refinement and attention to the essential ideas I am trying to convey. This process can also go too far, stripping out substance. So I serve duelling masters; trusting both the process and my gut, yet neither alone.
Favourite Pärt compositions: O Adonai, Silouan’s Song, and Trisagion. (AY)

4. Which is the one venue or place on earth you'd like to play? if you’d have complete freedom and budget how would you setup your dream live performance? your choice of guest musicians? which specific media involved (art installations, performance, film,...) ?

For the last few years, we have been experimenting with using location to impact our sound. This has moved us from recording in traditional sound recording studios to hunting shacks and other unique locations. In a live setting we are also moving away from purposefully designed music venues.

We like how sound is impacted by the location, vibrating walls and resonance in a roof is something we aim to enhance.
To any location on earth on any budget; an oil rig in the middle of the ocean would be interesting. Crashing waves, thundering steel, we might need to be careful with resonance though.

5. What is your favourite instrument of choice or piece of studio equipment? and why?

The ‘Cello - of course! It has the same frequencies as the human voice (except when I play it, I like to make it sound unearthly). (CG)

Anything to decay our sound. Some of our toys include various tape players (VHS/micro) and an outdated security camera. (AY)

6. Any artist or album that really blew you away in 2020?

Over the lockdown, for some reason I seemed to gravitate more toward local Melbourne bands/artists. Bonnie Mercer released 'Female Cop Recordings' late last year - a great little EP of some dirges that also features Kellie Lloyd (Screamfeeder). I also loved Blake Scott’s album Niscitam and RVG’s album called Feral, both released last year. (CG)

7. How is your local music scene in Melbourne? Do you hang out with other musicians regularly?

The Melbourne scene is slowly trying to rebuild after COVID with shows back on (with limited capacity). We are very lucky compared to most other countries in that things ‘seem’ to be almost back to ‘normal’. I have tickets to three shows this week, so I am trying to support the artists and venues as much as possible. I think we (punters) have become a lot more flexible and accepting of changes at the last minute, for example, I had tickets to a show at a large venue last Saturday night for local bands Cable Ties and Little Ugly Girls but it was cancelled at the last minute due to a recent snap 5-day lockdown we had - the organisers had to make the call. It has been rescheduled to the end of March... we seem to take it in our stride that these things are going to happen and there’s nothing we can do about it. Life goes on.

There are lots of interesting DIY and backyard shows popping up - similar to Melbourne in the 2000s. I went to a backyard show a couple of weeks ago in my neighbour’s backyard with local legend Charles Jenkins from Icecream Hands performing. We could only have 15 people there so it was VERY intimate - he usually plays sold out large venues. It was a very special show! I play in a couple of other bands and a lot of the time I go to shows with them and always see the same old faces I know out and about. (CG)

8. What are your views on the recent rise of women in experimental music? artists such as Pharmakon, Anna Von Hausswolff, Lingua Ignota or Moor Mother...any favourite?

There does seem to have been a rise over the last 5 years or so. I’m not sure if it’s that the new streaming services and Bandcamp make it easier to discover artists on a more level platform than in the past or if there has been an exponential growth in the number of artists working in the more experimental realms of music. Carla Del Forno, Kelly Moran, Sarah Davachi, Madeleine Cocolas, Kelly Lee Owens, Sophia Loizou, Kali Malone, and Penelope Trappes are all artists I discovered and thoroughly enjoyed listening to in the last 18 months or so. Too many incredible artists to list a favourite. (BY)

9. What is your opinion on streaming platforms vs the physical record experience? do you buy records regularly?

On one hand it trains the masses to not pay for music but then, in the independent space, supporters have always been conscious of how they can support artists they like and continue to do so.
I support bands I like by getting cash as close to their hands as possible. That usually means buying different types of merchandise, although I'm not a collector of anything. For our own work, 'Lush Desolation' is currently digital only. We are finalising development work on an album totem. This totem is a physical object connected with the album artwork. We realise that streaming services have changed listening habits and connecting with an audience through something tactile is important. Plus, the totem has opened up another avenue for us to explore creatively. (AY)

10. How did the Covid-19 pandemic impacted your life personally and how was it in creative terms and output?

I actually haven’t touched my 'Cello in a year which, to say out loud, sounds shocking to me. I didn’t have the capacity to create any new music or even just play during our lockdown (Melbourne was in heavy lockdown from March to Nov. 2020 with only a couple of breaks, with a hardcore ‘Stage 4 lockdown’ from Aug-Nov).

Luckily, preparation for the Sens Dep release (Lush Desolation) was happening over that time with promo leading up to the launch in November, so that kept us occupied - and I at least had some form of creativity happening. I am feeling like I am moving more and more to picking the ‘Cello up again in the coming days/weeks. I’ve also been teaching myself bass guitar and am playing it in a new band which has been a lot of fun. (CG)

During peak Covid lockdowns out creative output increased. Instead of outsourcing the visual aspects of our work we took it on ourselves. Album artwork we had done before, but website coding and development, colour grading video clips was all new to us and stretched our creative skills in a most positive way. I am currently developing a short game too as part of this creative exploration.

We are looking forward to collaborating with other artists soon, however this has cemented my belief that diverse interests and output only make your work stronger. (AY)

During Covid I had reduced work hours so I was able to use those days away from work on the visual side of things for the release which was really positive. I think it enabled us to be able to tie in our aesthetic vision to the sounds in a much stronger and deeper way given the time that was able to be dedicated solely to that side of things. (BY)