The Tamesis
Do you dare to say that you are a desert person?
I loved living there, but, you know, I’m not there right now, so I can’t really claim it. [Laughs.]
What do you think of Los Angeles?
I really enjoyed it. I adopted a dog and I absolutely love hiking; I love being close to friends, restaurants, social life, and work, but, you know, 20 minutes up the mountain and you’re hiking for two hours. I went to Bald Mountain for the first time a few weeks ago, it’s only an hour away and it was so crazy and amazing.
Photo: Lindsay Burns
What are your music communities like in Los Angeles and Melbourne?
I think it’s constantly changing. Even now in Melbourne, everyone is going through their own journey and changing the way they do things, so even Melbourne looks very different to when I lived there. I’ve always had little friendships in different places all over the place because I’ve been touring for the last ten years. I guess the good thing about LA is that it’s such a busy place and a lot of people seem to end up here, or pass through, or live here for a while, so I have some really good musical friends here, which is nice.
I love that you collaborated with Waxahatchee on a song Creatures of habit. How did you first meet Katie Crutchfield?
We toured together in 2018, so I think we must have met a year or so beforehand, and we went to a lot of the same festivals and events, so we became friends over the years. When I wrote that song “Site Unseen,” I thought her voice was perfect for high harmonies because she has such a beautiful range. I just asked her if she would take it and she did!
Does the songwriting process feel different? creature of habit Compared to your previous albums?
I think I always start in a similar way, but it does feel a little different. Maybe it’s just that I’m different and, you know, it’s been years since I’ve written a new song that I’m really excited about. I think my writing process is always morphing and changing and evolving, but usually it’s me sitting at my desk or sitting at my guitar or sitting at the piano.
What did you listen to the most while making this album?
I guess I tend to listen to older stuff. Maybe subconsciously I was afraid that I would, you know, obviously absorb something and regurgitate it, but I was listening to Paul McCartney and I called this record midnight love Marvin Gaye’s stuff, I listened to it on vinyl in the desert. I tend to lean more towards vinyl than streaming, so I find myself putting on the same records a lot. midnight love It was one of them, I was listening to a couple of Harry Nilsson records. Depending on the mood of the song or the inspiration I’m looking for, I’ll find something that gets me in the zone. I’m overwhelmed by all the options for streaming music and there are so many, so it’s nice to pick up an old vinyl record that you or someone else bought and just sit there.
