Aussies are doing great in music lately and although we don’t get to know every good band coming out of there, the ones that reach Europe are definitely worth the wait. That’s the case with Cloud Control. They released a super debut with Bliss Release 3 years ago, and this year they’re back with an album called Dream Cave (Infectious Music / [PIAS] 2013), which was conceived in a cave and brings lots of new sounds and psychedelic moments. The more you listen to it the more you’ll like it. And if there’s something we like at Rockast it’s a record that grows on you.
Now based in London, Cloud Control comes to Madrid with Local Natives and we had the chance to talk with them about their albums, space, London, NY, bunkers and anecdotes from their shows.
«If you end up not enjoying what you’re doing, you’ve got to get out of that space»
How are you guys? How is the tour going on?
We’re fine thanks! We’ve just had a day off at Costa Brava. Was beautiful. Good weather.
You got to play with some big bands like Supergrass, Foo Fighters or Arcade Fire, is it possible to learn something touring with these bands? Do they give you some advice?
Well Supergrass was the first international band we played with. We learnt a lot with them. The thing is, they’re at the end of their career, doing the very last tour ever, so they were really enjoying it. They had this tour manager that came back from retirement to do the tour, just because she liked them so much.
I wanna be in the kind of band that makes people come back form retirement to work with us.
«The space definitely informs the kind of music we write»
You won the AMP (Australia Music Prize) with Bliss Release, but did it change something in the way you were projecting your music and your second album?
I don’t think it really impact it. I think it’s hard enough to write an album we’re happy with, let alone an album with an agenda.
In your opinion, what would you think are the differences between this new album and the first one?
The new album has got more experimentation, with different instruments, electronic drums… We’ve been also recording inside of a cave, and trying to replicate what we had done in the cave to the studio…
How did you end up recording in a cave?
Well we like to have fun, we thought about do it in other places as well, like old railway station, underground tunnels… We played with lots of ideas, and then it made sense with Dream Cave. We should record something in a bunker, in a german bunker!
Did the fact of playing outside the typical basement make a difference in the music you make?
Yeah the space definitely informs the kind of music we write. Our space is the basement, and we always felt hard to get ideas flowing. Is not an inspiring place at all. Is wet. But you know it’s just about mood. If you end up not enjoying what you’re doing, you’ve got to get out of that space.
«London and NY are at the forefront of music»
How’s the writing process? Do you all pretty much put all the ideas together?
Well it changes. Heidi writes with her acoustic guitar. So it leaves the palette fresh.
Heidi: Well when I write I try to get a really strong melody and lyrical content, when Al writes, he tries to make it sound like a soundscape. His writing is more about production. I don’t have any skills in that area.
How is life in London for a musician? And what are the pros and cons if compared it with Australia?
It’s great because is very close to Europe. Is that classic thing about London and NY are very stinky. I think places like London or NY offer completely different things that other places can’t. They are at the forefront of music. That’s very cool.
I think it doesn’t matter where do you come from, it matters what you do.
Like a band like Tame Impala, the come from Fremantle.
«It’s easier to get a name in music, but harder to make a living out of it»
Do you think is harder to make yourself a name in music right now?
Well you can get a name immediately, you can record something and have it on the internet immediately and people will hear it. But it’s harder to make a living out of music. It has just changed.
What’s your favourite Tour story to tell to your grandchildren?
Heidi: Well, we played one show with Arcade Fire in Milan, which was my favourite gig actually. So I get to meet Win before the show, and told him what my favourite songs were, and I asked if they were playing Crown Of Love, which was, for personal reasons, my favourite song, and he said, “oh, we never play that song, it’s ages ago”, so I just had a fan moment and told him how important the song was to me by the time. So when they got onstage, he said “we want to dedicate this song to Cloud Control, but we haven’t played in a while…” and he forgot the lyrics!! So they had to start all over again.
Do you have any projects in mind for next year? Will we be able to see you in Spain during the festival season maybe?
Yeah, we’ll be heading into Europe next year. This is actually our second time in Spain, but we’ll be probably here next year yeah.
And last question, are you happy?
Good question! Yeah I’m really happy.
Yeah! Definitely.
3 out of 3.
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