Melbourne band The Basics have just played a string of shows around Australia, before taking a break in light of Wally de Backer’s upcoming release of another Gotye album and potential solo projects for Kris Schroeder and Tim Heath.

Despite "feeling pretty sh*t", which was possibly attributable to some dodgy capsicum, Kris Schroeder had a chat to the AU Review's Larry Heath about the recording of the live LP, the release of the EP Wait For You, and how The Basics work within the Australian music industry framework.

The Basics have often been praised for their live performances, and with good reason. When I caught them in Sydney during their recent national tour, the crowd was undoubtedly the most enthusiastic and appreciative bunch of punters I’ve seen at the Oxford Art Factory. This positive response obviously speaks to the band’s earlier decision to record a live album in which they could showcase tunes that they wouldn’t necessarily play in a studio. As Kris commented, the band wanted the recording to "offer a cross section from what you might expect from one of our shows". And so, a set that lasted a couple of hours at Northcote Social Club was "ruthlessly whittled down to a double LP", including key songs Hold On and Like a Brother, live interpretations of studio recorded tracks Better and What Have You Done, as well as a cover of New Kids On The Block, You Got It (The Right Stuff).

On the back of the success of this live self-titled LP, The Basics headed into the studio and released the EP Wait For You, which led to a residency at Northcote Social Club "as a result from the success of that, the tour". This seems like quite a positive rolling adventure, however when asked about rumoured disappointment following the last full-length album Keep Your Friends Close, Kris stated that "I don’t think we’re disappointed with the result of it, I think we’re somewhat disappointed by the reactions to it. We put a lot into it and I don’t know, things seemed to be going our way last year and then, then they just stopped going our way". Putting the idea forward that such disappointment may be a consequence of the Australian industry being isolated and specific, Kris responded that "it would of course be great if there were some more options in Australia, but I guess you’ve just got to work, and I guess that’s what’s so good about the importance of how we’ve released this live record, online and free, is that slowly there are other options opening up where you know you can gain an audience through other less traditional means".

And despite working hard and gaining quite an eager audience, a current hiatus is in fact occurring, and when asked about the possibility of a solo endeavour Kris expressed ambiguity towards future plans. "I don’t really know. There might be some solo stuff in the works. You know I enjoy writing songs but you know I’m not one of these people who go well 'I’m an artist and this is what I do' and just, I just enjoy writing music and if something comes of that then that’d be great. I guess I’ve kind of been quite lucky in some respects to get where I am now, because you know I’ve never had any support for what I do from my parents or from anyone else in particular, you know there’s been no record companies to support what I do, there’s been you know, little radio play to support what I do so in a way I’m quite fortunate to be in this position even in the first place. You know, I count my blessings in that respect and I don’t know whether that’ll last or whether it’ll continue or whether it’ll grow or whether this is it. You know, I’ll just go back to being a tax paying citizen and nothing more."

Hopefully, for all our musical pleasure, The Basics will come together again after this break, and in the meantime I hope Kris does keep writing music and Tim Heath pursues his solo dreams. And I don’t doubt, that with Wally de Backer’s amazing talent, the Gotye album will be a welcome contribution to the Australian music scene.