Adelaide rockers The Killgirls are gearing up for the release of their new EP, Animal, this weekend. Ahead of Saturday night's show, lead vocalist Mario Spate chats with The AU Review about what this past year has been like in terms of recording, and in his case producing, the new record.

Hey Mario, how have things been?
Yeah good, they’ve been really busy, heading into the launch this weekend. But they’ve been good.

Can you tell me what’s been happening with the band lately? I know you’ve played some pretty sweet festival spots and gigs at big events, but other than that I haven’t heard much from you guys on the local circuit…
Yeah for sure. We started with a few shows at the beginning of the year and they were quite good shows; we did Clipsal and we did the Big Day Out and then we decided that, to really get this record out in time for the end of the year, we had to stop playing and make that a stronger focus. So we took, I think it added up to be about four or five months, off of playing and just spent all that time sitting in the studio, having arguments with each other!

We were pretty lucky just to have that time, everyone thought that was a good idea!

I know the EP release has been garnering a bit of a buzz around town lately, you guys must be incredibly keen to finally get the EP out to the public.
Yeah, absolutely. It’s been two years since our last release and it’s taken some time to get this newbie out. Absolutely, it feels great to have some new music to share some music to share with people and to have new sets and some touring on the cards, that sort of thing.

Where did most of the influences come from when “Animal” was being put together?
It was pretty varied; it was the first record where Nick O’Connor, who plays bass in the band, he really stepped up and came to the table with ideas. So it was a really different process in terms of, where a lot of the songs used to come from just one source, now there’s a second player involved in there. Nick, because he used to be a hip-hop kid back in the day, he brings that kind of influence in which is really cool. It’s something that I certainly don’t have any experience with, so it was a really welcomed influence.

The last time I saw you guys perform was at the opening of the Adelaide Fringe last year. That was a massive show and I remember being so impressed with the level of musicality the band has got going on as a group. With the new EP, are there any additions musically? Have you guys explored any new genres/influences?
I think what we were going for with this one, was to try and refine and distil what The Killgirls were. We sat there for like, two or three years, going, probably like every band does: “What’s OUR thing?” you know what I mean? It’s one of those questions that you can sit there and drive yourself crazy with, because the answer is in doing and being a band for more than a year or two. With that time, it’s really a discovery about what your strengths are and what makes your band unique.

So with this one, we’re kind of pushing more towards what we believe is the thing that we can do really well and bring to the table, that maybe some others can’t.

I’m right in saying that you mixed and mastered this EP entirely, yeah? How was the process for you, handling both production and vocal duties?
Well, the production side of things is something that I’ve slowly always been involved in on the side. I’ve done quite a bit of work in theatre and sound-tracking for that kind of thing. So through that, I’ve just kept doing and never really thought that I’d get to a point where I’d be like “Maybe I could make a record” and be okay with more than five people hearing what I’m doing. So yeah, it got to that stage and it wasn’t a quick process, I’m certainly not claiming I’m amazing at it yet at ALL! It’s still a learning process.

A lot of the decisions that came from that were because we didn’t have any money! We were all pretty poor at the time and we would have loved to have gone to a studio and have a producer involved, but we just couldn’t afford it. We sat around and learned how to do it ourselves!

The band will be supporting Dead Letter Circus next month, did you get to see them when they played at the Unibar a few months back?
No we didn’t get to see them, unfortunately. We saw them when we did Clipsal with them and they’re a pretty amazing band. I mean, they’re pretty incredible. So it’s a great opportunity, we haven’t been to Western Australia before so it’s all a fun adventure, I guess.

The Killgirls are still very much an Adelaide based band. Can you see you guys drifting interstate to record like so many do, at any point?
I mean it all depends on what comes up, I guess. At the moment, we’ve really tried to build a family here. The hope is to keep most things in Adelaide, because I think if you keep moving things away from here, how are people ever going to take this place seriously? I’m a big believer that you can build it here and there’s so many talented people here…

It seems that there’s a few Adelaide bands who are making their mark or pushing their name even further lately on the live circuit interstate…would you say that it’s becoming easier to gain attention from those outside this city?
I don’t know, I mean, we got pretty lucky. It was dumb luck that we even landed a booking agent, you know what I mean? It’s still extremely difficult here and I think that attitude also carries across into radio. There are lots of people here who are making incredible music. Mammoth Logic, they’re another self-produced act and their record sounds amazing. There’s people doing things here, you know?

Well hopefully there are more acts like you guys who keep pushing this home-grown and self-produced nature out there. That’s what we need at the moment.
Completely. Also, just to support each other, you know? It’s hard enough as it is, without bands from here having interpersonal arguments and that kind of thing. I don’t think it’s worth it, I think we should just support people who are kicking it. It’s all going to equal good things for anyone who comes out of here!

Well thanks for today, I hope you get some time to at least chill before the launch.
Yeah it never ends. [laughs] We’ll get there!