Ambitious indie-rock band, Gang of Youths are one of those local gems that you need to know – especially if you live in Sydney. With their melancholic tunes of heartache and loss, they’re a band who lets their story unfold in a way that no one else can. With the upcoming release of their debut LP, The Positions, we chat to vocalist Dave Le’aupepe about the new LP and future music collaborations…
Dave Le’aupepe is a funny and eccentric man and was kind enough to take the time to answer some questions for us about the band’s new album and everything else in-between; from musical influences to his interesting advice for bands/musicians in the local scene right now. Read on for the full interview.
I love the vintage take of your music video for “Overpass”. How did the idea for that music video come about? Was it a ‘one-take-only’ type of video?
Hey thanks – it was a few years ago now. I was drinking a beer and talking shit with our manager and he asked if he could film me on his phone playing the track to just have around so he could listen to it – we hadn’t recorded it at that point. I did it once in his living room and that was that. He thought it would be cool to post on the internet – lo and behold he did.
What was the idea behind the title of your debut album, The Positions?
The LP functions conceptually within a non-linear framework – the narrative of the record is about learning to deal with grief and mortality and conquering the inevitability of pain with hope and defiance and perhaps a little creativity. I liked the way it read, so officious and unequivocal – almost appearing to be a statement in itself with a period at the end rather than a just title. I liked Leonard Cohen’s Various Positions as a title and the implicit sexuality it sets for the tone of that particular album, and I suppose The Positions is about ‘the positions’ of my grief and yearning and fear and desire.
There’s quite a number of songs that are long in length from the record which is interesting. Would you say that instrumentation is something you guys like to heavily focus on?
I think in parts of this recording it was. I feel like highlighting the poetry of everything is the focus for us, because invariably these songs are extremely confessional. Perhaps we laboured meticulously over the instrumentation purely due to force of habit – we like long builds, building anticipation and that sense of Joshua Tree era grandeur. That’s not gonna win us the approval of the cool kids I know, but the Joshua Tree is a fucking great piece of source material if one wishes to create big and atmospheric music.
What challenged you the most when it came to the recording process for this album?
Probably my dire and extreme perfectionism – my obsession with the vision for the record and my neverending shitshow of a personal life. It took us three years to write, record and release this fucking thing and most of those delays were my fault entirely. I was obsessed with making something I wouldn’t hate – sometimes I still do – but only sometimes.
If someone were to come across one of your songs and asked if it could be used in a movie, what would your reaction be?
“This movie had better fucking not be directed by Michael Bay.” I like explosions too bro but goddamn, you just have to fucking ruin everything.
What would you consider your strongest musical influences for the band?
Sonic Youth, Bruce Springsteen, The Replacements and Leonard Cohen if I had to pick any. Maybe early Public Image Ltd, and probably early U2? I know early on I was interested in making music similar to ELO or Love – really symphonic.
I think I’ve always been influenced more by writers than musicians – Yeats or Tom Robbins or James Joyce.
How have they impacted the sound progression of the band?
Lyrically the combined estates of Leonard Cohen and Yeats could sue me for ripping off their styles of poetry. Joji, one of our guitar players and I have always been infatuated with noise music and prepared guitars and weird sounds – so Sonic Youth was our band as kids. The Springsteen and U2 thing is probably clear to most, which is inherently unhip I know. Sorry.
When was your last tour and how was it?
It was earlier this year and it was the least excruciating tour in recent memory.
What do you enjoy most about live shows?
I yell sad and deeply personal stuff at people for an hour. It’s the fucking best shit ever. Performing live is a democratic experience and one I revel in purely because of its complete and utter accessibility for music fans.
If you could pick anywhere in the world, which country would you love to do a tour in?
Japan.
If you could pick an artist/band to collaborate with, who would it be and why?
Right now, at this juncture of my life? Probably Jeff Hanneman from Slayer, Nattefrost from Carpathian Forest and fucking Nergal from Behemoth.
Because read those fucking names again – that would be the most brutal collaboration in the cosmos.
What advice would you give to people in the local scene of music right now?
Don’t be a dick.
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Gang of Youths debut album, The Positions will be released this Friday on the 17th of April!
You can preorder the album in CD or Vinyl format from JB Hi-Fi or on digital download off iTunes
iTUNES: http://smarturl.it/ThePositions
JB Hi-Fi (VINYL): http://smarturl.it/GOYJBLP
The Deluxe edition of The Positions (if pre-ordered through JB Hi-Fi) comes with 5 additional bonus tracks which includes “Benevolence Riots” and “Evangelists”
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The band will also be doing a national tour next month.
Tour Dates:
FRI 15 MAY SYDNEY – OXFORD ARTS FACTORY
SAT 16 MAY BRISBANE – WOOLLY MAMMOTH
FRI 22 MAY MELBOURNE – NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB
SUN 24 MAY ADELAIDE – THE EXETER BEER GARDEN
FRI 29 MAY PERTH – JIMMY’S DEN
SAT 30 MAY FREMANTLE – MOJOS BAR
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