KIRSTY TICKLE OF PARTY DOZEN
Hi Kirsty and thanks for taking the time out to speak with us at Musicology. Firstly, congratulations on your latest record. In what ways did you want to push the sonic boundaries and for that matter yourselves on Pray For Party Dozen compared to that of 2017’s The Living Man?
We wanted to explore more colour on Pray for Party Dozen and reach into styles and sonic ideas we didn’t approach on our first release. The result is broader, but more listenable. It’s got some really fucked moments, but also offers a bit more groove and just a little bit of tenderness.
The principal instruments of the Party Dozen sound are those of the drums and saxophone. A pairing that is rare but not unusual. In what ways do you each bring your individual strengths to produce the one collective style that blends together so skillfully to produce such a diverse sound?
Jono has an innate ability to succeed at everything he tries musically. He’s responsible for a lot of the loops we use, which play a pivotal part in the sound of Party Dozen. He also triggers these loops while being an animal on the drums, which is pretty cool to watch. And for what I lack in saxophone ability, I make up for in effects pedals... It’s been really fun trying to re-imagine the saxophone as an electric instrument and throwing the rule book well and truly out the proverbial window. But in terms of working those things together, it really can be a “throw shit at a wall and see what sticks” scenario. Lucky for us, we had a lot of shit to throw!
On the topic of duality, where does the interplay and dynamism between you two lie in terms of the writing and subject matter that you explore in your pieces considering that lyricism isn't something that features often in your work?
We’re really good friends and have known each other for a long time so we have a lot of the same interests and tastes, which makes writing music together pretty easy. For the new record, we were really visually inspired by film noir, and by the insanity of extreme religion and cultism. But honestly, we’re mostly in it to make sounds and songs that make us both excited. We don’t necessarily lean towards subject or narrative.
Somewhere between control and chaos there is a strong compositional quality underpinning your pieces and in formulating your works do you prefer to come from a free form approach that organically evolves into a structured piece or begin with some very solid foundations before expanding on these core elements?
With the exception of one track on the new record, we always start writing with a loop. It gives a strong foundation and a solid vibe to what we’re creating. And then we improvise and jam over that... that’s the control vs chaos you’re talking about, I guess!
Both your albums have been self produced and released through your Grupo Records label. What challenges have you experienced in undertaking your music this way and conversely what have been some of the greatest liberties you have enjoyed by taking such an autocratic approach?
We think of Grupo as a little co-op community made up solely of all our mates. There are lots of people playing small roles in how it’s run and, in return, everyone gets to put their music out with full creative control. It’s not easy, and I wouldn’t say we necessarily do a great job of it, but it does allow us to be fairly self sufficient. As for the production side, we wouldn’t do it any other way - we’re greedy like that.
