“I really did try and progress and build on what’s already happening and try and find new ways of working with looping,” explains Symons on the coming together of the new record. “I think the main difference was thinking about the addition of vocals and having the vocal as an instrument rather than a vocal line.”
The addition of vocals will no doubt be one of the first things many listeners notice yet as with most of Great Earthquake’s output; they’re not used in the traditional sense.
“I sort of got to the point with all the instruments that I was using where I could keep working away with them but I just felt like there needed to be some new additions,” he says. “It just felt like a natural thing to try. There were lots of things that I tried originally that didn’t work and I had like lots of different whistling ideas or different ways of using voice. Just trying every little way that was possible and in the end that was where I ended up.”
According to Symons, despite the multiple layers and instruments used on the record, most of the songs origins can be traced back to a single idea.
“Usually its one little thing, like a guitar riff or a drumbeat that forms the basic skeleton of the song,” says Symons. “From there I go down and work on it with the other instruments and ways of putting it together and that’s trial and error; sometimes a song can take between 20 minutes to an hour and then other times a song can be worked on for weeks or months.”
Another departure from the first record is that Mind Maps was recorded in a shack in the Dandenong Rangers where Symons resides. Recorded with the help of good friend Josh Bach, the two used their unique environment to help influence the record as best they could.
“It was a great place to work because of the time and space and (Bach) would come down for a weekend and we’d just have three days or so just to get a whole lot of things done,” he explains. “(Bach) did a lot of work to try and find a bit more of a difference in sounds compared to the last album and to try and make sure there was a progression of sound and ideas.”
It’s remarkable the effect an environment can have on a record. Symons agrees that the decision to record in the hills as opposed to say a studio in the city, had a big impact, both figuratively and literally.“
The hills themselves, the mountains and everything; you feel like you’ve got a lot of space to think and create and you just have that sense of the environment,” he says. “We used a lot of sounds in the recordings, you know you hear birds chirping and other things so in a sense we were influenced by the environment.”
To celebrate the release of Mind Maps, Great Earthquake will be launching the new album at The Tote before heading off interstate for a run of shows. “I find with a launch, I try and put a little extra effort into talking and I guess making sure everyone’s having a good night,” he says. “Regular gigs, you know you’re obviously conscious of performing but at a launch, I don’t know, it’s like it’s on a different level and people are coming to support a launch. So I’m really excited about it and all the elements coming together.”
BY JAMES W. NICOLI
