I’lls make electronic music with a voice of its own. A keen ear can pick the influence of Radiohead and Boards Of Canada, but ultimately the group bring something unique to the table. This is reflected in their beginnings, originally crossing paths in their first year of a seemingly disparate jazz course. As Lam explains, “We were put together in a group, but musically we didn’t really click with everyone. We were drawn to each other because we had interests outside of jazz as well. I mean, we were literally picked out at random to play together.”
With a thirst for something more, they were destined to go out on their own. “I feel like all the really fresh music is coming out of electronic stuff. Jazz will always be there in our hearts,” says Lam, stifling a small chuckle at his brazen sincerity. While he may laugh, I’lls embrace a covert jazz spirit that is altogether refreshing. Their latest single, Keep, was born in a session of improvised playing. “We recorded that by jamming around a bit. Once we had something that was working, we just hit record,” says Lam. “The rest of the song we just built up on top of that. We’re still using improvisation, but unlike the traditional sense, we go back and layer on top of that, or cut them up and move them around.”
It’s production choices like these that give the electronic music of I’lls such an elusive quality. Their knowledge of the past is intrinsically linked to their ability create something new. “Doing a jazz course, you learn how to shape melody,” says Lam. “We kind of used that knowledge but instead of learning how to do a piano solo, we’d learn how to shape a noise from a synth and how to make it fit appropriately in the timeline of the track – where it sits well and where it should die”.
The effort spent shaping these sounds allows them to shine through in the mix. According to Lam, this is one of the biggest advances made on the new EP. “We’ve all matured a lot compared to the last two EPs we’ve done,” he says. “We’ve learnt how to let go of things. If an idea isn’t entirely necessary, we’ve got no problem now just deleting it. That just leaves what is important there. We spend a lot of time tweaking the smallest things, but at least the things we’re tweaking are focal points. A lot of textures can be one-take flukes, but a lot of the time that’s three hours of work for a tiny sound.”
Although I’lls purposely craft music ideal for headphone listening, in a live setting the songs take on a whole new form. “All the shows we play, people are engaged and listening, but we’re not the sort of band that they’d dance to,” says Lam. Wanting to do something different, I’lls recently decided to create a completely seated audio visual experience, complete with custom made visuals from Mitchell. “We set up on the side of the stage with a really big projector that was almost the size of the venue,” says Lam, describing the gig at Howler. “I think that suited us a lot more. Everyone was able to sit down and soak it in.”
BY JAMES DI FABRIZIO
