When writing their self-titled new EP, Melbourne band The Balls utilised the same hermetic, substance abusing methodology. They just swapped out the cocaine for something a little less illicit – and much more Australian. “We recorded [it] up in a ski lodge in the Victorian highlands in the middle of summer,” lead vocalist and guitarist Ryan Page explains.
“It was a pretty bloody awesome couple of weeks. We stocked ourselves up on beers, BBQ and other essentials, locked ourselves away from the daily grind and let rip. There’s something to be said for that kind of freedom in the recording process: just being able to get yourself in the right mood without any outside pressure.
“We pressed record and saw what happened. Although fire season did make it a little bit touch and go. I think we had seven fires in a 15 kilometre radius around us at one point. That was a little bit unsettling, especially with two vans worth of gear, but I reckon we nailed it.”
Such an experience was markedly different from the production period behind their first EP, the enthralling Skeleton Creek. “[We] recorded that in [bass player] Razor’s garage – or ‘The Raj’ as we call it. It was recorded over many weekends and then mixed over many more. If I had to put a length of time on it I’d say it took a few months from start to finish, but in terms of in actual working maybe a week.”
The Balls are a vision-based band, an exacting group of musicians who are driven by a desire to nail a sound and a tone. Although their records are brutally freeform – songs lurch all about the place, and a good Balls chorus is about as orchestrated and controlled as a multi-car pile-up – they know exactly what they want, and they work hard to get it. “We know how we want the songs to sound. It’s just getting it [right] is always the task.
“It’s about a never-ending search for tone: that’s always the point where we slow down in the recording process. We don’t want to settle for something that isn’t how we heard it in our heads. That can be a real pain in the arse – but also quite fun. I could live in a studio forever. The light is always right.”
Indeed, before hitting the studio, the band don’t always have the clearest insight to how a song is going to sound. Their work usually arises out of the mess of a jam session, and has to be straightened out before it can be laid down to tape. “Usually we start with an idea. Either me or Razor will have a little part and then we expand on it together. Very rarely is the song finished when we take it to the studio – actually I don’t really think that’s ever happened.”
Of course, the end goal is always the live setting – a space in which The Balls flourish. They are a band that chew up stages: a frenetic, furious musical proposition like few others. So it comes as a surprise to hear Page admit that nerves do sometimes unsettle the band a little bit.
They might be one of the tightest live acts Melbourne has to offer – but they don’t always feel natural getting up under those bright lights. “Performing has been a part of our lives for a long time now and it’s not as difficult as it once was, but I wouldn’t say it came naturally. It’s always a bit strange putting yourself out there like that. As long as it comes from the heart the rest just falls into place.”
