And make a mini-documentary about the experience!
For their new record, The Night Is Ours (out April 7), Australian stars Youth Group decided to forgo the more traditional approach employed for their previous records. Over the period of a couple of months in late 2007, the band holed up in a near-derelict 1920s mess hall on Sydney's harbor, turning the vacated building into a studio and bringing in all of their own gear to build an inimitable recording environment which allowed them to work at their own pace, creating the songs that they wanted.
While Youth Group were looking for possible out-of-the-ordinary recording spaces for the new album, guitarist Cameron Emerson-Elliot's father told them about an old mess hall near a ship, the MV Cape Don, that he was helping to renovate. The band realized almost immediately that it was a perfect fit. Removed from the bustle of the main harbor, the boat and mess hall not only afforded the band the space and time to create music free from outside pressure, it even influenced the sound of the album itself.
As frontman Toby Martin explains,
The proper recording took place in the mess hall, but the band used the MV Cape Don, a Lighthouse Tender built in 1963 (later retired in the 1980s), to record different atmospheric and percussive sounds, very literally bringing a part of the sea into their music.
You can watch the creation of mess-hall-to-recording-studio, plus
the band's commentary, here.
Read the full history of the MV Cape Don, which was used to supply
lighthouses and other navigational aids along the rough West
Australian coastline, and the efforts to continue its refurbishment
here:.
http://www.mvcapedonsociety.org.au/
Watch the documentaries put out by Western Australian Visual Education
about the MV Cape Don here (chime reminding you to change the
slide not included):
Youth Group begin their North American tour on March 16 in Los
Angeles before moving on to SXSW and a set of East Coast residencies,
with more dates to come.
DOWNLOAD "All This Will Pass" here:
http://www.worlds-fair.net/shared/La..._Will_Pass.mp3
US LIVE DATES:
Mar 16 Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland
Mar 20 Austin, TX @ Brush Square Park Aussie BBQ Party
Mar 21 Austin, TX @ Maggie Mae's showcase (SXSW)
Mar 26 Brooklyn, NY @ Bell House Aussie BBQ
Apr 05 Boston, MA @ TT The Bear's
Apr 07 New York, NY @ Piano's
Apr 08 Philadelphia, PA @ M Room
Apr 12 Boston, MA @ TT The Bear's
Apr 14 New York, NY @ Piano's
Apr 15 Philadelphia, PA @ M Room
Apr 19 Boston, MA @ TT The Bear's
Apr 21 New York, NY @ Piano's
Apr 22 Philadelphia, PA @ M Room
Apr 26 Boston, MA @ TT The Bear's
Apr 28 New York, NY @ Piano's
Apr 29 Philadelphia, PA @ M Room
http://worlds-fair.net/youth_group/
http://www.myspace.com/youthgroupmusic
http://worlds-fair.net/news/category...s/youth-group/
http://www.youthgroup.com.au/
While Youth Group were looking for possible out-of-the-ordinary recording spaces for the new album, guitarist Cameron Emerson-Elliot's father told them about an old mess hall near a ship, the MV Cape Don, that he was helping to renovate. The band realized almost immediately that it was a perfect fit. Removed from the bustle of the main harbor, the boat and mess hall not only afforded the band the space and time to create music free from outside pressure, it even influenced the sound of the album itself.
As frontman Toby Martin explains,
"The environment began to shape
the songs: a theme of desolation began to emerge. The songs started
to become about one character – a person who was trying to escape
from the corruption of past sins, looking for redemption and cure.
Sonically, the record became expansive, layered, reflecting the
sea, the horizon, the expanse of nowhere. The environment gave
the record a character and made it an album rather than just a
collection of songs. The Night Is Ours is not a record of sea
shanties, it is about being 'at sea.'"
The proper recording took place in the mess hall, but the band used the MV Cape Don, a Lighthouse Tender built in 1963 (later retired in the 1980s), to record different atmospheric and percussive sounds, very literally bringing a part of the sea into their music.
You can watch the creation of mess-hall-to-recording-studio, plus
the band's commentary, here.
Read the full history of the MV Cape Don, which was used to supply
lighthouses and other navigational aids along the rough West
Australian coastline, and the efforts to continue its refurbishment
here:.
http://www.mvcapedonsociety.org.au/
Watch the documentaries put out by Western Australian Visual Education
about the MV Cape Don here (chime reminding you to change the
slide not included):
Youth Group begin their North American tour on March 16 in Los
Angeles before moving on to SXSW and a set of East Coast residencies,
with more dates to come.
DOWNLOAD "All This Will Pass" here:
http://www.worlds-fair.net/shared/La..._Will_Pass.mp3
US LIVE DATES:
Mar 16 Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland
Mar 20 Austin, TX @ Brush Square Park Aussie BBQ Party
Mar 21 Austin, TX @ Maggie Mae's showcase (SXSW)
Mar 26 Brooklyn, NY @ Bell House Aussie BBQ
Apr 05 Boston, MA @ TT The Bear's
Apr 07 New York, NY @ Piano's
Apr 08 Philadelphia, PA @ M Room
Apr 12 Boston, MA @ TT The Bear's
Apr 14 New York, NY @ Piano's
Apr 15 Philadelphia, PA @ M Room
Apr 19 Boston, MA @ TT The Bear's
Apr 21 New York, NY @ Piano's
Apr 22 Philadelphia, PA @ M Room
Apr 26 Boston, MA @ TT The Bear's
Apr 28 New York, NY @ Piano's
Apr 29 Philadelphia, PA @ M Room
http://worlds-fair.net/youth_group/
http://www.myspace.com/youthgroupmusic
http://worlds-fair.net/news/category...s/youth-group/
http://www.youthgroup.com.au/
