You can thank the Roland MC-505 Groovebox for the existence of Toy Balloon. The synthesizer-cum-drum machine, along with a guitar, wasthe catalyst for Greg Cooper and Nimai Etheridge to start jamming backin 2007. Toy Balloon, who have since sprouted to a four-piece, are nowon the cusp of becoming one of Brisbane’s most-talked about acts. Greg Cooper fills us in.
The story so far for Toy Balloon, fill us in on all the blanks?
It started just as hobby more than anything during 2007. Nimai and Irehearsed once a fortnight or so for around six months, just muckingaround with a Groovebox and guitar. We were really lucky in that we hada small group of people who really dug what we were doing and asked usto play shows with them, even though we were still a work in progress.
You guys played at the Tongue n Groove late last year and your soundwas a mixture of New Order electro meets Phoenix pop sensibilities -what sorta of musical influences do you bring to the mix for ToyBalloon?
It's hard to single out influences because there are just so many, but I'm glad that you mentioned New Order. They were a band who embraced somany genres, everything from early house and electronica, hip hop, disco, soul, funk etc, and of course also have these darker punk rootswith Joy Division. The end result is this beautiful mixture of sounds,which can really only be broadly classified as 'pop' music. They arethis rare breed of band which manages to get critical acclaim andrecord sales at the same time without compromising their integrity. Youcan compare us to New Order anytime you like!
Recording-wise, what do Toy Balloon have in the cupboard for 2009?
We were extremely lucky to have Phil Laidlaw from aheadphonehome offerto record and produce an album for us. The production on his firstalbum is amazing, so the opportunity to have his creative input as wellas vast studio skills on hand was a rare opportunity we had to take.He's essentially the hidden member of Toy Balloon. He played on a fewsongs on the album, but his influence will be heard on every track. Wehave pretty much finished it. We've agonised over every little detailto try and get it sounding as good as it can sound. I think the resultswill speak for themselves, but we'll be the first to admit it hasdragged on a little longer than we intended. It should be out aroundApril/ May we hope.
You recently added a couple of members - has their presence added to the dynamic and texture of the group?
Yeah we added Ben Green (ex-Capital) on drums and my sister Chloe onkeys (also in Mr. Maps). They totally transformed us into a 'realband'. All the electronics are loop based so having the live bandaccompany them gives the sound a lot more freedom. The crowds aredefinitely responding, there's a lot more dancing these days.
You've garnered a couple of nice supports of late, in particular HolyFuck! Must be good experience to play alongside such bands and get theToy Balloon sound out to a new set of ears?
That was sort of the catalyst for getting the full band going. We knewwe had a good chance to play to people who may not otherwise come outto see us, so we knuckled down and put the album on hold for a fewmonths while we got our act together. It was such a good learningexperience for us to watch Holy Fuck! They were fantastic but also madeus realise how much work we still have to do if we want to be on theirlevel.
You've got an upcoming show at Ric's - as a Brisbane band it must be nice to play such a iconic music spot?
Raychel and the Ric's crew have been great to us over the past year anda half. The fact that it offers original live music for free entry andhas such a great reputation makes it a drawcard no matter how small thecapacity is. I remember seeing Gota Cola there as an 18 year old andI've loved it ever since. Ben DJs there occasionally too which isalways great fun.
The Matchstick
Toy Balloon play Ric’s February 12.
