Having created waves with their inaugural Oz tour last year, American rockers Mutemath have decided our island home is just the place to try out some new tunes.
Mutemath drummer Darren King explains from his hometown of New Orleans. “We are trying out brand new music in Australia that we will have never played for anyone else. So yeah, we’ll be playing new songs for the very first time.”
Following the 2012 release of their third album, ‘Odd Soul’, Mutemath are currently in the midst of writing for their next record.
“We’ve been writing all kinds of stuff and just trying different things,” Darren says. “Today I bought a banjo… I’ve just been trying to buy new instruments in the hopes that that will get me thinking in a different way,” he laughs. “It will sort of be my running gag … anytime there is a quiet moment in the studio, I [will] bring out my banjo and suggest that it be put into the song!”
Despite the band being in writing mode, Mutemath couldn’t resist the opportunity to return to Australia.
“It was even better than I expected and I had high expectations,” exclaims Darren, referring to the band’s previous trip down under. “All of the Australian bands were really good, like Big Scary, San Cisco, Matt Corby, Ball Park Music — all of these bands I’d never heard of before. I got to do a lot of fun stuff … first impressions were pretty great.”
Darren also takes the opportunity to express his sympathy for Queensland flood victims, “We made it through Hurricane Katrina because… at the time, we were just a little bit north of New Orleans in a town called Mandeville. It didn’t flood in Mandeville.”
Years later, however, Mother Nature caught up with the band.
“We’d rehearse in Nashville in this warehouse right by the Cumberland River and then we would park our cars right by the river and then leave for a tour. Sure enough, we leave and the very next day, the flood of Nashville happens. There is a picture of our van and all you see is just the top inch of the roof of our van, that’s it.
Mutemath perform at the Hi-Fi Saturday March 23.
