CONGRATS ON THE NEW SINGLE! WHAT IS 'NO HARM DONE' ABOUT AND WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO TAKE AWAY FROM IT?

Thank you very much. I suppose, like any artist, we wanted to create a powerful sense of dread with the song. I hope that shines through.

WHAT'S THE CREATIVE PROCESS FOR YOU, FROM WRITING TO RECORDING?

The seeds of this track had been milling about in the dirt for half a decade really before they sprouted into anything coherent.

Bobbie, or Robbie, Mahon, whatever he calls himself these days, the singer, had been playing around with this piano riff for about 6 years or so. He would just sit down and play it over and over again whenever there was a piano handy. The verse and lyrics had been worked out over those years too. Then, last winter, the whole band were staying up at a cabin near Colac in the west, just about freezing to death. We were all jamming in this tiny room, trying to keep warm, and Bobbie played this riff as he often did on the keys. After a while, Ben Hooper (guitarist), added the chorus chords and the rest of the band joined in. And so it went, and so it goes.

WHICH ARTIST ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT AT THE MOMENT AND WHY?

It sounds somewhat obvious, but I think Nick Cave is releasing some of the most thoughtful and genuinely intriguing music at the moment. I’ve always been a fan of his of course, but I think Carnage really floored me. He has this line about his uncle ‘at the chopping block, turning chickens into fountains’, and it basically bored a hole in my head. It’s rare in contemporary music for a line to genuinely take you by surprise and have such an instantaneous effect. Then there’s the Flannery O’Connor references and so on. I won’t go on and on but I could.

In addition, I really love what ILoveMakonnen has been putting out in the past few years. I was totally hooked the first time I heard ‘Sneaky Lady’ many years ago. I think Makonnen’s a really unique songwriter in the breadth of styles he masters. The way his lyrics kind of unfurl in a very tender and freewheeling way reminds me of Arthur Russel’s best stuff. And I couldn’t say that about any other songwriter really. I’m always finding new songs of his on YouTube that I hadn’t come across and they’re always beautiful.

WHEN NOT WORKING ON MUSIC, WHAT OTHER CREATIVE OUTLET DO YOU HAVE?

As far as I know we have no other creative outlets. For better or worse, music is it.

WHAT ELSE DO YOU HAVE PLANNED FOR THE YEAR?

Our debut LP, Sentimentalism, is being released through Flightless Records on July 7th. We’re incredibly excited for it to be out in the world.

Then there’ll be a run of interstate shows to follow up. Play some songs, meet some new people and see some new parts of the country. We’re looking forward to all of this.

WHAT DO YOU THINK LIFE WOULD BE LIKE FOR YOU IF YOU DIDN’T HAVE MUSIC AS AN OUTLET?

Perish the thought. If we didn’t have music, life might be more straightforward I suspect, more stable. But it would be infinitely more dull. Music is basically the centre of our lives – not just the making of it, but the listening to it and the sharing of it with friends.

THE SLINGERS
Thursday 6 April - The Curtin, Melbourne/Naarm
Friday 7 - Sunday 9 April - Boogie Festival, Tallarook VIC
Tickets: theslingers.band

Debut album Sentimentalism, will be released on Friday, 7 July, via Flightless Records

A Quick Chat with The Slingers