A Quick Chat With Sex on Toast

The wait is over! Legendary Melbourne outfit Sex on Toast is back with their boldest release yet—Pegasus—out now. Known for their blend of Hollywood surrealism, edgy funk, and nostalgic charm, this new album promises to be a sonic adventure like no other. After 20 years of groove, countless sold-out shows, and over 13 million streams on their hit Oh, Loretta, the band continues to shape Australia’s musical landscape. Ahead of their national tour kicking off this November, we sat down with Sex on Toast to dive into the creative process behind Pegasus and what fans can expect from their most ambitious project to date.

Can you tell us what this album means to you and what you want people to take away from it?

Good question! The title "Pegasus" refers obviously to the flying horse from Greek mythology.

The reference to Pegasus was initially a throwaway line in a song, I later did a bit more research and found out Pegasus is seen in Greek myth as a symbol of creativity! That particular line kind of meant that anyway? Weird! They say inspiring water springs burst forth wherever Pegasus goes & I think much of the album itself was definitely one of the more exciting bursts of inspiration I’ve ever had!

I’d want people to come away from the album feeling like they’ve just watched a very exciting film, I suppose.

Who were some of the influences when you were writing this album, and why?

Initially it was largely influenced by Todd Rundgren and Utopia, The Tubes, Sophisti-pop stuff like The Blue Nile and Prefab Sprout, classical music for its use of recurring motifs.

The influence of Prince, and soundalikes of the Purple One (like Ready For The World) was also inescapable! Same with Zappa.. that stuff is deep in the DNA!

As time went on and more songs were written other things crept in like Joni Mitchell, The Melvins, Claude Debussy, Ennio Morricone, Stevie Wonder, Raymond Scott, Mr. Bungle and Hollywood soundtracks... The LOOK of the album (and Pegasus-era costumes) were inspired by larger than life weirdo "wall street" style villains from late 80s/early 90's films and 60's/70's Western fashion (with a bit of a futuristic twist, I spose!) Oh and clouds too. Fluffy ones.

What's the creative process for the band, from writing through to recording?

Whilst band members were definitely involved and added their inimitable touch, much of this album was a fairly solitary process in terms of its composition. I made drafts in Melbourne then sat in a motel in Los Angeles pumping out demos with a small recording set up.

The covid lockdowns shortly after caused me to sit at home (of course) and reflect! Oh how I did reflect! Too much introspection! Hell on earth!

But then a bunch more songs came out, & were demoed on the weekends that I had a proper studio…

Finally we were free and started the proper recording process after having a bit of a go at playing the new stuff live with basic tracking starting in April 2021. More material was written as I went and I wasn’t satisfied to sign off on the LP until I felt like it really had the right stuff on it.

We’d had a tendency to rush releases in the past and I couldn’t bear to do that again!

Sessions were anywhere from lengthy string overdubs to mallet percussion marathons, to solitary studio experiments…

It also features over 36 different musicians!

What do you think makes a great album?

It's gotta have a real "shape" to it. Peaks and troughs...

All killer, no filler! Well maybe some filler if the album is good enough.

I really appreciate records that tell a bit of a story... Or ones that are just weird as hell and you don't understand how they could possibly have been made?

If Sex on Toast could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?

We've had our fair share of great collaborators at this point...

Maybe a music video directed by legendary screwball director David Zucker shot totally on film with that weird, beautiful blown out colour grading to make it look like it's from 1990... Perhaps even with a Leslie Nielsen cameo from beyond the grave?

When not working on music, what other creative outlet/s do you have?

It's all too often music related, even if it's not music like thinking of new costumes or video ideas for musical projects!

I do enjoy drawing cartoons though and I don't do it enough. My girlfriend is always trying to encourage me to do that...

Oh and I like to cook but I potentially need to branch out a little with the meals I make. If anyone comes to a show please scream recipes at me as I perform and I'll do my best to jot them down.

Who are some local bands/acts we should check out?

Filthy Hart, Bailey Judd, Emily Victoria, Beth Otenstein, Tommy & Roy, Horns of Leroy, Tiaryn, Kurt Rainbow.

And any band with Louis King slinging guitar in it. Oh and James Bowers has a great jazz trio too...

Winter or summer and why?

Summer. We're from Melbourne so we're sick to death of cold weather!

A bit of a tinnie and an open billowing open shirt at a barbie mate. Love it.

What else do you have planned for 2024?

We have an extra special festival announcement over the New Year's that we can’t yet reveal!

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