A Quick Chat with Butter Bath

You were doing a lot of traveling during the making of RUSHES, how did this influence your creative process?

I went over to the UK to play some shows and was able to see a lot of live music while I was there. I think watching and playing more music in a live setting made me want to try writing music that would be really exciting live. Even leaning more into rhythms you’d find in dance music but keeping the lofi tones that I’ve established in other Butter Bath songs. Also, not having access to all my instruments forced me to write in a completely different way. When I’m writing parts on physical instruments my hands gravitate towards familiar patterns so it was fun to be forced out of those habits.

Can you tell us about the short film you have planned to accompany RUSHES?

I actually didn’t set out with the intention of making a short film for RUSHES, the idea gradually developed as the videos were made. I knew that I wanted to assume characters for each of the single’s music videos and after doing the “Love You Now” video, in which I was the devil, I decided I wanted to be an angel in the next video and shoot some extra footage to show the progression from devil to angel. The progression from angel to man was then turned into the footage for the second half of the EP. The characters felt right for each of the songs and I wanted to tie it together in a way that augmented the narrative arc of the EP. It’s also just really addictive shooting videos on Super 8 so once I started I didn’t want to stop.

RUSHES delves into the highs and lows you experience both as a person and an artist, what inspired you to explore these particular concepts?

When I’m writing for Butter Bath songs I often just start scribbling down lyrics without thinking too much about a particular theme and about halfway through writing the song, the meaning becomes clear. I enjoy the process of spitting out a stream of lyrics and then formatting it into a cohesive idea afterwards more than I enjoy setting out to write about something intentionally - the songs always feel less contrived when I write that way. In hindsight, the concepts that ended up making their way in the songs were all really significant to me at the time. 

Who are some artists you take inspiration from that people may not expect? 

I’ve been listening to a lot of Hether and Men I Trust. I love how their music sounds simultaneously lofi and hifi. It’s such a great combo. I’m always listening to The War On Drugs but in terms of local artists, I’ve been really loving Maple Glider and Surprise Chef.

When and where can we catch your next Butter Bath show? 

We’re playing in Melbourne on the 7th of October at the Gasometer Hotel which will be my first headline Melbourne show so I’m really excited for that one.