What’s next for Las Mar?

Hey Nick, thanks for taking the time to chat with us today!
Can you give our readers a brief introduction to your solo project Las Mar? How and when did this project come about?

Hi, thanks for having me! Las Mar started, at least in my mind, when I was touring the USA with my old band Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes. I was frustrated by how little the music we played seemed to match up with my creative instincts. I loved the tour life, the people were great, and playing almost any music to someone who’s really loving it is a joy, but I couldn’t shake the feeling like I was not really expressing myself when I got on stage each night. And if you keep that up too long when your whole raison d’être is to express yourself through music, well, you’re going to think life sucks pretty quickly. So when I got home I became enamoured with recording instruments and, mostly, turning the things inside my head into sounds on a computer. I had all these disparate influences from years of being a music fan, a music student, a music obsessive... and a professional musician. It all started to come out of me some time in 2014. 

How would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard your music before, can you liken it to any other artists?

Well, if Dirty Projectors went to Timbuktu via a vintage synth shop in Shibuya before going to check out a bunch of jazz gigs in Fitzroy then you might get something like Las Mar. It really is a weird and wonderful melting pot. Psychedelica, electronica, avant-garde noisy stuff, rock n roll, ethnomusical field recordings - all these things have touched the depths of my soul over the years, all have left their mark and all come out when I’m creating music as Las Mar.

Who would you say are your biggest influences, musically or otherwise?

Starting with the otherwise - I’d say my brother is my biggest influence. He taught me so much about life, about how to be independent, how to question your cultural and intellectual environment, about how to love people and create enduring relationships. Musically speaking my high school drum teacher Dave Beck was a guy that just blew my adolescent mind. Through him I realised that being a musician was a life choice, an existence, it didn’t just mean “join some band and get famous.” I didn’t grow up with musicians so I didn’t know what kind of life it could lead to and that “not knowing” excited me a lot. Some of my major musical loves that have influenced my creations include Miles Davis, Frank Zappa, Cornelius, Aphex Twin, Sonic Youth, The Bad Plus to name a few.

Your incoming sophomore record Don’t Read Everything You Believe will be released in a couple of weeks, and you’ve just revealed a new single ‘I No say’. Can you tell us a bit about this song, how it came to be, what it’s all about?

‘I No Say’ is a typical example of what I do - it’s an unlikely combination of styles and sounds, frenetic energy, lots of interlacing sonic details and an unusual song structure. And of course it’s driven by big basslines and funky drums! Honestly it’s not about anything in particular - some of my songs have a narrative - some are just odd little (or epic) journeys to the centre of my mind. Like much of the time when I’m making music, it comes about because I’m chasing something - some sound, some idea. I don’t know what it is, I don’t even think I create the thing I’m chasing most of the time. But what I do end up creating is, well, the piece of music that’s born. And that’s the point maybe... 

And what are some of your proudest moments on the album itself?

Honestly - I love all my children equally! But seriously, the fact that I was able to bring this album to light after a lot of hard work, a lot of questioning whether it made any sense to other people, makes me very proud indeed. I guess I’m really happy that all these songs made it, and that, somehow, despite how different all the songs are, they seem to belong together. I’m proud that I mixed at least some of the tracks (Albino Rhino, Krdtay) - I don’t consider myself to have the patience, or technical skills, for achieving a final mix but I think I did a real nice job with those ones. 

The LP is slated for release Friday 9 October and brings together a huge spectrum of sound from electronic elements to funk, soul, afrobeat and indie rock, all self-conceived, performed and produced! Firstly, huge congratulations and secondly, how do you go about curating such a diverse, yet cohesive sound and narrowing such a vast catalogue down to just 9 tracks?

Well thank you! Ah yes, curating an album - I like that you put it that way. There was this stage where I had a lot of tracks that were somewhere past “half finished” but I had no idea where most of them wanted to go. The ones that made it I guess were the ones that opened themselves up to me - as I worked on them more they took shape, until they just sounded finished. Then some others went in circles and eventually deflated. I guess that process - songs becoming either blooming flowers or punctured pool floaties - guided the curation. On top of that it was obvious that, for example, my bossa nova Christmas song or black metal rap tune were just not going to be appropriate.  

You’ve previously performed with the likes of Gotye, D.D Dumbo, Nai Palm and more. With such a high repertoire of musicianship, how have you found the experience of releasing new music in a time where you’re unable to take that on the road and perform it to a live audience?

Well….it’s really annoying! I love to get on stage and you simply can’t do that right now. I had all these festivals lined up, venues all over the world that - when I wasn’t busy with my duties as a musical director for a circus show - were going to host me, people I was going to meet up and record with...all gone. I mean I’m supposed to be in Iceland right now! But anyway, I have it way easier than many so I guess I’m just trying to enjoy the slow life for now. Watching films, cooking, bird watching and learning some new skills (like live streaming) and creating all sorts of things in my little home studio.

And finally, what’s next for Las Mar - have you got a bucket list of places to play, people to collaborate with or milestones to achieve?

I’d love to play a show in space. Drumming in zero gravity is just inconceivable to me so I’d really like to try it.