What’s something people might not know about RAT!hammock?
Hey Tom, Congratulations on the release of your new single, ‘Word Of The Day’! Can you tell us a bit about how the tune came to be?
Hey, thank you!
When we were coming off the back of our previous releases Jackson had been putting together demos of new tunes to try out; Word of the Day was one of them.
It was definitely a departure from the mood of previous RAT!ham songs just in terms of tempo and humour, which made it stand out against a lot of the other tracks.
Jackson has a kind of Dan Kelly-esque approach to songwriting, in that often a lot of the themes are framed by fictional characters and stories; Word of the Day is a bit less fantastical in that sense.
Anyway like all RAT!hammock songs Jackson finished it and brought it to the band and then we tore it apart like rapid dogs and put it back together in the band setting. We had a bit more time for preproduction and recording this time around so we got to play around with a bunch of different versions with different parts, arrangements, instrumentation etc.
‘Word Of The Day’ is an ode to the pressures of navigating adult life. What’s an ‘adult skill’ you should have, but don’t?
Not having a “99+” notification on my inbox/messenger. Using a savings account effectively. Having assets that aren’t a series of ever more-obscure 70’s Japanese guitars. Remembering to take my canvas bags to the shops. Knowing exactly how much coffee will wake me up without making me pace around the house with shaking hands. Putting on a load of washing before I’m out of clothes to wear. To be honest, most of these are things I should’ve worked out well before adulthood.
What’s a dish every adult should be able to make?
For sure every person should be able to bang out a top-notch ragu should the mood strike them. It’s idiot-proof food. As long as you have an onion, celery, a couple of carrots, some stock and some wine, you can put whatever the hell you want in there and you’re gonna eat well.
Smack it out with some non-wheat pasta for your gluten-free friends. Make it with mushies and lentils for your vegan mates (make sure your wine doesn’t use isinglass or eggs for fining). If you’re smart about your seasonings you can throw out the rule book and make a great low FODMAP or fructose free version. Truly a blessed food. A food of the people. Up your pasta game.
Where is the line between low-fi and hi-fi indie, and where does RAT!hammock sit?
If there is a line, it’s pretty arbitrary. The music industry’s well, well past the point where to have a hifi sounding single you needed to go into a fancy studio full of equipment. People are banging out tracks that sound a million bucks from their lounge rooms on free copies of ableton all the time. Conversely, our producer Sam will spend hours painstakingly setting up a dozen mics to capture an absolutely pristine drum sound, then we’ll then spend the rest of the day working out which plugins mangle it enough to get that sweet ~lofi aesthetic~. I guess we’re pretty smack in the middle. Mid-fi, if you will.
What’s something people might not know about you?
Jackson has an unexpectedly detailed knowledge of AC/DC releases.
Jack loves board games, and is designing his own.
Dom once auditioned to be on Neighbours.
I was once accidentally photographed with Oprah. The picture ran in the Herald Sun on like page 4.
If you could pick one act to (safely) see live right now, who would it be?
Is this safely a la the Flaming Lips on Colbert with the bubble audience, or once we’re allowed to go to gigs again? If the former, probably IDLES or something super energetic so I could get thrown around in my bubble.
If the latter, then I guess just any of our friends who haven't been able to play any gigs for a while. Watching the way streaming and live videos have taken up some of the slack while gigs are off has been interesting and really hopeful, but there isn't much that compares to seeing the people you love and respect up on stage.
