Modern Australian Underground

Andrea Blake, Rebecca Maher & the Melbourne 2010's Synth Wave

Episode Transcript

Hi, welcome to the first interview for Modern Australian underground. I am your host Christina pap. So today I'm talking with Andrea Blake from Melbourne synth punk band Chrome Dome, the label Nihilistic Orbs, Vacuum, and Asps amongst other projects. And also Rebecca Maher who played bass and spotting, and is in anarcho punk band Vampire, and now is working onnew synth pop project called syzygy, as a job with another member of Spotting. I've decided to talk to both of these people because I wanted to discuss the last 10 years of synth wave in Australia, specifically Melbourne, starting with a focus on Nihilistic Orbs and Chrome dome, and the effect that label insane had on underground music leading up to today, including Rebecca's bands. So I'm gonna get started. Stick around, because it's super interesting, and we have a few good laughs, too. You're listening to the modern Australian underground


Andrea Blake

Yeah, so my name is Andrea. What I'm currently doing at the moment is not so much music, to be honest. I'm kind of doing a lot of different film work. So like working on doing a couple of video clips for different friends. That's kind of been my main sort of like creative trajectory. At the moment. I'm sort of like doing music by myself that I'm not really interested or willing in like, having a wider public hearing. Yeah. I think maybe like picking through the bones of my psyche is not really fit for consumption at the moment.


MAU

Isn't that what music's about though, it's like you put it out there, and then you're just like, that is like your alter ego.


Andrea Blake

Yeah. Or it could just be like yourself, and that's really uncomfortable. So yeah, I'm not really doing too much music at the moment. I'm more focusing on sort of like visual mediums of communication and doing a bit of writing as well. Yeah. Just like sort of anecdotal writing, I just kind of got encouraged to do it for a few different people. And so I thought I might give it a try. Nothing seen the light of day yet. But yeah, who knows?


MAU

I think it's nice to create, do creative things, and not feel like it's only justified when when you show other people


Andrea Blake

Well, exactly. Yeah, that's what they see. Or it's been a lot about, for me, it's just like, sort of creating without the pressure of having eyes on your output, I

guess. Yeah.

Rebecca Maher

I think that not having to perform COVID is kind of nice, because you do get to just make things without that time limit or someone's expecting that you're going to play it live or if you have any project it like, when are you going to play a show? We'll put something out. You have more time to not have the expectation of that.


Andrea Blake

Yeah. And sort of technically you don't have the constraints of wondering how am I going to do this live because that's sort of not an option anymore, so you can make something studio based and completely fantastical.


MAU

I like to think that's, I feel like that's been an adjustment for a lot of people but over time, at the start, it's a scary thing, but towards the COVID you kind of realise how good it's been as well.


Andrea Blake

Yeah, yeah, totally.


MAU

so wrapped up in like, constantly having to play shows and, you know, try and keep up with everyone else that's also doing things, and then when you're not keeping up like that, yeah, you just feel like you're not doing good enough.


Andrea Blake

So yeah, totally having to like reevaluate your worth, not defined by any of your output, but like, how well you can just like sit with yourself


MAU

for like, nine months. I totally get that. And, uh, yeah, what about you?


Rebecca Maher

So, at the moment, I'm singing for, like an electronic pop duo called syzygy. And I'm doing that with my good friend who I played in Spotting with, we're almost finishing recording an LP. And we put a tape earlier in this year. And I think that it has been really great, as we were saying before, Andrea, is that we started making the project never really intending to play live, because we can't really play live. It's like, there's too many synths we can't do too much at once. And it's been awesome to release something. And nobody knows that we can't play live because we haven't played live yet. And we probably maybe eventually we would get a band together if we want to do a couple of shows, but it is just a primarily a recording project. Which felt really scary at the start because you can't workshop stuff with an audience, you can't figure out what works and what doesn't work. We have to rely on each other's taste and just do what feels right for us to make it, which is kind of great because then we get really obsessed with it and we really love it. And I yeah, you you're not really focusing on catering the music to sound like what gets a good response and what doesn't. You just kind of making it because you like it and just hoping for the best. And it's been great so far.


MAU

Yeah. Plus, I feel like there's like so much like maybe it's just in Melbourne, but so much pressure to be like yeah, like to be seen, and so you constantly feel like you have to play shows,


Rebecca Maher

I think you get worried like, when I was in sparring, we played so many shows, like I felt we're playing every every weekend. Yeah. And in lots of ways that was really good, that gave the band a lot of visibility, we ended up doing things that I think we really wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to do if we hadn't been so visible. And so you kind of get that pressure of like, I need to say yes to the shows. I need to play all these shows to make sure that people don't forget about you.


Andrea Blake

And also like the social obligation. Yeah, like it's always like, generally, it's always like you've mates or your good friends who are playing they're like, Can you play this? Like I want to play this because you've done this with me? Yeah. And it's a never ending like, death spiral of constant activity


Rebecca Maher

The other bands like are they doing stuff? Like I'm not doing enough day like really putting in all the they were playing on the show? Has anybody seen his records? Yeah. So you take all that away? You can just kind of focus on the thing that you want to do from it,


MAU

especially when it's taken away from everybody.


Rebecca Maher

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.


MAU

Um, Andrea, did you play it a hardcore band before Chrome Dome? I thought I read somewhere on the internet. Like when I was just doing a bit of research that you played in a hardcore band full before.


Andrea Blake

Oh, my God, no


MAU

Was Chrome Dome the first band you did before moving down from Brisbane?


after moving down from Brisbane. Yeah, I did like a couple of bands in Brisbane, the last one, which was like night school, which was just like really fun. And like yelly it was like, me and two of my friends. And it's just like drums and guitar and voice and that was heaps of fun. Yeah, yeah. Then Oh, actually, I moved down to Melbourne. I played in a couple of just like one, two show bands with like different friends. One was like.. they all had really terrible names. So yeah, he probably pushed it out.


MAU

Like I tried to forget. Yeah.


Andrea Blake

Yeah, but just like very low key, one or two show bands. Then,a little while after that, I was I'd known Shaun (South) previously from like when he came up to play in Brisbane. And he had recently started chrome dome and they'd released their first seven inch the negative vibes seven.


MAU

So you weren't on that one?


Andrea Blake

No, that was that was my friend Tara, who might be the other like, low toned female.


MAU

Shee had like a cut hair. Uh huh. Yeah,

Yeah. But then after, after that. Shaun was like, Oh, do you want to like join this band? You want to play like synth in this band with me and my friend.? Funnily enough, like then I started sure when they had a live drama and I'm like, oh my god. This actually like ties it all in together really well,


MAU

because there was a point when chrome dome was just a two piece.


Andrea Blake

it was just two synths and like drum machine, but yeah, I saw that first show with a live drama. Like, wow, this actually sounds really good. And I guess it just sort of bought a certain energy to it. And like really, I don't know, I guess like livened it and it was really impactful. And it sounded actually like sick and hectic. Yeah, I you know, can I take you up on that?


MAU

Was that like, did you know...were you a part of that friendship group or that scene before getting into Chrome dome. When you got into Chrome Dome, you became more a part of the Melbourne that Melbourne scene

Oh, I guess I did, I guess like, bands that I had in Brisbane, played with Shaun's band when he came up. And that's sort of how we got to know each other. But then yeah, of course, like moving down, you know, you go out you meet people like, yeah, you get, but I guess I was always around that sort of like, you know, friendship group.


MAU

Yeah. And what were you doing at the time back in 2009,


Rebecca Maher

I was living in the suburbs and garden to uni. And I used to go to shows heaps when I was a teenager, and go to underage punk shows. Yeah. Um, and I think that the scene just got, the punk scene just got really heavy at that time, and I just wasn't really for me. So I kind of ducked out for a few years at that point, right. Yeah, I didn't really come back until about 2013. All right. So I was kicking it out in Greensboro.


MAU

I gotta respect that.


Rebecca Maher

right. I went to see some ... when my friends would play a bigger show I would come but yeah, I also just had, no, I had a desire, but I didn't realise I'd play music at that time. So I was pretty separate.


MAU

What was that? Was it something that you thought about annual like, it's not for me, or was it something you thought about? You're like, I'd like to do it, but I can't see right now.


Rebecca Maher

I really couldn't say how I could do it. I couldn't I couldn't have even pictured being able to play an instrument. It felt like something would be literally never possible. And I didn't really know what I wanted, either. I didn't know what I wanted from it, or I couldn't see a path to it until a few years later.


MAU

So when jumping ahead a few years before we move back. When did you guys meet? Like do you remember meeting? Or was it just a mash of parties?


Andrea Blake

I think the time we met with like, outside a toilet at some party. Yes. It was a party as Bishop st. Yeah, I remember meeting you outside of a toilet but that was just like a very sort of like, Hi / Bye


Rebecca Maher

I think someone was like, this is the other loudest woman. And then it was like we got put on the spot. It's like, Oh, no.


Andrea Blake

I really gotta impress this bitch


Rebecca Maher

I do remember one of the really early times we hung out we went to a looking at a bar and I had just started practising with Spotting, I maybe had done two or three practices, and I had like phone recordings. I was really drunk. And so I was really, I was so excited because I'd never been in a band before and I'd never even had like any recording and I remember showing your friend and you were there and you like, just put it on whatever. And I was like, it was really embarrassing, but at the time, I didn't say you embarrassing or something. Yeah, I remember putting it on and you being really psyched for me and yeah, excited. I was and um, yeah, I really remember that really clearly.


Andrea Blake

It was really cool and fun. I remember that we like put it over the bar speakers and just had a listen


Rebecca Maher

99 problems at like 2 in the morning


MAU

Yeah. Damn, that's perfect. Yeah.


Andrea Blake

I love that. I especially like really love like bands that I like on their first practice that are like, not together. And it's all sort of energy and nothing else. Yeah, you can hear it like if it's there. And I mean, it was there when I listen to that recording. And it was really cool.


Rebecca Maher

I had to go then to the band and be like, oh, I've already let the cat out of the bag.


MAU16:24

Um, did you ever see Andrea playing live in any of her bands before you'd met her?


Rebecca Maher

No, I don't think I never saw harm done. Um, I don't think I'd say I don't think I saw you or anything until I had already met you.


MAU

I can't remember exactly when we met but I do. Remember I went to Adelaide with Chrome dome.


Andrea Blake

Oh my god. Yeah.


MAU

I remember I got really drunk and just like, like, bounced off a mattress and smashed my head against an amp at Animal House or whatever


Andrea Blake

yeah, I remember like going outside of that room that like the showroom that dude's sleeping. And because they were just hot box saying. And I was like I'm 24 I'm too old to deal with this shit. That was that was a really interesting trip. I guess it was my first time going to Adelaide. And I kinda didn't know anybody. And I was like, feeling really weird. And I was kind of like, oh, like, I went up there on bus cuz I thought that would be a really good idea. But then, I remember I went back to Melbourne with you. Because like my partner at the time, I was like talking to them to the night before, like, the night of the show. Like the show was really fun. Like, everything was great. We played the metro I think that was like really cool. Um, but i was like I'm just like, you know, I just was tired. I was not feeling the city. Like I just kind of really wanted to be at home. My partner like bess them bought a plane ticket for me that was leaving, like later in the afternoon. I'm like, Oh, that's so kind. Like, you bought me a ticket. So I didn't have to like stay an extra day. That's really nice. But then, like, your friend was like, all right, like all of a sudden she announced like, Alright, we're driving back to Melbourne now like, at like 10 o'clock in the morning. I'm like, hey, do you mind if I just get in?


MAU

You should have flown it's a one hour flight.


Andrea Blake

I just kind of like want to go and also like my friend MV. Yeah, she was like sleeping. She's like, hey, somebody's going back to Melbourne? Can I get in? She's just like, She's like, I left my underwear in that room. I just ran into the car


Rebecca Maher

Did someone say getting out of Adelaide?


MAU

Um, so. Well, I guess I did want to talk to like I mentioned before, the scene around Nihilistic Orbs, in terms of, because I remember going to like Summer Winds in Brunswick was around 2009, 2010. So Nihilistic Orbs was happening at the time Chrome Dome was playing shores magic crowbar was happening. Looking back at that time, like, how do you how do you remember that time looking back? Well, like where were you at? or how did you feel at the time around all the stuff that was going on?


Andrea Blake

Really positive to be honest. Like, I went down to Sydney in maybe like 2006 or 2007 to play a summer winds there that they had like the Brickworks like in a park


MAU

Who organise that one?


Andrea Blake

That was Shaun Ah, yeah, that was Shaun South who like organised all the kind of Summer Winds with just like a crew of ragtag helpers. Yeah, I remember that one needed to be moved to a backyard because like the cops came and broke it up. But like just a side note, that's really nice. So we got a plaque installed in that brick works for some wins. There's a little like Memorial plaque there, which is really gorgeous. So I was around there like pretty early I guess I don't know, I think like they would been maybe two before that one as well. So I've been going for ages. So yeah, that was that was really cute. And then when they were happening in Melbourne, um, it was Yeah, it was really cool. It was really cool to go see shows like kind of full like DIY sort of events with like, maybe 20 bands on the lineup, just like kind of possible, sort of, like, tough that are just like done like it's so scrappy, but it's also so, so, so fun, and so cool to be there. Yeah, I guess I'm like growing up in Brisbane, I was so used to like going to house shows and stuff because in Brisbane, at the time there was like one or two venues and you know, the same sort of bands would play the bands that I was interested in. Of course, we're not commercially viable enough to fit in those two venues. The bands I was playing in were not commercially viable enough to be in those venues. Yeah. And so there were just like a lot of house shows in like West End and Paddington and petrie Terrace. And it was sick. Like it was so much fun, going to a place where there were, you know, no bouncers, no rules, Queensland being so incredibly heavily like police. It was just sort of like an escape from that.


MAU

And the Brisbane I know was like I think I started going up there around 2009 so the Brisbane I know is the Eternal Soundcheck beginning and era like and then negative guest lists kind of moving forward from that. So that was this like pre all that?


Andrea Blake

That was kind of pre that I mean, Matt Kennedy who did Eternal soundcheck would have shows that his house in Paddington constantly. And also, James kritser would have showed up at his house in patri Terrace all the time. This is kind of just a bit like pre slug. Yeah, I am moved to Melbourne and probably the right time.


MAU

That's a whole other podcast


Andrea Blake

But yeah, no, it was it was just like such a sense of freedom. And that sort of, like, flustered I guess like musical freedom because you could just get your friends together in like, I'm playing a guitar with a coat hanger like someone's like, Oh, do you want to like play the show at my house? Okay, cool. That's where I sort of like come from and I guess that's been really good, like in terms of experimentation for me, because, you know, like, you're able to be in such a sort of, like, musically free space like for better or worse. You're able to sort of like take riffs and have them sort of like, I don't know, tolerated.


MAU

Yeah, that would be something discussed at Cafe romantica at five in the morning.


Andrea Blake

Oh my god. Yes


MAU

Nihilistic orbs, Chrome Dome and like the scene had a couple of years, and then in 2013 Shawn passed away and it kind of felt like that scene like Shaun was kind of like everyone was each other's friends but in a way Shawn was like, he did the label and after that, like it kind of just like was like a sharp drop off in terms of like, that label not being the support that the dark synth wave kind of like had before that. Like what happened around the year post showing passing


Andrea Blake

in the year after that, Ben Hepworth and I sort of took over the sort of closure of nihilistic orbs because everybody decided it would be best if it didn't go on we didn't want anything added to we just wanted it to be like a sort of time capsule of what it was.


MAU

What it is like looking back that's like, it's been successful in that.


Andrea Blake

Yeah, I guess because the label he had, like, Shawn had such a vision for the label. And you can tell that I guess like even in the in the artwork and like, how it's printed. Like, that was like a pretty crazy busy year because like not to be cynical, but I guess when he says like, a pretty talked about death, everybodyjust wants the peice


MAU

Like, this person didn't even know Shaun and like, yeah, crying about it on the internet


Andrea Blake

And also, in terms of just like, I didn't know, like, playing shows and stuff. There was a lot of that going on. There was a lot of work in regards to sort of like liquidating the label and getting the last like, lined up release out. And that all sort of like cumulated in November of 2013 with the Melbourne Music Week nightat Liberty social, which is for nihilistic orbs. So that was like, sort of signifying, like the the end of all of that,


MAU

like a closure of some sorts.


Andrea Blake

Yeah. So we got like, all of the bands that were on the label to play in order of release at that show and primitive calculators played in place of Chrome dome, a band which I like to join for a year in some sort of like weird synchronicity.


MAU

are they still around?


Andrea Blake

They've been around for long enough. Um, so yeah, that was like really nice in a way to sort of like wrap it up. And I guess that kept me like, busy during like, quite a difficult time in my life. Yeah. So it was like weird and hectic. And there was just like, a lot. Yeah, there was like, quite a bit going on. Like, personally and I guess like, around around me. Yeah. And I guess around the, you know, a few few people whom it affected the most. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Yeah. I'm in like, in terms of music. Do you mean like I feel like that the following Sean's death was like, really wild and wildly like popular for the sort of music Yeah, was on


MAU

so still like that kind of like ripple effect of the energy of the label and the scene. It was still kind of going.


Andrea Blake

Yeah, absolutely. I feel like that continued for like, I mean, pretty heavily for me for like a while after Yeah. And then you know, like, as things happen, like the next trend was like oz pub rock, and that happen, which is like fortunate for me because I was exhausted.


MAU

Yeah, you got to step down that four Day party sometime.


Andrea Blake

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Um, so yeah, like that, thatbecame the next kind of like, Cool genre, which, like everybody gravitate to and like got a mullet


MAU

I looked at all of us. Oh, none of us have a mullet


Andrea Blake

It's a shag.


Rebecca Maher

synth punk that was more poppy or more accessible, kind of came in between those two things. So like, I think that's where spotting, like jumped right in like that it kind of became maybe a little bit more garage influence, or like a little bit more punk influence, but like, took a bit of thatDIY and a bit of that darker synth stuff, and put it with what else was kind of popular at the time. Ausmuteants, that kind of stuff smash those things together before the pub rock thing kind of became really popular.Which is like, I kind of think is awesome is like we kind of maybe just made a more accessible version of something that had been kind of popular before.


Andrea Blake

Oh, yeah. Yeah.


MAU

So how did spotting start?


Rebecca Maher

spotting started because Ariel and I always talked about how we would want to play music, but didn't really feel that we knew how to we didn't know how to play instruments. And Gus and Allie were living at cafard at the time, and Braydon who's the first guitarist was living down the street, and we would just hang out all the time andjack as well. And we've kind of when, let's just give it a go. And so jack never played drums before I'd never played bass Ariel never sang before. And we were like, Look, let's just start practising at cat food. And so every Sunday, we stopped going out on a Saturday night, and we would get up on a Sunday morning and we'd have family lunch, and then we'd buy a couple of slabs and we practice for 11 hours.Because we had to learn how to play our instruments to do it. And I was we were listening to quite a bit of synth music at a time. Andkind of really bad to be really basic, learning basic punk as well, like I think we learnt like in Opears as cover and a knots cover. And we were just all kind of best friends that were really used to spending all that time together anyway, so why not do it in a productive way or a semi productive way? Or like at least get something new to talk about because we've known each other for 10 years, and because we had cat food at the time, so we had a place that was free, we could practice for 11 hours. And it was awesome because like, we could just like, we had the freedom and he was saying before, when you have houseshows like we played our first show at cat food, and with the freedom just to take it our own pace and write other things and songs and learn how to play and our first show was atcat food in the room that we rehearsed in didn't so the week before the first show I made everyone doa dress rehearsal exactly the way it was like the drums everything is set up exactly the way it was going to be. I think it was like four people like still left over from the night before. They're the route audience and it was like exactly like the set was exactly I was gonna be


MAU

that's exactly what you want to hear drums like after you've been at Cat Food the night before


Rebecca Maher

So I think it initially started from us wanting to spend time together and do something more than really ever thinking about what it would be as a band. And we practised for like, 10 months before I even played a show because we've had to learn so much before we got there. But also, then we came out of the gate and it was like, as together as we could ever possibly.


MAU

So like just jumping back to you, Andrea. So what were you doing in 2015?


Andrea Blake

Um, what was I doing? I was doing a solo project Asps which is like somewhat more experimental. It's kind of just whatever I feel like doing at that particular time. At that particular time. It was Ableton because I blend Ableton to be in primitive calculators and like that for them. So I was kind of like button push for that band for a year. Which was really fun. I mean, we toured China. That was right. Oh, that was really fun.


MAU

I don't know a lot of people that have toured China.


Andrea Blake

Oh, yeah. No, me neither. Still. Um, it was incredible. It was really fun. And it was kind of great to be the only like, young person. Everybody was in bed by seven. That's kind of what I was doing at the time. Still doing a lot of that and also in the very early stages of my band vacuum with Jenny Brannigan. Who was in nun who was on nihilistic orbs. Yeah.


MAU

When was the first time you saw spotting?


Andrea Blake

I saw their first show Oh, you were one of the people that was there from the night before? I actually, I went there during the day, because it was like, after a maggot fest or something, wasn't it?


Rebecca Maher

it was in February. Um, I can't remember. I know that I did absolutely nothing that weekend because I was so I'm really terrified about playing but you didn't you didn't you can't I think you were the first people there because I remember being so nervous in the backroom and talking to you and you were so unbelievably supportive. And it was really it was I because I was Yeah, really, really nervous. But um, it was kind of great in that sense that so many of my mates came and yeah, it was really fun.


Andrea Blake

yeah. No, it was it was sick. It was really fun. I kind of can't remember exactly where I was. Maybe I was at the back. It was like pretty full.


Rebecca Maher

I think by the end we have just closed the door because people being on the street. We headlined it because we booked it


MAU

Why not?


Rebecca Maher

But also it was the number one thing about Cat food is you can't have people on the street


Andrea Blake

yeah, I think you told me off the smoking on the street gone out the window, friendship with Rebecca. Now smoking is my new best friend.


Rebecca Maher

Yeah, I definitely have narced on quite a few people about drinking and smoking out the front, I'm like, you can smoke inside.


MAU

Yeah, a venue like that. You just, you don't want it to fold you know?


Rebecca Maher

Yeah, exactly. And like, I think that uh, because it was also the home of people that lived in the band. There's that added stress of like, okay, we're having a show here and we're playing our first shows. So let's try make this as smooth as possible. But everyone was great. We closed the door because it was like people that couldn't get in. I think there was a really nice spirit of lots of people here knew that we'd never played a show before and knew how important this was and we'd been working so hard towards it. I think there was this idea of like a bit of a breath of fresh air into the saying of, you know, like young women being able to hear but yeah, sure. So learn how to play instruments and I think that as a band, we were genuinely just really excited. We didn't have the cynicism of playing in bands for ages where you goI can't be fucked playing the tote again, I can't beleive I said yes to this show and I don't even feel like it everything we were doing, which felt like the most exciting thing that ever happened. And maybe that's a little bit infectious. Who wanted to come and say the thing we've been talking about it kick ons for 10 months


MAU

Yeah. You know, yeah, exactly. So It's at your own house, so you'd have to drive the drum kit anyway.


Andrea Blake

Yeah. Just like a house party.


MAU

Have you guys ever played played a show together?


Rebecca Maher

We played a few actually. Yeah, um, we vacuum sporting a vacuum played together a couple of times. Yeah. Yeah. I was thinking this before. I think the main one I can remember is we both played that Orion show at the curtain. With perfume. That was great.


MAU

That would have been a great. Sure. Yeah. Oh, like awesome bands. Oh,


Andrea Blake

yeah. Yeah, that was a great line.


Rebecca Maher

And we've played we played that face off festival most recently with vampire. And Jenny was really pregnant.


Andrea Blake

Oh, my God. Yeah. She was like, um, she gave birth a week after that show.Less than a week I think. Oh, I like are you okay with the prospect of maybe giving birth at the tote? Because like vacuum is so like bass heavy and everything vibrates I'm like, were going to shake the baby out. Are you sure you want to do that? so impressed. I'm like, I'll deliver it. I'll deliver. Like you can like get down on hands and knees and I'll just be there like waiting to catch the baby. Or we can keep the backing track going. It'll be fine.


MAU

The baby starts crying and it goes into the loop pedal.It's first show A that's really impressive for Jenny.


Andrea Blake

Yeah, I was extremely impressed and terrified. It's a real power move.


MAU

Yeah, I mean, it's not gonna be something I ever do.


Andrea Blake

What, have a baby or play a show?


MAU

Like, I mean, after COVID I don't even know when I'm gonna play a show again. I have heard of, like, there are shows starting to happen again. but it doesn't seem like anyone in the actual punk scene is rushing to put on a show at the momen


Andrea Blake

actually Emma and I have been talking about doing a sort of like park show. Like, I guess like in the spirit of Summer Winds or whatever, like we would because Emma's from Sydney and they had like, I know, there are a lot more fortunate than from Brisbane in terms of like venues or whatever. But there was a similar sort of thing going on there where like a lot of the less sort of like, via venue viable bands would be playing like DIY shows at houses are in parks, and we were talking about how much we missed it. Yeah. And how this would be like maybe a really good time to do something.


MAU

I agree. I was thinking of putting on a show where there's like a skate park in Preston. I thought like, but then you remember that you actually have to like


Andrea Blake

get gear. Yeah,it would be cool though. Like I I remember like the summer winds...


MAU

It all seems so much easier when you're younger though.


Andrea Blake

you're like old and tired


MAU

And then the cops come and I have to talk to the cops...


Andrea Blake

Yeah, but like it's really fun. And I kind of like just want to maybe like try it again. Yeah. And then probably like, I'll like hate it because it's too much work. And then like, not want to do it again, but like just to like, go to like a sort of Hella scrappy DIY show and just really have fun.


MAU

Yeah, just like people because it's just so easy. you can sit around you can bring your own alcohol you can come and go as you please. Like it's just a much more relaxed vibe than like, being at a venue and knowing that you have to pay $15 for a pint


Andrea Blake

Yeah, you've got to be crammed into like the one same smoking area with people you've been trying to avoid.


MAU

go into a toilet to do drugs


Andrea Blake

I just want the wind to blow away my key bumps on a park. I just want the wind to take it


Rebecca Maher

spotting played an outdoor show, like a DIY outdoor show when we went to Sydney, and we're playing in this, I guess it's like in between two warehouses, and a dog ran through an ariel never breaks character. She never talks between songs ever.And she was like fully doing anything. She was singing, but then that dog came through and she couldn't help it just like reaching down and patting. And she's like, Oh, yeah, I'm thinking.And we went to Sydney in 2017. Right? We did this really bizarre to where we were meant to play black wire. And we had it booked, black wire, and it closed down like we booked a show we booked the rest of the tour. It closed down and we couldn't find out the venue. So Jerry helped us organise a punk outside


MAU

wasn't in it was in a bike on a bike path?


Rebecca Maher

I think it might have been I don't know anything. mazzini because I've been there like once before, and it had like a hill and then there was like a factory behind. We played with oily boys and death church and some of bands but that was a zero it was actually really awesome. Except the generator ran out of fuel halfway through the show so we had to go and get more, so we couldn't play until was quite dark. And I can't play if I can't see the bass. I'm quite bad at bass. So some guy who's from Queensland is like a bikie, lent me his gas lit and put it right next to so I could see what I was doing. Because I was really anxious. I was like, I'm never gonna see the strings and I'm not gonon a camping one that goes into an LP with a gas bottle to my bass.we had a really cool shore and it was really fun. And then all the boys put after us. And Gary got up and like, was in my spot because he was playing bass, whatever. And within one second, he just turned around and knockedit over and it broke was like, Oh, well, you gotta play the doc now. Um, but it was awesome. Yeah, it was really it was really good. Yeah, I'm glad that we managed to find it was because it's so hard at that time to find venues in Sydney. And we were kind of worried about playing outside and it turned out to be one of the best shows ive play. It was really fun.


MAU

I feel like with spotting there was more of an opportunity to play with different sorts of bands, with Chrome Dome did you feel like it was more of like those like the scene was like kind of bigger of the same similar sad and you mostly stuck with that. Whereas opposed to spotting like, you know, you play with oily boys like a hardcore band.


Andrea Blake

Yeah. Um, I feel like it's kind of opposite to be honest. Like I feel with I'm current I mean, usually like either played with like, in noise benzo straight punk bands. Yeah, because I mean, like, until, like the event of like, forces non and bands like that. There wasn't really much similar to that around. Yeah. So yeah, I feel like we were like, you know, split between the world of like, the sort of like arts people who made like, completely abstract like, noise music and then like, the punk bands who, you know, did the punk thing. Yeah, I don't know. I feel I feel like it was sort of out of place. Like in at that time, like, I guess in the sort of, like, earlier days or whatever. Yeah, I


MAU

think when I when I think back to like, 2000 like for 2009 or 10. Like it is, that is what I remember being like the kind of straight punk and then that kind of noise and like maybe like, you know, pathetic humans a little while Yeah. And like this still people creating music, but the sound even though it's underground, it's still it's like changed a lot. Or maybe it's still there. And I've just moved into like a different seat and I'm not aware of it anymore,


Andrea Blake

you know? Yeah, I feel like no, sorry. I know that noise people is still like, oh, they're like twiddling knobs. I ran into my wedding last year. But you know, I guess like, I know, it's great. It is. But yeah, to be honest, I feel like I'm I know like from From my sort of, like, sort of outside perspective, I feel like spotting were more like with the sort of punk bands of your ilk. Yeah, you know,


Rebecca Maher

I think that I what really probably tied us together millennia is the fact that we were friends like we played heaps or shows with tall, we don't really sound like tall we just really like everyone and tall is playing shows you them. And we also kind of ended up playing a few shows with bands that had more of the quia or, like a fair observation element involved in it, because they just asked us and that were really lovely. And we ended up doing that, which was awesome. We made bands, like they're a little bit more indie a little bit more, like Gary geo, whatever. But we really like you know, bands like Avi j, we don't really sound anything like them. But we love what they do. And I think I kind of liked that. We also just said yes. Because we were just actually really excited to play shows. We just kind of said yes to most things that people wanted us to do or asked us to do. Yeah, because we felt like literally thrilled that people like wanted us to play, actually the stylet. So we ended up just kind of playing with whoever asked us to


MAU

play Yeah,


Rebecca Maher

I was just Greg said we would play let's DIY, but he's like hot shots in air. And then we play music weeks, or we get to play bigger shows of the keratin or whatever, because we just kind of would play Yeah, whatever people really asked us to play.


MAU

Yeah. Do you guys have an album that never came out?


Rebecca Maher

Yes, so, we recorded an album maybe in 2018, I think. And it's almost finished. And I think I'm hoping it will come out one day


MAU

it should come it should,


Rebecca Maher

it's actually it's the thing, it's I guess frustrating about it not being out is all that earlier releases the seven we did and all the shows we played was us figuring out what we were doing. And then I think this album is kind of us knowing where we're gonna go. Therefore, I think it has all the same like energy of the excitement that we had we playing one other and being really good friends and loving the projects. But just with a little bit more technical ability, and a bit more courage to play things differently.


MAU

A little confident, yeah,


Rebecca Maher

and to try stuff like you know, he's a spy psycho. We're gonna use different techniques that we didn't know, let's put these drums through a rat pedal and like, and play around with it. And we had a little bit more studio time than we'd old at the time was done like in cat food. And everything else we've done was done on a really tight budget where this we had a bit more time and space to work on it. So I'm hoping that it will come out. Eventually I just that thing is like, does anyone still care? Will you still want to do it? I


MAU

think I think I think yeah, I think it'd


Rebecca Maher

be I think even it was just for us to say, Hey, we did finally get it. And you know, by the end like arrow songwriting was good, great way earlier, credit was great. And performance is really great. And yeah, I think we just opened a new drawing more,


MAU

I feel like putting out that album is also a form of closure as well, like that whole time. Like, it's like they're all your best friends like those a big time in your life.


Rebecca Maher

Absolutely. And we didn't, we didn't necessarily know that we weren't going to play again. And we were going to do so when we did finish. So I think it would be really nice to as it's like 80% mix, and it will probably get there eventually. And yeah, I think just to have that closure, because it was such a amazing time visually for me. I never want to do all the things that I do now. If it wasn't for that band being so unbelievably supportive. They having heaps of room to learn how to play instruments. And also their response was from the community was amazing. I think that so many people were so excited to have people like, like me an arrow that have been Garden Show since we were 15 Yeah. Oh, now in bands and to be that excited about it. So yeah, I think that it was the combination of us really loving it. And people being really, really supportive to us. That's awesome.


Andrea Blake

Yeah,


Rebecca Maher

it was great.


MAU

Yeah. Andrei, you mentioned at the start of the interview that you were like, doing some video stuff and I think also can use some other time and you talking about you? Are you doing some video stuff for V at the moment? I


Andrea Blake

am. Yeah,


MAU

I feel like V is someone like in that kind of contemporary dark wave since kind of like has that kind of sound. And I guess I kind of wanted to ask what you were doing with them and also, who they work with and like what that sort of scene is like,


Andrea Blake

oh, okay, like I feel like if I had to like put V in any kind of like saying yes, it would be like this sort of like aforementioned like sort of queer queer musician like that. Like I hate to describe to use that as a describer but like it is kind of


MAU

a positive identity.


Andrea Blake

Well, it's just like a kind of saying that is sort of the music is so diverse, but I guess it is a group of people brought together by identity. Yeah, like


MAU

yeah, regards less about the music more about like,


Andrea Blake

well, like like it definitely is about the music but It's not necessarily grouped by genre, you know? Yeah. Um, yeah. So like, I guess that's where I'd sort of put them and their genre is like, I guess darkwave. So yeah, what I'm doing with them is sort of I'm with like in the sort of formulation stage of two different videos. I am still pretty like fresh at video making like I did one for mollusc a few years ago. Ah, yeah, remember that? Yeah. But I've decided that's kind of more where I want to spend my like, time and energy at the moment, since I might not necessarily like feeling music as an outlet. I want to do more sort of, like, visual stuff. So yeah, we've been like talking through ideas. And you know, how do you like, how do you visualise sort of like a song about self surveillance or like, self sabotage, and trying to, like, work out those sort of, I guess, like visual metaphors within a budget of $0.


MAU

Like, I mean, I feel like as well, for myself, I've become more visually creative. And I think it's, it's a nice thing to be able to move into a different area and still take the creative things that you did in music and apply it to somewhere else, we'd like a loose, like a similar formula.


Andrea Blake

Oh, my God, totally. Yeah. And I think that really works specifically for me, it's like the rhythmic parts of making visual images to go with music. And so it would be like in the editing, so you know, how to, like, Listen really actively and closely to a song and find like, the small, the small bits and small rhythms that fit together as like, how you can cut images together that, you know, they fit, but they're not necessarily like obvious.


Rebecca Maher56:53

Well, so can I say that? I think that making film clips now is one of the best ways to get people interested in the music you're making, especially during COVID women like we released it when people hadn't seen a band recently. And people that I think that wouldn't have normally listened to the music, or it just got shared so many more times.


MAU

That's awesome.


Rebecca Maher

Because I think that there is a magic in a film clip that it feels engaged especially like for us because it's pop music. And people almost want to see like a pop star or something and get to have that engagement with it. But I think people just genuinely really appreciate visual like the visual medium put together.


Andrea Blake57:31

yeah. And and like now like especially like, maybe it's always been this way for like pop music, I guess like heavily commercial pop music. But even now, like a visual representation of the music artists is more and more and more important. Like, I guess it kind of like blew my mind like bands like habits or something like that with is like super strong, like super curated visual presence. so striking. Like how impactful that is like their incredible like press shots and videos like how impactful


MAU

that is on this sort of sense there because like people love Instagram, they love looking at photos and stuff and and that's what like video clips are it's like you get to see the music and see the band


Andrea Blake

know, yeah, yeah, cool thing,


Rebecca Maher

especially when it is maybe more of a recording project or something where you haven't seen that band play live before and you start or anything about them like we syzygy we have one photo that's like, were not even in the same room. It's just like and I think when Gus and I were making this, I'm really into like 80s pop music, I love Belinda Carlisle and the go gos and that kind of stuff. And so he was like he would get parts of to storyboard it he cut out bits ofBelinda Carlisle I think it's summer rain video to show me what to do he was like sure can you could like turn around like that and we're gonna have a medium shot out with you shut your mouth yeah and cut into into a view just because we couldn't see each other because it was COVID Yeah, so to try and get into like him to explain to me kind of what he was thinking for me to do. Because I had to film it all myself and I had to like tape an iPhone into a mirror. And he's like, okay, we're gonna need a mid shot we're getting a close up shot and to show me what are you what are you kind of had in mind? Yeah, he would then cut in video. And also got it made sense to me because I was like, Okay, this is really really this is pop music essentially. Yeah. And if you leave the items that you love, it kind of gave me a instead of just being like, Okay, do something in front of a camera. Because I find it I never imagined myself to be in a really visual to be to be able to seen in that way. Yeah, going from someone who literally never played a show five years ago. Yeah, to have people seeing you so clearly. It was really scary. I think you mentioned about earlier about having an alter ego. It almost feels like these popstar. I have to get into the mind and alter ego. Yeah. So pretending to be belinda carlisle was a really good way for me to imagine what I had to do. So it had because I was I had to fake it till I made it. I would have had no confidence to do it. Otherwise,


MAU

how about like, how do you feel when you're on stage? Like, I mean, you've been doing it for a while longer is it just something that's just like a natural thing now


Andrea Blake

not really, I don't think getting up in front of a bunch of people is ever going to be natural. I didn't like, you know, hunt and gather for this.I feel like, you know, performing it's like a highly unnatural state. And I don't know, I don't necessarily, like, feel like I need an alter ego, but I feel like I do need to completely disassociate from myself. In order just to like, be a person in front of a lot of different things. You just have to, like, pretend like, it's cool. Which, like, is unfortunate, because I would, what I would really like to do is do the whole, like, performance thing when people talk about, oh, I get this, like, energy from the crowd, and I just feed it back. And, you know, I, um, you know, I have definitely felt that but like, for a lot of the time, I feel like I'm trying not to freak out.it's it's you kind of like, just retreat, mentally. Um, but yeah, no, I like performing to me still doesn't feel natural. Sometimes it feels more natural than others like, and then like, having like, a few shows where I've, like, really loved and enjoyed it and felt like super present and super into it. But I don't necessarily think I'm a performer or a front person, like, as much as I am somebody like who's likes to do things in the background, I guess. As much as I'm somebody who would like to, you know, create a producer, or do the more sort of, like cerebral parts of it.


MAU

I think it's, it's good that you go through that anyway. Because it gives you a better understanding of like, when you're like doing your videos, and you're being creative in that way, you know, with a person like that is singing in the video, like the performers are coming from?


Andrea Blake

And, you know, I'm always like, you know, when you like, ask your friend to take a photo of you. And they just snap it and are like, okay, that's done.


Rebecca Maher

they give you no direction


Andrea Blake

So that's what I'm kind of like with directing. You know, like, you always want somebody to kind of like, tell you what to do show you what looks good to, like, sort of tell you their vision. Like, I feel like at this point in time, that's what I'm kind of really geared towards, and and good at


MAU

Yeah. Off the top of your head, is there a live show that has had a big influence on you, when you think about, like backing your past something that's like had an impact and made you go a certain way in music? Is there a show that you can think of?


Andrea Blake

Um, I mean, for me, like, I guess, in terms of the performance thing I was talking about before, I went to see Grace Jones a couple of years ago, and that was like, so huge for me, I think it was like the best live show I've ever seen. Like, and it's just something where you come out of it feeling like nourished. Yeah, like, it's, it's so rare. I get that, that feeling off to seeing life music or whatever. But that was so incredible. And I guess that's what I'm talking about in terms of like, a connection with the audience. Like, I guess she like, well, she's an incredible performer. She's been doing it forever. And you feel like so incredibly, I guess connected to her and to her performance, and she projects herself, so, so well. And so like, incredibly forcefully that it just like, fills up this huge room. And it was amazing. And like all of our props, like cost $3, but were impactful into like, you can like make a roll of fabric into like, you know, Rolling Storm cloud. Wow. Yeah. Amazing. Yeah. And like her performance and her personality. And of course, her music, that was like really incredible. And that made me think a bit differently about performing I guess. Yeah, yeah, that gave me like a sort of different different thoughts about performing which I would like one day like to try out


MAU

just when you think like this is like, I'm trying my best and they see someone like that and they just break through the roof for you and Yeah, all these other things that I could be doing, and I just never even knew about it.


Rebecca Maher

I think for me in the last 10 years, a nun was actually a really big one for me. And I think the same thing for Ariel as well. Yeah, well, we just loved that band so much. And we loved watching Jenny perform. And it was one of those things where you just feel like it's so huge and playing music in that way, something you'll never be able to access. And then we met Jenny and she was so supportive, and then we started playing music, and then you realise you can kind of cultivate some of those similar feelings, then we played a few shows with them. And that was the really big moment for us where we're just like, Oh, we like a couple years ago, we will fan girling so much about this woman. And now we're playing shows me the realising that the scene is more welcoming than you think you might, yeah, you're sure to find the right people, or you just got to, and maybe they are ready for you to be there too. And they want you to be there. And that was really exciting. I think so having this band that we'd really loved, and then being able to actually play with them and play a few shows with them.


MAU

And they're nice people


Rebecca Maher

they're amazing. And they were so supportive. And you know, it demystifies this thing of like these people that you've seen that you just think that they're, you know, yeah, you're not meant to call it, they're just like, they're magicians that are like playing music, you'll never be able to play every book ever like that. You'd never be able to have that talent. Yeah. And then realising that, this, that's the great thing about the CDs, like then you get to play shows with them. And then like, he learned heaps of stuff. Oh, yeah, it's It was great.


MAU

That's awesome. So, what do you think is going to happen next year in terms of music? Do you think things are going to be majorly different from COVID? I guess, like, and also judging that off? Like, yeah, being in the same for a while and seeing the waves and trends that have happened? Do you have any predictions at all for next year, I just don't know.


Andrea Blake

I kind of think like, I know, a lot of, I mean, us in particular, but probably a wide range of people. I'm pretty, like, pretty, like tired and frustrated by live music, because it just keeps happening. You know, like, it's a luxury problem. Like a luxury problem, but like, you know, um, I think that there will probably be like, a refreshed sort of, like, enthusiasm for like a, you know, a live show and what people have to deliver when you live and seeing a band in person, and there is that energy, like maybe that will be refreshed once that happens again. But also, I think they'll just be a lot of projects from people who managed to like figure out how to record stuff by themselves and got all sort of like introspective, while they were like processing their entire lives over this six month lockdown, or whatever. You know, I think it's I think it's probably gonna go like there's gonna be like fascism plays. It's going to be like the live music energy, which will be like highly appreciated and fetishized again. Yeah. And also, there's going to be a lot of like, people, navel gazing, but that has negative connotations, I guess. But. But no, not really like, a lot of people figuring out stuff by themselves and getting a lot more experimental.


MAU

I think we're also in this weird point right now, where there's no vaccine Australia is essentially COVID. Free. But we can't travel into a, but also because there's no vaccine. We're still we want to go and do shows. But we're still like, there's still that caution about like, if you're worth it, you know?


Rebecca Maher

it is a local punk band. I think that I'm sorry, it could be interesting is that they will be probably no touring bands from other other countries for probably 12 months. Yeah. So when shows do start up, it'll all be focused on bringing on local on local bands next year. And I think that we have heard of a few people that have started new projects and new bands. So I've had to kind of take this, take it down to like write stuff and maybe write do some new things. But um, I actually think I think I agree, I think there'll be lots of electronic stuff. Let's just have a little bedroom projects, let us stuff solo stuff or, you know, small teams making stuff, which I think will be really cool and interesting, and they'll be less focus on having to play live all the time, in order to stay sane or in order to stay popular. But I think in the last few weeks, I've realised that you know, everything goes back to normal really, really quickly. And that maybe you know, in six months time, it will just resume. But hopefully we'll just be more energy and we will appreciate a little bit more. And we weren't drawn to fate about it. When we say yes to we're showing them the Friday night like, I'm so tired, I wish I wasn't doing this, will actually appreciate that like that we are out there and that we do get the problem of there being too many shows to go to.


MAU

I was like, I know, all the cities don't have as many shows as also, I tried to appreciate it on that capacity. But at the same time, there's so many shows that you feel like you have to be at all of them.


Andrea Blake

we were talking about this earlier, like the feeling of getting home off to work on a Friday. And your whole body being like tired on a cellular level, you feel like the cells that formed like in the primordial soup are tired. If you were just talking tie in and have to go out and like DJ, like play a show. And every part of your body like every microcosm of your body is just like, lie down.


Rebecca Maher

When you're offered the show you're just like, oh my god, that sounds like so much fun. All these bands are just like, I hate this. I've read the bands. I'm sorry. Yeah, I think that in COVID, I've made more music than I ever have. And I have enjoyed making it more than I ever have. And I had the time because I wasn't working that much. Because I couldn't do my job. Yeah. And I just set up like a, the worst timesheet you've ever seen, like my desk is so a horse with a piece of wood over the top of it. And like a, like a second hand interface or whatever. But it was awesome. Because I just had so much time to think about it. And I'm got the privilege that gospel just send me the songs and then I can I use I use Audacity like it's free from the internet. I don't really know how to use any kind of music software, but I just watched some YouTube tutorials and got a microphone. And then I just had months to write songs and then like, send him a version be like, What do you reckon he's like? Yeah, it's good. Maybe we could do that bit. Whereas Normally, I just feel like I've got to fit in two hours of music alone, my full time work and things I'm doing. And because I couldn't play in vampire either I had to I just really had the one thing to focus on. And I reckon I made more music we like we wrote more than we did in the year before that in a month.


MAU

I do love how people got creative over the covid locked down.


Andrea Blake

Well, I mean, you documented it


MAU

Yeah, I didn't I didn't do it, for that reason. I just did it because I had nothing else to do. And I figured nobody else did either, you know?


Rebecca Maher

Yeah, it was awesome. They're like, Oh, crap, first thing out that it was we were like, we'd started writing. I've been doing stuff for a while. But that was the fire under our arse to be like, okay, we actually actually gonna release something, what are we actually doing with this. And to get it all finished, like, we had bits and pieces. And like, it was great, because we had a reason to put it all together. And it felt really appropriate because we are a band that can make music without even ever seeing each other. And we did get that that we didn't COVID was a kind of a time to call, like, cultivate all of that. So I really appreciate appreciated the call. Also, people heard that because we can't play live. Yeah, and we'd never done anything before. And we were a brand new band. I don't think we that something like that. And like, you know, the whole world was kind of looking at it like from like a DIY trend. We say no, whatever, right? It was awesome. People listen to stuff that never would have, if you hadn't put that together and it kicked the tape were putting out I think that was the reason that people will listen to it is because we had that. So I'm glad I really appreciate that anyways,


Andrea Blake

yeah, it's a super cool thing to do. And also a super cool thing to have a document, you know, like a really like, I'm sure other like, you know, like isolate and other sort of, like, initiatives have come out of like, well, it's very, like COVID specific, but this is like, I guess it's just like a really like sort of community specific documentation and like archive that I think will be looked back on in like Easter commas like a really interesting record of the time.


MAU

Yeah, I still have more to sell. So if anyone wants one. Yeah, someone asked me like, Oh, we have songs. we'd really love to put it on the next one. And I was like, there's not gonna be a next one. This is coming to the end. And I would like to ask if there's anything you guys, there's anything I missed that you feel like you want to talk about, or anything you want to add?


Andrea Blake

I can't think of anything to be honest.


MAU

All right. Well, yeah. Thanks a lot. This has been a great conversation.


Rebecca Maher

It was really fun.


MAU

A big thanks again to Becca and Andrea for coming into the studio and having a chat with me today. It was really interesting to learn about what they'd gone through leading up to getting involved with the projects they eventually became involved with, and the influence the music had on the punk, queer and electronic scene, as well as the impact those scenes had on them. It was a really fun time and stay tuned because next week, I'm bringing you another radio show with lots of great Australian music. Don't forget that you can hit me up at Litmus dot media if you have a question or if you have anything you want to pitch to me. And if you want more information on things I talked about throughout the episode, there will be links and some breakdowns in the episode buyer at Litmus dot media. Don't forget to like subscribe and leave a review so other people can find this podcast and so that you can stay up to date with the weekly happenings on the Modern Australian Underground