The Getaway Plan recently unveiled their third LP ‘Dark Horses‘ to general praise and great excitement from dedicated fans, resulting in an impressive #10 debut on the ARIA Chart, marking the band’s highest chart debut ever (‘Other Voices, Other Rooms‘ debuted at #14, and ‘Requiem‘ at #17).
The Melbourne quartet are currently steeling themselves and honing their live show ahead of their 33 date album tour. Having called out to aspiring local bands to fill opening support slots on the tour (to be announced soon), the band have locked down Gympie alt-rockers Red Beard as main support, fresh off the release of their new single ‘Hells Gate‘. This official celebratory procession for ‘Dark Horses‘ kicks off at the beginning of September. Tickets on sale now. See dates further down.
To find out a little more about ‘Dark Horses’, the band took the time to answer our On The Record questions. Take a read and listen below.
The song ‘Dark Horses’ came about first and the album title was taken from that. We felt the song was a focal point of the record both lyrically and musically. Although there are a few other artists who have used the term over history, we still felt as though it was too fitting to let go.
Tell us about the artwork.
No crazy backstory here. I stumbled across the main cover image on google and instantly felt it was perfect. We managed to get in touch with the photographer in Germany. Her name is Katrina Spectre and she’s 20 years old. She was on the verge of giving up photography which is crazy considering her talent. She was delighted to be a part of the project.
What format/s will it be released on and how will it be packaged?
For now we’re sticking to digital and fairly standard CD. Further down the track we’ll absolutely be looking to release it on vinyl. I can’t wait to see that cover nice and big!
Who will it be released through, and when?
It was released July 3rd through a label we created ourselves called Dope Mountain. We’re currently the first and only release on the label, but hopefully down the track we can look in to releasing some other artists music.
Tell us about the studio and why you chose to record there?
We recorded the bulk of the record at Studios in The City in Brunswick. Mainly because that’s where our producer Sam usually works from and we wanted him to be comfortable, but also because it’s a rad studio. It’s not huge, but it has a killer vibe and was perfect for us for this record. We recorded drums at Sing Sing studios in Cremorne. It’s important for our sound to record drums in a nice big room.
Tell us about the producer / engineer and why you chose to record with them?
Sam. K has been a friend of ours for many years. We’ve always been meaning to work together but the opportunity only came up recently. We had a week of demoing with Sam back in June of last year and as soon as we finished up that session we knew we wanted to make the record with him.
Did you go into the writing process with a clear direction in mind?
We never really set out to write any particular style. We wrote a lot of songs going in to this record, maybe 30-35. When you’re writing that many songs you can’t help but want to take things places you haven’t been before.
Were you listening to anything in particular during the writing / recording process that influenced the songs at all?
I can’t help but only listen to my own music during the writing/recording of an album. I think many musicians would say the same thing.
Were there any albums you were referencing in the studio to aim for a certain type of sound production wise?
Quite a few. Our producer Sam asked for artist references for every single song. A few that come to mind are Enya, Fleetwood Mac, KoRn, John Mayer, Tears for Fears and Prince.
How long did you spend in the studio recording?
We spent a little over 2 months in the studio recording and around 2 weeks mixing.
Tell us a little about the recording process the band used?
We spent 2 weeks at the beginning tearing the songs apart and putting them back together with Sam. We then recorded the bulk of the record in the 4-6 weeks following. It was a pretty standard affair for the most part. We didn’t record anything on any cliff faces or anything crazy like that. The energy was always there because of the relationship we have with each other and with Sam.
Was this any different to previous processes you have used?
We spent way more time playing together as a band than we ever have before. We recorded nearly 200 hours worth of jams. There’s a lot of live stuff that actually made it on to the record too. Everything is more or less live in the track ‘Dark Horses’ aside from a few guitar and vocal overdubs. There are a few moments like that over the record that people may not realise are live.
Any guests involved? if so, who.. and what did they do?
We had our lovely friend Freeds lay down some spoken word stuff for an interlude track (Parallels). The track was originally to be instrumental but late in the process we started discussing ideas for vocal parts. We were on tour with Freeds and showed him the track and he said he would love to give it a shot. He came over to our house and laid down his part in one take in our living room. We game him very little direction and he was able to nail exactly what we had envisioned, with no trouble at all. He’s a really talented dude.
When it comes do naming the tracks, is there any particular approach or process to it all?
Nothing that comes to mind. They’re generally derived from a key lyric as most artists do.
Any particular equipment outside your usual live gear used in the process?
We recorded most of the guitars through an Axe FX which is a kind of Amp simulator thing. Basically you plug it straight in to your computer and you can pull tones that even audiophiles would find it hard to pick as fake. It’s a weird thing to submit to, but once you get over the stigma, you realise that it’s a fucking amazing piece of equipment. We also hit a ladder with a hammer for percussion in a few tracks.
Any memorable studio moments?
To be honest I think those first 2 weeks playing together were 2 of the best weeks we’ve ever had as a band. There were so many moments where we (as we would say) “levelled up” as a band. We’d played those songs together in our own jam room for nearly a year, but as soon as you get in to that room to make the record and you have a purpose, everyone starts to show their true colours. It turned out to be the best thing for us this time around.
Any additional tracks recorded that didn’t make the cut but may see the light of day sometime?
We had a half cover/half original song which borrowed a chorus from Rod Stewarts, ‘Young Turks’ which didn’t make the record due to clearance issues. We’re working on a way to get it out to the public as we love the song too much to let it go!
What track/s are you most looking forward to playing live?
I’m personally excited to try some of the more chilled tracks. Dreamer/Parallels should be fun. I’m really looking forward to getting back on the piano again.
How would you compare the final product to previous releases?
I think this is our most refined release to date. To me it sounds more like The Getaway Plan than any other release. It feels like we’ve finally found our feet musically.
Anything else you want to say or about the release?
Usually we’d tell people to go and download it for free if they want to, but given that we released this one by ourselves, it would really mean a lot to us if you people would take the time to purchase a copy! Thanks for supporting independent music!
1. Landscapes 04:08
2. F(r)iend 04:11
3. Castles In The Air 04:49
4. Dark Horses 05:39
5. Last Words 04:34
6. Battleships 05:18
7. Dreamer/Parallels 08:43
8. The Means 05:38
9. Baby Bird/Effigy 07:45
10. Monuments 04:07
11. Exodus 07:39
THE GETAWAY PLAN
With guests RED BEARD
SEPTEMBER
3rd – The Small Ballroom, Newcastle [18+]
4th – Entrance Leagues Club, The Entrance [18+]
5th – Studio Six, Sutherland [18+]
10th – Wollongong Uni, Wollongong [18+]
11th – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney [18+]
12th – Transit Bar, Canberra [18+]
18th – The Gapview Hotel, Alice Springs [18+]
19th – Railway Club, Darwin [18+]
23rd – Dalrymple Hotel, Townsville [18+]
24th – Magnums, Airline Beach [18+]
25th – Villa Noosa, Noosaville [18+]
26th – Parkwood Tavern, Gold Coast [18+]
OCTOBER
1st – Racehorse Hotel, Ipswich [18+]
2nd – Wooly Mammoth, Brisbane [18+]
3rd – Spotted Cow, Toowoomba [18+]
16th – 170 Russell, Melbourne [18+]
17th – Riverview Hotel, Tarwin Lower [18+]
29th – Werribee Plaza Hotel, Werribee [18+]
30th – Chelsea Heights Hotel, Chelsea Heights [18+]
31st – Workers Club, Geelong [18+]
NOVEMBER
6th – Club 54, Launceston [18+]
7th – Republic Bar, Hobart [18+]
12th – Inferno, Traralgon [18+]
13th – Hallam Hotel, Hallam [18+]
14th – Commercial Hotel, South Morang [18+]
18th – Leisure Inn, Rockingham [18+]
19th – Prince Of Wales, Bunbury [18+]
20th – Rosemount Hotel, Perth [18+]
21st – Mojo’s, Fremantle [18+]
22nd – Dunsborough Tavern, Dunsborough [18+]
27th – Whalers Hotel, Warrnambool [18+]
28th – Fowlers Live, Adelaide [Lic/AA]
—> Tickets available now.
—> For more information, visit [Here].
