Melbourne three-piece The Peep Tempel continue their touring in support of the recently released second album ‘Tales‘. Up next for the band is a spot on the Deathproof Christmas party at John Curtin Hotel on Friday 5th December alongside Tnnl Cnts, High Tension, Ecca Vandal and Clowns. Next month they will hit up Crowbar in Brisbane on Saturday 13th December. ‘Tales‘ is out now through Wing Sing Records. To find out a little more about the album, the band answered our On The Record questions this week. Expand this post to check out their answers and some tunes.
Tell us about the release title.
The album is called ‘Tales’. The name seemed fitting as the record is a collection of characters and stories. We had a couple of ideas floating about, one was ‘The Peep Tempel sing a sunburnt country’, Tales just seemed to work. Nice and short.
Tell us about the artwork.
The Art work was done by Tim Molloy, a local Illustrator and author of the Mr Unpronouncable comic series. Tim gave the record a few spins and started bouncing ideas over to us. From the get go, It was an incredible experience. Tim was able to take the whole thing in a fresh direction, and we were enjoying seeing a different perspective of the record. The artwork has a real dark, metamorphosis vibe to it. I remember when we first got the vinyl back, Seeing Tim’s illustrations on the 12″ format was awesome.
What format/s will it be released on and how will it be packaged?
Vinyl, Digital and cd release. All available through wingsingrecords.com and your local record stores.
Who will it be released through, and when?
The album was released through Wing Sing Records on October 3rd, 2014. Wing Sing is a little boutique label from Melbourne. So boutique, that we are the only band on it. Its all love at the moment as there is no cash, so no greed. Hopefully that all changes one day, it would be interesting to see who fucks who first.
Tell us about the studio and why you chose to record there?
We recorded at Sing Sing South in South Yarra. Is got a beautiful old neve desk and Atari tape machine. It is a real comfortable setup. Sing Sing South is geographically independent from the rest of the Sing Sing complex, so it becomes very homely after a couple of days.
Tell us about the producer / engineer and why you chose to record with them?
We recorded the album with Clinton Kraus and Anna Laverty. We worked with these guys on the first record and had a blast. It feels more like an extension of the band rather than producer / band relationship. Everyone is very open, and cares about the project. It was a very comfortable process. For the most part, The Peep Tempel feels like a community rather than a band. We are lucky enough to have a group of great people around us working toward a common goal, it is difficult to specify exactly what that goal is.
Did you go into the writing process with a clear direction in mind?
Not really, We were in a much more Australian environment than the first record, and I guess that came across in the finish, I wouldn’t call it an exclusively Aussie record, but it is certainly more so than anything we’ve done previously. During pre-production, we had a deck out the back of our studio with a barbecue, and spent lots of time drinking beer in the sun. Then we’d head back into a dark room and play. Heading from this nice bright environment, into this stinky band room was often disappointing. Disappointment can be incredibly inspiring.
Were you listening to anything in particular during the writing / recording process that influenced the songs at all?
Not really. Just each other. So much music has gone through our skulls, we were just playing and trying to create something we would enjoy listening to.
Were there any albums you were referencing to aim for a certain type of sound production wise?
We like records that sound like a band playing together in a room, so anything from Chuck Berry to X.
How long did you spend in the studio recording?
6 days tracking, then 4 days mixing.
Tell us a little about the recording process the band used?
We worked on the songs for a few months, demoing, editing etc. When we got the arrangements we were happy with we chose the best 10, we had 12 all up, and rehearsed them until we were comfortable. When we went into Sing Sing, we setup, pulled some sounds and tracked live to tape. Then some guitar and vocal overdubs.
Was this any different to previous processes you have used?
No, that’s they way we do things. Early on in the pre production, we were working on some multitracking and new production ideas, but they weren’t for us.
Any guests involved? if so, who.. and what did they do?
Matt Chow, the original bass player laid some guitar and backup vocals.
Any particular equipment outside your usual live gear used in the process?
We used an old 70’s Fender Bassman that they had in the studio, it sounded amazing. They have some beautiful old mics and outboard gear. Recording through a neve desk is always a pleasure. For the most part we stick with our own gear.
Any memorable studio moments?
Everybody doing falsetto backups on ‘The Opera of Lester Moore’ was amazing. It sounded truly horrible, and still does. It’s perfect. We were planning to get some backup singers or a children’s choir, so glad we went with a heap of pissed dudes instead.
Any additional tracks recorded that didn’t make the cut but may see the light of day sometime?
We wrote a song about buying a racehorse, If we ever buy a racehorse, we’ll release it. We recorded two versions of ‘Gettin On By’, the other version was called ‘Frankie’ and had different lyrics and melody in the verses. We’ll put that up at some stage for people who are interested to have a listen.
What track/s are you most looking forward to playing live?
Big Fish
How would you compare the final product to previous releases?
More people have heard it.
Anything else you want to say or about the release?
Get it, come to a show, enjoy yourself.
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THE PEEP TEMPEL – ‘Tales‘
Available now on Wing Sing Records.
Grab it on iTunes [Here] or physically [Here].
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