LOUISE TERRY of spooky, spacey, jazzy Melbourne-based duo FLYING SCRIBBLE, back in Brisbane for a homecoming of sorts, answers some questions for RAVE. 

RAVE: Your music sits askew of classification or genre. How would you describe the sound of Flying Scribble

LOUISE TERRY: A wish or a ghost story or a chase scene. A haunted house or a carousel or a journey into the warm recesses of a heart. It is vulnerable and brave and shadowy. Mostly it is the manifestation into music of two human women who are wandering through the forest without a map but a true sense of adventure. And it is only what it is right now. We are very open to where it might take us, because it all came from improvising on what we had available at the time, being organs and drums. I think sometimes it’s more instructive to say that we are a two-piece who play organs and drums then to give too many wordy descriptions as to what kind of music we make, because what it ended up being is almost secondary to who we are and what we were playing. And also no one ever seems to really be able to describe us ... what do you think?

R: You incorporate theatre, animation and costume into your live performances. Do you think it’s important for music to involve a visual element?

LT: Not really. Music can function entirely in the dark and be as, if not more powerful than if you tried some overt visual experiment at the same time.
But there is a good relationship between sound and vision whether you present it to the audience or they create it in their imaginations. We all have vision, even in the absence of it. 

It is really more that for Flying Scribble there is some sort of drama inherent in the songs that couples with animation and costuming quite well. In that case it is drama, not so much theatre, that is explored live through the songs.

R: What can we expect from Animation In My Head and your additional new releases?

LT: Animation In My Head is an intense example of the drama that we can harness through our music. It is at once sharp, gothic, emancipatory and sinister. Yet it is only really a fragment of the whole picture of our music. Our other recorded works (which we WILL release soon...) are pretty diverse. We don’t have scribble in our name for no reason. We are not trying to push a certain corner of music, it just so happens that this is what we create and therefore offer. And mostly it seems that people are quite receptive to that, despite it not being boxable. Because we are such immediate creators, generally it takes us some time to understand the outline or meaning of a song or that it might sound like some other kind of music. There is a song on the album that could almost sound calypso, so I am not sure how that is meant to fit with Animation In My Head.

R: Why did you choose to release your new material in instalments?

LT: Just to trick people into anticipation! No ... we will more than likely have one album rather than instalments. We are now more interested in the music getting an airing with the songs all in company. We think they make sense as a whole rather than as releases of two or three songs at one time. That way it is almost too easy to categorise us prematurely and then not be open to how the other releases might be entirely different. 

R: You have both mastered a multitude of instruments, is there any that you favour?

LT: For me it is actually my voice. 

R: Are you looking forward to performing in Brisbane again after a three-year absence from your previous hometown?

LT: We are looking forward to performing in Brisbane. It seems strange that we have not played here more considering we are still tied to the place. Yet considering it is over 2000 kms away from where we currently live, I suppose it makes some sense. And also considering that up until the last six months I used to play with a 46kg organ then I suppose it is also justifiable that we did not make it up there so much. But it will be pretty funny to be in Ric’s cafe on a Saturday arvo!

FLYING SCRIBBLE play True Glamour @ Ric’s with Francis Plagne (Melb) on Saturday Dec 5 from 3pm, then appear with Kevin Blechdom (USA), Brutal Hate Mosh, and Dot.AY at The Troubadour on Tuesday Dec 8.

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