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 They may have the most difficult to Google band name since The Music, but Sydney’s SONGS have persevered in spite of the search engine’s uncompromising algorithms. DARRAGH MURRAY chats to bassist ELA STILES about the group’s new direction ahead of the recording of their second record.
I catch the charming Ela Stiles on what sounds like a cheerful late spring afternoon in her native Sydney. The chirping birds make for great background noise as we begin discussing her own musical journey, Stiles revealing that her career has been shaped by two distinct, but not altogether unsurprising, sources of inspiration.
“My mum is a musician – she’s and artist and a musician, she is very encouraging of doing anything artistic. She’s really happy I’m doing that. I never really had any other aspirations when I was growing up,” Stiles explains. “[But] I’m pretty sure that when I saw the movie The Labyrinth with David Bowie when I was a kid, I pretty much decided that that’s what I wanted to do.”
Such determination has paid dividends. Stiles’ partnership with singer-guitarist Max Doyle in Songs led to the release of their critically acclaimed self-titled debut in 2009. Since those heights, line-up changes that have seen band members come and go, as well as seen the band swell to a five members following the addition of a keyboardist. While known for their jangly pop numbers, their recent single Heavy shows a willingness to experiment, something Songs intend to explore further once recording for their new album begins in early 2012.
“It’s more laid back I think. I think before we were quite uptight, you know, we were quite serious before, and we’re trying to lighten up a bit I guess. And so, yeah, it is a bit more laid back and bit more groovy,” Stiles tells me. “There is still that pop, jangly thing I guess still, but there is a couple of different kind of songs which are pretty different to what we usually have done before.”
What triggered such change? Well, it may have come down to a dose of soul.
“I’ve been listening to a bit of soul lately. I’ve been listening to this compilation called Saturday Night Fish Fry. It’s like a compilation of ‘60s soul music. I think my bass playing has become more groovy just from listening to that kind of stuff as well, so I guess it’s coming through in the couple of things that we’re doing at the moment with Songs.”
Plans for their second record are in full swing and an excited Stiles divulges that the band intends to record with the man who produced their first two EPs.
“We’re recording with Mike Burnham. He used to have a studio in Sydney called Tardis. Basically, he just collected all this equipment over the years, like all this really amazing vintage gear,” Stiles states. “We really liked what he did with [Heavy]. He just made it so much more interesting. We decided that we’d love to see what he’d could do with our album.”
SONGS play Woodland on Saturday Dec 17 supported by Little Casino and Martyr Privates. The new single HEAVY is now available through iTunes. See www.popfrenzy.com.au for more info.
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