Today sees the release of Little Red‘s highly anticipated sophomore album, Midnight Remember. A few days ago, as he was at home in Melbourne, I chatted with one of the bands two guitar/vocalists, Adrian Beltrame. We chat about the new album, the upcoming tour and plenty more!
It’s nice to see you relaxing at home Adrian, because I know you’re not going to have much of a chance to do it next month!
Well that’s right, October is booked up, but there’s things going on every day. It’s a full time job!
That’s the dream isn’t it?
Yeah, well, I mean we’re very lucky to do something we want to do. We’ve always wanted to make music. So to get paid to do it and travel, really is the best thing in the world.
So how are you feeling about the new album? Are you nervous for the release?
No, not nervous. I’ve never been nervous about anything we do really. Well, I mean sometimes before you play a big gig, maybe, but it’s an excited sort of nervous really. We’ve just got nothing to lose. We made an album we’re really proud of. It’s something really different. It’s a new chapter in the band. It’s just really about capturing where the band is now. It’s just good to be able to keep doing it. Hopefully we can keep making albums.
The recording process for the new album, how did it change from the first album? Did you have less or more freedom, for instance?
Yeah there was much more freedom. We actually went up to the bush this time, and lived up there in a house for a month. So we had a lot more time to think about things. And we experimented and rehearsed before we’d even gotten there. So there was a lot more time to think it through. The first album (Listen to Little Red) represented our live show at the time. We just set up a studio wiah a PA in there and we just played our songs live pretty much. This time we spent a lot more time thinking about the songs, changing them, and making them all their own little picture, with different colours, and that sort of thing. So we lived up ther ein the bush with the producer. It was very relaxed, but a great vibe about making the music.
And you worked with Scott Horscroft on the album. What was it like working with him?
It was awesome, he’s a real artist. He didn’t change the music that much. It was just about translating it live, making it come through the speakers, and as sensational as we could. It was a very collaborative time, and everybody was involved. It was a great time.
And of course, Rocket has been a hit on the radio for the last few months. Is that a taste of what’s to come?
Yeah, when you listen to the album, you’ll see that there a lot of different syles going on – a lot of different ideas going on. There is some more dancey stuff on the album, but there’s also another side, which is a bit more of an epic ballad side. It’s all meant to fit together, it’s really a story the whole album. There’s so many ways we can go with our music. And sometimes that kind of makes it a bit harder. You don’t know where to stop. But I think we got a good balance. There’s lots of different moments… heavy… reflective… thaht sort of thing.
A bit of a cliched question, but where did the title of the album come from?
It’s capturing the mood, the sentiment of the album, which is very personal and reflective. We were really trying to write ourselves into it, and make it meaningful. There’s some sort of a theme about midnight, that reflecting, wanting things – nocturnal ideas. It’s a poetic title we all liked.
I noticed, too, that the first comment on the official Rocket video page on Youtube says, “I just had an orgasm in my ear pussy”, by the way, so you must be doing something right!
*laughs* Yeah.
Was that a fun shoot, the music video?
Yeah it was a fun shoot, they’re all our friends in the clip. There’s a sentiment about having a great time in the song… about not wanting it to end. So we went with that sort of idea, to have the night theme, then turning full cycle and coming up in the morning, and being there with all your friends. So it was really easy to shoot, it was just us hanging out with our mates.
Talking briefly about the October tour, would it be your biggest to date?
Yeah, absolutely it is. It’s a full month. So it’s going to be fun. But it’s a tricky album to translate live. But we’ve been practising, and it’s a new sound. It’s pretty complex music to play though, because we do a lot of singing and playing at the same time, with different sounds for different songs, so a lot to think about. But I think it SHOULD be pretty good.
You have been playing the songs a little bit though haven’t you? I heard a few tracks I didn’t recognise at your last Oxford Art Factory gig…
Yeah, that’s right. There’s a couple we haven’t played yet, but while the new stuff might be different, I do feel it fits with the old stuff pretty well. So that gives us a chance to do some rock and roll, and then some more serious stuff, and more epic stuff – basically, it’s not boring music to play! We can do a lot of things with it. We can change arrangements. We want to make it interesting for ourselves as well as for the people who come there to watch. it’s the whole cycle thing, really, to feed off each other.
I love talking to bands who tour so extensively around the country – what are some of the best and worst parts of these sorts of tours?
It’s all good, really. It does get a bit tiring sometimes, because you don’t really get to rest, you’ve got to get up and go to the next place. It’s hard work. But everyone’s positive about it all. We’re not taking anything for granted. It’s really interesting playing to new audiences. I remember when we were first starting out… we’d played a lot in Melbourne, and then when we first went to Perth and all that, it gives you new energy to play things to new people all the time. It’s fun.
Are there any new stops on this tour?
Um, I think so. I think there’s a couple of places we haven’t been before. But we have toured pretty extensively over the last few years – I think there are few places we haven’t been to now!
How do the more country/regional shows compare to the city shows?
They’re all special, really. It’s fun playing the big ones, and the festivals. But sometimes it’s most fun playing in really small places. Sometimes you have to change the way to play a little bit, but it’s just good to play music to people who haven’t heard you (live) before.
Midnight Remember is in stores now! And don’t miss the band when they’re on tour around the country this October! Click here to check out the dates in our gig guide!
http://www.myspace.com/littleredmusic
