STACK July 2017 Issue 153

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04 JULY 2017
continued
visit MUSIC NEWS
THE
JUNGLE
GIANTS
Words Alesha Kolbe
We shot some questions to
The Jungle Giants' Sam Hayes
(vocals and guitar) about the
band's brand new, third album
Quiet Ferocity.
listening. Been listening to a lot of Fouk, a
cool house duo from Holland. Lots of Little
Dragon, Lindstrom, YACHT, and Chairlift.
You had roughly 25 songs on a long
list before narrowing it down to Quiet
Ferocity’s 10 – are the discarded ideas
whole, complete songs, or did you pick
elements from here?
I did three listening parties for the band
and our manager. Everyone would come to
the studio and sit on the couch with beers. I'd
put some sh-tty disco balls and lights around
too, because just listening under a bright light
would be weird. Anyway, I always love doing
these, but it's so f-cking nerve-wracking too,
since you just want everyone to like it all, but
you can't win every time. Also it's interesting
how you can hear the songs differently once
someone else is listening. We picked
favourites from each listening party,
and eventually we had the album.
The album artwork is interesting
– is there a ferocity in geometry?
What inspired that arrangement of
objects?
A friend sent me some cool photos
of some art galleries. [They were]
really visually pleasing, and seemed
to match the aesthetic of the album.
In writing Quiet Ferocity, you apparently
derived inspiration from Hemingway's
essay HowToWrite Better – did you try
his "write drunk, edit sober" lesson?What
about the article influenced you most?
I've tried all things while writing: drunk,
stoned, late at night, all sorts. For me what
really worked – and something I got from
his essay – was starting at a set time in the
morning after exercise. Sounds boring, but it
really worked It stopped me over-thinking, and
also forced me into a routine that eventually
got me working clearer and longer. It also got
me into a mindset that less romanticised the
idea of writing, but made it a job that I looked
forward too. It also became a thing I could
turn off at the end of the day, so I could relax,
even if I didn't necessarily get something
amazing done that day. It turned it more
into a building of ideas, as opposed to an
"everything has to be sick right now" thing.
What are you playing at end-of-day
downtime?
I'm listening to Parallel Dance Ensemble.
Just stumbled upon them and can't stop
I guess it speaks to the idea that behind
regiment or static exteriors, there's a whole
other world bubbling away.
A Facebook post mentioned y’all were
“thinking of changing [your] rider to just
10 bags of goon – and a female English
backpacker – and a crocodile” – how
successful have you been in implementing
these changes? Any other last-minute rider
necessities?
We used to be really into putting little
games and cards and stuff on the rider. At
the moment it's just a bunch of booze and
cheese. Might be time to mix it up again.
Jesus, one day maybe a ping pong table, if
we're allowed.
Speaking of which,what can we expect
from the upcoming tour?
This album's pretty condensed
arrangement-wise, so we've actually
had a really good time turning it into a
live set. We're playing with a few new
ideas too, a different stage plan, some
props, and we're gonna go all out with
some cool lights. A friend of mine has
been designing a strobe light for my
guitar for ages now, hopefully he'll get
his bloody sh-t together and finish it
this time.
Agreat tune is a great tune, from whatever century,
musical genre, or part of the world it originates. So relax
and immerse yourself in the world’s most popular songs,
honoured as the classics they already are. Pop Goes Classical
is a selection of the finest pop hits over the past 25 years, but
not as you might know them – they have been reimagined as
orchestral arrangements. The tracklist includes Adele's Hello,
Take That's Back For Good, Oasis's Don't Look Back In Anger,
The Righteous Brothers' Unchained Melody, and Whitney
Houston's I Will Always Love You. AC
Pop Goes
Classical by
Various Artists
is out now via
Universal.
TOURING
18/08 - 09/09
Quiet
Ferocity by
The Jungle
Giants is out
independently
on July 7.
POP GOES CLASSICAL