STACK NZ June 2016 Issue 74

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Dougy Mandagi and Joseph Greer say the theme of camaraderie came about quite by chance;
but it's fitting for a leaner Temper Trap's third record, Thick AsThieves. By Zoë Radas
TRIMMING
THETRAP
M ucking with electric knobs, a vocalist
refusing to sing, Takeshi’s Castle, Gaga
looking good, a studio space next to
Mark Ronson, a near-miss on an LA highway, an
Instagram snap that became a subconscious
symbol, and songs whose skins can be
expanded to embrace a stadium: the
conversation with Dougy Mandagi and Joseph
Greer about The Temper Trap’s new album Thick
As Thieves flows easily, which isn’t a small
achievement considering these two just played a
sold-out hometown show last night. “We’ve
been busy, yeah, the last few days,” vocalist
Mandagi smiles wearily over his glass of water.
In addition to gigantic singles Fall Together,
Thick As Thieves and Burn traversing the
airwaves, these shows have given Temper Trap
fans – rabid with curiosity – an idea of which
direction the now four-piece would take, having
shed lead guitarist Lorenzo Sillitto in late 2013.
“The objective was to really understand the
purpose of each part and be very intentional,”
Mandagi explains, “not just have someone do
something just because they’ve got nothing
else to do. I’m not going to start doing vocal
acrobatics just ‘cause. I think that each of
us should always serve the song, not serve
ourselves. There’s an art to understanding that,
to being sensitive to the song.”
This deliberate, “leaner” approach coincided
with a period of songwriting collaboration for the
band, which took them from their own Tileyard
studio in London – a creative arts community in
King's Cross, which is host to the away-from-
home studio for Mark Ronson, among other
musicians – to the States and in between. “You
still want to have the DNA of the band – when
we play [a track] together, we're still conscious
of it being a Temper Trap song,” says keys and
guitar player Greer. Mandagi adds: “There are
collaborators that help you come out of your
shell or help you write, and there are writers
that just want to write for you.” He tells a brief
story about an unnamed ‘collaborator’ in LA who
asked him to play bass on a song. “He goes,
‘Don’t play it like that, play it like this.’ I’m not
even a bass player!” “He thought he was getting
a session musician,” Greer chuckles. Mandagi
continues, throwing his arms into the air: “What
the f-ck, man, I drove all this way, and nearly got
into an accident on the freeway ‘cause I’m used
to driving on the other side of the road! So yeah,
I’ve seen and experienced a whole gamut of
different types.”
Thick As Thieves’ songs are an engaging mix,
with huge ‘arena-ready’ tracks up at the head
of the album (So Much Sky, Fall Together, and
visit MUSIC FEATURE
18 JUNE 2016
MUSIC
Each of us should
always serve the song,
not ourselves