Born out of a desire to educate oneself on the wonders of music production, GUM is the psych-pop solo project of multi-instrumentalist Jay Watson. Commonly known for his roles within Tame Impala and POND, Jay ensures he is constantly challenging himself with the learning journey that is GUM.
“I still think of it as mostly just an exercise to practice the producing side of things – I record most of it and mix it all myself,” says Jay, “When I started I wasn’t very good at doing that side of things and it sounds bad, but the songs were more of an afterthought compared to trying to get good at using software and hardware to get good at the engineering, recording and mixing side of things.”
“It was basically to teach myself,” he continues, “Because you don’t want to sabotage other people’s records when you’re just learning how to mix things.”
2016’s Flash In The Pan is the third and most recent self-produced record from GUM, which followed 2014’s Delorean Highway and 2015’s Glamorous Damage. Though 2018 has brought with it fresh content from GUM, who dropped two new singles in recent days and confirmed word of a new album set for release in coming months.
“I think it [the new album] sounds nicer. Again, that’s all I ever seem to be concerned about – I should probably put more time into the song writing,” laughs Jay. “It’s also maybe a little bit more organic, there’s a little less electronic stuff on there – but it’s kind of all over the place.
“It’s probably the one [record] I’ve done where the songs all sound the most different to each other, so I think there’s something for everyone on there, but at the same time people probably won’t like every song.”
With new tunes locked and loaded, GUM is set to perform at this year’s By The Meadow festival. Taking place from April 6 to 8, the boutique festival will return to the lush farmland of Bambra for its fifth year.
“I’ve never really played a festival on my own before, so I’ll probably be a bit nervous but it’ll be fun,” says Jay, ready to take on the challenge of his forthcoming solo performance.
To keep the nerves at bay and pass his spare time while touring, Jay has become quite the tennis pro and challenges anyone willing to a match.
“I’m not amazing at tennis, but I’ve got a huge serve,” he laughs before concluding, “Awful backhand, but an absolutely rocket serve.
“I haven’t played since I was a kid, but we’ve just started playing since we’ve been on tour and I must say, it’s mostly for the aerobic workout rather than the thrill of misery… I’ve got to offset the 12 Asahi’s I had yesterday.”
Whether it be on the court, in the pit, or via your chosen listening device, don’t miss your chance to get a taste of GUM.
Release: Keep your eyes peeled via GUM’s socials for further details surrounding album release
When & Where: By The Meadow Festival, Bambra – April 6 – 8
Written by Helena Metzke