The stage sits in complete darkness. There is an underlining beat that seems to have turned into a monotonous loop that is driving hard into everyone’s mind. The next few days at Falls Festival are set to be full of lots of live music and very hot weather, and this is only the start. The electronic musical loop comes to a stand still and the band everyone has packed out this tent to see, hit the stage to play an absolute belter of a set combining tracks from their extensive discography. Who am I talking about? The only band that have managed to fit in a sneaky request to get patrons to remove their shirt when they hear the simplistic French phrase. The one, the only, Art Vs. Science.
It’s about a month out from the album tour to promote Off The Edge Of The Earth And Into Forever, Forever, and Jim Finn (who is one of the nicest musicians that you will ever have the opportunity chatting to), is full of gusto as we begin to chat about the tour.
“It’s been quite a wild time for us the past couple of months. Falls Festival was such an amazing time, we’ve played there a few times and it has always been a stellar gig to play,” he says.
“I think it’s really admirable that the organisers were able to move the whole site to a different location in two days and the party was still able to go on. Despite the really hard time of all those people losing their houses, everyone still came to have a good time. It was a great honour to be able to bring the party to Geelong and do a warmup for the show we are about to play at the Barwon Club. The last time we played in Geelong, I can’t remember the venue, but there was lots of crowd surfing and even maybe some inflatable novelty items – it’s always high energy when we play and this upcoming show is going to be nothing else.”
The last time I got the opportunity to sit down and chat to Finn was a few years ago when he was launching his solo guise Vydamo. At that time he had just been on kidney dialysis and things weren’t great health wise. His father however, put his life on the line and gave one of his kidneys to Jim.
“Shit man! Was that really the last time we spoke!? That feels like an eternity ago, and I guess cause in the years following that, so much has happened,” he says.
“It was a lot of fun to be able to write that record and I guess because I was sitting down for quite a while in recovery from the operation, I had a lot of time to make things sound right with that album and I think there are some upbeat tracks on there. I’m proud of my first solo album yet we are focussing a lot of energy on Art vs. Science now. So although I am still writing songs all the time, I don’t know when my next solo thing will happen. I probably will release it under Jim Finn anyhow when I do.”
Throughout the interview in the background, I can’t help but hear the sounds of traffic whizz passed on from Finn’s. Which begs the questions, where is Jim Finn and where is he going? “Just hold on a minute mate, I’ve just got to jump on this bus,” he says before pausing and no doubt “touching on”.
“Alright I’m back. I’m catching a bus from Bondi into the city for a band meeting and then we should probably get back to practising since we haven’t really done much since Falls. I don’t drive a car these days so I take public transport everywhere I go. It’s a lot more eco friendly on the environment and gives you time to think about things and helps new songs come into your mind.”
From just a couple of listens to Off The Edge Of The Earth and Into Forever, Forever it’s easy to see that the boys have completely followed up to where they have left off with their debut album The Experiment. The beats are highly energetic and the choruses are simple and catchy, yet when you think about their previous output ‘Flippers’, ‘Parlez Vous Francais?’ and ‘Magic Fountain’, we shouldn’t come to expect any less.
On this album, the boys got to work with the one and only Jim Moginie from legendary Australian outfit Midnight Oil, which as Finn says, was a very enjoyable experience.
“We went down to his studio, which was on the Northern Beaches, and just had free reign to use his studio to record. It came together very quickly right from the start. He only came in like four times while we were piecing it together, but to have that amount of legend in the room while you are creating was an awe-inspiring experience. The man just knows how to create a great sound and Oceanic Studios is just such a lovely place to work. He’s been a longtime friend of the band and I can’t wait to see where we decide to record the next one,” he says.
Unearthed by triple j back in 2008 with ‘Flippers’, it’s interesting to note that back when they first started writing, Art Vs. Science didn’t think of the commercial success that was going to come from the track.
“I remember we were just playing in our little practice space and we came up with the groove of Flippers,” Finn says.
“I think at that point we wanted to write something that people could sing to at a festival. That has been the philosophy since day one and we are extremely grateful for everything that has happened since. We can’t wait to get out on the road and play the new album to all of our fans. Come down and rock the Barwon Club with us Forte! You definitely won’t regret it!”
Written by Tex Miller
When & Where: Barwon Club, Geelong – March 9, Karova Lounge, Ballarat – March 10 & 170 Russell, Melbourne – March 11