Psychedelic Porn Crumpets | Interview | New Album, ‘Night Gnomes’
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets will release their fifth album, ‘Night Gnomes’ on April 22nd.
The release of ‘Night Gnomes’ comes as Psychedelic Porn Crumpets prepare for their long awaited return to stages around Australia and overseas. 2022 will see the band embark on their Australian run supporting Ocean Alley, before heading back to Europe and the U.K. for their long awaited tour of the regions in August and September. By the time ‘Night Gnomes’ is released, the band will have two new studio albums primed and ready to share with audiences, having delivered the wild ‘Shyga! The Sunlight Mound’ last year.
‘Night Gnomes’ album pre-order | Vinyl, CD, Cassette Tape, Album Bundles, Merch and more.
It’s really nice to have you. I still remember when you sent me your debut album in 2016. It’s now six year later and you recently announced your new album for April. Did you find the lockdown period to be productive for a band?
Jack McEwan: Yeah I think it’s definitely been our most productive period so far. It feels like we’ve had forever to work out what sound we want to create, how our live shows should evolve, there’s been enough time to have a little rest and I think now we’re all keen to get back on the wagon once more.
What kind of album did you make with ‘Night Gnomes’ and how would you compare it to your previous releases? What can we expect?!
It’s quite a mixed bag really, there’s a lot for the older fans to enjoy but also a few stranger, more delicate tracks that I enjoy writing. There’s some of my favourite ideas to date on this record. The production has taken a giant leap forward and I’m stoked with how it’s turned out. Can’t wait for people to wrap their ears ’round it!
Can you share some further details on how your latest album was recorded?
Not much has changed with the process. It’s still very much a home job/bedroom DIY approach, wake up, turn on the monitors, jangle around on the guitar for a few hours and see what works. I’ll record all the guitars, bass and vocals at my house, we did the strings at Danny’s new place and the drums we went into Blackbird Studios with Dave Parkin for drums. I think we did a few tracks at Tone City with Sam Ford as well. Then Mr. Jelly spends 10 years mixing it all.
“Get the feelings out and dive into uncharted waters”
I really enjoyed your last album, ‘Shyga! The Sunlight Mound’. Is the upcoming album something that will resemble it or did you change your direction?
Thanks. We tried to venture elsewhere on this record, it’s a bit darker. ‘Shyga! The Sunlight Mound’ was so upbeat and fun that I wanted to create something with a bit more depth on ‘Night Gnomes’. Get the feelings out and dive into uncharted waters. It’s still highly guitar driven but we focused more on impact rather than catchiness.
How do you usually approach music making and how did that change during the pandemic?
I find I’m a lot more creative when I’m hungover, I think it’s the “piecing everything back together” part that rattles a few nerves I like. Then throughout the week I’ll tinker with an idea and work out a bunch of different scenarios, like where the song could head, create about 20 versions and then eventually scrap them all, haha. The pandemic seemed to honestly help, I finally had the time to settle into my home life again, figure out where I was and then build a base from there. I feel a lot more confident now, I’m happy to take the piss or try something quirky, it’s only music.
Australia had a really strict lockdown…I hope bands will be able to tour again soon. Do you already have any plans for the near future?
Yeah we’ve got a UK and Europe planned as well as the USA at the end of the year. Then I think there are plans to head round Australia which’ll be nice to get on the road again.
I almost forgot, how the hell did the band’s name come about? I bet it’s a funny story.
Some very strange weekends, haha. I really can’t remember. It just sounded so absurd and I love that.
Would you like to talk a bit about your background? Were you in any other bands et cetera…
I’ve been playing in bands for yonks, me and Danny have had a few projects together. I played bass in Rishe’s band Golden Slums before PPC and now I’m just happy writing for Crumpets.
Are any of you involved in any other bands or do you have any active side-projects going on at this point?
I’m starting to get something underway with an old housemate, we’ve been writing quite a lot. It’s nice to throw ideas around and not have any pressure to please people, it’s just for us. I think we might release something eventually.
Let’s end this interview with some of your favourite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?
The Lazy Eyes are a sick new band, really digging their sound at the moment. And Hector Morlet! He’s dope. Thanks for the chat!
Klemen Breznikar
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp / YouTube
What Reality? Records Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp
Marathon Artists Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp / YouTube
