Felix Riebl interview – The musical landscape, while certainly a vast and complex one, strewn with pebbles, boulders, monoliths and mountains, is generally a well-ordered place. Bands stay within their borders, and the music matches the hair, and everybody knows what tribe you belong to. But every now and then, a band has to ask themselves, ‘Who am I?’.
The Cat Empire Interview
Q: What’s new in the world of The Cat Empire?
We’re on tour; we’ve done that before. But every night’s unique in its own way, and that’s between us and everyone there.
Q: How many shows do you play per year on average, and how crazy does the schedule get?
I’m not sure what our average number of shows a year is, but the schedule gets pretty hectic sometimes, especially when there’s a new album out. So far we’ve done shows in Australia, India, UK, Australia again, Canada, then Europe coming up. I’m writing this at 1:51 a.m. from an airport in Quebec, so we’re in the midst of it.
Q: Making a promo video like “Bulls” must take a lot of effort and energy to create and finish.
How was the whole process? I worked for 3 days collecting wood and building that structure with the film crew. I enjoyed that part of it, being outdoors and getting my hands a bit dirty again. I spent a lot of time in the country when I was growing up; my father runs a farm. The shoot itself was a bit strange and long, but they usually are.
Q: When writing a song, is there such a thing as investing too much time?
Sometimes, not always. It depends on the song. Great ones can take an hour, or years, or something in between. Some want to be revised a hundred and one times, others want to be left alone. Some want to make sense; others just want to bring a little chaos. It’s an intuitive pursuit.
Q: How is the music scene in your area these days? Are clubs still popular?
Live music in Melbourne has always been one of its charms. There’s a lot of diversity and creativity, and the musicians are a loose but tight knit community. There isn’t a big-city club scene, but enough great venues to keep it interesting.
Q: How important is it for a musician in this generation to spend time on social media?
I don’t know, I’m not very good at it. People say it is. I suppose the trick is not to let social media ruin the authenticity of the experience itself. Some artists take it in their stride and seem to be gifted at making it interesting while selling their wares. But really, I’m the wrong person to ask. I have other twitches that keep me glued to a screen like football or Game of Thrones, but social media has always been an abstract band chore.
Q: In your opinion, which album would be essential to have if someone were stranded on a deserted island?
I always freeze when people ask me questions like this. If I was on a deserted island, I’d much rather have an instrument. That way the music might be different from day to day. If I had to listen to one album until I died, no matter how beautiful it was to start out, it’d be torture by the end.
Q: How important are music videos in the industry today? How do they compare to videos from 20 years ago?
I suppose these days every man and his dog can make a video to a song given everyone is a walking camera anyway. Back in the more-analogue day, it was only the elite few who had record deals who could afford it. In both era’s, some were brilliant, some were crap. I’m not sure what their industry value is comparatively.
Q: Where do you see music in general going in 100 years from now?
Music will continue to make existence a far more enticing prospect, no matter how evolution or technology change the way we hear it.
Alternative Rock Interviews
Hands Like Houses Interview Trenton Woodley
Triggerfinger Interview: Mario Goossens (October 2015)