Anton Franc All This Talk Interview

Anton Franc All This Talk Interview

Evocative, WAM Song of the Year Award-nominated, Perth-based quartet Anton Franc are readying themselves for the official release of their second EP All This Talk, out Friday November 1st through Firestarter. To celebrate, the band will be launching the EP in their hometown the following day Saturday November 2nd @ The Bakery, with Ruby Boots, Pumba, Louis And The Honkytonk and Daniel Champagne in tow.

Produced in conjunction with Matt Gio [Split Seconds, Bastian's Happy Flight, Voltaire Twins], as one of the last projects recorded in Fremantle's famous Studio Couch, All This Talk soars through indie-pop and folktronic ground whilst maintaining an emphasis on storytelling, musicality and arrangement. Although sounds and textures have been brushed across the canvas to augment and sculpt the mood of the EP, the bottom-line ethos that got Anton Franc into operation in the first place stands steady; can these songs stand alone? Without the flourishes, garnishes and embellishments can they withstand the -campfire test'?

They do. From opening track -Moments', initially a ukulele and tambourine duet that grew wings, to the dynamic desert swirl of -Dust Storm', the undulating vessel in the middle of the ocean that is -Boat Song' to the reflective summer azure of -Water & Blue', All This Talk at once calls up a conversational air, ambulatory feel and familiar maturity, while somehow balancing deft sophistication and a pastoral feel.

EP closer -Hearts' is a display of versatility and brevity, providing the soulful antidote to -Water & Blue's carefree sunshine; where the protagonist tries to work up the courage to end a perfectly functional, but romantically expired relationship. -Hearts' also, to level out the dénouement, brings in a soft female vocal to sweeten the blow.

The seeds of Anton Franc were sown in 2010 when Josh Bowyer and Jamie Kuzich, two musicians from either side of the country, met far from home in the Kimberley region of Australia's far North-West. Medical students at the time, they bonded in their sparse and isolated surroundings, writing and recording the songs that would become Anton Franc's eponymous debut EP. Released in November 2011, the EP featured -Letting Go' and -Memo' – both of which picked up nominations in the WAM Awards Song Of The Year category; the clip for the former collecting an Australian Cinematographer's Society award too.

The Anton Franc EP was initially meant only as a recording exercise for Bowyer and Kuzich. Nonetheless, the eclectic blend of folk songwriting and subtle electronica, evoking feelings of the sparse but beautiful isolation in which it was written, not only found receptive ears throughout Australia, but as far afield as Germany and Norway where its nostalgic overtones were utilised in two major TV campaigns.

It was when the duo both re-settled in Perth, and commenced the arduous, rewarding, task of giving their music life in a live setting, that the bones of new EP All This Talk started to materialise, and the band's lineup was fleshed out and stabilised.

Joined by Josh Ellis (drums) and Matt Parker (bass/keys/synth) the foursome took their time, stripping back their songs back and rebuilding them, rearranging instrumentation and tracks, developing their live show. The end result was moving from a home-based duo to a live four piece to be reckoned with, taking to the stages of the Perth International Arts Festival, Groovin' the Moo, Rottofest and the Wave Rock Weekender as well as supporting the likes of Jens Lekman, Erlend Oye, Chet Faker & Andy Bull, all within their first year as a live band.

Interview with Jamie Kuzich

Question: How would you describe your music?

Jamie Kuzich: Ah, the old 'folktronica' story. When Josh & I had just met, living up north (Broome and Derby), and just finished our first collaboration (-Letting Go'), we played it to my housemate who responded with, "It's kinda… Folk…tronica!" We weren't aware that it was a legitimate genre, so appropriated it for our own use. But it turns out that's it is a legitimate genre, one that we don't reeeaallly fit in to. But we still use it sometimes none the less.

But actually - our music tries to focus itself somewhat on storytelling. Josh often takes a really traditional pop/folk approach to his songwriting. At the heart of each of our tunes is a song that can stand alone once pulled back to its bare bones. We do though like to use a lot of texture in the arrangements, often in the way of electronics, sometimes with tiny odd instruments we've acquired overseas. At the end of it, it straddles a combination of folk, pop, indie, electronica and sometimes even a little bit of country.


Question: What inspired All This Talk?

Jamie Kuzich: The songs on All This Talk were mostly written in the year and a bit after moving back from the Kimberley to Perth. Whereas the first record was largely written with recording in mind (we were 220km apart and hence rarely played in the same room together), this batch of tunes were developed as we were getting used to playing live with each other. As a result, the tunes were developed with the dynamic of a live band in mind, rather than a drum machine and chopped up guitar samples (though both still feature!) Lyrically it was inspired by a fairly wide array of topics - but they're all stories.


Question: How did it feel to hear your song played all over the airwaves?

Jamie Kuzich: There's still not much better a feeling than hearing your song on the radio while driving in your car. "All over the airwaves" might be a little bit of an overstatement as to what we've experienced so far, but perhaps it's a premonition of the next few months after this record gets released, who knows? The first time I heard -Letting Go' on the radio, I was driving up to Joondalup Hospital early in the morning for one of my last days as a medical student, listening to RTRfm when it popped on. I'd been so used to listening to it over the previous few months that it took me until the 2nd verse to realise what was happening. It feels pretty ace.


Question: Did you have any pre-conceived ideas about the music industry?

Jamie Kuzich: In the (alleged) words of Hunter S Thompson: "The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."


Question: Do you write your own songs? What's your inspiration?

Jamie Kuzich: We do indeed write our own songs.

In terms of inspiration, it's hard to answer a question like that without sounding incredibly conceited. I'll leave it to Josh to speak about his approach to songwriting and storytelling. For me, I guess inspiration comes from aspiring to try to recreate those moment we've all experienced where a sound, or a combination of sounds, or a rhythm, or even just a particular tone manages to evoke a guttural emotion within you. We've all experienced it - music wouldn't be so ubiquitous without it. Even in the absence of lyric, sound can conjure emotion. Josh is really a storyteller at heart, and a lot of the time my inspiration for writing and arranging within the band comes from the stories he tells and the characters and moods he crafts with his lyrics.


Question: What music/artists do you listen to when you are not playing your own?

Jamie Kuzich: In order from most recently listened to, here's what the records next to our record player looks like right now: Rufus Wainright - Back in the Game
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Lambchop - Mr M
Bill Callahan - Dream River
Eels - Rosies of the Galaxy


Question: What's next for you?

Jamie Kuzich: It's a pretty exciting time really. We can't wait to get this record out and heard, and can't wait to get it on the road, hopefully with at least an East Coast tour in early 2014. The band is really vibing at the moment - we've really re-shaped the way we utilise technology live to make it a much more flexible and dynamic show that it has been in the past.

We're really looking forward to the next phase of writing as well. We've got a whole pile of ideas marked "Work On This One" that we're chomping at the bit to get stuck in to after we've put this EP out into the ether. A full length record will be the next step - we'll get straight into writing and recording it in the new year, I'd like to think.


Question: Was there a moment you contemplated throwing in the towel?

Jamie Kuzich: It's always hard juggling music and the rest of life. Especially with a demanding day job as well. It can be fairly physically and mentally exhausting doing them both justice and keeping the rest of life - family, relationships, friends - afloat at the same time. It definitely requires some sacrifices to be made. And at times, when it seems like your music is falling on deaf ears so to speak, it can make it difficult to find the motivation to keep chugging away at music. But there are constant reminders that it's worth it, sometimes they're tangible, like a great live show to a great audience, and sometimes they're less so, like that superbly satisfying feeling when a tiny little change in an arrangement or part makes a whole song just sit perfectly.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Jamie Kuzich: The two are entirely different really - they both appeal to a different part of me. Performing live, when it's good, is pretty hard to top - connecting with audiences big and small evokes a pretty darn excellent feeling. But there's something so cerebral and satisfying about writing and recording; bringing tiny melodic or tonal ideas to life in the studio can be utterly engulfing. They are two such different beasts that feed completely different sides to my personality.

Question: What/who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Jamie Kuzich: "Going into" the music industry is really the wrong way to think about it. It's not, and wasn't, really a conscious decision. Both of us have been playing music for most of our lives, and the initial motivation to do so wasn't really driven by the thought of the music industry. It just sort of happens. But in terms of really taking music seriously, it was probably my 1st year in high school - there were a handful of music teachers who showed me how emotive music and performance could be. I can probably attribute my musical trajectory to those guys. As well as our high school's token funk-rock band, whose members included a few members of some fairly excellent Australian bands who will remain un-named, who made me realise that people thought you were cool if you were in a band. That was important to a super nerdy 13 year old.


Question: What is the biggest challenge you have faced along the way to your musical success?

Jamie Kuzich: Meeting Josh Bowyer. Sorry, couldn't resist.


Question: What's a typical day like?

Jamie Kuzich: I've been working shift work most of this year, so typical isn't really a word I've been able to apply to many of my days over the past 10 months or so. But generally it'll include a mix of (in various combinations and time orders): awakening, consuming a great deal of coffee, running around a hospital, rehearsing with the band OR fiddling with sounds OR trying to tackle another tiny instrument with a hard to pronounce name, sitting on a beanbag reading the Monthly and listening to Lambchop, arguing with Josh, teasing our drummer Ellis, sleeping.


Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?

Jamie Kuzich: That part stays pretty constant. Being able to perform to appreciative crowds, and knowing that your music connects with people. But regardless of that - playing, performing, writing, recording music there aren't many things better than it, regardless of your level of "success."


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Jamie Kuzich: Josh Bowyer.

No, but actually probably Beck. His ability to reinvent himself, crossing massive spans of genres and sounds whilst still keeping really solid songwriting at the core of his music - that's where it's at.


Interview by Brooke Hunter