The Good Minus Interview

The Good Minus are an all-singing, instrument-swapping power trio.

After months of recording and mixing, The Good Minus are primed to share their debut album. The record will be released on Friday the 27th of September and launched at the The Wesley Anne, Northcote on Friday the 11th of October with Anna Cordell supporting. It is a collection of harmony rich and multi-layered songs. Recorded and engineered by the band's bassist, David Kean, with tracks mixed by Greg J Walker (Machine Translations) and Rohan Sforcina (Head Gap Studios). The album was mastered by Alan Douches of West West Side Music NY (Sufjan Stevens, Midlake, LCD Soundsystem).

The Good Minus are an all-singing, instrument-swapping power trio. Their songs feature intricate three-part harmonies with a style described as Grizzly Bear reimagining the songs of Elbow.

The Good Minus bring you their own inventive take on angular prog-pop. Matt Welch, David Kean and Stu Hazelman blend wildly different influences to create multi-layered arrangements, with three-part vocal harmonies and obscure yet groove-laden time signatures.

Upcoming Shows:
Friday 11th of October - The Wesley Anne, Northcote w/ Anna Cordell

Interview with The Good Minus

Question: Can you tell us about your upcoming debut album?

Matt Welch: It's a collection of songs we've written over the last few years. I think it's a good snapshot of our band and what we sound like live. We recorded the album at Tender Trap Studios in Melbourne and David Kean our bass player recorded and engineered all our songs and mixed most of the tracks. Greg J Walker (Machine Translations) mixed I'll Decide For You and Rohan Sforcina (Head Gap Studios) mixed Blood Brothers, Shadow Love and Catch Us Up. Alan Douches of West West Side Music (NY) mastered the album.


Question: How would you describe the album?

Matt Welch: Each song on the album is quite different from the next, so if you hear just one of them you won't have the complete picture of our style. The songs feature quite intricate melodies and instrumentation, and a big part of our sound is that we all sing in 3-part harmony. I think we've developed from being more guitar-centric initially, to now focusing on showcasing our voices and rich harmonies.


Question: What should we expect from the launch show?

Matt Welch: We're really looking forward to performing the album in its entirety, and are very excited to have the amazing songwriter Anna Cordell supporting us on the night. Hopefully we'll be able to capture the emotion and feel of each of the songs when we perform them live. We're also going to play some brand new songs which aren't on this record but which we're very proud of.

Question: Which is your favourite song to perform live and why?

Matt Welch: For me (Matt), my favourite song to perform live is 'Catch Us Up'. It's the oldest track on the album and probably the most personal for me. It's about the anticipation and excitement of expecting a baby, as well as how children begin life innocently but then 'catch us up' and lose that innocence/naivety as they grow up.


Question: If you could have anyone, in the world, attend a show, who would it be?

Matt Welch: Paul McCartney.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Matt Welch: I think we all prefer performing live the most. Recording is an exciting process but I personally find it quite time consuming and prefer to keep creating new songs and playing them for an audience. Performing live is one of the main reasons I love writing and playing music.


Question: What is the story behind the band name?

Matt Welch: We are fans of the band 'The Bad Plus', so that was the inspiration behind our name.


Question: How did the band come together?
Matt Welch: We've all been friends for years and each had our own separate music projects/bands. In 2015 we decided to combine forces and create The Good Minus.


Question: What motivates you most when writing music?

Matt Welch: I think I am motivated by always trying to write a 'better' song than the last. It's also my escape and way of dealing with things. Being a parent of two small children and having so little time also motivates me and helps me realise how precious each moment is.


Question: Which music/artists are you currently listening to?

Matt Welch: We're really digging Ainslie Wills' new album at the moment. Also I think Stella Donnelly is an amazing songwriter and performer. We all have quite diverse tastes in music and try to keep our ears open to old and new artists and songs.


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

Matt Welch: For me (Matt) it was my grandparents. They were both professional musicians who would tell the story of how they met and perform for us on the piano and violin when we visited them. My grandfather wrote songs and was left-handed (like me) and my grandmother was in the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra on violin at 16 so I was really inspired by and in awe of them.


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

Matt Welch: Annie Clark (St Vincent) or Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy). I think they are both great songwriters and it would be awesome to collaborate and bounce around ideas with them.

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

Matt Welch: We haven't come out with any aims to create the most accessible music, instead we just wanted to write and perform songs that excite us and that we love playing.


Question: What's a typical day like?

Matt Welch: For me it's a little hectic at the moment. It starts around 6am or earlier with me making breakfast for my 1-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son. Over breakfast they usually request either 'The Never Ending Story' theme song or an 80s song like 'Heaven Is a Place On Earth'. My day job is as a high-school music teacher. I find it both challenging and rewarding trying to inspire the students through music and creativity. In the evening, if I can fit in some music-making it's usually when the children are in bed. I either try out new ideas and write something for the band, or work on a side project where I write songs for other people.


Question: Can you share your socials?

Matt Welch: facebook.com/thegoodminus
@thegoodminusband/
thegoodminus.bandcamp.com
www.thegoodminus.com

Interview by Brooke Hunter