For the record today's post was going to be about Gotye's tour (which I will still write about) but Wally sent back his responses to my interview questions. So you get a double post today, which I'll leave up through the 4th of July holiday. And there is contest information and the end of this post.
This tour is set to kick off on July 26th. Wally will be hitting the four corners (so to speak) of Australia in a little more than two weeks. All the shows have sold out--which is a huge accomplishment--but some more tickets will be released on July 4th (tomorrow). Gotye will be accompanied by a "mini orchestra" and Mountains in the Sky will be opening. And according to Wally you can expect "an audiovisual treat featuring strings, skins, saxes and axes, not to mention projections and reflections (that’s lights yo)" Those of you in Australia better get out there and see at least one of these shows. They are sure to be amazing. The dates are...
So, Wally from Gotye is simply one of the nicest (and busiest) people on the planet. Since
Shelby from Shifted Sound conducted such a great interview last week, I decided to focus in on one Gotye track in my interview and go in depth into that song. The song I chose was "Hearts A Mess" from the Like Drawing Blood LP. If you have not heard the song yet,
here's the MP3 again. ABO: Can you talk a little about the inspiration for "Heart's A Mess".
Wally: A broken relationship. Ruminating on my attempt to feel alright afterwards. One night stands versus longer term meaningful relationships. Oh...and a loop from a 60s record ;)
ABO: One of my favorite things about this track, and your music as a whole, is your ability to push the limits (lyrically and sonically). You seem to be able to take listeners to a place that's almost uncomfortable, yet not cross the line. Can you talk a little about that moment in "Hearts A Mess" where you sing, "But I'm desperate to connect..."
Wally: Sometimes pop songs have a key moment. I guess in Hearts A Mess it's that line/vocal. I think I was pretty aware that I needed to usher the listener into a tension/buildup towards that moment. I believe the radio edit (available on Gotye's MySpace) does that"ushering" less effectively because it gets to the chorus too early. That vocal is the top of my range, where my voice starts to break up, but if I keep it together it can have a certain power to it I guess. Perhaps I captured something special in that final take. ABO: What about the technical aspects of this song? Can you talk a little about the samples used, instrumentation, and how it will play out live. I know you mentioned that you really never intended to play these songs live, and I'm interested in hearing how you expect this track to play out live.
Wally: This particular track has proven very difficult to play live. Specifically the main loop of drums and bass. Sometimes samples have some idiosyncratic vibe/sound that just can't be recreated/reinterpreted without gutting your song. In the end I've decided to use the loop from a sampler live. It's augmented by my live vocals, live bass, drums and string quartet.
ABO: Is there anything else the readers at A Better Offer should know about this track?
Wally: It's missing an apostrophe (Hearts A Mess). Should technically be "Heart's A Mess". But I'm gonna stick with the apostropheless spelling :)
And now for the contest...I have a copy of "Like Drawing Blood" that Wally is sending my way to give away to one lucky listener. Just send me an email (
thetwomirrors@yahoo.com) with the subject line "Gotye" and answer this question.
Where will Gotye play on August 10th?
Make sure to send me your mailing address also (its open to anyone who reads A Better Offer regardless of where you live) and I'll announce the winner on Saturday. Good Luck!
