tunesday – lowtide interview

If you rather fancy shoegaze tunes, odds are that you’ll find Lowtide’s new album, Southern Mind, worth a spin – or three. To find out more about how the record came together, we had a little chinwag with Lowtide bassist, vocalist and all-round rad lass Lucy Buckeridge.

What’s the best thing about making music together? There are a lot of great things about it. Something I appreciate most is that I’m still learning. We’ve been writing and playing music together for nine years, but I walk into our rehearsal room each week and still get a thrill when a new idea falls into place. I also still love being on stage surrounded by the sound of Gabe’s amps; I don’t think that will ever get old.

How do you go about writing a tune? Most of our songs start with a guitar or bass line that we flesh out and structure when we’re all together. When I’m writing vocals, I generally wait until a song is pretty well-formed, then take it away to work it out from there, which takes time. I purge and fill pages and pages, then pick out and piece together the ideas I like. Lyrics were something I really focused on with Southern Mind; I tried to dig deeper.

Who’s the funniest person in the band? Jeremy who plays with us is just about the funniest person ever and not always intentionally. The poor thing was a bad luck magnet when we toured through the UK and Europe last year: headstocks to the forehead; losing everything; having nightmare passengers sit next to him on every flight. But he makes everything entertaining and has a hilarious story for every occasion – the best kind of touring buddy.

Favourite place to have a beer and/or a boogie? Longplay for the beer, Gabe’s loungeroom for the boogie.

Best hangover food? Laksa from Malaymas in Fitzroy North, Melbourne.

What’s your best non-musical skill? I can recite the entire Uncle Buck film from start to finish.

Biggest lesson you learned making your new album, Southern Mind? Mostly for me, making this album was an exercise in clarity, both musically and personally. It wasn’t easy, but I guess second albums never are.

Anything else you’d like to share with the frankie audience? We’re pretty excited to head back out on tour in March/April, so come say ‘hello’. Henry Rollins is also premiering our entire new album Southern Mind on his KCRW show on Monday February 12th (Australian time), which still blows my mind.

Lowtide’s Southern Mind comes out Friday February 16th. Pop over this way to get your mitts on it.