about | contents | uk music column | articles | interviews | reviews | competitions | links

---

Dropping by Brisbane

Drop City Interview : Brisbane 18/2/96

Drop City: Chris Cobb (drums),Conner (Bass), Matt Tow (Vocals guitar)

Drop City, quite simply, are "The Business". Catchy songs, heavy guitars, light guitars, cryptic album titles, three piece band; they've got it all. Their stunning second album Magic Transistor Radio, recorded in England and produced by legend Andy Wilkinson (Boo Radleys), was one of the standout albums of last year. Heavily influenced by UK pop/rock it ranges from dreamy soundscapes to 60s pop to Beatle's epics and a hell of a lot more besides.

Outside the Orient Hotel on a mild night in February, I spoke to singer/guitarist Matt Trow, and bassist Conner about the album, their time in England and their thoughts on UK music.

Okay first things first, how was England?

Matt: Well we went over there March/April (95) and recorded our album with Andy Wilkinson who produced a lot of the Boo Radley's stuff and it was brilliant. It was the first time I'd been over there. Conner had been over there before and but it was mind blowing for me. Andy was brilliant, he was really in tune with our whole idea and where we were coming from. Originally we were going to get Martin Carr to produce it but he was too busy because Wake Up went to number one at the time. We saw the Boo Radleys play at the Astoria and some new bands like Yo Le Tengo. It was a great time.

What Studio was it recorded at?

Matt: We recorded at First Protocol studios where Stereolab did Bachelour Pad, My Bloody Valentine did Loveless, and the Boo Radleys did Giant Steps to name a few. It's a really great, fantastic studio.

What was your impression of the UK music/indie scene

Conner: Very fashion orientated.You go there and it's very full own. You have to have a look together as well as a sound...

and drink with the right people

Yeah exactly, but it can go against bands too, because they rise too soon, and they're not a great a band yet - but they could be. But they're out of fashion too quickly and don't get a chance.

Matt: Until you go there you can't know what's it really like. Over here you read NME and all that and you think it's pretty amazing but when your over there, it's like their street press almost.

The UK charts are interesting, they're more like our indie or alternative charts.

Conner: Well pop music is really ingrained in the English culture, which is a really good thing about it. That's why over there things classified as 'indie' sells. They're big stars over there and that's cool.

The album (Magic Transistor Radio) has a quite a bit of horns on it. Was that your idea or Andy Wilkinson's?

Matt: It was a bit of both. It was sort of our idea as we always thought that some horns and trumpet would go really nice on the album. We got the guy who did session stuff for the new Moose album over there. He also played in Miranda Sex Garden. He was really cool, really laid back. I wrote the trumpet parts for him and he recorded them with the band. It something we'd wanted to do for while and we were listening to a lot of Beatles at the time.

Well the Beatles influence is definately there

Matt: Sure, I mean everyone likes the Beatles and it's hard not to be influenced by them. We went over not really thinking or worrying about any comparisons, because in Sydney at the moment there's not that much that were into that's playing around. It's all pretty heavy stuff and we're more into pop and melodic stuff.

And after England you had a brief stopover in the states?

Conner: Our first album came out in Canada about the same time so we thought we may as well make it more of a round the world trip. We met heaps of people. That was really good and we played a little tour. Then we played New York, Seattle, and San Francisco on our way home. We had a friend who works at Sub Pop so we kind of hung around Seattle for a while.

Matt: It was good to see how everything works and the only way to do that is to go over there and actually check it out. I mean you could easily come back and get depressed because there are so many bands out there, and give up. You realise it's going to be very hard work to make any inroads anywhere. But hopefully next year year we'll go back again.

Matt: Well we played with Swervedriver and The Stone Roses in Sydney so we met Mani and all those guys and that was amazing. We know the Boo Radleys Management so hopefully when we go over there next year we'll be able to get a few shows here and there, which will be really helpful. The album has come out in Canada and America and hopefully as the year goes on we'll get somewhere.
Conner: The albums only out on import in the UK at the moment. But it's tough breaking in over there.
Matt: Another hard thing is to keep getting money to go over there. We've got the idea that next time we're going to stay over there for as long as we can and try to base ourselves there.

Can we expect any more singles off the album?

Matt: "Cool times" will be the next one, and then we go into the studio again in May and another album by the end of year hopefully. We'd like to get it another one out quickly - you know, get motivated and just do it.

Conner: I really like the Pulp album but I wasn't freally into it at first. I found them a bit annoying but a friend of mine had the video tape of Glastonbury and they were just awesome. Jarvis Cocker's in between song banter was just classic. After that they really one me over. Another band I really dig is Mercury Rev. They're an American band and are really awesome and have a similar type of headspace to what we're into - Pop songs that are pretty twisted.
Matt: I mean we like Oasis and Blur all that too, but it changes every week.

...And there endeth the interview. What followed was a powerful performance, albeit too short, supporting local band Webster, witnessed by a house record at the Orient.

No matter where Dropcity eventually end up, or whatever direction their music will take, they'll prove that Australian music can be just as good, if not better than the UK pop will all know and love.

Caleb

Drop City Discography

Albums 1995 : Magic Transistor Radio (529030 2) [Chester Review] 1994 : a revolution of purely private expectations (523 236 2) EPs 1995 : Chiaroscuro (EP) (523 840 2)