Interview: The Temper Trap

Managed to nail this email interview with Temper Trap after speaking to their drummer, Toby Dundas at the media tent during Laneway. Here's the interview, word for word. It's pretty short though so don't expect much. Italics are my comments after getting a reply.

How did you feel about performing at the debut Laneway Festival in Singapore?

It was a great honour for us to headline the first Laneway Festival in Singapore. Our first festival gig was at Laneway, we were first band on and it was that gig that really kickstarted things for us back in 2006, so we have a lot of love for the festival. The Singapore audience was fantastic, to stand in the rain all day and go crazy for every band takes a lot of dedication so i know all the bands just wanted to get onstage and give the crowd a great show.


Was this your first time in Singapore? If yes, how did you find it here?

We came for a couple of nights last year for the media launch of the festival, so this was our second time. We came in a few days early to rehearse and work on some new songs and i had an awesome time again. Ate some amazing food, caught up with a few friends and had some fun nights out (thanks butter factory!) and it was all topped off with the festival.
We really wanted it to be a special gig as it was the last show after 2 years of touring and we weren't disappointed.

Oh yeahh! Thanks guys, it was an awesome way to round off the night!


How did you guys meet?

Jonny and Dougy were longtime friends and Lorenzo and I were friends since we were 12 or so. Dougy and I met through work and stared practising together with another guitarist and then Jonny. Loz joined after a year or so and we brought in joseph about 2 years ago.


What was it like initially when you guys first started out and were trying to get Conditions together? How does it compare with the immense popularity you guys have now?

Back then we were just rehearsing a lot. We had a little room where we could keep our stuff set up so we would go out there 3-4 nights a week and write songs and work on the set.
We did a lot of demo recording so we could work on adding more electronic textures and beats and stuff with computers and samplers. Back then if we played a gig to 400 people we thought it was going great so we really had no idea that the album would connect with so many people around the world.


There's an increasing number of bands from Down Under that are getting more well known (or are already known), such as yourself, Tame Impala, Architecture in Helsinki, Empire of the Sun, The Presets and Cut Copy. So what's it like for the Australian music scene in the years to come?

I think Australia's always had a great music scene and it's cool that a lot of the bands around at the moment are getting noticed overseas as well.
Tame Impala are amazing and bands like the Midnight Juggernauts and The Drones have been putting out great albums for years.
In the new crop of artists i really like Cloud Control and an electronic act from Sydney called Seekae.

Certainly gotta check Cloud Control and Seekae out. Certainly have a thing for electronic bands.


Lastly, what are your 5 favourite albums of 2010?

in no particular order

Gil Scot-Heron I'm New Here
Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Menomena Mines
Arcade Fire The Suburbs
Gareth Liddiard Strange Tourist

Thanks a bunch Temper Trap, especially Toby!

The Saturday Mix #34

The Temper Trap - Fader
Third single of their album "Conditions", and riding on the success of Sweet Disposition and Science of Fear, I think they decided to release this. Personally, it's not bad, good rock stuff with pretty solid riffs, but nothing spectacular - the previous two were definitely better.

The Temper Trap - Fader (Adam Freeland Remix)
Nice electro twist to this song, but at certain points, it becomes a bit of an overkill.

Phoenix - Fences (Delphic Remix)
Danceable remix by Mancunians Delphic, but a tad too long don't you think? But I doubt that when you're high on booze (and maybe drugs), you'd really be nitpicking about the length of the song.

The Raveonettes - Last Dance (Kap10kurt Dream Mix)
Nice and groovvvvy. This remix is tight, and adds more bounce to an already bouncey track. There's a Sound of Arrows feel don't you think so? Collab please!

Delphic - Doubt (MXWL Remix)
Pretty decent dubstep remix, but not the rock-your-socks-and-clothes-off-and-I-need-to-get-moving-right-now kind.

Wolf Gang - The King and All His Men (Joe Goddard Remix)

Miike Snow - Silvia (Sinden Remix)
Wow, finally Silvia gets it's turn at a remix. From total electro-ballad to dance-floor dope.

and i looked in her eyes and left her

The Swimmers - Shelter
A very sweet song plus a quirky little video. Very personal, this song seems to expose them at their most vulnerable, making them the humans we all are.

Caribou - Hello Hammerheads
I thought I was actually listening to a Shearwater plus Fleet Foxes collaboration. But this is Caribou aka Daniel Snaith. Very contemplative lyrics, backed by that folksy, melancholic voice plus simple acoustic plucking. A small nugget of information - he has a PhD in Mathematics from Imperial College London. But that's no wonder, considering his father is a mathematics professor at the University of Sheffield and his sister is a reader in mathematics at the University of Bristol.

The Temper Trap - Soldier On
A little Temper Trap for all. Very beautiful and might I add, enchanting voice.

Beach House - Norway
From their 2010 album "Teen Dreams". I don't actually always pick out their songs to particularly listen to, but whenever I listen to a random playlist with their songs in it, I never fail to love the song. They're fantastic, Alex and Victoria. Oh, and Victoria is providing vocals for Grizzly Bear in Slow Life for the New Moon OST.

The Saturday Mix #23 - what’s the use of keeping all the good things that you’ve found to yourself

Delorean - Seasun
Carrots in the sky. LOL! Very beach party song that I'm pretty sure would have everyone grooving to. It's very euphoric in its beats, quite heavy and sets the mood fast. The guys at Delorean said this, Delorean is an unheard of scenario in popular music: 4 guys from the Basque country currently based in Barcelona, free as air, high on O2, who have gradually moved away fromthe punk scene, and are now ready to embrace the kind of club music that a pop band would play. Also, they are currently working on their full length album, which I'm anticipating.

Delorean - Seasun (John Talabot's Kids and Drums Remix

Delorean - Deli (Acid Girls Remix)
It is indeed a deli-cious song. It's not too bad actually, but I much prefer the original to it.

Violens - Doomed (MGMT Remix)
Pretty sweet remix here, given treatment by MGMT of Kids and Time To Pretend fame. I am so in love with this song. There's a lot of unadulterated

Gotye - Learnalilgivinanlovin
One of the most feel good songs I've heard in a while. Guess where he's from.(Yes, Gotye is a one man show named Wally De Backer who's apparently born in Belgium but based Down Under.) He says
"Aussies should pronounced Gotye as “gore-ti-yeah”, using that inimitably dry and elongated sound they call an “accent”!

Wally can say that because he was born in Belgium (and he speaks English good).

Parties from overseas wishing to “name-check” Wally’s musical moniker should employ a complex system of pops and clicks, or alternatively, engage in a series of hand symbols that represent the following character: §." I'm starting to like this guy, and his music.

Anyhow, following this, is a Passion Pit remix of the above song.

Gotye - Learnalilgivinanlovin (Passion Pit Remix)
As Gotye says, gotta learnalilgivinanlovin. Hence Passion Pit has given us this pretty dope remix.

The Temper Trap - Science of Fear (Hervé Remix)



Note: I can't think of what to feature for the usual end of month post. Ran out of ideas. If anyone can suggest something to feature, please do so in the comments or drop me a mail! Any suggestions and ideas would be greatly appreciated! Meanwhile, enjoy The Saturday Mix.

oh reckless abandon, like no one's watching you

The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition
When my friend introduced them to me, I was wondering who they are, because he said they're from down under, and the only band I've listened to from there, is Empire of the Sun. He assured me they were awesome, and the moment the first beat sailed right out of the speakers, I knew he wasn't wrong. And that I'm going to love them. Vocalist Dougy Mandagi was supposedly from Indonesia, he also does the guitar. Jonathon Aherne's on bass while Lorenzo Sillitto plays the lead guitar and keyboards.Finally, there's Toby Dundas giving the beats. This song is featured on (500)Days of Summer(both the official trailer and OST) starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. They've moved to London to try and build a fan base there and crack the UK market.

Something of note is that they are signed to Glassnote Records in the US, which notably manages Secondhand Serenade and Phoenix. This is a sign of the things to come from them. All the songs featured in this post are from their album "Conditions".

The Temper Trap - Science of Fear
Very very nice and interesting video accompanying it.

The Temper Trap - Fools
I like this sound that's quite evident in the album. It's not that stripped down to be lo-fi, cause there're parts where the drums feature quite prominently. But neither is it like full fledged all out rock. Good balance I must say. Suits Dougy's vocals.