‘New EP’ is where a band or artist answers some questions about their latest EP release. Up first is Lucas from Church of Goya.
When/where was the new EP recorded?
We recorded the instrument tracks in one day in late February at Frazer’s house, where we practise. The vocals were recorded separately at the Unholy Jam Space in Newtown a couple days later.
Who produced/engineered the EP? How did the tracks come together in the studio, or at home?
Oliver Devlin did all the engineering and production, he’s done a beaut job, especially on the drums. We recorded everything bar the vocals in one go for each track, so the vocals are the only overdub – the rest is more or less live takes.
Does the shorter format of an EP give you the option to experiment in any way with your sound or with different forms of song-writing?
We’re a ‘live’ band, so I wanted the EP to be more a snapshot of a live performance than a ‘recording project’ as such. The track list is more or less the set we played through summer ’16/’17, minus a 9 minute song which we recorded but decided not to release. So the short format actually came from us not being happy with that song, but its at least made me think about the way I approach songwriting insofar as realising that while a 9-minute track is pretty impressive as a feat of performance, that excitement and energy doesn’t always carry over in a non-live setting.
Besides that, I think the short format allows the EP as an entity to be more concise and cohesive. I think of it like the comparison between a photo of a busy street versus a family portrait. Unless you spend a long time getting the focus, etc right, you’re going to lose a lot of detail when you photograph a street, whereas you can take a quick snap of a family and have that detail come through strongly. So I’d compare our EP to a hurried family snap at a boozy aunt’s 50th, or something like that. There’s plenty of happy accidents and little mistakes that I think give it a really raw and spontaneous character, which I don’t think would have come through if we’d rehearsed and recorded a full 40mins of material.
Was there any specific gear you used to capture that?
Not really, just good quality, well placed microphones.
Is there a particular track or theme that the EP was formed around?
Buildings, people, and the ways in which ‘structure’ as a concept relates to both. I take most of my inspiration from my job – I work in public venues – and I’m fascinated by the corporate power structures as much as the physical structures of the buildings I work in, and the ways those things can be shaken up, literally. Hence the photo of the cinema in Lower Hutt being torn down after the November quake. My friend Anthony took that photo.
Where do you see the EPs place in growing an audience online? Do you see it as a progression towards an album or a separate entity?
I see it as its own thing, I think EPs are a good choice for bands in the underground scene as they’re quick and easy to record and release, meaning you can update what you have available for public consumption quite regularly. I also think it’s easier and more productive to record five really bangin’ songs than it is to spend a few days recording ten or twelve songs, some of which maybe aren’t as strong as the others and could come across as filler material. Maybe I don’t have a 42 minute attention span, but I’d rather listen to 20 minutes of cohesive material and think “oosh” than a full-length LP. I’m one of those people who listen to side A, then get distracted.
Which digital platforms is it available on?
Bandcamp. Stay tuned for a non-digital cassette release.
Are you doing any gigs or promotion for its release?
We threw a party at Frazer’s house, but we got shut down after 4 songs. We’re doing Welly – Auckland in mid august, more or less to support the release.