‘New Album’ is where a band or artist answers some questions about their latest release. Up next is Paul from Pipsy, who have just released their debut full-length album, All You Ever Wanted.

When/where was the new album recorded?
When I decided to write a full-length debut album for PIPSY, I’d just returned to Aotearoa after five years in Melbourne. We’d moved to Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington) and I set up a studio there in Broadmeadows, a place to house all my gear and experiment for a while with how I wanted the record to sound. I tracked the whole record there in late 2021/early 2022.

Who produced/engineered the album? How did the tracks come together in the studio, or at home?
I produced, recorded and engineered the album, and performed all the instruments, including vocals. Michael Holland (Adelaide Cara, Left or Right, The Chills) mixed the album, giving it a lot of colour, depth and complexity. Chris Chetland from KOG mastered the album and gave it real punch and a brilliant sparkle.

How did the songwriting happen? Are there any overall themes within the songs/album?
I write as much down in my day-to-day as possible. My notes app would be a pretty hilarious read! For melodies I also have a ridiculous amount of voicemails on my phone that I farm ideas from. When I have an idea I record it immediately, even if it’s just a quick melodic line, or a lyric idea. I then go through and pick things that inspire me from that mountain of ideas, particularly once I know what kind of a theme and sonic approach I’m going for. I demo these ideas and play around with them in Logic (a software I use to write and record), sometimes cannibalising verses or choruses from one song to benefit another. I work mostly with melody first, lyrics last, though there are exceptions. There isn’t a one-size fits all approach, whatever works.

I wanted it to cover many different areas in terms of the songwriting, kind of like a Prince record, where each track still feels sonically like it’s from the same era, even if it touches on a completely different genre. All the songs have this core of 80s and 90s synth instrumentation running throughout, but a song with a tropical house beat can live next to an upbeat ‘Mint Chicks’ punk-ey number was the idea. I didn’t want the record to ever feel predictable or boring to listen to, I wanted it to keep taking turns throughout. Having said that, I still wanted it to feel like a cohesive record, so it was a balancing act that I’m really proud of. Often you don’t notice that you’re writing from a similar perspective or theme until after the fact, but the album does serve as a kind of concept album that explores re-evaluating old friendships, and strengthening both new and existing ones. I think it’s really a therapeutic album that ends up celebrating the good relationships that you have in your life, and the people that support you.

Were you going for a different sound/approach on this album?
I wanted to really stretch myself by incorporating lots of different instrumentation that I’d always wanted to add into my music on this album. PIPSY has been very guitar-centric in its output up until now, and it’s definitely the instrument that I feel most comfortable on, but I don’t really dream in those textures. I’m really inspired by keys and synth sounds from the 80s which seem to transport me somewhere else entirely when I’m listening. During the making of this record, I became obsessed with researching the synth sounds that I grew up listening to, so specific sounds from the 80s and early 90s were really important to the album.

I traced my favourite sounds from that time back to the synths and keyboards that produced them, and then learnt how to make these sounds myself. That research and learning was a large part of the writing process. Bands like: Talking Heads, Queen, Split Enz, The Smiths, and even music from movie soundtracks, like that of Labyrinth, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Running Man, The Neverending Story – heaps of 80s movies I grew up watching. I’ve always found synths from this time so emotive – particularly the Yamaha DX7, Roland D-50 and the Juno 106 ‘Fantasia’ style sounds. There is a little Roland JV1080 in there for some of the keyboard sounds too a-la Fleetwood Mac. Some of the sounds that you can get out of these synths are so fantastical, spacey, and dream-like, so they’re a big feature of the record. Once I incorporated my classic 60s keyboard favourites – the Wurlitzer and the Mellotron, this really gave me the expansive, nostalgic sound that I was looking for.

Was there any specific gear you used to capture that?
The main synths I used were the Roland D-50, Juno 106, Yamaha DX7 – classic 80s/90s synth sounds that are super nostalgic and really spark my imagination. I tracked most of the guitars with my white Fender Telecaster, even though there are springier Strat-like sounds throughout the record. I use mostly Boss pedals for my delays, they’re just so reliable, particularly the DD3 and RE-2 Space Echo (a pedal version of the famous Roland Re201 tape echo rack unit), and the Walrus Audio Julia V1 Chorus/Vibrato is used for a lot of the record, plus a Strymon Blue Sky for reverb. I use a lot of software as well, particularly Soundtoys, Logic Pro X and a Universal Audio Apollo interface with UAD plugins. The record also features a lot of Wurlitzer and Mellotron, which formed the foundation for a lot of the songs.

Is there a particular single/track that you feel captures the essence of the album?
Since the record is so different in terms of each song it’s hard to say, but I’d say that the eponymous opening song ‘All You Ever Wanted’ probably showcases a lot of the approaches and instrumentation used across the album. ‘Underdog’ showcases the more keys-driven approach of the remainder of the record though.

Is there a physical copy available? If not which digital platforms is it available on?
‘All You Ever Wanted’ is available on all major streaming services, and can be purchased digitally via Bandcamp along with PIPSY merch.

Are you working on a video/videos for any of the songs? Are you doing any gigs or promotion for its release?
We have finished our tour in August opening for Jordan Luck Band across Aotearoa. However we are planning to tour again in the new year, in both Australia and NZ. Dates will be announced soon. You can watch our videos for singles ‘All You Ever Wanted’, ‘Hey, OK!’, and ‘Underdog’ on YouTube now, while a video for ‘Number One’ will be announced shortly.