Bedroom Artiste

Ahead of the launch of his third album, 'Home Recordings Vol.1', Josh Armistead clears up some misconceptions about his music, discusses the authoritarian nature of loop pedals and ponders what it means to be an independent musician with RENÉ SCHAEFER.

You were going to release your third album Home Recordings Vol.1 under the band name Team Yes! Now you've changed your mind and it's coming out as a Josh Armistead release, with different cover art. Why?
I decided to drop the Team Yes! moniker for this album simply because Team Yes! is meant to be a band who performs together. It will still happen, but this album is really just me so I thought I would simply title it for what it really is. I still make songs for Team Yes!, but they are songs I cannot perform solo or without a laptop. Many of them are actually instrumental.

As a songwriter, you sometimes get labeled as “neo-folk”, but I perceive it as more urban than pastoral. How do you think of your music?
Well, I've never lived in the country (the beach is the closest I've ever gotten to the country) but I don't think the beach is that inspiring (for me anyway). Urban! Ha! Yeah, I guess I just have to admit it. Urban ... I don't know. When I hear “neo-folk” I think of Devendra Banhart or Joanna Newsom. I guess when people hear the word folk, they think “old music”. But music is always around and being reinterpreted and re-contextualised, so I think folk music is always being made. I'm happy if someone wants to label me as “neo-folk”. That means I'm making the new old music, right?

Do you feel part of any particular scene in contemporary Australian music?
Only the electro house scene. I really don't play acoustic music very often anymore. I plan to do it more often. It helps me relax and I find it very meditative. I also have another album to record which I wrote more recently [than Home Recordings Vol. 1]. It's way more stripped back and pretty much just nylon string guitar and voice.

But to answer your question, I kinda wish I was part of the Australian indie music scene but I don't think I am at all. I don't know any of those people. But I do know a lot of people in bands that fund themselves, so I guess I'm right in there amongst it, huh? It's not really a scene though - seems more like a common predicament.

Do you have a philosophy how to be an independent musician in this day and age?
No. I think most artists are independent through necessity, not by choice. The only reason I call myself independent is because I have no choice in the matter. Maybe a more sane person would have given up by now. But like many people I know, I cannot stop making music and I will be recording and writing as long as I live, no matter who shows any interest. If you really love what you do you will continue to do it regardless of any monetary incentive or outside interest. It's just in you and sometimes you curse that fact.

When you first started performing solo, was it daunting to be up on stage by yourself, with only an acoustic guitar to hide behind?
Totally! My first show was at the Punters Club and everyone there were family and friends, which makes it even more terrifying. You look out and see the people who the songs are actually about. There was one song about my mum and she was crying, there was a song about a drug addict friend who left the room, girlfriend etc. Oh yeah, and I just found a copy of all those tracks I was playing back then and they really suck and that makes the memories even more painful.

I find it way easier to perform to a room full of strangers than to just a few friends.

“I cannot stop making music and I will be recording and writing as long as I live, no matter who shows any interest.”

Lyrics feature quite prominently in your songs, although they are often understated. Is it important to you that listeners pay attention to the words?
Yeah, I hope they listen to most of them. Especially on previous albums, but on this new one there are a couple of songs in which I free-associated the lyrics and I don't know what they are myself, so I hope people don't pay too much attention to those ones because they don't mean anything. They are just melody. I do labour over lyrics, but I don't think that makes them any more important, it's just that I write music and melodies faster than I write lyrics. I try not to compromise with lyrics. If I think they suck, the song will not be released or played live until I'm happy with them.

When you write, what inspires you?
I wrote a lot while I was traveling overseas. That helps. I think a nice melody or chord progression inspires me to put a nice lyric over it. I often simply stare at the floor or the wall while playing guitar and try to dream something up. I find it helps to stare at the bookshelf when writing. There are a lot of words in there and the spines can trigger memories and associations from the various books. I guess positive thoughts and beautiful thoughts are always welcome. Things I very much enjoyed are what I like to write about. I don't think there is any point writing about shit stuff, or political stuff, unless you are rapping. That's the forum for political lyrics if you ask me. No, I don't plan to start rapping.

You toured the world as a solo performer in 2005. How was that, and are you planning to do it again at some point?
I never did that. I travelled the world with a guitar. I wrote a lot and played a show or two but most of the playing was in forests, hotel rooms, around fires, in lounge rooms or by myself or to an audience of monkeys (no shit). I did travel the word (or at least a very small portion of it) and I certainly do plan to do it again and, yes, I do plan to play more shows next time.

Apart from the acoustic guitar, you use loop pedals and subtle electronic sounds. How did you develop this approach?
I've never used a loop pedal to write a song. Neither have I ever used one to record a song. Anything that sounds like a loop is a recorded piece of noodling that has been cut and manipulated, looped if you will, but not through a pedal. I'm kinda anti pedals. It's a bit authoritarian. And to completely contradict myself, I use a laptop a lot to get those "subtle electronic sounds" you mentioned. Evelyn Morris [aka Pikelet] also used a laptop to record on this album. It's something I totally endorse.

We live in an age where you can actually write, record and mix and master your own album, if you have the time (now that's authoritarian). I personally can't afford to pay someone to record and produce my albums, so I have to do it myself. Luckily someone put up the cash to manufacture this record so that's (some of) the hard part out of the way. When someone puts a little cash behind you, it really makes it all seem worth while. If I had have known that would be the case when I was recording I probably would have spent more time on the production, but while someone was prepared to pay for the manufacturing, I thought I best do it before they change their mind.

What’s your favourite movie of all time, and why?
I would have to say the Star Wars trilogy but that's three movies. Why? The universal message it conveys of goodness. The set design, the frontiers (technological) that Lucas invented so as to realise his dream. Man! That's like asking someone who their favourite band is. It's an impossible question. I'm not much of a movie buff. I like any Hitchcock, Bond (Fleming) and Jodoworsky, mainly for the Technicolour. If I do watch anything, it's more likely to be something related to Steve Coogan.

Do you get groupies?
No.

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JOSH ARMISTEAD LAUNCH

Thursday, March 12
Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, VIC
w/Sly Hats