Midnight Juggernauts: ‘It Was A Better Headspace’

It may have taken longer than planned, but making Midnight Juggernauts’ third album was a happier and more focussed experience than the previous time around, Andrew Szekeres tells DOUG WALLEN.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.] The first album in three years from Midnight Juggernauts reconciles the wigged-out experimentation of polarising second LP The Crystal Axis with more straightforward electro-pop euphoria.

Informed by recording in the French countryside and a trip to Moscow that yielded the Soviet-inspired clip for lead single ‘Ballad of the War Machine’, it’s an admirably trend-proof record that reveals the self-producing Melbourne trio of Vincent Vendetta, Andrew Szekeres and Daniel Stricker emerging from past tangents with their playful sense of humour intact. (See the lyric about snakes and ladders on ‘Another Land’.)

Heading out on a national launch tour supported by their Siberia Records signing Kirin J Callinan, Midnight Juggernauts continue to bridge the gap between the cryptic and the accessible.

I was wondering why you chose ‘Ballad of the War Machine’ as a first taste of the record. Was it to show off the weirder side of album?
I don’t know. It’d been a while since we released anything and choosing the first song to go out with is not easy. We had probably three or four different tracks we were thinking about going out with first; that was one of them, and then there was the first track [‘HCL’] and I think another track from later in the record.

“Initially we wanted to go out with something more dancefloor, just to be different to our last record.”

I guess it was just matching with the idea for the video as well, and the three songs we were thinking about going out with first were really different stylistically. But I don’t know, it was just a consensus between the three of us that that one suited the idea of our video that we had best, I think because it was slower and just the mood of it. Initially we were thinking we really wanted to go out with something more kind of dancefloor from the record, just to be different to where our last record was. But in the end that one seemed like the most suitable track for the video idea.

So the video idea preceded the choice of single?
It did. We initially shot a bunch of stuff for that video in Russia and it was while we were still working on the music, so it was a weird process where we ended up slowing down footage to suit that song. Because it was a lot faster, a lot of the weird interpretive dancing stuff. So we slowed it down and that really set the mood for video for us.

The video was shot over two stages: a whole lot of that stuff in Russia and then later we picked up stuff in Australia, with all of the props that we used on all those setups, and by that stage we had decided on using ‘Ballad’ for the song.

Were you doing gigs in Russia?
Yeah, we did a show. It was a weird time for us to do a show because we were in the middle of recording and we did that Look at Life thing for ACMI at Melbourne Music Week. We weren’t really into the idea of playing at that time because we were trying to finish the album. But this offer to do a show came up, and we’d always wanted to play in Russia. We’d attempted to go there [before but] we’d always missed out.

“The idea of going to more exotic places is interesting to us.”

And then this offer came up and we thought it’s weird doing a show that is disconnected from anything, but it would be cool if we went there and did this show and then spent a few days there where we could make a video. That sealed the deal for us. On that trip as well we went to Barcelona, and that was when we also did a whole bunch of extra recording in France for the album. Yeah, that trip was more to shoot a video idea and record, and doing those shows helped us get there and afford to be able to hang out and do the video.

Obviously recording in France shaped the album, but did the trip to Russia influence how the record came out at all?
I think so, yeah. Definitely. We were there for a few days and I think that we all kind of went away from there really excited by the city [Moscow]. We hadn’t been there before, and I think architecturally and just [with] the kind of interesting history it has, it was a really exciting place to go to.

I think for us, quite often when we have toured, we’ve spent time going to places where maybe they’re off the normal touring paths of Europe and the US. The idea of going to more exotic places is interesting to us. I think being there for that time and then going over to France straight after that, we were feeling kind of inspired. So it probably helped with ideas when we were in France doing that extra recording.

Have you guys always self-produced? Have you ever used an outside producer?
No, we haven’t really. I guess for the second record [The Crystal Axis] we recorded with someone [Chris Moore] and then did some mixing with him as well, and then we went and did additional mixing and that was close to … even just working with someone. We’ve produced all three records but the second record was the first time we had someone else in the room with us doing stuff. Besides that it’s always been just us in our own studios or in friends’ studios and recording usually at a pretty slow pace. But with this one, when we went to France, that was with a friend who had that studio there so it was a pretty relaxed environment.

In the past, when we first started we were never really comfortable working with anyone else. I think we’ve always been open to it but each time we’ve got down to writing and working on albums, we’ve just been more comfortable doing it ourselves. I think for the second record we spent a lot of time in studios with a clock ticking and having someone there working with us, and it wasn’t the most comfortable experience for us. So with this record I think it was important for us to say we’re going to do it ourselves and make it at our own pace, [even] if it takes two years. And I guess in between we went and did other projects.

The idea of working with someone, we still always talk about it. It would be cool to in the future, but we seem to just continue doing it ourselves.

“We’ve gradually built our studio up to the point where we’ve become more and more self-sufficient.”

I guess it’s nice to have the option. Most bands work with a producer and have that option of eventually doing it themselves, whereas with you it’s vice-versa.
Yeah. Well, I suppose the way our studio is set up, it’s heavily synthesiser-based music, and we’ve gradually built our studio up to the point where we’ve become more and more self-sufficient, just because of having an interest in the technical side of the music as well. It’s funny because some of our friends’ bands work with other people and it’s always interesting to see the difference between where they took something to where it finishes up. It could be a really great result. Who knows: maybe the next album we’ll be doing with someone, but I don’t know. [Laughs]

I saw that Jono [Ma] from Jagwar Ma was credited with engineering the closing pianos on ‘Memoriam’. How did that come about?
Yeah, he was the connection to this French place we went and recorded at. A friend of his had just set up that recording place, and he was helping there and he contacted us. We were like the first band to record there. It was during the embryonic stage of the studio. We just thought that was cool idea and we went over and met him and that was when we recorded there. So that outro was recorded in that church, with just a whole lot of instruments set up and a couple of mics in the middle of the room. So he was a part of some parts of the album.

Does the self-producing go hand in hand with running Siberia?
Yeah, I think so. I mean, it’s definitely … when you have an idea for something, to have it as pure as possible it feels like if you do it yourself and you’re not relying on anyone else, it really helps make it work. The Siberia thing has really grown a lot more, especially during the last three years, and Dan [Stricker] is the main guy pushing that label and making it work.

But yeah, it’s a similar approach. The same with doing artwork or videos, whether it’s releasing other friends’ music or doing parties. I guess it’s just the same process of the three of us talking about ideas and working out how to delegate and work out which part someone will do.

“We’ve gone through phases of getting lost trying to create this one sound.”

Synths are a big part of your sound, but I was wondering if you ever get burnt out on that approach and have to try something else?
Well, it’s definitely a world that you can get lost in, and I know at times I’ve experienced it. Even just the way that music is made these days; everyone has a computer and can make some form of electronic track with Pro Tools or Ableton pretty quickly, and the endless possibility of sounds. We’ve collected lots of synths over the years and gone through phases of getting lost with trying to create this one sound. Basically doing nothing and just being stuck in some world.

But I suppose, going through a bit of that, we’ve sort of stripped back; there’s still a lot of equipment, but with this last record it was predominantly made with not too many synthesisers compared with the second record, which was made with however many. It was lots and lots. I think [we] learned a little bit from that album [The Crystal Axis], which was really exploring these worlds of getting lost on tangents – which was insanely fun at times, but you can lose perspective of what you’re doing.

We stripped it back in some ways with this record, just focussing. I think having limited equipment really helps, just working with two or three things, working out how to get the best out of that, which is probably not unlike when we started making music, just having one or two things. It’s always a dangerous place that you’re in and you can always easily tip over and get lost in some world of making weird sounds and forgetting whether you’re making a song or not.

That’s the thing with a tangent: as long as you come back from it, you’re OK.
Well, hopefully. [Laughs] You’re always hoping it comes back at some point.

Compared to the last record, this one seemed quite pop. There are a few songs that reminded me of a night at a roller-skating rink. That happy party music.
Yeah, well, I think what really shaped this record was the mood that we were in when we were recording it. It was a lot better headspace. With the second record, although I’m quite happy with it, at times it wasn’t an easy process. We had a lot of ideas and all three of us were coming from different places, but with this record we stripped back how we wanted to do it and we were very clear on what everyone would bring to the table.

I think being able to do it at our own pace and working separately quite a lot – and then coming together with stuff – meant that the ideas were a lot more clear and solid. And I think maybe just the process of us being in a better frame of mind somehow made it have more of that up vibe, or made it feel more confident.

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‘Uncanny Valley’ is out now through Siberia/Remote Control. Read Lawson Fletcher’s review. Launch tour dates below.

Wed, Aug 14 – Bar on the Hill, Newcastle, NSW [w/Kirin J Callinan + Fascinator]
Fri, Aug 16 – Metro, Sydney, NSW [all ages, w/Kirin J Callinan + Fascinator]
Sat, Aug 17 – Zierholz, Canberra, ACT [w/Kirin J Callinan + Fascinator]
Fri, Aug 23 – Karova Lounge, Ballarat, VIC [w/Kirin J Callinan + Fascinator]
Sat, Aug 24 – Corner, Melbourne, VIC [w/Kirin J Callinan + Fascinator]
Fri, Aug 30 – Hi Fi, Brisbane, QLD [w/Kirin J Callinan + Fascinator]
Sat, Aug 31 – The Northern, Byron Bay, NSW [w/Kirin J Callinan + Fascinator]
Fri, Sept 6 – Prince of Wales, Bunbury, WA [w/Usurper of Modern Medicine + Fascinator]
Sat, Sept 7 – Amplifier, Perth, WA
[w/Usurper of Modern Medicine + Fascinator]
Fri, Sept 13 – Uni Bar, Adelaide, SA [all ages, w/Kirin J Callinan + Fascinator]