Great ~ Falls is all about the Positives
Melbourne indie quintet Great ~ Falls have just released their gorgeous debut EP, Negatives Into Positives and it’s a record that demonstrates the strengths of the band’s individual & intelligent dynamic, Negatives Into Positives demonstrates perfectly why Great`~Falls is definitely considered as one of the band to watch as we move further into 2023. We caught up with vocalist, Lillian Albazi to ask her about the new single Aprils Child , what the writing process involves for the band and how they label themselves in the world of categorization.
Great~Falls your music is labelled as an Indie band, is this the genre box you place yourselves in?
I guess when we’re writing music, we don’t think about a typical genre or box to place it in. We are influenced by certain artists and that music subconsciously feeds through into what we write, how we perform and how the songs turn out. Our main focus is making the songs that we write into the best songs that they can be. Duke Ellington said, ‘There simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind’. If we can write good music then we’re happy regardless of the labels or genres attached to it. I feel as though if we thought about placing ourselves into a specific genre, we will limit the possibilities to develop our music organically through the pre-production, production and post-production processes. We would overthink it all and start being very gimmicky to achieve writing within the constraints of a genre. Each song comes out how it comes out at then end of the process and afterwards when it is turned over to the listener, it is their job to imprint their views, values and labels onto it. In saying this, Indie-rock suits us just fine if that’s how the people want to define us! Just add some shoegazey, romantic fuzz thrown in for the hopeless romantics out there and voila! Great ~ Falls!
“This song was written after having wonderfully boozy summer nights with tequila soaked conversation around art, feminism and navigating moving forwards”
Your latest single release is 'April's Child' Tell us about your new song? What does the song mean to you?
‘April’s Child’ is an acknowledgment of freedom and an ode to the brightest and most magical first moon of the March equinox which falls just before Easter Sunday. This song was written after having wonderfully boozy summer nights with tequila soaked conversation around art, feminism and navigating moving forwards in our two worlds and careers with a dear friend. One particular night we went out for Easter. The moon was so big that evening and I remember turning around and seeing my friend lit up by the lunar light, both of us laughing like jackals at something absurd and thinking how beautiful she was standing there. April’s Child’s themes were written about that night. Turning negatives into positives and always finding stability through unity no matter how much the boat may be sinking. I remember as a child I was read ‘Monday’s Child’ the poem. That poem has always stuck with me and I thought I’d do some research into the meaning behind being born in April, being an April’s Child. The first line, ‘April’s Child is one of fierce independence. Frosted trees and hailstorms foster confidence. I hide inside, I am scared of the rainfall, while April’s Child is running around barefoot in the storm.’ A pledge to myself to be more like April’s Child throughout my life.
What was the songwriting process for song? Did the song turn out how you envisioned originally?
I (Lillian) am known for writing very long songs. In my opinion, the longer the better! One of my favourite albums is Joanna Newsom’s ‘Y’s’. A pivotal record for me personally that really changed my perception of music and song structure. Every time I brought a new song into rehearsal, it was long and I must admit, sometimes exhaustive and even though the boys loved them they would always joke that I couldn’t write a 3 minute song. I am a Sagittarius so quite stubborn by nature and when a challenge presents itself, I must do everything in my power to come up as the top dog so off I went back into my home studio and wrote April’s Child. The chords came first, then the lyrics. A short, snappy three minute-ish song that proved that I was not only up for the challenge of writing something a little more concise but that we could possibly release a record that would fit more than one song per side of vinyl. I presented it to everyone in rehearsal and everything fell into place quite easily. Sam’s drums, Liam’s lines and Danny’s wonderful violin riff. It is both a gift and a curse being this stubborn but April’s Child was the rare gift out of one of my less desirable personality traits and turned out just as we wanted it to, yes.
You worked with Francisco Meija Flood for the 'April's Child' visual release. Was this the first time you had worked together? How did the collaboration come about?
We have known Francisco since we were children and have been long time admirers of his work as a Director and Cinematographer. April’s Child was the first time that we collaborated together on a project after reaching out to him to see if he would be interested in directing a clip for us. We sent him the EP in its entirety and let him sit with it for a week or two to see which song resonated the most with him. In our Skype meeting, he identified that he felt strongly about shooting something for April’s Child and here we are!
Who came up with the concept for the video? Any memorable moments during the making of it?
We decided to give Francisco total artistic freedom for this video clip to do as he wished. The video clip is an exploration of lush colourisation shot at some beautiful locations over Victoria. I think what we will remember most was shooting on that beautiful back beach in Rye and being surrounded by such amazing rock formations and then of course, coming together at lunch time and enjoying a big feed and big laughs. It’s the comradery and the community that always leaves a lasting effect once the job is done. We love what Francisco came up with for this video and how things are left fairly ambiguous so people can imprint their own meaning to the track. He did a smashing job and we couldn’t have asked for a better experience.
“Most importantly, all of our mums love it and that’s a job well done in our books”
Late March saw you release your debut Ep 'Negatives Into Positives', how is the new music being received by fans and critics?
So far, so good! We have been quietly blown away by the response, the radio play and the support pouring from our local and international music community. Most importantly, all of our mums love it and that’s a job well done in our books. We love you Mum!
Was the Ep a long time in the making or did it come together quickly for you?
The songs came together seamlessly. Nothing took too long to really flesh out and get a structure or sound for. What made this EP tricky was that it was created over lockdown so a lot of patience went into actually being able to come together to finalise it all and do the damn thing! We’d rehearse every time a lockdown lifted, talk concepts in our band chat during lockdowns and then decided once we were in a solid and confident place with the songs to lock in a time to record with Paul Maybury at his studio in Fairfield. Even then, during those days at the recording studio, it was the height of COVID. The last evening of tracking, they announced another lockdown so Danny, our violin player, had to track his parts at the speed of light and then jump in a taxi to the airport to get back home to Perth before borders shut. I remember that time in the studio being so fulfilling to just be able to be in one room together again, doing what we love creating music. From there, we worked on the postproduction between Lillian’s touring schedule and here we are now with an EP that we are all really proud of.
“What we walked away with was a song that built into the war cry of one thousand sirens in the darkest night out for every last drop sailor’s blood”
Do you have a favourite track from the Ep or one that is particularly special?
A definite tie between Navy Strength and Northside Dreaming! Ask us on a different day and you will get a different answer. Navy Strength is about regeneration, surrendering and the letting go of grief. It was written in a place of real vulnerability, and we couldn’t be prouder of how it turned out. Daniel’s violin parts on this song make it for us. He tracked a symphony of strings for us through a rotating Leslie amp and his violin sound is just the bee’s flippin’ knees.
Northside Dreaming because of the collaboration between our sound engineer Paul Maybury and everyone’s individual parts on this track building into the ending that we are just in love with. Paul really knew and saw the capacity that this song had and challenged especially Lillian to really reach her full potential in the studio on this one. What we walked away with was a song that built into the war cry of one thousand sirens in the darkest night out for every last drop sailor’s blood. Huge respect for the sonic wizard that is Paul Maybury.
Are there plans to tour for 'Negatives Into Positives'?
Yes, we are planning our touring Negatives into Positives and would love to play some interstate and rural shows. We wanted to pour all our energy into releasing this music before we hopped on the road but now we are rearing to hop in the car, have some servo dinners out on that Hume Highway.
How did Great~Falls come about? what is the history of the formation of the band?
The band was the dream baby of mine. I was studying jazz at the time and was finding that I was writing a whole chunk of music that was more suited to an alternative band. My first call initially was to Liam who has been in a band that I’ve long admired in the Melbourne Underground scene for a long time called Ships Piano. Liam was keen and from there, Liam and I started workshopping songs and brought Sam into the mix on drums. I met Danny and Jack at uni, we were all studying a degree in jazz performance together. They are two musicians who Liam, Sam and I have admired for a long time both because of their capacity on their instruments but also kindness and conversations. The Great ~ Falls family then came together and here we are.
“why don’t you name the band Great ~ Falls?! Because Humpty Dumpty had a great fall”
Is there a story behind the name 'Great~Falls'?
There is and it’s a fabulous one ! We were at our mates place one very stinking hot summer evening years ago and were trying to think up ‘sick’ band names. A hopeless and thankless task for anyone that has done it. We even went on the dreaded online band name generator for guidance at one point. We were trying way too hard to be cool and overthinking everything. Our mate had her two kids around and it was a big family affair sitting around trying to float ideas. Daisy, our mate’s daughter, was playing with a Humpty Dumpty toy when suddenly and effortlessly, her older brother Casper looked up and said, ‘why don’t you name the band Great ~ Falls?! Because Humpty Dumpty had a great fall?!’ Kids. They are bloody marvellous gifts to the world.
Do you as a band or as individual members play a part in the production side of your music?
Yes, we always play a part in the production side of things when it comes to cutting records. In saying this, we trust our audio engineer Paul Maybury implicitly but we like to be involved in every facet of the creative process. It’s hard for Danny to be involved in the mixing and mastering side of making the record because of geographical limitations but mostly, as much as possible, we all like sit in on the tracking, mixing and mastering process of the EP and contribute to it with our ideas and lots of conversations where necessary.
Who in your crew or team deserves a shout out but never gets one? And what is they do that keeps your world turning?
Definitely Bella Li and Eloise Maher ! Bella Li is the artist behind both our amazing 7” and 12” covers. She is an Australian poet and, in our opinion, a national treasure. If you like our artwork, we highly recommend checking out her poetry books, Argosy, Lost Lake and Theory of Colours out throughs Vagabond Press for the most stunning visual and literary feast. Eloise Maher is our designer who has been with us for the last few years. Every time we give Eloise a challenge, she absolutely nails it. A legend who has perhaps already surpassed legend status.
Where would you like to see Great~Falls in a year's time ? What do you hope the band has achieved?
We are planning our debut album which we are excited to begin the process of putting together and want to fill our cups with lots of live shows until then. Apart from that, a collaboration with the Mr. Humpty Dumpty on Playschool would be amazing. We’re putting it out there to the universe. Humpty, let’s talk baby! You bring the wall and let’s put something together again!
Photo Credit Tess Garrod