interview: gold bloom
They were picked by Triple J to play at Adelaide’s Laneway Festival, found their way onto Adelaide’s Big Day Out bill, and were selected as one of Rip It Up’s Hot 6 for 2012. What Gold Bloom haven’t done yet is release a recording! Lip had a chat to the Adelaide quartet about the big year ahead of these four talented young women.
Describe your sound in five words or less.
Gritty. Ethereal. Riffy. Unexpected. Danceable.
Was there a particular moment or artist that made you want to pursue music when you were growing up? Who were your early influences?
I know Juliet listened to a lot of Patti Smith, Kate Bush and Tom Verlaine. Freya started playing guitar when she was listening to Green Day and Blink 182 but cites Radiohead, Department of Eagles and Love of Diagrams as ongoing influences. My parents were into artists like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon and Nick Cave. My older sister introduced me to 90s Garage and Trip Hop; I remember being pretty enamored with Portishead at about age eleven.
You’ve nabbed spots on both the Laneway and Big Day Out bills before even releasing a recording … do you feel there’s a lot of expectation around it now?
There is definitely expectation for us to produce something worthy of all the attention we’ve received, most of which is based on ‘potential’. We are writing some pretty interesting and challenging new material, which we are excited about playing live and also recording.
How was your recent first show in Melbourne? How was the reception there?
We played at The Old Bar in Fitzroy, a great little pub, and managed to pack it out. Admittedly half of Adelaide was there, but still! The response was really positive to all three Adelaide bands that played (also Steering By Stars and Sparkspitter).
As well as the awesome tunes, Gold Bloom also has a really lovely aesthetic – how much thought do you put into what you wear on stage and in photo shoots?
We try not to get too dressed up for gigs or shoots, as we just want to feel like ourselves, to feel comfortable. I guess we’re lucky that we have a similar idea of what is appealing, and because of that there is some cohesion with what we wear. We’re also a little bit conscious of that fact that being an all-girl band, people do focus on our appearance and we’d prefer the attention to be more on our music.
Your presser says Juliet and Freya wanted to start an all-girl band, why was this? Is there a big difference between playing with men and playing with women?
My perception is that they were enthralled with the fantasy of being in an archetypal girl band, and Juliet was referencing bands like The Slits and The Raincoats. Practically speaking, it’s pretty lovely playing, talking and spending time together. There is an openness that we share, and a level of support between us that is very conducive to experimentation and freedom of expression.
What are your other interests/passions?
J: Animals, trees, riding bikes.
F: Water, loops and cider.
Z: All kinds of art.
N: People. People are strange and interesting and surprising.
Who do you most admire?
J: Gregory Peck
F: Tune Yards, amazing.
Z: Stephen Fry. He’s amazing, intelligent and has a great sense of humour.
N: Bjork, for her originality.
Greatest achievement to date?
As a band our greatest achievement is probably being picked by JJJ to play Laneway.
A song I wish I wrote/played is…
J: ‘Marquee Moon’ by Television.
F: ‘There There’ by Radiohead.
Z: ‘Blackbird’ by The Beatles, it’s so simplistic but perfect.
N: ‘The Slip’ by Ghoul
I couldn’t live without…
J: Real books with real pages.
F: Peanut butter and $1 bread.
Z: My computers.
N: Friends, coffee, guitar, lemons.
The best advice I ever received was…
J: “Take a brolly!”
F: “Listen to this…”
Z: “Hope for the best in people, you’ll be surprised by how often they come through”.
N: “Seek and you shall learn”
Do you think the music industry treats female musicians differently to male musicians? Do you think it’s more difficult for women to establish themselves?
I’m not entirely sure. All I know is that we’ve been shown a lot of encouragement so, based on that, I don’t think it’s more difficult for woman. If you’re good at what you do and you stand behind it, I think you will be respected regardless of gender.
Is there anything you’ve always wanted to be asked?
To play at South by Southwest!
Gold Bloom will be appearing at Adelaide’s Big Day Out tomorrow, as well as at the Lost City Festival on Saturday. Their first single is set for release early next week, and they’ll be at Laneway on Feb 10th. Check them out!
