Story Greg Phillips

Eskimo Joe know how to construct a pop song. Seamless tunes featuring luscious melodies and unforgettable hooks flow with ease from their second album "A Song Is A City". Australian Musician's Greg Phillips recently spoke to main songwriter, vocalist and bass player Kav Temperley about how it all came together.

"It gives you a lot of freedom when you are with people you know and trust," says Eskimo Joe vocalist/bass player and main songwriter Kav Temperley of his fellow band members Joel Quartermain and Stu Macleod. Temperley is referring to the fact that the other two guys not only share the stage with him, but are long time buddies who grew up together in the Western Australian port town of Fremantle.

“There's only so much you can do with your own music, you need someone else to take it to another level, and you have to be able to trust them with that. So when you have that trust you can bring anything to these people."

While the sentiments on the band's last album 'Girl', were so obviously inspired by Kav’s relationship at the time, 'A Song Is A City' is more guarded in its revelation of subject matter. Even so, whilst Temperley is responsible for writing most of the material for the new album, it's a fair bet, both Quartermain and Macleod would have a decent insight into where Kav was coming from emotionally as well as musically.

It's befitting then that the first single off the album "From The Sea" was the one to take them to the top of the Triple J chart, a song inspired by growing up in Fremantle. The success of the first single has given the band a boost of confidence and a belief that they can take their music to the world in the same way fellow Western Australian's The Sleepy Jackson and End of Fashion have. The Joe recall that it wasn't all that long ago when the Sleepys, Little Birdy, and Gyroscope would all jam together in a small room in Perth.

The growth and maturity of Eskimo Joe manifests in many ways, one of them being a greater understanding of each other musically.

"We're not real 'musician' musicians If you know what I mean," says Temperley. "We're not about chops. But there are moments when you stop being so conscious of the fact that you are playing a song, and you go into automatic mode and it can get really amazing."

Eskimo Joe's music has now outgrown the three piece dynamic. For the new album and ensuing tour, the guys have made some changes to the team. Quartermain has shifted from drums to guitar, leading the way for another Freo boy, Paul Keenan to come in behind the kit. The inclusion of keyboard player Dan Bull will add further strength to the Joe attack.

It was during rather than before or after the recording of their last album that Eskimo Joe changed musical direction, however with "A Song Is a City" the band seem to have established a musical direction they are comfortable with.

Kemperley elaborates. "I think we are constantly defining our sound and I don't think we're the kind of band that would make two albums in a row that sound the same. I think in four albums time, we will be making completely different music. I was listening to a Radiohead interview on the radio and they were saying that they couldn't have made the album 'Hail To The Thief', if they hadn't gone through the process of making 'Kid A' and 'Amnesiac', which were pretty experimental albums. So even though this is a time capsule of what we are doing now, we are still kind of constantly narrowing in on an idea that you can use to brighten our horizons."

Growing up in Western Australia Temperley was swayed toward the bass guitar through the bass gymnastics of Primus' Les Claypool, however he admits that he finds it difficult even listening to that style of playing anymore. His appreciation of Paul McCartney though, has grown immensely. Kav's weapon of choice is a '94 black Music Man Sting Ray which he plugs into a watt David Eden Traveller, 400 watt head. No gear credits appear on the new album sleeve but the band wouldn't shy away from an association with Vox.

"The guys would really like Vox's. We had this great Fender copy of the Harrison Tele and pretty much every guitar track on the album is that through a Vox. On the road Joel is using a Line 6 head which is pretty good but it doesn't really push enough air. I've got the David Eden head which is a 400 watt, and it's probably a good idea to move up to the 800 or upgrade in some way."

As this edition went to print, "A Song Is A City" had just been released and had attracted some amazing reviews in the mainstream press. The album also debuted at number 2 on the national ARIA chart. The Joe can be seen on tour around Australia until July then travel to Japan, UK and The States to begin winning even more fans.

SPEEDSTAR ASKS ESKIMO JOE ...

You worked with a number of different people in the process of this album, can you explain the varying approaches / influences they brought to 'A Song is a City'?

In regard to the song writing process, we had Andy (Lawson from The Avenues) & Rod (Aravena from End of Fashion) around (at Debaser Studios in Fremantle) and they were good to bounce ideas off. Then with Paul McKercher, he was great with the sonics and sounds and he had a few suggestions regarding the songs … about trimming them down a bit. Then with Nick Launay, he was great because after we'd recorded the album and had gone back home to Perth, and did all the psychedelic blips and pops… Nick was great in knowing what sounds to bring out in the mix that were hooks.

Is there a particular theme or character to the album, and if so how did it arise?

The theme probably is destruction because of the subject matter, which was breaking up and all the stuff that goes along with that.

Is the final product of the album in any way similar to how you intended it - prior to recording? Did the sounds and arrangements 'evolve' in the studio, or were you committed to a specific plan prior to the recording?

We were committed to a specific plan, and as far as any recording we've done in our careers, it's definitely been the most precise we've done. We just got it right more. The only thing that really developed and evolved along the way is stuff like the performances, as they all became a bit more chiselled as we went along.