Interview Tame Impala

Australia’s Tame Impala have just finished their debut UK tour, which followed on from the release of their self-titled debut EP (through Modular). We caught up with Kevin Parker and Dom Simper whilst they were over here to talk about, well, mostly their debut album…

Hello! First thing’s first, who are you and what do you do in Tame Impala?
K: I’m Kevin, I play guitar and sing.
D: And I’m Dom – I play bass.

So, you’ve just arrived in the UK - first impressions? Has everyone been nice to you so far?
K: Yeah. We thought it was going to be this bustling city where no one utters a word to each other, but everyone’s been really friendly.

Are there any dates on your UK tour that you’ve particularly enjoyed, or are looking forward to? Do you have any tourist-y activities planned for whilst you’re over here?
D: The one I was most nervous for was The Lexington, where all the music industry folk were. The whole night was just ridiculously over the top, like celebrity people showing up there.
K: Just driving around London feels like a tourist activity to be honest, just opening your eyes.
D: It’s such a trip.

You’re debut album will be released later this year - is it all finished now? Anything left to do, recording-wise?
D: We haven’t got it started yet.
K: And there’s everything left to do recording wise.

From what we gather, most of your material is home recorded - does one of you have a proper studio, or is it a less ‘professional’ set up than that?
K: It’s a lot less professional than that. What we use is basically what equipment I’ve accumulated over the past few years.
D: It’s pretty much the equivalent of Kev walking into his bedroom with a Dictaphone and coming out with a track.

Do you record this way because you prefer the way it makes your music sound, or is it more a case of an external studio not making enough of a difference to be worth the hassle and money?
K: It’s more the comfort of having your own time and space, with no one else to fiddle knobs and stuff while you’re trying to be creative. Its worth the sacrifice.

Will you record the album at home, too?
K: Yeah. We were initially quite overwhelmed by the offers from people to record the album for us. Chris Goss, an idol of mine, who recorded all the Queens of the Stone Age stuff asked. It would have been a fantasy, but in the end I just figured that for the first album we should be able to do our own thing. There’s too much of a formula nowadays.

The artwork for your previous releases - the ‘Tame Impala’ EP and ‘H.I.T.S’ vinyl - is really cool. Do you design it all yourselves?
K: Yeah, its an adaptation from an astronomy lecture I had once. It depicts the different sizes between stars. Its quite moving because it depicts the sun as a speck. Everyone knows our sun is really insignificant, but looking at it in a painting is amazing because art normally shows the sun as an all encompassing thing. It looks quite primitive but its humble, it reminds us of our position in the universe.

How important do you think imagery, like artwork, is to the overall feel of the band? Is it important?
K: Colour is definitely important. When you listen to an album you normally have the overall colours from the front cover in your mind.

And finally, are there any other up and coming Australian bands we should be keeping an eye on?
K: The Silence are pretty awesome. They’re another Perth band. I’m continually amazed by them.