Let's Get Metaphysical

Abbe May is in the midst of a typically busy day. Having checked out the rough version of her latest film clip during the morning, she's spending the afternoon on the phone fielding media calls to promote her new album. Despite the hectic schedule, she's upbeat and amiable, eager to talk about her work. After receiving plaudits for her last LP, 2011's Design Desire, a collection of guitar-heavy blues-rock tracks that saw her selling out major tours around Australia, Kiss My Apocalypse marks a dramatic change for May. Ditching the guitars, she's embraced synthesisers and a dark, self-aware style of pop – something she refers to as meta-pop. It's a brave move, but apparently courage isn't something in short supply.

“I have ovaries of steel and not a lot scares me,” May says. “I'm not afraid of failure. I'm not afraid of success either, so there's no self-sabotage here by changing up all the styles of music, but failure and success are irrelevant to me as long as you have this kind of creative satisfaction from what you're making.

“I like the element of surprise and if I get bored with this, then I will move on again. I've never been in the game to make a million bucks and live on an island with Rhianna. As wonderful as she is – and I'm a big fan of hers – my driving force behind writing music and behind having changed the music so often is that I like lots of different music; I meet lots of different people; I collaborate with lots of different people. The music will always be affected by that.”

May is also using the launch of the new album to offer a broad critique of what she sees as problems in the Australian music scene at the moment. As she speaks, it's clear that these concerns are closely tied to the desire to alter her own output.

“I just get a little bit sick of this idolisation of these bands that seem like they don't care and they write songs that go for four hours and there's no chorus and I'm kind of like, 'For fuck sake, where's the entertainment value in this?'” she rails. “Once some people start to believe the hype, once they make a great record they just think they can do anything they like and that's when they forget that above all else you're an entertainer. And I think being an entertainer is far more rewarding than being an artist because it's much less selfish, and a lot of healing comes from giving to other people.

“To me that's how it works. I love to entertain and I've always considered that whole title of 'artist' as something that can really get in the way of not being a wanker and that it's something that other people should call you, not [a term to use] yourself. I'm a bit sick of the old rock'n'roll shtick of, 'Oh I drink so much, I smoke so much, I'm a rock'n'roll pig' type thing. I just think it's a cliché. But that said, when I was touring the Design Desire record I was living the lifestyle like that. We were drinking a lot, we were having a great old time and I can see why it's seductive, but I just don't think it's cool.”

Kiss My Apocalypse is being released independently, which has given her the freedom to explore new territory without any pressure to duplicate the successful Design Desire, but making an album is expensive work and there was a risk that she wouldn't be able to finish.

“I ran out of money earlier this year and couldn't continue to record. And the wonderful MGM, who have been my distributors for the last five years – they trusted me enough to bail me out. They basically advanced me money from what we would earn off this album to pay for the remainder of the bills. There are massive costs with releasing an album, to do with PR, recording and mastering and photographs and videos – there's a long list. And I was about twenty- to twenty-five thousand dollars short. And MGM made it possible for us to continue, and I'll be forever grateful for that.

“It's an expensive business and that's why I think it's so important for people – if you want these things to continue – come and watch the shows, buy the CDs. While I do live a fairly comfortable existence, it's not like I'm waking up on a Monday morning and snorting a line of coke and rolling around with a whole bunch of beautiful women and men on a beach while drinking excessively expensive tequila. It's a job that we do for the love of it, and I'm fortunate that I haven't had to have a day job for six years, but I do work very hard. But for me, I just find that there's nothing like the experience of the catharsis that you get out of writing a song about some horrible experience you've had, or some good experience you've had. The emotional release of that is incredible.”

With the album written on the back of a painful break-up, May jokes that while she may have run out of money releasing the record “it still would have been cheaper than going to a therapist”.

“It's all written from personal experiences,” she continues. “This is purely cathartic for me. And I get the songs out, I get the venom out and the bitterness out, particularly with this last record, and suddenly I'm fine with everything, I don't feel bad. At the same time I do like to put a degree of ambiguity into some parts of it, just so it doesn't have to just be about me, so that the listener can turn it into a song about themselves as well.”

This release also sees a significant shakeup to May's live show – perhaps the biggest change is that she has put down the guitar entirely.

“A lot of people who have done the same thing as me, that transition between playing guitar and singing without playing, have found it to be a really revealing, naked experience. I find it easier to actually make direct eye contact with people and communicate in a more authentic and present way with the audience because I'm no longer trying to work out, 'Oh shit, where's my hand got to go on the guitar?' Now I can focus on the vocals and I can focus on connecting with the group of people in front of me.

“The sound is really different, but still really big, fat and heavy. It will make you dance and groove. If you were a fan of me already and you're prepared to have an open mind and an open heart to something new then I think you'll enjoy this even more, because I'm enjoying it more.”