Experimental Chemistry

Three years after their last EP, Ben Witts and The Chemist have finally released their debut full-length album Ballet in the Badlands. It's an addictive blend of blues-influenced and guitar-driven indie anchored by Witts impressive songwriting talent and ear for a good melody. Originally recorded back in 2011, Witts says its release was not without a few hurdles. “There was just label issues really and distribution things getting in the way that we had to sort out. It was kind of frustrating but what can you do.” Their luck changed earlier this year when the group got picked up by Create/Control, a fairly new label that's already making a name for itself with the signing of upcoming acts like Parquet Courts and Patrick James. “Whenever we used to play in Brisbane they used to always come down to our gigs. I'm pretty appreciative and grateful that we now have someone to help push our music out of our world and into other people's.”

The band are currently preparing for their biggest headline tour to date, set to kick off midway through May at the Spotted Cow in Toowoomba. Throughout February, The Chemist did a run of intimate club dates to preview songs from the new album. “I guess it was our management's decision or idea,” says Witts. “We hadn't been over there in a while so I guess it was just to let people know that we ain't dead and that we had a record impending. It was more like a warning call than a promotional celebration.”

When choosing the album title, Witt says it sums up the strange, experimental sounds and frenetic vibe of the album. “We wanted something that would echo the sonic intentions of the record so we talked about it being a 'junkyard ballet' where we were using some sort of dirty sounds and then some more heavenly sounds, contrasting them to make it weirder and then had some dirty songs and more folky, balladeer kind of songs. We were just looking for words that would capture that idea and work well phonetically and then luckily for us there was some metaphorical goodness in there if you'd like to take some as well.”

The latest single off the album, Silver and Gold, has enjoyed some heavy airplay on Triple J thanks to its slick guitar groove and catchy sing-a-long chorus. According to Witts, the song goes a little deeper than might be expected. “I guess lyrically I was kind of going for something between Bob Dylan's It Ain't Me Babe and Augie March's There Is No Such Place. I mean the song's kind of like talking to someone that you're in a relationship with and kind of saying 'let's not get caught up on all these meaningless things and enjoy what we have before it's gone,'” Witts reflects. “I guess in a way it's also talking about life really in that we don't really have it that bad and sadness is inevitable and you can only experience it regardless when you want to, because its experience I guess. It's just about perspective, acceptance and moving on.”

Witts says they chose ARIA award-winning producer Matt Lovell to help bring all these various musical elements together. “I liked the Mess Hall records he had done and I really liked Young Modern, the Silverchair record he had worked on, so I sort of knew his name through those things. And just the conversation I had with him on the phone was promising and auspicious in that he was pretty laid-back, open and understood the production ideas I wanted. He knew the references I was talking about and it just seemed like a good idea, which it was. He's a great dude and a great engineer; god bless him for putting up with us rapscallions.” 

Witts cites renowned American producer Tchad Blake as an influence on some of the bizarre production techniques that went in to make the album. “He's done some stuff with the Black Keys but he's also worked with Tom Waits and done a couple records with this band called The Latin Playboys. They play kind of Chicano rock and bluesy kind of stuff but all the production's really low-fi. He'll run drum kits back through amplifiers in the room and he'll put mics in lead pipes and amps in bins and have nails and stuff through the bins so he gets pretty wild.”

This influence is evident on a song like Strings Lickin' Limbs, in which longtime collaborator Wayne Freer bows a handsaw like a violin to create a howling, harrowing effect that hangs over the song like an ominous specter. “That's almost like some of The Latin Playboys stuff where it's got a bit of an Afro-Cuban and Latin kid of vibe.” says Witts. “It's not just like a saw from a shed or anything; he bought it from Canada because they actually make it there to be bowed and come with particular pitches for bowing.” 

Despite the experimental nature of the new record, the band still sound undeniably like the group that released those two great EPs three years ago. “I kind of see it as using a similar palette but just making it a lot wilder and a lot crazier,” says Witts. “Like, if you were a painter and you came up with your palette, maybe using little earthy colours or something, but you were painting literal landscapes or portraits then it would be like using that same palette of colours but doing more sort of abstract expressionist kind of painting. So it's kind of just trying to make it frenetic, ultra crazy and sort of full on and complex but with those same sort of colours.” 

With a record contract under their belt and a string of dates all around the country, Witts should be happy the band can now relax a little and enjoy their success. “I guess I just kind of take it one step at a time. I just want to get to the end of this tour and then there's maybe some festival stuff we might do. My mind is primarily occupied with my next musical venture, that's kind of what I've been thinking about and in what capacity I'll carry that out in, I don't know yet. I'll get to the end of this process and then see where everything's at and then maybe do something wild like record somewhere exotic and never be seen again, I'm not sure. But the main thing I think of is how far I can push myself and my imagination and ability as a musician on the next musical joint.” 

Witts says he's already working on new material but we might not be hearing it anytime soon.” I have enough for a new album but I'm not satisfied yet with the material,” he explains. “I just don't have enough songs that are frenetic and crazy enough to satisfy my desire to make it crazy. I do have about five or six songs and maybe need about five or six more.” No matter where the band ends up, Witts says he's happy playing music and conjuring up music with The Chemist. “It's good, everyone's still close and they're my best mates. I like playing and whatever happens happens and whatever doesn't happen, doesn't matter.”

The Chemist will be playing the following dates:

Thursday 23 May - The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba QLD
Friday 24 May -  Beetle Bay, Brisbane QLD
Saturday 25 May - The Loft, Gold Coast QLD
Sunday 26 May - Hoey Moey, Coffs Harbour NSW
Thursday 30 May - Barcode, Wollongong NSW
Friday 31 May - Terrace Bar, Newcastle NSW
Saturday 1 June - Brighton Up Bar, Sydney NSW
Thursday 6 June - Grace Emily, Adelaide SA
Friday 7 June - The Workers Club, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 15 June - The Bird, Perth WA