Evelyn Morris is a revered musical idealist, crafting intrinsically “difficult” pop amalgams that are as much about the individual as they are about creatively altering musical forms. Calluses is Morris' third record under the Pikelet moniker, and although those individualistic flourishes are still present, it's clear that Pikelet has become a band concern.
“Initially one of the main reasons of getting a band involved was because of the difficulties I was having with the loop pedal,” she explains. “I found that my ideas were dictated by the knowledge that I'd have to use that technology somehow, and it became very limiting. I didn't like the idea of writing the songs then handing the pieces over to session people who didn't really have a direct relation to what I was trying to do.”
Calluses represents a difficult creation process, something that Morris and the band had to work at diligently. Morris maintains that the arduous nature of the writing and recording process is a natural obstacle to true creativity.
“I don't think that anything creative truly comes easy, nor should it,” she asserts. “I like to think that going through the process of being creative means you're touching on things that you've never encountered or attempted before, therefore you don't really know what you're doing; you're reaching around in the dark, trying to figure things out. If you're going to have any critical engagement with creative practice, you have to challenge things you believe; I don't agree that rolling with your first idea is the best option.
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“We were also trying to be more collaborative. It was figuring out how to get everyone's opinions and ideas involved… Democracy makes things take a little longer than usual.”
Calluses is the most intricate release of Morris' oeuvre, something that was both unexpected and sometimes confronting. “It became a situation whereby we struggled to find any space on these tracks, just layer upon layer,” Morris admits. “I find it really full and cluttered. It baffles me when people say there is space. It feels like there's a little too much going on.”
Morris makes it clear that there isn't much in the way of mainstream accessibility in what she does with Pikelet, although that's hardly the point. “Most people I know that are really testing their creative capabilities just aren't interested in “making it” like they used to. There's a point of recognition for every Australian musician that (Australia) is a very difficult place to sustain a music practice, which at first makes you feel sad, like, 'Oh shit, what am I doing with my life then?' But then you realise that you want, need to do it anyway, so you work it around your job and let it be something else, something for you and you alone.”
