The facility has been the scene of so many famous Australian recordings and has also guested Kanye West,  The Mars Volta, The Prodigy, Lady Gaga and Jay-Z. This very day, Jebediah's Kev Mitchell is in the room next door doing some work on a new Bob Evans album. I ran into him coming out of the bathroom.

The British India guys are recording a track this afternoon with the working title of We Don't Need Anyone, it's a hard drivin', rockin' piece… the 'shouty' track as singer Declan Melia later describes it. At the moment Melia is laying down a rhythm guitar part. He's asked by engineer Callum to rotate on his heels in an attempt to find a sweet spot where there's no guitar buzz coming from his Strat. Anyone not involved directly in a take seems to be on a laptop checking emails and social media sites. Will, the bass player alerts the band to a handy fact that a member of some obscure band had been jailed for stealing golf balls from a forest.

The band is maybe halfway through recording album number four. It's difficult to tell exactly where they are at as a record company is now involved and for the first time, they're not completely in control of the decision making process. A release seems likely in early 2013. “Since we signed to Liberation things are different,” explains Declan. “It used to be… you go into the studio on this date,  you'll be in there three weeks, and then you'll have an album. Those days are pretty much gone in as much as that we write for a bit, record for a bit, until we eventually have an album. It's difficult to know where you are at because things have a tendency to be half done, never quite finished off.When they approached us they were really adamant that they be hands on. They were really worried, and probably rightly so, that we would be really closed off. I think to outsiders, that's the way we seem. They've definitely dictated the kind of songs they would prefer. There are lots of songs and the ones they have chosen will probably be the ones which will be on the record. They'll have the ultimate choice. We're not really up for debating them on that. We think it's a case of they know best. They'll decide what the people hear, but I mean, it doesn't effect the writing of the songs. All the songs get written and all the songs get recorded but then it's them who get to select the final tracks.”

Despite becoming more adventurous in the studio and feeling more comfortable with the recording process, Melia still views British India as a punk band which doesn't think too much about direction or growth. “We're not that interested in growing that much,” the frontman states of the album they are currently working on. “British India is self aware enough to know that one of our great qualities is naivity. We wouldn't want to give that up by growing. We'll never be a band with particular finesse, nor do we want to be.” While that may be the conscious intention, unconsciously there is some serious musical maturity going on deep inside Melbourne's Sing Sing studios. Glenn Goldsmith, who has been manager and the band's producer for the last six years, agrees. “I just think the guys have developed as songwriters every year. It has just progressed and I think over time, you get a little more adventurous, not tied to what British India is supposed to be but it still comes down to good songs.”

With Melia's rhythm part done on today's track, guitarist Nic Wilson is now using an original Roland Space Echo to lay down the lead riff to the song. Producer Glenn Goldsmith suggests he needs to bend one note just a little more to achieve the desired result. The demo had been made using a digital delay and Glenn urges Wilson to revert to the demo pedal. However majority rules and they go for the authenticity of the Roland Space Echo unit. The democracy shown is impressive. “We're completely democratic in that if it ever came down a decision and there was deadlock, everyone would get a vote each but it is more a case of who is most adamant. It's kind of who cares the most,” says Melia. The Sing Sing studio vibe is contributing to the feel-good nature of the recording too as Melias attests. “With Thieves and Guillotines (the band's first two albums), we were in Harry [Vanda]'s studio and it was kind of like, you couldn't have your feet on the table. Here, it is like, is anyone sober enough to do a bass take? It's been a lot of fun.”

The production on the band's last album Avalanche was more pronounced than on the first two and that fatter, layered sound ethos seems to have carried on with the new album. “It's the sound we are preferring. The stuff we are listening to at the moment is mostly like that,” admits Melia. “The reason that happened on Avalanche as well was that it was the first time we felt comfortable in the studio, finding our feet whereas previously we had no idea what we were doing. Now we have found all these new tricks we can exploit and as long as we find that exciting, we'll be into layering tracks and stuff.” It seems to be the tracks most un-British India which the guys are really enjoying working on. Melia is particularly keen on two. “There's one called Crystals which sonically is pretty interesting. It's one of the songs which is really layered. I wouldn't consider it a rock song. It's really drum heavy. It's a weird mix, lots of acoustics and strings… keyboard strings, some sort of organ anyway. Another one is called Major Label Trash which is an interesting song. Production wise, we listened to a lot of Notorious BIG, hip hop and pop music, just that kind of slammed sound but also... I hate to use this word because people will just run with it, but it's kind of funky in a way or it's got a good groove and this weird kinda computer game riff. It's a weird beast and I think it will surprise people. Bass player Will Drummond is also happy to leave the band's comfort zone. “Crystals, I really enjoy,” he says. “It's five minutes or something and unlike anything we've ever done before. It's piano based and has really heavy drums but it's like a ballad. I hardly did anything on that.  I played bass but it is just there for texture more than melody lines.”

Matt O'Gorman is delighted with the drum sounds the engineers have captured on the album too. “It's probably the best drum sound we've ever had,” he enthuses. “Aaron and Callum have done a great job capturing that really roomy sound. They use about four room mics, two on the hats, two on the snare, one on each tom. I think also what is happening is that the more I record,  I am getting more comfortable in the studio and feeling more confident with playing. Especially playing to click tracks… when I first started playing, it was something I couldn't get my head around. I was so nervous and would play something straight just to keep everyone happy and not take too much time.” O'Gorman is playing a Yamaha kit in the studio, not his own but he's used to that, even on the road the band don't carry their own backline, they use the support band's gear. “I haven't used my own drum kit in about two and a half years,” he laughs.

For Melia, gear is not a big consideration. “We never feel a particular affinity for gear,” he said. We've never been a big gear band. As far as guitar sounds go with this, there is still a lot to do. I'm just using my Fender, straight into the amp, no pedals, find a good tone and go. My guitar in all our recordings is never at the forefront, it's really just wash, all gravy my guitar sound. I've never been a proficient player but it was a case of Nick being so lead orientated, we needed something to fill to complete the three corners of the square. My guitar could be anything, it could be keyboard pads.”

British India hope to release their yet to be titled album in early 2013.

www.britishindia.com.au