Cut CopyCut Copy plays Splendour In The Grass on Saturday.
It’s been quite a year for Cut Copy. I Thought Of Numbers, the debut EP of sampladelic eighties disco mayhem from the Melbourne-based collective, has been a success beyond anyone’s expectations, receiving rave reviews in England and other parts of Europe. The recent Australian tour in support of Avalanches wunderkind Dexter has only increased Cut Copy’s burgeoning following. Now, prime mover Dan Whitford and chums have landed a plum gig at Splendour In The Grass, and are all set to play on the festival’s opening day. Like the rest of us, Dan’s gearing up for a top weekend.
“I’m looking forward to getting out of Melbourne, that’s for sure, ‘cause it’s fuckin’ freezing at the moment!” he laughs ruefully. “But no, getting up to Byron’s great - I really love the place, and Splendour, the line-up looks really good this year, so if I wasn’t playing there I’d be definitely considering going.”
Anyone you’re really hanging out to see?
“I’m keen to see Blackalicious, that’s one thing that really stands out, but it’s a pretty strong line-up. So there’s a host of things that I’ll be going along to check out, making the most of it while I’m there.”
Apart from what is sure to be a great show on the weekend, Cut Copy fans can also rejoice that a full-length album lurks just over the horizon. Dan says the disc has a more organic, song-based sound than the EP, with vocals featuring more prominently than in the past.
“I’m actually doing quite a lot of the vocals myself,” he reveals. “I’ve toyed with the idea of maybe getting guest vocalists, and I suppose I felt like, because I’ve done vocals on a few tracks before, like on 1981 and Rendezvous, I might as well do it myself. I think a lot of dance artists feel a little self-conscious about things like that, you know, they sort of feel that they’re more like producers than performers so they get someone else in to do that side of things. But I wasn’t really fazed by that, and it’s something I actually don’t mind doing, laying down vocals, and it seems to be sounding good, so why get someone else in, was sort of my way of thinking.”
After the album’s released, Dan’s next priority is to get over to England in order to capitalise on the buzz surrounding Cut Copy over there.
“We’ve had a bunch of invites to go and play over there, so it’s just a matter of finding the time to do it, in and around the album. Because there’s been such a great response over there to the two ten-inches that we put out, I think we’ll definitely try and do some promotion over there, even if we don’t actually get over there with the band. Either way we’ll try and do a DJ tour or a band tour over there by the end of the year. I’d be keen to get over there and just check it out.”
