Born To Be Wild

In the gap between their breakthrough record, the cacophony of noise that was Zounds, and their latest sun-drenched effort Lake Air, Dappled Cities have gone and done some growing up. Having been together since they were fourteen, the Sydney-based sonic adventurers decided that to move forward in the most effective way possible, they'd have to spend some time apart. As the Zounds touring cycle ended, the four members scattered themselves to all corners of the globe – all with a mandate to write, but with no real agenda beyond that. This separation proved to be the genesis for some interesting stories, but mostly acted as the starting point for their newest record.

An altogether breezier effort than the almost vampirish sounds of the past, Lake Air sacrifices none of Dappled Cities' trademark mischief and knack for melody. According to co-lead vocalist Tim Derricourt though, this laid back approach wasn't always the plan. “We actually wanted to make this completely wild sounding, experimental record after Zounds,” Derricourt explains. “Big drums and everything going completely mental and that sort of thing.

“So we took off to London and started writing that album. When we'd finished our time there though, we all sort of split off to different places. Dave [Rennick, Guitar and Vocals] by that time was living in Paris, Alex [Moore – bass] got married by an Elvis impersonator in Vegas and I was at the beach – so we were all living our own dreams in that way and kind of ignoring the band. Then when we all came back we'd written these happy, relaxed, not intense, not completely experimental songs and realised that was the album we wanted to make.”

This sea change may have been prompted by some time apart, but it seems it was a wealth of experience and knowledge gained from ten years in the industry that gave Dappled Cities the impetus to change their ways. “I think there are stages of a band's career. I think we've realised that we can probably make as many records as we want, if we want to,” Derricourt says. “There's nothing actually stopping us anymore. When we were faced with this choice between a wild psychedelic record or this really beautiful record full of pop songs we'd just written, we just said to ourselves 'Well, next time we'll put out the crazy record'.”

Dappled Cities have always been known for their adventurousness and refusal to be tied down to one particular genre or sound. From the pulsating chaos of The Night Is Young At Heart to the almost disco bent of their latest single Born At The Right Time, they always seem to be following a different muse – yet have a level of consistency that belies their seemingly scattered influences.

It is interesting to learn then that when the time came to make the decision on a producer for Lake Air, Derricourt and co found themselves reneging on a few of their own promises. “After Zounds we vowed never to use a producer again,” he explains. “We wanted to do it ourselves and we trusted ourselves most of all, so we started doing that. Then we met this guy Jarrad Kritzstein and said, 'Well, yeah rules are made to be broken, so let's work with him'. We met him on an Internet dating site, we weren't really looking but he was just hanging out. We typed in 'Long walks on the beach and making records' and we got a match.

“I guess because we are capable and initially wanted to do everything ourselves, Jarrad's role was to bring everything together and to keep us from putting too much on because, as is well known with us, we're pretty tempted to throw about a million ideas on the one song,” Derricourt says, explaining the exact influence that Kritzstein had on Lake Air, and on the Dappled Cities sound in general. “We love filling up our sound, and his role was just to say to us, 'Is it necessary?' to which we'd say, 'Well… No, but it's fun', and he'd say, 'Well, why don't you leave it off and see if the song is better without it?' Almost every time it was better. In a sense, our aim with this record was to believe that we could write a record without all the bells and whistles.”

Bells and whistles aside, Lake Air showcases some of the strongest songwriting seen on a Dappled Cities record. Without too much studio tomfoolery, the real essence of Derricourt and Rennick as tunesmiths and lyricists is revealed, not least on glossy-eyed cracker Real Love. “That one was me sitting down and really wanting to write a song quickly for once,” Derricourt reveals. “Mostly because that never happens to me. They usually take like a year. With Real Love I just told myself that I had to write a song in ten minutes – and it just kind of floated down from nowhere. It's pretty much identical from how I first put it down to how it sounds on the record.

“There were a lot of thoughts on this record about youth and time. Time passing, what we were like, what I'm like now, what I wanted to be when I was young compared to what I am now,” he continues, explaining the motivations behind the track. “All of those questions that you think about as time passes.” Real Love isn't too lost in it's own hazy memories though, as Derricourt jokes when asked how he managed to sum up all of this turmoil in only ten minutes. “My mind is constantly abuzz with rich questions mate,” he laughs. “Great thinkers should delve into my mind because I'm truly an interesting thinker.”

The truly important things though, for Dappled Cities, are the relationships held within the band. Speaking to Derricourt about Lake Air, you really get the impression that he sees the record as just another step in a life-long journey of musical discovery. At one point he actually puts a number on it, stating: “We're going to make, probably 10 more records in our lifetime,” and you can't really help but believe him. Always slightly on the fringe, but never compromising their integrity or ambition, Dappled Cities are one of those rare outfits that will continue to exist and thrive beyond all the hype and circumstance.

“We are this odd band that kind of suck at being a band,” Derricourt quips. “We're good friends and we play good shows but at the same time I don't think we've ever been good at being that kind of band that puts everything into the one record, and comes out with this complete vision. We're always learning, and I think that's the opposite to a lot of bands that come out strong and maybe fall away after a while. Honestly, I could make a Dappled record right now, and I'll make another one after that. We've just never been creatively stifled. We just always feel like we've got more in us.”

Dappled Cities will play the following shows:

Wednesday 10 October - Republic Bar, Hobart TAS
Friday 12 October - Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 13 October - Uni Bar, Adelaide SA
Sunday 14 October - Amplifier, Perth WA