Sky’s The Limit

Hiatus Kaiyote are a band around which mystery wraps itself, shroud-like. From the obscurity of their name – not publically explained – to the intense complexity of the compositions, and of course the oblique and epic esotericism of lead singer Nai Palm's lyrics, Hiatus Kaiyote are a band you may never fully understand – but that doesn't seem to be the point. As bassist Paul Bender and drummer Perrin Moss explain, understanding isn't everything…

“Clarity isn't always what we want,” Moss offers.

“I don't always want to know what everything means. I like to be confused by music,” concurs Bender. 

Both Perrin and Bender embrace the mystery around the band – in fact, they have had firsthand experience of strange goings-on and brushes with fate. Even their first meetings with Nai Palm have an air of the uncanny about them.

“Me and Perrin met Nai independent of each other,” Bender begins. “I saw her at Gertrude's Brown Couch playing solo. It was one of her first ever gigs, but straight away I was amazed by her voice and songs. I knew it was the kind of music I wanted to be involved in – complex yet beautiful and logical. Then I didn't see her for another year or so, but bumped into her out. I wanted to assemble a band for her, and I had a lot of contacts with amazing musicians, people who have the passion to play that kind of stuff. But the final line-up ended up happening on its own anyway,” he laughs.

“I found Nai at a cafe,” Perrin explains, in an uncannily similar lost-and-found tale. ”I was by myself having coffee and she was sitting on a box playing guitar. I listened to her and was amazed by her voice and her songs. I felt like I wanted to work with her; at the time I was with another band doing percussion, but I was telling everyone about this girl. I didn't hear any more about her for a long time, then randomly ran into Bender and Dave rehearsing for the band. They were playing really complex songs I still struggle with now,” he laughs. “I started jamming along with them and they asked me to come back and rehearse. It all started from there.”

Palm is the band's chief lyricist, while Perrin and Bender provide the majority of the production and arrangements. Producing the new Hiatus Kaiyote EP, Tawk Tomahawk, was a learning experience for the band.

“We have been developing new processes in recording stuff,” Bender explains. “On this EP we've written interlude tracks, then added our own things to them. Sometimes we've put a beat together and then we get Nai in and she writes crazy vocal stuff over it. Each song is a different experiment, and we're not masters of recording, but we've got our own ideas about what to record, and how it should sound. There's a lot of guessing, A lot of intuitive placement of mics and stuff,” Bender confesses. “Because of this, our songs all sound very different to each other, which is cool in a way. We were quite experimental, but maybe next time I'd like to try for a more cohesive statement.”

Why both Perrin and Bender love being in Hiatus Kaiyote is one thing devoid of mystery: it's because they love a challenge. 

“I love it because without a doubt it stretches us to our full potential,” Perrin says. “It's really involved but not showy for the sake of being showy. And we're all trying to push for something a bit… mind expanding.”

“Ultimately I think music is a form of magic,” Bender offers. “Hopefully, at its best, it can take you on a journey. I want to create the kind of music that can take you to another world.”