Magic DirtMagic Dirt play the Great Northern, Byron Bay on Thursday, the Troccadero, Surfers Paradise on Friday and The Zoo on Saturday and Sunday.
Magic Dirt have been one of the leading lights of the Australian rock scene for years now. Their first album Signs of Satanic Youth was released back in 1993, and since then they’ve been on high rotation with Triple J, not setting a foot wrong with Aussie punters. They’ve supported the likes of Dinosaur Jr, John Spencer, Hole, Beck and Sonic Youth, and have been round Australia touring countless times, playing the RSL shows and all. They’d be one of the only big Australian bands to bother with country towns any more, with their impending City Trash tour taking in hotspots like Blaxland, Geelong, Toukley and Bunbury. They’ve just been over in the UK for a couple of weeks, giving the poms some good ol’ fashioned Ozzie rock. I had a lovely chat to their lead singer Adalita, who was rather vehement about the current state of Australian music.
So what have you been up to in England since you’ve been there? Nice weather?
“Yeah right. The weather is shit, of course… We just played the Fierce Festival here in London, with a bunch of Aussie bands, New Zealand bands and South African bands. It was really good, there was heaps of people and it turned out really well, we all had a wicked time. The Meanies, Regurgitator, Spiderbait, Midnight Oil all played, so it was a bit of an all-star aussie line-up.”
It’s great to see a whole stack of Australian bands rocking it in London. Bit different to Blur and Oasis really. Have the UK public embraced Magic Dirt?
“Cargo records are putting out What Are Rock Stars Doing Today over here, which his fantastic. It’s hard to know really, to gauge our popularity in another country. It feels good though, we’ve got heaps of gigs coming up. Tomorrow we’ve got our own show in Oxford St, in London, then a few gigs with Rival School, Icarus One and Sparta, so that’s gonna be ace. We’re sticking round to do shows over here til the June 13, and then we head off to Japan, and then off on a huge six week tour of Australia.”
You must have done that tour of Australia heaps now. What do you think of the Australian rock scene now that your kind of veterans?
“I think the main change is the camaraderie between artists, and the publics involvement with their choice of artists. I think that ol’ Aussie nurturing spirit has died a lot for local outfits, and I’d like to see a bit more public involvement in great Aussie rock. Stop looking overseas for the music when the tunes here are so good. There is not as many kids making music these days, they’re just not onto it any more. It’s a bit shitty, I don’t want to be negative, but I definitely get the idea that it’s all gone a little downhill, that’s the vibe I’m getting. I don’t think it’s just based in rock music, it’s spread across all the genres really. I don’t know why, I guess people are just getting more fast and selfish, and only looking out for themselves. I think there is going to be a big explosion of new music, that won’t just be rock, but will just be it’s own experimental type of music, and hopefully that’ll get the respect it deserves.”
“Over here in Britain, they take their music really fucking seriously. It makes the nighttime news, the front page of the paper, and everyone talks about it as much as sport. There is just so much music, it’s totally huge. Australia has so many great musicians, and cause there is not as much support it doesn’t get taken as seriously by the public. It’s too record company driven, and I think the people need to take control of the situation, and say, lets get this music out, lets make some noise, and lets make the people know we’re here. Because Oz is a wealth of talent, and I’d love to see it shine so much more. It is a small country, that is isolated from the rest of the world, but anyone who uses that as an excuse is a fool. Let’s not be afraid of our art, take it a bit more seriously and not be so down on our art. It’s great, and it should be respected. I think the interest can come back to oz as a country. I reckon it’ll happen.”
It’s about time for a new album. When’s that happening?
“Yep, we’ve been working on it for about a year or two now. We’ve got about three quarters written. We are staying in this mad warehouse over here, and it’s been great for our experimental side. We have heaps of jams, and are recording them. Hopefully we are recording later this year, back in Australia. Don’t know where yet, maybe Melbourne, maybe up north, and definitely with an Australian producer.”
What do you see the future holding for you?
“Just keep writing music, help out some other bands, buy a studio, record some people, have fun, keep doing crazy stuff, and help the nurturing spirit between bands. A few more albums, and we’ll see how it all goes from there… I think we’re doing Livid this year, that’s always something to look forward too. Brisbane rocks!”
