Total Trouble

People have been really forthcoming with their praise,” begins Orlando Higginbottom on the resoundingly positive feedback his debut album under the Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs moniker has been receiving since its release earlier this year. “And what I didn't realise when I was writing it, was I kind of insulate myself quite a lot, and I think that was the right thing. The only opinion I cared about when I was writing the album was my own. I wanted it to sound good to me and not to anyone else and I was kind of still in that mindset when it came out.”

Still, it's always nice when people actually dig what you're doing. “When people started Tweeting me and on Facebook and saying that they liked it, I didn't really realise how much I needed to hear that, and it was so good to hear,” Higginbottom tells honestly. “It was so nice for people to take the time to tell me they liked the record, and so yeah, it was really special actually, and it still is. I don't feel like it's very much the nature of today's world for people to take the time to compliment others, so I'm always very honoured.”

Indeed Trouble is as refreshing a dance album as we've heard for some time. Where many get lost in too much filler and not enough killer, Higginbottom's energetic take on electro is littered with plenty of known bangers (Household Goods, Tapes & Money), tied together with hidden gems like Your Love and Closer. While some of the tracks were previously released in EP form, Higginbottom still had to tie them altogether to form a cohesive collection. “I was thinking of that track listing the whole time I was writing. I knew which tracks from my old EPs would be on there as well and as I was building the album I was kind of playing around a lot with how those tracks would go.

“And you know, in the last two months, I wrote three new tracks to almost try and fit in with that vibe of the album, almost things that I needed the album to have. I took out a few other ones that won't come out now just because they didn't sit quite right on the record. So there was a bit of thought about how they were sitting on the record as a whole.” The producer was also very conscious of the fact that in today's digital music world, a lot of people aren't going to buy a whole album. “But I kind of recognised that a lot of people won't ever listen to it in one sitting, it's not really the way that people listen to music now, let alone an album that's nearly an hour long. It wasn't the most important thing to me.”

And it's here you begin to see that not only is Higginbottom an incredibly talented producer, he's also got a pretty smart head on his – usually weirdly costume-adorned – shoulders. “I understand why people, especially in dance and increasingly pop music, are happier with EPs and singles. You can just focus on one track. The more focus you put on one track the more people are going to hear it, love it and buy it. And with an album you have a real challenge to make people interested in an hour worth of music. But I think that challenge is really important, that challenge pushes you forward and makes you think about what you are writing and why you are writing it. I would recommend it really.”

While the album does feature a bunch of high-energy, fun and rave-worthy numbers, the lyrical content quite often takes the opposite route; having a darker, often at times sad, quality. It's a dichotomy that Higginbottom enjoys. “I think that is something that runs strongly in dance music, in fact I think it runs strongly in all pop music. It's very hard to write a piece of music that has melody and harmony and is only positive I think you'll find that – not positive, but happy is the word – most melodic music has a kind of sadness to it. I know that's broad and a very big statement to make but within the last eight years, even the most joyful disco has had this tinge of melancholy to it. And I really like that, I think that's really beautiful. So I guess I accidentally focussed in on the sadder part, whilst keeping the energy up. But it was just something that happened and I'm fine with it.”

To go along with the bombastic name Higginbottom has given himself comes the crazy outfits, headdresses and live show featuring dancing girls, dinosaur outfits and more crazy headgear. Likewise with the method of release, the Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs live experience is one that's very considered. The producer has no plans on a Guetta-esque show, although given the opportunity he's always thinking about expansion. “Honestly, every day I think of something I would really like to do for the live show and it's just some weird idea. I'm not going to say it because I want to keep them and use them. They would cost me so much money but I hope that one day I can have at least one big show where I can really have fun, because calling it Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and dressing up wasn't the only weird thing I wanted to do.

“There are so many weird ideas I wanted to put into effect but we'll see, we'll see.” In the meantime, it's about finding that balance between the spectacle and the music, and it's a fine line he's all too aware of. “I've always avoided having big LCD screens and I've never wanted to have that. I've found the DJing disappears, and I'm not strictly DJing at all, I'm singing and playing and performing, but I want the audience to feel like I'm there and I'm with them and yeah, I find it strange. But I do understand why people are going mad for it.

“It's basically in America where kids are going crazy for a DJ with a big production and it's really frightening. I've seen footage of Skrillex's show and it seems like it's fucking crazy, but whatever you think about his music, that looks fun. If you were an 18 year-old kid, that looks like the shit! I understand it, I just don't want to do it like that.” And when it comes to expanding into a more live band-type feel, it's something he's not overly concerned with at the moment. “I feel like maybe there might be a case for pulling together a band. I don't see that many dance acts that I like that pull off a live band. There's a few that really fucking smash it, but I think that definitely getting a few more musicians and singers and performers on stage is definitely an option. But we'll just see how it goes.”

For now, though, Higginbottom's bringing a slightly downscaled version of his live show to Oxford Art Factory in what will be his Australian debut, before the full kit and caboose for the Falls and Southbound festivals. However, with his debut album already a few months old, Higginbottom really has one eye on record number two. “I fucking can't wait to get back into the studio man... definitely, definitely can't wait to get back in the studio.”