Why The Outdoor Type Needs A Stern Producer

"I've always felt attracted to rough, vibey records," says singer-songwriter Zack Buchanan, of Sydney's indie-rock outfit The Outdoor Type. "I find it's difficult to get anything meaningful across if the music is too plastic - in my music anyway." Although he does add, "I'm a bit of an obsessive perfectionist, so it takes a stern producer to keep my fingers off the AutoTune button." The sentiment goes some way to explaining how the band got its name: "I conceived the project in 2014 after hearing The Outdoor Type by '90s Sydney band, Smudge." 

"It takes a stern producer to keep my fingers off the AutoTune button."

And it didn't take long for Buchanan to get things rolling from there. "I then recorded the debut EP [2015's self-titled release] with Colin Leadbetter [Whitley], put a band together and have since recorded two new singles, signed with North American label Nettwerk and signed a management deal with Wonderlick," he confirms.

That leads us to The Outdoor Type's latest single, Rumination, which was "recorded with John Castle at his home studio in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne", explains Buchanan. "It was tracked fairly quickly over the span of two days. It was then mixed by Steven Schram (San Cisco, Paul Kelly) about eight months later."

Although Buchanan says it's "sort of a stand-alone track", he is working towards an album. "But that may not be out for a little while yet." There wasn't anything in particular 'inspiring' him, but Buchanan clarifies, "There were plenty of things weighing on my mind at the time. Nothing too drastic, just your classic mid-20s drama.

"Rumination's arrangement and vibe was always sort of ambiguous. To be honest, I really owe it to John for pointing the song in the right musical direction."