The Electorate originally formed as school kids with a love of melody, contortion and the energy of skewed pop. They played as The Templebears, kicking around the traps and releasing EPs but as they prepared to record their debut, they splintered. The individual members went off to play in bands like Big Heavy Stuff, The Apartments, Knievel, Atticus, Reality Instructors, Imperial Broads. They re-assembled for a one off gig and got sucked back into the universe their songs had created, and set about recording the album they were always meant to make.
"If I Knew" is the debut single from The Electorate, released Friday 15th May and taken from their forthcoming LP "You Don't Have Time To Stay Lost".
Tomatrax caught up with Nick Kennedy to ask a few questions.
Where did the name The Electorate come from?
There was an election on when we were mixing the album, and when we decided to change our name. It seemed that moniker we settled on came up wherever you turned, so in that regard it was something in the forefront of literally everyone's mind. Which is what you want, right?
The band initially formed at school before you all went off into different bands, what prompted the initial reunion?
Just good timing really. It certainly wasn't something that was ever off the table as we've always been in each other's lives in one form or another. A benefit for a good cause sealed the deal for us.
You were also planning on releasing a debut album before going different ways, did any of the songs you wrote at the time make it onto your forthcoming album?
About a third of the songs survive almost as-is, a third are rearranged and updated, a third are completely fresh pointing the way forward.
You recorded 10 of the album's songs over a weekend, how did you manage to get it done that quickly?
Well, Zen Arcade was recorded AND mixed in 3 so we're actually a little behind the eight ball!
Where did the album title You don't have time to stay lost come from?
Haruki Murakami's 1995 novel "The Wind-up Bird Chronicle" but it also seemed to fit the urgency of the recording and the general temperament of us as individuals.
What was the inspiration behind having footage of a Mexican bus ride and kids playing on the south coast of NSW in the video of If I knew?
We needed some visual content for our first single and charged our very own, ex- tremely talented Josh, a photographer by trade, to try his hand at coming up with the goods. The very atmospheric footage is from some holidays he took with family
How will the rest of the album compare with 'If I knew'?
Our work ethic involves not repeating ourselves - it's an unspoken manifesto - so the album has a range of dynamics, but it's always us in the drivers seat.
Do you ever listen to your own music?
We do, but we're all voracious listeners so it's never our primary source!
What other music do you listen to?
New music, all the time, all different styles. Never let anyone tell you there's no good new music. There ALWAYS is! My top 5 at the moment:
Wire "Mind Hive"
A Girl Called Eddy "Been Around"
Sachet "Nets"
Ezrat "Carousel"
Lee Ranaldo and Raul Refree "Names Of North End Women"
Eliot has been listening to Brisbane Singer Songwriter Clea.
Josh has just discovered The Beths but before that was in a listening loop of Crepes, Kevin Morby and Phoebe Bridgers.
What do you have planned once the album is out?
We'll be doing everything we can to get it into people's ears. If we can actually get to play live - all the better.
The Electorate release "If I Knew" on Friday 15th May on Apple Music, Spotify and is distributed by MGM and found here. It's the first single from The Electorate's forthcoming debut LP, "You Don't Have Time To Stay Lost".
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