Big Winter have been playing together for about a year and a half but anticipating the release of their new EP, felt it was time to re-launch themselves. “We started as a three piece, really small acoustic-folky outfit. We picked up a drummer and a bass player and it changed our sound a bit. [It] sounded like a different project. We thought we’d give it a bit of a re-brand, a relaunch, and the new name suited us,” said Nawaz. The current lineup consists of acoustic guitar, piano/keyboards, violin, bass and drums/percussion. Nawaz was excited to say that a guest cellist will join them for their launch show.
“Barb (violinist) went away to Canada for a month, so we needed to get someone to fill in but couldn’t find another violin player. We asked Andrew if he wanted to play for us, and he was happy to do it. We had so much fun that he wants to stick around for a while, so we’re gunna keep him in the band as long as possible (laughs). The cello is amazing, it’s such an acoustically rich instrument.”
The band entered this year with the idea of creating an EP, and spent six months writing and rehearsing new material together. Their songwriting process was extensive, with a steady focus on instrumentation and musical fullness. Nawaz cites a range of personal influences, including The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, Fleet Foxes and Coldplay. Many of these are identifiable in Big Winter’s sound: particularly the stripped acoustic tone and sweet harmonies of Fleet Foxes.
Once a track list was finalised and pre-recordings were completed in home studios, the band spent a solid two-week period recording and mixing at Atlantis Studio in Port Melbourne under the keen ears of Dave McCluney. Nawaz looks back on the experience fondly.
“He’s just the dude. He’s got such a good method of working. He’ll get you in there, know how to set you up, make sure you’re comfortable […] it was a really cool process.” McCluney took care of the final mix at Atlantis, before the capable hands of Adam Dempsey at Deluxe Mastering mastered the EP. These credits alone make the release worth a listen – McCluney has recorded a myriad of artists including Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and Dempsey boasts nearly 20 years of professional mastering experience.
Nawaz is pleased with the finished product, and offered reflection on how Big Winter’s latest effort compares to 2011’s release Sorrow Down. “It’s definitely going the very full-band approach. It’s richer…maybe more complex. There’s more drive behind it with percussion and it’s a fuller sound. When we got a bass player and drummer we didn’t just want to fill it up with bass and percussion, we wanted to put some really complex parts in it. We had quite an auditioning process for drummers, and then Daniel came along and just blew us away with his musicality. It’s definitely a good mix.”
Lyrically the release deals with a number of themes, from the frightening and ominous to the light and uplifting. Nawaz describes the lyrical content as such: “It takes a lot from news and articles and the media. The title track Simple Ideas is about being whisked away by people in the night and done away with. It’s very dark. On the other hand Ocean Daughter is one of the brighter tracks…they all have stories. It’s the new sort of style we’re going for: having a story; having a narrative.”
Big Winter will be supported by local acts The Melissa Main Band, Broken Splendour, and Polo Club for their launch show. Nawaz can’t say enough good things about the supports, and is looking forward to the evening: “[Melissa Main] she’s a fantastic musician, I really love her music. Last time we played with her she had a smaller lineup, this time she’s got her full band […] Broken splendour plays around our local pub in Footscray. We played with him there, he’s got a beautiful style, fantastic guitar playing. He should be really cool. Polo Club will be doing a DJ set after our show; they’re an awesome band too. It should be really, really lovely.”
Big Winter will be active in the months following their EP release. “We’re definitely going to hit the ground running,” states Nawaz. With a swag of new music already lined up for another record, the band is pushing forward steadily, and are looking forward.
“We don’t want too much of a gap between launches ‘cause it’s such a long process. We’re just going to basically launch this and start thinking about the next one.”
BY JEREMY MILLAR
