You’d be hard pressed in this day and age to find a musician as steeped in artisanship as Tij Priddle, aka the increasingly buzzworthy Boy In A Box. Shit, the dude actually builds his own music studios.
You’d be hard pressed in this day and age to find a musician as steeped in artisanship as Tij Priddle, aka the increasingly buzzworthy Boy In A Box. Shit, the dude actually builds his own music studios. It was in this capacity which the wise move down to Melbourne from New South Wales’ central coast was inspired, “I came down to Melbourne for building, and just to get away from music I suppose,” Tij laughs, “probably the worst place to come if you want to get away from music.”
After finding studio-building work with the man who would eventually become Boy In A Box’s manager, music creation wasn’t exactly a high priority. “I left my previous band (indie-rock outfit The Inheritors) up in Sydney, and had no intentions of starting a band or anything when I got here,” Tij states. “I was making a few demos by myself, but that’s about it.”
That was until the opportunity arose to provide a song to soundtrack this year’s Blue September cancer awareness campaign, a subject all too close to Tij’s heart. “My father passed away in February,” he says, “so it was a chance to pay a fitting tribute in a way.” The decision to don the Boy In A Box moniker and take music performance to the next level didn’t come until some time after the initial recording. “At first I figured that song was more of a one off, but about a month later I thought maybe it’s time to get back to writing and performing.”
The period of time since then has seen the catchy-as-hell track Moon Comes Up explode in popularity, copping a right royal flogging on the Triple J airwaves, “When I was writing that, I dunno, it just came out. I never try to write a big chorus like that, it’s just organic I suppose,” he muses. “I can never write a song just by sitting down with a guitar; I’d say it works best when I just go somewhere quiet with a cigarette and try to work it all out in my head.”
The end result calls to mind to classic era of the big-band sound, “Yeah it ending up sounding like my version of soul music, a little bit like the Blues Brothers or something I’d say,” Tij explains with a chuckle.
Capitalising on the track’s immense popularity, Boy In A Box hit the studio for some fairly intensive recording sessions. “Last couple of months I’ve been in the studio working on the EP, which has been pretty full-on. I think it was five weeks straight with only a day’s break.” We should expect the fruits of the labour sometime in early 2011, and while Moon Comes Up will most definitely feature, it’s not necessarily indicative of the sound of the EP as a whole, “
There’s been a wide range of influences on the new songs, a lot of blues and punk I suppose – I grew up on a lot of punk but went off it a bit as I grew up,” he reminisces. “Now I’m back listening to all that proper punk, stuff like The Ramones, The Clash, not so much Sex Pistols, but lots of high energy music. Stuff like Springsteen as well.” Further inspiration comes from a rather surprising source, “I’d day what I’ve been listening to most these days is a compilation called Woody’s Winters, which brings together most of the soundtracks to Woody Allen’s movies,” he states. “It’s a pretty awesome record.”
The release of Moon Comes Up coincides nicely with Australia’s newfound infatuation and respect for a smarter strain of pop music, “Well there was a time recently when there was this strong rejection of pop, when I think pop is one of the greatest things in the world,” he proclaims. “I always try to put those pop sensibilities of melody and chorus into my music.” Though it’s clear Boy In A Box aren’t trying to emulate the sound of the recent wave of indie-pop darlings, “I wouldn’t compare myself to the likes of Washington,” he explains, “I’d say I’m aiming to do something different without trying to sound different – just doing my own thing I suppose.”
The anticipation for the maiden Boy In A Box live performance rides high, a fact not lost on frontman Tij, “Yeah we’re rehearsing pretty much non-stop over the coming weekend, then another full day just before the show.” It’s safe to say we can expect to see more shows around the many venues of old Melbourne town as the band’s profile continues its upward trajectory, with Tij finding plenty of comfort in his new surrounds. “Melbourne’s amazing, I came here when I was 16 and thought, ‘Fuck, I really have to move down here one day,’ I mean, Sydney just doesn’t stand up to it.” Damn straight.
BOY IN A BOX launch Moon Comes Up with a huge show at The Grace Darling Hotel tonight, Wednesday November 17. Tickets on the door, don’t miss out.
