“It’s a very percussive record, there’s lots of big drums, it’s quite Moroccan-inspired musically,” Hawk says. “Instrumentation-wise, we’ve definitely gone for something much more experimental, it’s still organic, but there were a whole lot more ideas to run with. I suppose it’s what happens when you’re not working on your own and you actually have a band who contribute their own ideas. You’re going to get two completely different results working solo and working with a bunch of people, aren’t you? Most of these songs were written with the band and born out of rehearsing a lot and playing gigs, it’s been a wild and interesting outcome. This album is very much inspired by world music, it sounds like world music. My first album was a solo record, it was just as Jimmy Hawk, so that’s why it was so low-key. The songs were also ballads and very raw and the entire thing had been done pretty much live and recorded on the day. The guys who were on the record were just there to interpret the songs and help me finish the album. You’d never hear that kind of record again because it’s something that could never be repeated – it was extremely impromptu!”
It’s also the kind of record perhaps best experienced with the lights dimmed and a loved one by your side, suggests Hawk cheekily. Describing his debut album as a collection of songs born out of turmoil and emotional drainage, this time around Hawk says fans are in for quite a contrast in both content and vibe.
“I see the first record as a break up record and this one as more of a make-out record,” he laughs. “When you put this record on, you feel like you want to get romantic, rather than feel upset and depressed. You just want to dim the lights and… well you know! I guess it’s just a natural thing that happens after you go through a long period of turmoil – after a while you just feel drained and over it and you want to move on. There’s only so much you can handle before you kind of snap and just think enough is enough, I’m sick of wallowing in this and reliving it every day. There was a lot of partying going on when these new songs were written, it’s the ultimate way to celebrate by expressing yourself romantically. The vibe of the album is very primal. The last record was a bit of a healing process too, though, but you know, once you finally heal you want to party and get back out there and just have a good time, right?”
And that’s what Hawk plans to do in the coming months following the launch of the new album – claiming he is taking The Endless Party to Los Angeles, California with him. As long as they “stay away from the crack,” all should be fine, he jokes. As for Hawk himself, the singer claims he’s very much looking forward to making a return to the place that inspired his debut ‘Echo Park’.
“With the first record, a lot of the songs were written in LA – actually, about 80 percent of it was written over there but then recorded in Melbourne,” Hawk explains. “In terms of spending time in LA, it’s very heavily influenced by the west coast revival thing, the whole Neil Young revival stuff and all the great musicians that came from LA. You just naturally can’t help but be influenced by that yourself, no matter how hard you might try to resists it – it’s just everywhere. For me, I wanted to go there to get a bit of a different reality perspective. I was so sick of being in the same circles and doing the same routine. I know some people pack up and go to Sydney or Melbourne, but I just needed a much bigger culture shock than that! I just needed to get back to basics and try living out of a suitcase with nothing else but a simple guitar and that was that! I was just writing records while I was on the road and meeting new people, and it was a great experience. Taking the band over there should be okay, just as long as they stay away from the crack! Nah, I think they’re going to love it, but it could go either way, I guess. It could be the best thing to happen to this band or it could be the catalyst for something disastrous. That’s a part of the gamble!”
