“When we did [2014 album] The General Project we used Albini’s Steinway, but the problem with it is that because it’s old, you have to service it or replace it,” Halloran says. The classically trained Boyle wasn’t comfortable with the sound of Albini’s aging piano, so Halloran arranged through Albini’s studio manager for the delivery of a new piano. Albini initially displayed no emotion at the sight of the new piano, but during the producer’s recent visit to Australia he made a surprise announcement to Boyle.
“He said to Steve, ‘You’ll be pleased to know I got rid of that piano and I’ve got two new ones’,” Halloran laughs. “So that was a real note of confirmation.”
Halloran started 2015 living in New York, where he’d been based for the past few years, dividing his time between writing and playing music, exploring his literary interests and occasionally indulging his academic pursuits. The latter involved a particular focus on the long-time impact of slavery on the African American population.
But despite having endured the New York cold previously, this winter hit Halloran particularly hard, causing him to break out in cold hives that covered his stomach and thighs. Realising he needed a warmer climate, Halloran packed his bags for Mexico, spending three months in a Mayan village on the Yucatán Peninsula down in the south east corner of the country. “It was really great down there,” he says. “Just hanging out on the beach, practising my pretty limited Spanish.”
In May Halloran returned to the States, heading to Chicago to put the finishing touches on Phantom. He says he felt an affinity with the precision and discipline at the heart of Albini’s style.
“What he does is old, old school, and if you’re prepared to follow his lead, which we were, it works out perfectly,” Halloran says. “To my mind you can summarise it in three techniques: one is the choice of the rooms – his recording room is beautiful, and his drum kit is suspended so it’s got a blanket of air underneath it; two, it’s the choice of microphones that he’s got – he’s got some beautiful vintage microphones; and three, it’s the placement, where he places the microphones. Everything else is just recorded straight.”
Albini even had the ideal setup to record Boyle’s violin parts. “He’d spent ten years coming up with this perfect setup to record violin, and of course it was fantastic,” Halloran says.
In contrast to The General Project, which featured a full band, Phantom is more stripped back, with a three-piece lineup consisting of Halloran, Boyle and drummer Tim O’Shannassy. “Everything for me comes from the point of inspiration for the song,” says Halloran. “The General Project was more rock, more in your face, but the material for Phantom is more lo-fi, more mellow, more contemplative. And it leant itself to a three-piece as well – there’s a real openness to it. But when you listen to it, it doesn’t sound like a three-piece.”
After finishing and releasing Phantom, Halloran travelled to Europe to play some shows in France and Spain with O’Shannassy and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Watson. Upon returning to the States, he realised he’d had enough of New York and returned to his beach hideaway in Mexico. For the time being, however, Halloran is in Australia to visit friends and family, and to play a few shows. From there, he’ll return to Mexico to continue his path of musical and personal evolution.
“It’s important for me to grow musically. I’m in a process of discovery, which I think is a good thing as an artist.”
