“We weren’t trying to keep the songs the same, if anything we were trying to have a mixture of different genres on there. There’s a lot of really distorted guitar, punk-sounding songs, and then there’s very ’90s, almost R&B, style songs. It’s a really eclectic mix.”
The band chose to sup on the fruits of experimentation and flicked away any boundaries restricting their sound. Josh explains that many of the songs were instigated by the new gear he’s acquired.
“I think for me personally it’s really been the result of having collected a lot of different sorts of instruments that have leant inspiration – to write songs that go down well on different sorts of keyboards and synthesisers and guitars.”
The album’s opening track Beach is an episode in pure pop, which was conceived so they could appropriately implement the exciting new instruments.
“That’s a classic example of a song written because of a keyboard that I bought. Beach especially was our first opportunity to put all of our keyboards into play.”
San Cisco’s writing process is usually collaborative, welcoming input from all four members. Although, rather than directly bouncing ideas off of one another, the songs are cumulatively pieced together.
“Generally I’ll have a musical part, like a riff or some chords, maybe some vocal melody. I tend to not write words; Jordi is more of the wordsmith. I’ll write some music, and maybe even record a whole song without words, and bring it to the band. Then they do their various parts. Jordi will write some words, Scarlett will come up with a drum beat, Nick will add the bass.”
The four friends are not particularly self-conscious when sharing ideas and can speak honestly if they think something isn’t working “I wouldn’t let anything that I don’t like go through. I’m a bit of a control freak in that sense.”
The band uphold certain standards for what becomes a San Cisco song, but this doesn’t mean a specific criterion regulates song construction. Sometimes pursuing unknown tangents allows a song to evolve in a manner that a habitual approach wouldn’t.
“It’s good to really explore the various possibilities of the direction the song could go in. On the other side of that, sometimes you can be going around in circles, chasing your own tail, trying to get something better. In which case it’s probably a good idea to just drop what you’re doing.”
The album was recorded with noteworthy Australian producer Steven Schram (Eagle & The Worm, The Cat Empire), who worked with the band on their two preceding EPs. San Cisco’s harmonious relationship with Schram is evidenced in the endearing personality projected all throughout record. Josh admits that Schram is not afraid to speak up, “he always adds his two cents,” but they generally have the songs well figured before entering the studio, “usually what we bring to the studio doesn’t really get changed a lot.”
The album is released in Australia on the band’s own label Island City Records. Taking release proceedings into their own hands is an ambitious endeavour but, given their past success, staying independent was an obvious decision. “I think we’re at a point now where we are able to put out the record by ourselves in Australia. We’ve gotten this far without having a label in Australia so it makes sense to remain independent.”
In addition to self-releasing the album, the band members are closely involved with the visual artwork. “I designed the record artwork. Me and my friend, we pretty much do all of the artwork stuff. A lot of the merch designs we get friends of ours to draw pictures and we use that.”
This additional area of creative contribution is something Josh really values. “I prefer to have it that way because, as I say, I tend to be a bit of a control freak at times.”
Despite confidence in their independence, San Cisco have no aversion to working with a record company and recently inked an overseas deal with revered US label Fat Possum.
“The reason we signed to a record label was to have people on the other side of the world helping us out where we can’t.”
The band’s experiences playing at New York’s CMJ conference in October confirm their growing popularity in the US. “A lot of people knew the songs, which was cool. It’s kind of weird going to the other side of the planet and watching people, from the stage, singing the songs.”
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
