In his capacity as a musician-come-filmmaker, he sounds a little like his uncle, esteemed Australian musician Nick Cave, but he doesn’t fancy you asking about it, thanks very much.
“People are inclined to make comparisons between us, which is fine, and while I very much respect and admire what he does, we’re striving to be original with what we create,” he says. “Sometimes people suggest we go on tour with him… but I just hate the thought of, ‘Nick Cave tours with nephew!’ written up everywhere,” Pitts cringes.
For The Harlots, being original includes the forthcoming unveiling of two singles, Chopin, and Somewhere To Go, as well as a video to accompany the latter track. Their past videos have played with the strange and surreal, the most memorable of which, Got No Soul, features a man going on several dates, all of which fade into oblivion while he pursues – and is only truly satisfied by – the company of a “pint-sized rocking horse.” But the video for Somewhere To Go differs, as wherein the past the band have used many of their actor friends to realise their songs, this time “we feature,” says Pitts, excitedly.
The songs, too, differ from past work, and really “focus on each instrument, without getting on top of each other.” Pitts explains that it was the advice of close friends and the departure and arrival of old and new band members respectively that allowed them to refine their sound.
“Friends generally just tell you you’re good, but it was the really close friends who also alerted us to that fact that we sometimes played on top of each other, and that there was a lot going o,” he says.
The other, more refined single to be revealed, Chopin, has little to do with the Polish composer, but it provides a fine segue into the band’s musical backgrounds. Pitts says it’s relatively balanced between those who were classically trained and those who picked it up later in life, but the balance provides, “interesting perspectives,” when the songwriting takes place.
Of being a mighty six-piece, Pitts says, “It’s a fucking pain to travel with! We don’t even fit in one car!” Has the band ever considered investing in a Tarago, or a vehicle of equal magnitude? “Yeah, we looked briefly at getting a Kia Karnival, but man are they expensive. Also, no one wanted to be responsible for it… People assume things of you when you have a car like that,” he concludes.
Speaking of assumptions, the word ‘charismatic’ seems to be innately tied to Pitts when describing his on stage style, and few reviewers can resist the complimentary adjective. Another of those buzzwords is ‘gyrating,’ and Pitts recalls that this particular choice of dance started one show when his keyboard was placed on the side of the stage, instead of in front of him.
“Suddenly, there was nothing between me and the crowd, and I didn’t want to just stand there, so I started dancing,” he laughs. So is this particular style of dancing a practised art form? “I have actually been caught, by my housemate, practising dancing to my own music ahead of a gig,” he reveals. While only a rare occurrence, when asked if being caught partaking in such a self-indulgent activity could be likened to masturbating, Pitts says, “Well, I’ve been caught doing that, too, and in both cases no-one wants to talk about it after.”
BY IZZY TOLHURST
