“It’s pretty straightforward,” explains Liam. “We’d been friends for years. We all actually went to school together. And music became an important part of our lives because we grew up in a country town and boredom drew our attention to it; that’s why it appeals. We’d all been into instruments and stuff – but there was nothing else to do but come around to each others places and jam and get drunk and play instruments!”
Indeed, from there, things got serious. The boys went to college after getting into the music revolution early on. “We found it fascinating and we couldn’t believe we could record ourselves. It was all pretty new to us,” chimes Liam. Of course, as the club music scene became more and more prominent, the lads found themselves old enough to get into clubs – and it was drum and bass that was the closest thing to their self-described ‘rock-roots background’.
“We were into the Seattle grunge scene: Rage Against The Machine, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains – it was the closest thing at the time to our own gigs today,” explains Liam. “Then we went to a few house nights and we found it was a bit too cool for school. There was a great mix of people, but it wasn’t easy going. Other scenes were still vibrant and easy going places to be.”
That then led the lads into the studio because they were having problems with their respective bands at the time. So the catalyst in place, they decided that it was just going to be the three of them, rock solid. And with partners in crime Dan Arnold and Leon Harris, The Qemists were born.
In more recent times, the boys have been on tour with their live show for about six months as well as keeping busy on the production front. “During the small gaps between shows, we’ve been doing bits and pieces. We’ve also been writing music for computer games for E.A – there is a snowboard game that is going to have a unique soundtrack coming out!” laughs Liam.
More importantly though, the crew has been preparing a body of work that will soon become their third album. “That’s in full operation and as of next week we’re back on the road for a bit and then it’s back into the studio. There will be some new stuff from us coming in the underground sometime early next year, so look out for that.”
So for those that might not be in bed with The Qemists sound, expect some tough and pretty heavy beats that are designed for one thing only – to make the dance floor move. “For us, musically it can depend on the track in a way; when we produce, some tracks are an extension of the dance floor and some are album-led where you get to go off on a tangent. We’re not always about doing the music we play in clubs, but we’re also not about experimenting too much either. There has to be that balance.”
More and more, he sees the lines between genres blurring because what artists can play on the dance floor now is less restricted. Get to a gig and you’ll get dubstep, drum step, electro and drum and bass, all in the same evening. These days, the kids aren’t just into one genre, they’re happy to follow and be guided. That’s why the boys aren’t too worried about what’s going to be on the next record.
“For now, we’re just watching which unique sounds are out there. That is like the influence and inspiration for us. We find what can be linked to our music and us; in fact, there is so much music out there. I got 60 tunes sent to me last week and of those, just five were sounding different. The others sounded like the same person made them! So we think, ‘Let’s make the music we make.’ From there it’s just about what’s important to us. We want to stand out!” says Liam.
As for the tour, Liam will be representing solo and doing a DJ show. “The DJ side of things for us is a little different from the live show; we have a road show of about eight people when we play live – singers and samplers, a drummer and all sorts of things from laptops and controllers to keyboards. It’s a complicated setup but when we jam together, it makes for some really good shows.”
Finally, Liam outlines his vision for his Australian tour. Despite him performing solo, he is keen to bring as much new music with him as possible. “There is a bit of a resurgence in the scene at the moment and we’ve sort of designed a lot of new shows for Australia with unreleased new tracks that he wants to test out. I just want to create the best show possible. It’s my first time out in Australia.” And from that, one can only surmise that first impressions make for lasting impressions.
BY RK
