A few weeks prior to the release of Psychedelicatessen, the band staged a low-key launch at Byron Bay venue The Northern. “The Northern was huge,” says George. “We didn’t advertise it as much as we normally would have. We packed 600 people in there and I reckon there would’ve easily been 400 people out the front waiting to get in. It was a really cool feeling given that we hadn’t even released the album yet. [It was] a great start to what is going to be an epic tour.”
In the lead up to its release, the band have been quite vocal about the fact that Psychedelicatessen is a concept record. A conceptual framework can sometimes be a constraining factor, but the album’s brimming with different ideas. As odd as it sounds, this release was actually 40 years in the making, as George explains.
“We teamed up with Russell Guy, and he was a broadcaster on Double J back in 1978. He hosted a radio play called What’s Rangoon To You Is Grafton To Me, and I heard this play four or five years ago on a car trip and I loved it so much that we started to sample bits of it. It took a few years to develop into the album you hear today, but we are really proud of it and think it’s the most definitive thing that we have ever done.”
Like many bands before them, Tijuana Cartel grew out of a musical bond that was established while the members were in high school. However, they’ve since massively expanded their horizons.
“We went and studied in India for a year and it is throughout all these worldly experiences that we try and bring through to our music now,” says George. “We were working in the Marriot Hotel behind the bar and were playing background music to where the Bollywood stars would hang out. It was a crazy time, and I got to study the sitar for a while, which was cool.”
One of Tijuana Cartel’s main influences is the British electronica duo, The Chemical Brothers. George was instantly drawn to them upon hearing their first album, 1995’s Exit Planet Dust. “What I love about their music is that there is this constant feeling of adrenalin throughout their tracks,” he says. “Every song has a feeling and they are always trying to push the boundaries. This is a similar concept that we have tried to do with our music since the beginning. If you haven’t heard of Tijuana Cartel, start with Psychedelicatessen. It has many different flavours to it and encapsulates our career in an album.”
Tijuana Cartel will launch Psychedelicatessen in Melbourne next Friday, and George is full of excitement for the gig. It marks the first time Tijuana Cartel have played at Max Watt’s, and if the band’s live reputation is anything to by, it’s set to be a beauty.
“We are really working on perfecting our live show and it’s going to be a visual experience like no other. We may have some funky costumes like Sgt. Pepper, so come on down for what will be one of the biggest parties of the year.”
BY TEX MILLER
