While some have already pigeonholed electronica sensation Tim & Jean into the MGMT and Passion Pit box, one half of the duo, Jean Capotorto, claims critics are getting a little ahead of themselves.
While some have already pigeonholed electronica sensation Tim & Jean into the MGMT and Passion Pit box, one half of the duo, Jean Capotorto, claims critics are getting a little ahead of themselves. To prove them wrong, the pair are currently planning a brand new album which is set to surprise both the nay-sayers and the fans alike.
“We’ve been sitting on this album [Like What] since October 2009,” states Capotorto. “We’ve been very stoked to finally get it out there but in the meantime we’ve come up with so much new material. We literally have not been able to stop ourselves from writing for the last year or so, and we’ve definitely moved on from the stuff you hear on this album. The new tracks still have electronic elements – but it’s a totally different vibe. Musically we’ve been jamming, which means the songs sound heaps more organic. When we wrote our first tracks off this album it was just basically me sitting in my bedroom and doing them on the computer. This time we’ve been writing as a band and for that reason alone, the songs sound very different.”
Not that Tim & Jean are intentionally distancing themselves from what they sprung on us with Like What, as Capotorto insists. The fact of the matter is that at the very tender age of 17 and 20, the boys are quickly developing their sound and finding that other directions are taking their fancy almost on a daily basis.
“My favourite track is still definitely Veronika in every way,” enthuses Capotorto. “One of the reasons is because I get to play the guitar live, and I’m actually really a guitarist at heart, so I get to do what I love doing the most when we play that track. To be honest, I’m just so stoked that we even get to do our own headlining tour, that’s the kind of stuff that you can only ever picture as a best case scenario. We’re probably more excited about this tour than we were for the album. We’ve done a big tour like this before but it was with Art Vs Science and that took us to regional places too, which was cool. Still, your own headliner, that’s going to be much more fun.”
They’ve certainly done their fair share of traveling so far, however. As Capotorto recalls, after their 2009 single Come Around was unearthed by Triple J, the next thing the lads knew was they were flying halfway across the globe to meet industry bigwigs in the U.S. Major labels were proposing record deals, promoters offering shows, and bloggers talking the duo up as one of the most exciting bands of the year. It was a crazy time for Tim & Jean, indeed.
“Outside of Australia, we’ve only ever been to the ‘States to play some shows, though they were just showcases,” explains Capotorto. “We also mixed the record there last July but I’m not sure about our actually fan-base over there. After we got picked up by Triple J, there was a ton of people – management and labels – getting in touch with us like crazy. At the time we just considered ourselves lucky enough to even get some airplay on Triple J. After we spoke to all these people, we realised that maybe we should write some more tracks and take all this interest a bit more seriously than we were. We were just hanging out and having fun before that, and that’s still where it’s at for us, but we treat this much more seriously now. I just don’t ever want to become too business-like.”
If the wild on-stage antics are anything to go by, that’s not about to happen anytime soon for this young duo. Rowdy and enigmatic at the same time, Tim & Jean in a live setting is one hell of a rock ’n’ roll party that leaves tongues wagging long after the show is over.
“I don’t mind watching a band, but when they’re just standing there, it’s so boring,” laughs Capotorto. “We just try to have as much fun as we can between ourselves on the stage. It doesn’t matter how many people stick around for it and watch, they can point their finger at us or whatever. But when we’re playing live we’ve got some other guys with us, so you’re actually seeing a full band. We’re just idiots up on the stage, it’s kind of hard not to be. There’s definitely a bond between me and Tim because we’ve known each other for a while now. I met him through mates and I always used to see him in the local music scene until we ran into each other in town one day and decided to try making a track together. I’d been producing in my bedroom and messing around with music since I was 13 years old, so I sort of knew what I was doing. If it sounded alright, then it must have been good.”
A simple enough philosophy, and one that clearly continues to work for the duo today. With Canadian and American dates also coming up after the Australian headliner, Capotorto claims the thought of making a follow-up album is what gets him excited the most at this point.
“I’m not sure who we would work with next time around but there are definitely some things that I think we would approach a bit differently,” claims Capotorto. “That’s just inevitable though, isn’t it? When you’re doing everything on your own, you’re bound to make some mistakes or have some things you’d do differently next time, it’s just a part of learning. For the most part I think we’ll work on our own again on the next album. It just feels right and it feels the most comfortable. Having me and Tim together, that’s enough to bounce off ideas on one another. It’s worked for us so far, but we’ll see.”
TIM & JEAN’S debut album Like What is out now through Universal and they’ll be celebrating at the Toff In Town with a special set on Saturday April 16 and will also be making an appearance at the Groovin’ The Moo festival on May 14. Check out myspace.com/wearetimandjean for more info and dates.
