Northern Transmissions: The debut record is on the way. You guys wrote this record virtually, not in person, yeah?

Harry Hanson: Well, we get together in person, but it’s normally in twos. Two of us will have an idea, and then we’ll pass it around to the rest. The only time we actually play all together is when we’re learning the songs to go and play them live. We’re like our own cover band, really. It’s kind of an odd way [to work], but it works for us. When we go in the studio, the drums go on last, so up until then it’s all MIDI drums. It seems to be doing us alright.

NT: Do you think that’s how the songwriting process will always work within the band, or do you see that shifting soon?

HH: I think it’s something we’re definitely up for exploring! Like, actually just getting in a room for a week together and seeing how it goes. We know that system works for us, but it might not be there permanently. We’re up for trying, for sure.

NT: There are four synth players in the band. Is there a way you stop two people from playing the same part, or do you try to come up with different parts for each person?

HH: When we first started doing stuff, we weren’t thinking about playing live; it was very much like “how many layers could we possibly put on this one part of the song?” And then, we were like, “What the fuck are we doing here? This is just ridiculous. Too many synthesizers, too many parts.” So now, when we write songs, and you’re putting a synth part on, it has to actually be doing something and not just there so you don’t look awkward on stage. As long as it’s benefiting the song, then yeah. There are quite a lot of songs where people do play the same part, but it’s either higher up, doubling up, or pushing the bass a bit more. As we’ve gone along with it, everyone seems to have their own little corner of what they need to be doing.

NT: Gotcha. So, people are still playing the same part, but they’re making it unique in their own way?

HH: Yeah, or, like Greg (Lonsdale), for example, will just be making a bunch of weird noises, and that’s essential to our music.

NT: When you started doing Adult DVD, you said that you wanted “a million synth players” in the band, and that’s maybe how you guys ended up with six people in the band. Was there ever a point where it almost stayed smaller?

HH: Nah, not really. We always wanted to have a live drummer. I don’t think you can really beat going and watching a live band, and someone’s just smashing the shit out of the drum kit with screaming guitars and bass. As much as we like dance music, we didn’t wanna lose that as well. It felt natural to add all the people that are in the band now; truthfully, financially, it’s probably the worst decision ever to have six people in a band in the current state of the industry. I wouldn’t change it; it works for us and people like coming to watch it live. I think the more people on stage, the more the audience is interested in it.

NT: Do you think that contributes to the energy when you guys perform?

HH: Yeah, I think it’s quite a thing to watch, isn’t it? There are a million cables and synthesizers and six people dancing on stage. The crowd will be more likely to get into it.

NT: With the debut, were there any songs that had to “be fought for”? Any that almost got cut?

HH: Yeah, three songs didn’t make the record, but all of us agreed that those songs weren’t strong enough, and that’s because we tried them out live. A lot of the album was based on trying the songs live and seeing how they felt; we like playing live so much, we wanna play the album live as much as we can. The thing that we argued the most about was the track listing, but we all wanted the actual tracks on the record. That was nice; there was no one saying “I hate that song”.

NT: Was it hard to get the live energy onto record without having a crowd to help carry it?

HH: The songs sound good with the electronic drums on, but as soon as we go into the studio and Johnny (Newell) puts his drum parts on, it sounds like it does live cause he has such a way with playing drums that is integral to our sound. They have that pounding energy. It’s all in the drums, and live, that comes across as well.

NT: The album lyrically seems to be a bit darker than the past two EPs. Was that a more deliberate shift, or did that just come about when you guys started writing?

HH: Because it’s our first-ever record and the longest body of work we’ve ever done, it meant that we could write more. I don’t think it was a conscious effort to go into darker places; if any, it was more of an unconscious effort to be even more stupid in what we’re writing about. All our songs are made-up stories; they’re not written from our point of view, or if they are, they’re written about someone in a different way. It just meant we could go into the weirder side of what people are thinking on the internet and go as nuts as we wanted to. With the world being as it is, there’s some darkness to it. It wasn’t conscious; we weren’t trying to do a balance or anything like that.

NT: None of the songs lyrically are about you guys. I was wondering if that ever backfired? Like, you start out writing lyrics as a joke, and maybe end up landing closer to something more real than you guys meant it to be?

HH: Yeah, that’s never really happened, actually, which is surprising cause it’s just me and Greg who do the lyrics. Even if they did get a bit close to home, we’d probably just make up another character to take the focus off that. It feels nicer to write songs that are totally out of our depth and completely someone else’s life. I think that’s what we enjoy most.

NT: Totally.

HH: It’s actually just totally a business plan, so we’ll never run out of ideas.

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