Interview :: Noceans

October 26th 2011

 


I love how every mp3 link you click on can be such a lottery – it can be something ordinary or your new favourite band. When I came across 'Late and Sedated' by Adelaide duo Noceans, I had no expectations in mind – and was knocked out by how great this song was. ('Maryland' is another excellent 'gateway' song for getting into Noceans.)

The band comprises two high school students, Jennifer Matthews and Danielle Gibbs, who also run a zine called Grass, which allows them to quiz a lot of bands. They've yet to play a gig but are working out how to adapt their music for the wildcard nature of live shows. You can download their first demo, which features some "proper" songs amid ambient tracks here. And you can find out a little more about the band this way:

FBi: How did you meet?

Danielle: We met in high school, probably year 9, and we both liked the same music. Noceans was a mixture of boredom and musical frustration. We started November/December last year after we'd seen Seekae live, which kind of kicked everything off and motivated us to buy a synth.

First song ever written?

'Camp' was the very first song. We wrote it on a 40 degree day with only one portable fan and every time we needed to record we'd have to turn the fan off. Bad, sweaty nostalgia.

Most unusual sound/instrument you've used in your music?

We've recorded Jen's three-year-old brother screaming/singing/talking, and we've also used his battery-operated toys.

Do you pin up images when recording to help inspire your songs? (Or put up other things in the studio for the same effect?)

We don't really have a studio. We used to record in my 10ft caravan, but now it's just either mine or Jen's bedroom, and we have to wait 'til everyone is asleep so it's quiet… but no, we've never really pinned up pictures or anything.

Unlikeliest thing to influence your music?

A lot of the music that influences us is unlikely. There's a lot of bad pop music from the '90s; everything from Kate Bush to Justin Timberlake. Then there's the Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Rolo Tomassi, Jamie T, Blur, Neon Indian. The idea for 'Late and Sedated' completely evolved from listening to too much Red Hot Chili Peppers, and 'Maryland' came about when I tried to cover a Smashing Pumpkins song and accidentally ended up with that main little riff.

The parental question – does music interfere with your studies?

I don't think the music thing is big enough to interfere with our school work or anything else just yet. But it's definitely more of a priority than school.

Do you think the city you live in affects your music in any way?

Adelaide's never really had a positive affect on the music. There's not a lot of musical diversity here and all of our friends are pretty much into the 'hardcore' scene, so it's left us pretty short for people that are interested in the same music as us.

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