A bLUNT jESTER: Interview + New EP ‘#’

MusicInterviews

4 Apr

KATIE BROWN - 4 APR 2022

Bustling with a frenetic energy, wry wit and serious talent, Tāmaki act A bLUNT jESTER’s new EP # is a crisp and refreshingly tight three-track treat. On it, 2021’s outrageously excellent ‘Cat Door’ shines in a fresh ‘All My Cats on the Dance Floor’ mix (it’s smokin’), and new singles ‘See You at Burgandys’ and ‘Hey’, featuring Proteins of Magic’s Kelly Sherrod, round out the offering. Rife with layers of chippy beats, buzzing synths and swirling guitars, it’s music that doesn’t take itself too seriously while being at the same time seriously good.

Speaking of the different elements of ‘Hey’, A bLUNT jESTER’s Jay Barnett explains “I'm really into voices that convey darkness or a slightly menacing feel, so I was thrilled Kelly had time to sing on the track and complete the vibe". And a vibe it is indeed: climbing arps, busy drums and dizzying synths provide the background for the spookiness of Kelly’s eerie vocals to cast their spell while the guitars up the ante - it’s cool, it’s clever, and it gets under your skin.

Jay says that ‘ecstatic and wistful’ is the go these days, and that’s precisely what shines through in these offerings: there’s an upbeat and on-point sense of humour embodied in the lyrics and production, accompanied by a wee bit of spook, a hint of New Romantic dreaminess and a whole lot of style. It’s really rather clever. As a rule, favourite tracks stick because there’s something beneath the surface appeal that’s not easy to shake, and such is the case with Jay’s work. Beneath the humour lies a wistfulness born from the necessity of just making it through the ol’ day-to-day, and it’s supremely relatable while being understatedly deadpan, wry and cool.

We had a chat with Jay about the EP and his musical journey thus far (which is pretty great), and you can read all about it and listen to the EP below!

Find A bLUNT jESTER on Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify

KATIE: WHAT’S THE BACK STORY TO A BLUNT JESTER?

Jay: It's partly a result of the pandemic. I'd been making rough recordings for years but as they were all 'drums and guitars' based, they'd just end up sounding like reject KISS demos or nifty shoe-gaze numbers. When the first lockdown happened in 2020, I spent time seriously exploring and working with midi and sequencing to keep myself busy . So finally embracing synthetic sounds meant I could shift gears and try releasing something DYI. Initially what I was doing had an 80's VHS soundtrack/cold wave vibe - I love John Carpenter & Goblin - I released an EP "Mystery Shopper" in August 2020, the title meaning "look at all of us in this supermarket wearing face masks". Musically I felt it was a pretty fair start but I deleted it from Bandcamp and Spotify several months later as I was unhappy with the production. I did re-record and release the title track last year. But yeah anyway, after that early misstep I decided the cold wave/ghost wave genres were limiting and not really my vibe. Ecstatic & Wistful is my thing now. "Breeze" was more of a guitar driven track. Now I'm mainly focusing on bass lines first, playing around with tempos and building from there. I've mostly been a drummer in the past so I didn't want A bLUNT jESTER to sound like "drummer does solo album". I'm not showcasing any abilities, it's more about the sum of all parts.

DO YOU WRITE WITH A PARTICULAR IDEA IN MIND, OR DO YOU LET EACH SONG UNFOLD AS IT WILL? AND WHEN YOU’RE BRINGING IN VOCALISTS, LIKE YOU HAVE WITH KELLY SHERROD FROM PROTEINS OF MAGIC IN ‘HEY’, HOW DOES THAT PROCESS WORK?

Vocals are something I only occasionally and recently started to factor in. I came up with the opening lyrics and beat to "Cat Door" at work one day and after the initial laughing fit, I decided I could produce something quite twisted. And I love cats. I wanted a vocal that sounded sort of French new wave, deadpan, even slightly bored. I knew my friend Penny would have just the right vocal timbre and would get what I was doing. It was the same situation with "Hey". I couldn't imagine anyone other than Kelly singing it - she gives the verses an almost neo-noir, femme fatale touch. Awkwardly all of this has meant I've had to provide guide tracks with me singing. I won't be singing anytime soon! (laughter) but with any singing it means I can inject some humour now. I really am a blunt jester...it's not just an anagram of my birth name.

WHERE DO YOU PULL YOUR INSPIRATION FROM? WHO ARE YOUR TIME-TESTED FAVOURITES?

I can pinpoint a few vague influences that aren't otherwise apparent and I certainly pay homage here and there. But it's more about the intent.
I want a lysergic dream-like feeling to wash over it all. Production wise I really like early LUSH, when Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins was producing their music - the ethereal dreaminess of the guitars and vocal harmonies and the way Miki and Emma's vocals were another texture. I read that when he was producing their "Spooky" album, he had the drummer play an electric Simmons kit with real cymbals...cool! I love wide stereo recordings. I like elements of New Romance, New Wave, and Italian Disco but mainly It's important what I produce ends up sounding true to me, how I feel. Hopefully if you play 'Cat Door' to anyone who knows me, they'll be like "oh yeah, that's totally Barnett!"

FILL US IN ON A BIT OF YOUR MUSICAL BACKGROUND: WHAT BANDS HAVE YOU PLAYED IN OVER THE YEARS, AND WHAT INSTRUMENTS DO YOU PLAY?

All my family were musical and as a 5-year-old I loved Skyhooks and Abba but it wasn't until I discovered KISS that I took up drums. Being more or less Asperger's, I found drums and later guitar easy and fun to learn. I performed at my 2nd form school social with the music teacher's covers band playing 50's rock'n'roll gems like "Poison Ivy" and "Love Potion number 9" From the age 15 til I was 32, I was always drumming in a band or multiple bands. Second Child, Freak Power who I played bass with, Gestalt, Prolapse, Virginia Reel, Thorazine Shuffle. There were recorded releases and videos, exciting international support slots and Big Day Outs. But bands lose momentum when a member leaves or feel like a different group entirely once you're onto your 3rd bass player.

WHAT’S THAT JOURNEY BEEN LIKE?

Immensely fun but wow, surprisingly quick! And it's been a learning experience right up til last week. At one point I decided my day job was more rewarding. I've always lived with depression and one day I sort of felt all my dreams were behind me and wasn't sure if I'd ever drum in a band again. So, I decided it was time for a new dream... which was to keep living the dream. And If you haven't grown up by the time you reach my age you really don't have to.

WHAT’S YOUR EARLIEST MUSICAL MEMORY?

My mother Christine Barnett singing with Bruno Lawrence's Blerta in Australia. We were touring around Queensland, NSW and Victoria on the Blerta bus usually performing an afternoon kids show and proper gig in the evening. It was all terribly theatrical and the late shows concluded with the firing of a homemade cannon and sometimes people rocking the bus from side to side as we were leaving. I still have PTSD from that.
My auntie Lyn Barnett playing me Janis Joplin one night is a nice memory. She also bought me my first Skyhooks LP.

YOUR FAVOURITE LIVE SHOW MEMORY?

It's more of an off-stage memory really. In 1996 when Thorazine Shuffle opened for Red Hot Chilli Peppers in Auckland and Wellington, Chad Smith, their drummer, watched us play from side stage and the next day in Welly after soundcheck he came over to say hi to me and we chatted a bit. I was standing next to the crew's catering table helping myself to food from the hot trays as I was fucking starving so he points to the beef and says "how is that?". Well knowing they were all fans of "This Is Spinal Tap" I said something like "I don't know where to begin really, it's a complete catastrophe!" imitating Nigel Tufnel. So we hit it right off from there and eight hours later at the after-party we were still talking to each other in "spinal tap". I even bumped into and had coffee with Chad and Anthony Kiedis at one of those sidewalk cafes the next morning which was funny because I couldn't stop thinking of Anthony's appearance in the movie Point Break. Chad was saying "when we went on stage last night the audience were still cheering for you guys" (Laughter) Yeah that tour is a favourite memory, meeting Dave Navarro. Watching him walk to the stage with his guitar and cigarette, yelling to no one at all "I fuckin' love this rock'n'roll shit baby!". Good days...good days.

HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR BACKGROUND INFLUENCES THE WAY YOU APPROACH MUSIC-MAKING (AND MUSIC IN GENERAL!) NOW?

I sure can be pedantic. In the past I would be dead set on how I thought things should be done - from album mixing and set list song order, to which way everyone stood facing at rehearsals (laughter) Now, I get to be tough on myself which I really am at this stage. I've also learnt to be more patient and take breaks. I love writing and tracking everything but mixing and producing takes up the bulk of time. If the drums aren't live, I'll sequence a combination of sounds from my kit and elsewhere. I've completely redone a bass or drum track near the end of a mix a couple of times when the sound hasn't sat right. In future I'd like to work with another producer and spend the cash for that cool 'big recording studio experience' again.

ARE THERE GIGS ON THE HORIZON?

Again being a pandemic project up to this point- there hasn't been any pressure or need to perform live. These are early days though, it's a slow burn approach really. I was working on a line up early last year, I had a bit of a dream team happening, but people's distances from town plus other music commitments made it a challenge. Then when the 2nd lockdown hit I decided to put a pin in it for the time being, by then I'd somehow developed tennis-elbow and needed a rest from drumming. These days I think I'd rather play bass. Right now, apart from possible DJ set potential, I'm still figuring out how to best do this live - if at all. It has to be done right. I want people to walk away thinking "What the fuck did I just see? And when are they playing next?"

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