brain-spasm-of-musical-emotion:

So here it is guys I did the translation! I tried to do my best but please keep in mind I’m not fluent in English and I’m not an expert in translating stuff. I guess some stuff should sound a bit weird once translated…Oh and in French we overuse commas and you don’t so forgive me for the extra ones aha. Also sorry I sometimes made some comments throughout the thing. Anyway it’s kinda long but enjoy it it’s really cool!





Noisy odysseys and good songs don’t always go along. It does for Tame Impala and that’s without doubt what led the Australian band to triumph. For the release of the impressive Currents, an interview with Kevin Parker in Austin, Texas. Under the rain.

Since their first EP released in 2008 on the Australian label Modular and the furious psych bomb “Half Full Glass Of Wine,” Tame Impala saw the future opening up for them on the indie rock planet. But the band’s second album, Lonerism, released at the end of 2012 put them in a new category that we didn’t think was accessible. Almost one billion likes on facebook, endless tours around the world (including an Olympia in Paris), omnipresence in the top charts and a new position: with Grizzly Bear or MGMT, Tame Impala is now part of those who swim above the others. Two and a half years later, without pressure, Kevin Parker, the man who controls the Impala (he composes and records alone, even does the lightings) comes back with Currents, an album he had produced on his own for the first time, in his hometown Perth, and keeps on with his “autorevolution”. In sight, pop, that he covets by stepping away from rock and psychedelism and by opening up more directly. An album full of brave moments that owe more to MGMT or Daft Punk than to seventies psyche heroes, from “Let It Happen” to “New Person, Same Old Mistakes”. While the band plays Austin Psych Festival for the first time, we meet Mr. Parker in a room at the tenth level of the Hilton Garden, downtown Austin. Under the impressive canopy, the shy Kevin relaxes bit by bit in despite of the upcoming tornado.

After the release of your second album, Lonerism, in 2012 everything got crazy: media, fans… How did you live with that success?

We toured in the Unites States, then in South America, in Europe, in Australia and a few months later, we had to do the whole circuit again. I didn’t understand how the whole thing worked, what I know is that venues were bigger and bigger. By seeing the dates align the feeling is always a bit mixed. I’m really inspired by live shows, making songs evolve, tripping on the lights. But I felt a bit uprooted and it’s hard to handle with our girlfriends. And it makes me crazy to never sleep twice in the same bed. You go out of your hotel room and you’ll never come back, it’s like this everyday. The idea gives me a headache.

You’re talking about the lights creation, it seems that now you have an entire room dedicated to this at your place?

Yes, in the home I bought myself in Perth, my hometown, less than a year ago. It was a good way to forget the hangover from the tour and to recreate a home. (He takes out his iPhone to show a video of the process of creating the lights) I completely break a cable translate note: (well, that’s a very French expression but I love it. It actually means I completely lose it), it’s a little room, moreover I’ve got a smoke machine that falters my brain a bit, I think.

You understood why Lonerism had met such a success?

I’m proud of it, obviously, but it took me time. When I finished Lonerism I found it boring and I thought our label had secretly paid all the magazines in order to get good reviews, I was sure of it. It takes maybe two years for me to appreciate things.

And this third one, Currents, just finished, how do you find it?

I don’t know… If I was listening to it, I’ll probably use the zapper a lot. (laughs)

Tame Impala took so much extend that a Chilean website had said your song “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards” was a plagiarism of an Argentine singer.

I understood it as a joke, rather funny, I listened to the guy’s song and I found it sounded more like “La Bamba” (laughs). It just made me a bit angry because on that day we were announcing our tour, we were trying to get people to buy tickets and this story shadowed our announcement.

The joke went far?

The singer had said thinking about suing but it stopped there. My manager told me he probably wanted to get advertised because he hadn’t had success since childhood.

You’re almost 30 years old (next January), fifteen years ago, what was your relation to music?

When I was 12 years old, music took over my whole life, monopolized my whole brain, my parents were telling me “music is fun but don’t believe you’ll be able to make money out of it”. My father was musician but also had an office job. He told me about his musicians friends, their money issues, of the fact that they had to make music they didn’t like in order to earn money : that making it your job killed the magic. It was obviously stronger than me, the desire to create, it’s such an accomplishment.

At this age, you had what kind of plans in mind?

I wanted to be a rock star, doing rock stars stuff, girls, power, infinite style etc. I realised quickly that it was an immature cliché. At fifteen, I was experimenting. My brother had offered me a Radiohead CD, I understood that music wasn’t necessarily only composed of instruments. I recorded the sounds of the tools in the garage, the train that passed and I was making music without any rule. It’s the advantage of having no audience, I was free.

In high school, you were the cool rocker?

No I was the raggedy guy. Rock wasn’t cool. The cool dudes in school were the athletes and those who drank beer. I wasn’t bad at beer, terrible at football.

You dad was part of a cover band, did you make some too?

With Dominic, who still plays guitar and keyboards in Tame Impala, we did a lot of punk or grunge things…some Rage Against The Machine and a lot of more shameful stuff.

You tried college. Your dad had succeeded in discouraging you ?

I was conscious that living on music was a fantasy. Aiming at this was like aiming at winning the lottery. And at that age, around 20, my friends and I weren’t about wanting to do music for glory and money anymore, we weren’t thinking about the world listening to us. My favourite artists were unknown, so how could I hope becoming famous? Even Neu! or Can only became legends after their time. So I started studying astronomy. But, if in school you have to go to classes, in college you have to become responsible…it was hopeless (laughs). I never went or when I was in class I was seeing songs being born in my head. Six months after the beginning of the year we signed with Modular. Adios, school !

After all did your success killed a part of the magic you put in your music?

I was afraid of that at the beginning. The label put me under pressure, having an audience gave me pressure. But it didn’t kill the magic. When I began to make music I didn’t know what I was doing, it was mysterious. Once I learnt and understood I exchanged mystery for knowledge. You have to find the mystery elsewhere.

It was easy to get you to write a new album?

For a long time, two years, my energy was taken over by the tour. When we stopped touring, my plan was to not think about music, playing video games, getting drunk…but once the pressure faded, I told myself making a third album shouldn’t be rushed, then ideas came.

That house you bought in Australia did it represent the beginning of a break?

No because I bought it exactly to settle a studio, until now I shared a house with roommates, it was infernal. Now the house has three rooms, two for the music and one for the lights (laughs)

Your girlfriend must appreciate it!

She gets it. (laughs)

It seem that in rehearsal studio, you were surrounded by stars…

We were stuck between No Doubt and Paul McCartney (he interrupts himself, the rain stars to violently fall on the canopy)… oh shit !

There’s a tornado not far in Texas.

Are you serious? But we play outside tonight! Anyway, in rehearsal studio we always joke around about what we could say to these stars. Julien translate note: (actually they misspelled it for Julian and I got mad ‘cause come on he’s French, you’re a French mag, Julien is pretty common as a name HOW CAN YOU MAKE THAT MISTAKE) spoke with McCartney, we were pretty jealous. We didn’t think we could approach him. But he was hanging there, simply, without bodyguards. I queued at the bathrooms with him…big moment. But I think Gwen Stefani wasn’t even there. When your band rehearses without you, that’s when you’re a real star.

Tonight you’re playing Austin Psych Fest, but Tame Impala never was that far from psychedelic.

Yeah, that’s right. But our lights are very psychedelic and we only play a few new songs. We’ve always been told it’s an unbelievable festival.

Considering the name of the event, we imagine a particularly high audience.

And yet I’m sure it’ll be the more sober crowd. Look, the most drugged musicians often make the simplest music. The Grateful Dead, total acid heads, made pretty simple country. Wayne Coyne from the Flaming Lips is a pretty sober guy, whereas his music is ultra-trippy.

You, you’re more Wayne Coyne category?

Rather, yes. I smoke weed but I haven’t took acid for a while, no mushrooms since a year I think. But being stoned and making music can be an exciting thing.

Where are the most expressive crowds?

In South America, everybody sings every note, including bass and guitar lines.

On that last LP, you obviously assume more and more your pop ambitions…

I love pop. For a long time I considered it like taboo, saw it more like a guilty pleasure, plastic, disposable. But the more I think about it the less I understand why art-rock or experimental music are considered like more intellectual. I even think it requires more intellect to do a good pop song than going blindly into experiments.

If Katy Perry came to ask you to produce her tunes…

I’d do it! It’s the side of music that intrigues me the most. I can remake a psychedelic rock album in two seconds, this I’ve mastered. I can make some dirty, roaring guitars, sound that crackles. But doing the perfect pop song, mastering that style more produced, more direct, this, I don’t know how to do it.

By the way your voice too is more and more central and less distorted on the album. Did you train for that?

(laughs) No I never warm my voice for live shows, I drink and go on stage “throwing up” the lyrics. I think it’ll have to change, and it freaks me out and makes me laugh at the same time to have to warm up. I thought it was reserved to Céline Dion.

The album is kind of light, summery, but it seems it’s a breaking up album.

It’s not one, but the album talks about feeling an invisible force that pushes to restart from fresh (the rain drops even more) Wow, that rain is exciting! It’s an album that talks about a personal transition, to move on. So there’s a part of breaking-up in it, people and things you leave behind, companion, friends, places.

It’s hard to make things personal?

It’s become a bit easier. As a teenager, I made very personal stuff, but once I knew I had an audience it gave me complexes, it intimidated me. I grew up in a very masculine world, at home I lived with my father, my two brothers and my stepmother, talking about feelings wasn’t really accepted. Now I have confidence.

You’re really present on Mark Ronson’s last album, the producers of mainstream stars (Adele, Amy Winehouse, Christina Aguilera), how did it happen?

We met at a festival in Australia, I was watching him and he came to me saying he liked my music, it killed me. One day he asked me to sing on two songs. I also recorded some instruments and sent him a more funky tune that he also used on his album.

So you’re on the same album as “Uptown Funk” the second hit that stayed the longest number one in the American charts.

It’s kind of funny… I’ve never been implied in something as big. It’s mostly a proof that music that sells tonnes can be made in a human way, with a natural process etc.

You produced Currents on your own, but did you make Ronson listen to it for example, him that is so influent in the pop world?

I wanted to but didn’t get the chance. I always make Dom and my girlfriend listen because the others in the band don’t live in Perth and I don’t like sending this by e-mail. I wanna see their faces when they listen, I want to be in the room.

That’s vicious!

It’s even harder for me actually (laughs)

So? Can you read everything on their faces?

I thought I knew how to do it but actually I’m a bit paranoid I hit or miss the interpretation. Most of the time they tell me they like it and I answer them “really? you waited until the end of the song to tell it, why didn’t you tell it faster? What’s your favourite beat?” Actually this process is useless (laughs)

Some titles and some voices remind of Daft Punk, is it a comparison that makes sense to you?

I hope, I welcome it with pleasure, I’ve always liked Daft Punk, for me the band is one of the best between vintage disco-funk and futuristic concepts.

You lived in Paris by the way, what were your favourite activities?

Generally, I took a Vélib (they are bicycle everyone can rent almost for free and ride everywhere in Paris) and got lost in the city or I went on touristic places, Serge Gainsbourg’s home for example. My girlfriend at the time made me really love Gainsbourg and Françoise Hardy.

A new tune from the album has just been revealed, it’s called “Cause I’m A Man” we can hear you sing, “’Cause I’m a man woman/Don’t always think before I do” and it already had some negative reactions…

The lyrics are pretty direct but also misleading. On surface it’s a song where I apologise for being only a man, a bastard, a pig. But it’s also a lamentation of the fact that by being human we are mentally incapable to be insensitive. I was sure I was going to be treated as a misogynist but if you’re afraid of offending with your art, you’ll only do boring stuff.