Hiatus Kaiyote’s Perrin Moss Speaks with COjam
One of the more impressive bands we've stumbled upon of late is Melbourne, Australia's Hiatus Kaiyote. Self-described as "multi-dimensional, polyrhythmic gangster shit", the group effortlessly weaves through time-signatures, genres and emotions while keeping the audience not only dancing, but utterly entranced by the music they produce. Otherwise classified as "Neo-Soul" or "Future Soul", the band has carved out a niche sound all their own in a world by which a truly original sound is becoming more and more difficult to come by. COjam has observed an unusually high concentration of area musicians in Hiatus Kaiyote's Colorado crowds, suggesting that the band is highly competent and technically impressive. However, all too often this prowess translates into a sound that is perhaps not accessible to the masses. While this may be the case for some bands - particularly in the realms of jazz, jam or fusion - Hiatus Kaiyote seems keenly aware of their ability to appeal to a larger audience. Placed beautifully over complex grooves, frontwoman Nai Palm has a sense of melody that is modern yet classic, creating soundscapes that completely envelop the listener. Their music is highly listenable to the non-committed fan and possesses the ability to stretch across musical tastes.
While Nai Palm (vocals, guitar) is no doubt the band's center of attention, each member brings their own flavor to the group's overall sound. Paul Bender (bass) brings highly unique grooves to HK's table and seems to have an uncanny talent for filling musical space. His addition of synthesizer incorporates the deep, wall-rattling bass tones so popular among younger generations but carry among them distinctly creative and thoughtful riffs, absent from all too many groups going for a bass-heavy sound. Simon Mavin (keyboards) adds perhaps the most color to the music, offering both familiar '70s-era tones and new-school synth leads alike.
It is drummer and percussionist Perrin Moss, however, that truly brings Hiatus Kaiyote's music to life, offering a musical perspective that completely alters the dynamic of the band. Moss possesses an exceptional feel for the music, something that cannot accurately be explained with words and that only mystics and shaman can properly portray. He is the electric energy that brings the raw elements to life. With an average drummer, HK would still be a very good band, but they may not have had the meteoric rise they've experienced over the last few years. After all, a band is only as good as its drummer, as they say.
On a rare day off from a rigorous tour schedule, Perrin took a moment to speak with COjam about life on the road, the band's compositions and the process by which they write, his youth in Australia and more. Listen to the full interview at the bottom of this page.
COJAM: How did you get started as a drummer/percussionist?
PERRIN MOSS: When I was growing up, my parents listened to local music around the house. One of my memories of music is driving, doing these road-trips to see my other family in Sydney (Australia)... having a lot of good experiences like falling asleep listening to awesome music from all around the world. A lot of it was kind of rhythmically-based, instrumental music. My mom used to take me to some African drum classes out in the bush in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, which is where I'm originally from. It was a really nice community of musicians that kind of got together and had a big feast... There was awesome music and musicians jamming. That was the introduction to like, me kind of tapping on things and using my hands and learning bits and pieces about rhythm and how not to overplay and to work together in an ensemble. From there on, I kind of took it in my own direction.
COJAM: Can you speak a bit on Hiatus Kaiyote's writing process?
PM: It changes for every song. In the very beginning, it was a lot of Nai's material because that was kind of the setup point for the creation of the band. (Paul) Bender found her. I found her as well, at a separate meeting. I just heard her sing and she kinda sat next to me and played guitar when I was at a cafe. I met her once before that and we just caught eyes and were like, "Hey, we know each other!" She came and sat down and taped this song... she played "Lace Skull", actually. I was like, "Holy shit! This is amazing!" So a lot of the beginning material was Nai's stuff and us just trying to figure out how we can put ourselves inside the music, make it our own as well so it's not such a session vibe. For me, this is the first band I've drummed in. I would like to be able to do what other people tell me to do but it's a big challenge and you have to be an all-around player. I think I'm just myself. In the beginning, we played Nai's songs and just worked out our own parts. We would loop things for hours and hours to try and make it feel good, trying a whole bunch of different stuff. And then there's other songs where we kind of came in together and made up everything in a jam session. What was the first song we wrote collectively? It was "Shaolin Monk Motherfunk" I think. We came in with the intro idea that was like a beat-box idea that me and Bender were coming up with one night, just trying to throw people off, purely for that reason... To mess with people (the audience) and mess with ourselves too. That's the main thing. It's like, if we can challenge ourselves and the end result is being fluid and natural between each section, then we've succeeded. I know that in the beginning, there's sweat. There's so much sweat and there's personal stress because everyone just puts each other under that pressure to try and get your idea out no matter how crazy your idea is. You try and push it and you don't back down from it until it feels good and if it doesn't feel good after a while then we will change it. A lot of our songs have had so many different changes over the years and when it comes to making a record, then it changes even more.
COJAM: We're always seeking an original sound in new music, which Hiatus Kaiyote definitely possesses. How does a band come up with an original sound?
PM: It's hard to come up with an original sound sometimes. I think in small places, in small country towns and stuff, that's where you find more original music because you just don't have that hustle for gigs and stuff. I feel that in America there's a lot of that. There are so many amazing players, technically just insane players but [many] have probably already got three or four bands whereas for us, we've always known that one band is enough. You're putting that much time in for one band and that's enough. For me, I haven't had the session experience so I'm always just part of original music, including my own production stuff. It's always just about expressing yourself, really. Simon (Mavin, keyboards) and Bender have had quite a bit of experience with session playing but when we joined Hiatus, we kind of all knew and we talked about it... It's one of those things that you have to really go for it if you want to succeed. You can't really go half-assed about it. You have to be all-in or it's not going to work. That was a decision we pretty much made together, knowing that this is it. There's gonna be no other bands. Maybe here and there for fun or helping out a friend, but not like it's a serious thing. We're just so busy and we always knew we were going to be. And here we are now!
COJAM: How much of your on-stage sound is composition and how much is improvised?
PM: There are certain sections in certain songs that are completely free. Other times, there's a pattern. You know the song so you can play kinda how you feel. We have tempos that shift from gig to gig because we don't use a click track or anything so depending on the mood that you're in, sometimes it can feel faster or slower than what it's supposed to be. But I guess it's good to be able to play a song but play it free. That's the jazz element of us, more than anything else. Just the capability to be able to have a song and kind of play around with it live. It's pretty strict, most of the stuff. Most of our stuff interlocks. If someone throws off someone else, it's pretty hard to get back on track. But you know after a lot, a lot of gigs, you can get away with doing some cheeky things to give each other some energy, a bit of a spark. We're always pushing ourselves.
COJAM: What advice would you give either a young drummer, specifically, or a young band trying to make it in the music business?
PM: If you're not in a band yet and you're just a drummer, just try and find the right people to play with that share the same passion as you. As a band, stick together and listen to each other as much as you can. Take everyone's opinion seriously and don't have any ego... Try to get rid of that at the rehearsal room. And have fun with it. Have as much fun as you can with it and experiment as much as you can. Don't ever feel shy about experimenting. Don't ever feel shy as a drummer to drop your stick if you're going for something. It's all fun, you know? It's not a serious thing in life. Sometimes you get lost in that world of taking everything too seriously and it's really good not to and just to have fun with it. The looser you are and the freer you are then the more people will like what you do because you're kinda just being yourself, ya know?
SONGS IN AUDIO INTERVIEW:
"The World It Softly Lulls", "Rainbow Rhodes", "Lace Skull", "Shaolin Monk Motherfunk", "Ocelot"