Dave recently had a chat with Sophia Ham from thedwarf.com.au about the EP release, recording and everything like that. You can read the feature online here: http://www.thedwarf.com.au/nd/interviews/bright_young_things_the_rise_and_rise_of_montpelier. Thanks for the chat Sophia!
Dave Butler from Brisbane band Montpelier almost forgot to call me. He was too busy having a swim. Ah, to be a forgetful young thing in soggy swimmers…
Can’t say I blame him for wetting it out, poolside. By the sounds of it, 2009 was a huge year for this four-piece boy-band of indie rockers.
Relatively new and bright-eyed, Montpelier suddenly found themselves with an unbelievable dream opportunity – to work with renowned producer Kevin Augunas (Cold War Kids, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros).
“The whole America thing was totally unexpected. Our manager, (Andrew Stone) who also plays in the band, went over to the US for South by Southwest with no expectations – just to see music. Then he just happens to meet this girl while he was out at a bar, who was managing a dream list of producers.”
“Through meeting her, Andrew went to New York with a copy of our demo, met with a number of producers who were interested in us, and fortunately, Kevin liked our sound.”
Montpelier’s music has been likened to the sweeping soundscapes of Coldplay and the Panics coupled with the lyrical pop-ability of Ben Lee.
For such a young band, the opportunity to record with Augunas was too good to say no, so the boys headed over for a two-week studio session with Kevin to record songs for a hopeful EP release.
“Recording with Kevin was a really organic experience. We would capture songs in like one or two takes. For the new song ‘Girl’ – everything for that song was done in one take. I feel we really grew as a band during that time as we just all learnt so much. Kevin was just a really relaxed guy.”
Dave goes on to tell me that the songwriting process is something that is really important to the band.
“The songs are really the most important thing for us. And so we were lucky to work with someone who understood that. For us, we want to communicate the theme of the song. Often we’ll start with the barebones, with the idea of the lyrics and build it from there…”
Montpelier fans and general musical voyeurs can check out footage of the US recording sessions thanks to video posts via the bands MySpace page. The videos capture the bands pure glee at working with Augunas, and behind the scenes shenanigans.
With their song ‘The Rafters’ on Triple Js Unearthed rotation, the band are ready to launch the anticipated new self-titled EP with their biggest Aussie tour yet.
Their six-track EP will be launched in Brisbane, with following dates in Sydney and Melbourne. Highlights from the new release include the joyfully sad ‘The Rafters’ and the broken-hearted ‘Girl’.
“We’re absolutely excited about getting the EP out and getting the songs out there. We’re keen that we might also get some festival opportunities this year – fingers crossed!”
