Interview with Birds of Tokyo

Kings of Indie and Pop Rock music in Australia, the contagious sound that is Birds Of Tokyo are back with a vengeance in 2013. These Aussie boys just released their fourth album and newest musical masterpiece to add to their collection titled ‘March Fires’. released on March 1st 2013, the highly anticipated work is said to take on a whole new direction and fresh feel for the band who are currently on tour across the nation.
The boys certainly know the winning formula when it comes to making music with previous awards ranging from Rock Album of the Year to Most Popular Artist in 2011 at the Arias. Their newly released single Lanterns which you would have heard through your radio speakers recently or on the new season of the popular show Revenge; is sitting at an amazing no.#6 in the Aria Charts. We have a sneaking suspicion a few more awards may be on the way for the guys.
Amongst all the hype and praise for this talented bunch, drummer Adam Weston managed to take some time out to chat to us about the new album, their March Fires tour, and on what the boys have been getting up to away from the stage..
Hey Adam, how are you? We’re so excited Birds of Tokyo are putting out another album this year, since we know your fans have been eagerly awaiting one. Where did the name March Fires come from?
Hey, I’m great thank you. I know! we are just as glad and eager to be releasing one ourselves. We’ve always had a horrible habit of throwing around ideas for an album title before we even have an album to put out. Right from the get go, we knew we were going to do something different with this album rather than go around in a comfortable circle. We loved the concept of the northern hemispheres annual March fires, as we’re sort of burning it all down in order to build back up again. The title really reflects our pheonix-like conception.
The last year has been all about change and renewal for you guys, do you think you’ve grown as a band during this process?
The dynamic within the group has definitely changed, we’re older and more mature now maybe!? How we treat music has also changed, we didn’t want to record an album for the hell of it like we were teenagers again. We had to take some time off the stage in order to get this process perfect, living in LA for months and making regular recording trips to France. You will hear our music has evolved because of this renewal process.
Starting out happened like most bands in booking your own shows, playing in small dingy pubs to a handful of people, and just trying to get your music heard. Looking back, does that feel like a lifetime ago?
Absolutely. But in actual fact, we were still doing all that only five years ago! We’re very fortunate that we can now focus on making great music rather than spending 80% of our time worrying about poster art work. We’re still very hands on, we don’t want others to handle our band entirely for us. There’s an undying love to get back into some of those smaller seedy pubs though, that’s where we started out doing what we love.
Given you’ve been off the stage for some time, what’s the feeling towards the national tour this month?
Equal parts excitement and equal parts daunting. There’s a feeling that you know what its about but its brand new to others, the waiting game to see how they react is brutal. We’re dying to get out there and play it live to our fans though.
There have been many highlights since Birds of Tokyo came to fruition, is there one memorable or special moment that stands out for you in your career?
For me it was when it first sunk in we were a touring band getting out of our home town with our first album Universes. It’s the energy and excitement that I miss; you only get to do it for the first time once. Now, its different as we know what to expect. That feeling of the first time was so unique.
The popular drama series Revenge plays ‘Lanterns’ in it’s new season soundtrack, and the song is being very well received all round currently at no.#3 on the Aria Charts- what’s your favourite track on the album?
We’re so happy the music is being well received so far. That was the aim after all! My favourite is the intro track, Liquid arms. I’ve got great memories recording it with the boys.
So you must of spent quite a bit of time with one another whilst making the album and all that comes with it- What’s the relationships like within the group, are you all great friends or are you just like everyone else and clash from time to time?
Haha yeah, blow outs happen, it’s an essential process to drive each other musically. It’s only natural to bump heads when you do spend so much time together as a group and we always laugh in the end! But we all know each other so well and have so much respect for each other. Having said that, artistically theres zero holding back. If that means saying harsh things to each other, then too bad. At the end of the day if there’s been yelling matches or meltdowns its all been worth it for the final result.
What else have you guys been doing with your downtime?
Living in LA for five months recording this album, we really just hung out as a group a lot. I think the more time you spend with each other the more you connect, then the better the music is going to sound. We seem to collaborate better when we do. Plus, we just like each others company!
This will be one busy year ahead for Birds of Tokyo, what are you looking forward to the most?
Probably peoples response to this record when we take March Fires out on the road. It’s been a long time coming and we’re all sort of nervous excited, but mostly looking forward to it. Can’t wait to step out of the studio and play some music for you all!
Birds of Tokyo’s will be crisscrossing the nation very soon! Their national tour dates can be found at www.birdsoftokyo.com. Don’t miss them live as they launch their highly anticipated March Fires album on stage near you.