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CAT EMPIRE, THE |
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 On this page:
*The Cat Empire interview (with Ryan Monro, Bass)
*The Cat Empire Discography (available on Whammo)
*The Cat Empire Australian Tour dates
THE CAT EMPIRE - THE WHAMMO INTERVIEW - OCTOBER 30, 2003
I’ve been bombarded with all forms of music over my 18 month Whammo tenure, or at least that’s what I thought. The day The Cat Empire’s debut self-titled LP landed on my desk I realised my musical diet had been lacking in jazz, Latin, ska and reggae. Luckily this talented Melbourne 6-piece have all those genres covered, held together by jazzy raps and a big-band sound. It knocked me back: the confidence, musicianship, songwriting and dynamics. It’s an important release in Australia because it adds diversity to a rich palette of existing local talent. I don’t need to tell the many overseas music-lovers who caught this vibrant act at festivals like Edinburgh, Reading and Womad. The lads were in constant demand and soon became classed as the ultimate late-night party act. In Melbourne, by word of mouth, The Cat Empire consistently attracted crowds of up to 2,500 fans and that feat was accomplished before the lads had any record deal. Their stunning debut album has debuted at #27 on the ARIA charts and looks set to climb further, clearly showing that this unique band are here to stay. I recently caught up with bass-player extraordinaire, Ryan Monro, who shed some light on his amazing two-year journey with The Cat Empire…
Whammo: Obviously, with your self-titled debut, you’ve gone with a live feel but recorded it with very high production standards.
Ryan: It’s true. A lot of people think that we shouldn’t even be recording because the only way to really experience what we do is to see it on stage. More than any other recordings we’ve done, this one captures the live element, which is kind of funny because the basic tracks of the album were recorded live. There’s a lot of studio stuff done to it but it has a live feel.
Whammo: Who produced it?
Ryan: Andy Baldwin produced it with the band. I think it was the Professor Ratbaggy CD: Ollie had been listening to that and he played bits of it to us and he said ‘maybe we should check this guy out’. It only took two phone calls. It turned out that he just lived around the corner from Ollie (laughs). He just became another member of the band. He fit in so well. He did amazing work on the album but he’s also an awesome party-animal, wine-drinking, food-loving kind of a guy (laughs).
Whammo: I get the feeling that you have more ideas than you could possibly put down on tape.
Ryan: It’s true. The bulk of the songs are written by Felix, he’s the percussionist and vocalist in the band and also Harry, the other vocalist and trumpet player; he’s written a couple of songs as well. When we bring them to rehearsal and start playing them, that’s when all the influences of everybody in the band starts to seep in as well. That’s why it sounds like it does, I guess.
Whammo: One of the elements that gives the band a stylised sound is the vocals. It’s very Jazzy while also being obviously Australian. Does that get noticed overseas? Do people know where you’re from?
Ryan: (laughs) People always know where we’re from. I guess it’s the accents that give it away. We’re all of the belief that the music itself is a very Australian thing as well. Growing up in Melbourne, there’s so much live music. You can see any style of music being played any time of the week and I guess that all of us, being around in that scene, have seen so much live music from all around the world that it influences you easily. The way it all comes together is something that we feel is very Australian as well: the attitude with which we play.
Whammo: Who does the vocals on The Lost Song?
Ryan: Harry sang that one.
Whammo: Harry has an awesomely jazzy voice.
Ryan: A lot of people in the band actually came from a jazz background and when we met Harry he was singing with a jazz band from his high school.
Whammo: Were you raised on jazz music?
Ryan: In school, when you’re learning an instrument, jazz is one direction you go. I guess the way it’s influenced the band mostly is the way we interact on stage. Most of the members were in another band when we were still in high school, together. We’ve all been playing together for that long. The spontaneity and the ability to improvise or to play a song each night and have it come out totally different: that comes from our jazz background.
Whammo: I think of jazz as the first ‘punk’ music.
Ryan: Yeah definitely. Back in the 50-s and 60s it was ‘out there’. The way it’s perceived now is totally different to the way it was when it all first happened. The first punk music? For sure. The thing about playing in The Cat Empire is that we play this type of music the way we’d play any music. People come to our gigs, dancing and singing along, and I guess they don’t realise that we’re almost trying to fool them. They don’t realise that we’re just playing jazz up there. It’s just another way of playing it.
Whammo: You’ve already blown away a few crowds overseas. With all these bands that use a big-band philosophy in Melbourne, there’s always a big live following. It’s not like The Brown Hornet have had commercial success yet there aren’t many gigs that they’d play which aren’t packed.
Ryan: I’ve heard lots of stories about their early gigs. I wasn’t there but it’s pretty much legendary in Melbourne.
Whammo: Yeah, I think Melbourne is very supportive as long as you play well, but what about overseas? Did you just decide to go over there or did someone actually make an offer?
Ryan: One thing that really got us overseas was the famous Spiegel Tent. It’s this Belgian wooden mirror tent that was built in the 1920s but the guy who owns it is from Melbourne and living in Edinburgh at the moment. The first time it was used in Melbourne, it was set up in front of the Arts Centre for the Melbourne Festival in 2001. The Cat Empire got a few gigs there. The staff and everyone loved us so they said ‘hey, you guys, do you want to come to Adelaide and play in the Spiegel Tent’. About 6 months later we went to Adelaide and played in the same venue. The tent went to Edinburgh this year and we played some gigs there as well. It’s the one thing that got us overseas. A lot of people have said that we’re the ultimate late-night party band. We love playing during the day but most of our gigs in Edinburgh were starting at 3am (laughs).
Whammo: Were you nervous, playing at these festivals?
Ryan: Not really. One thing that we have gained is a lot of experience playing live. Sometimes we get freaked out by the size of a crowd but we’re getting pretty good with that now. We’ve been to Edinburgh twice. Last year we did 15 nights in a row; that was the 3am till 5am slot and that really built up. When we went to Adelaide the first time, no one knew who we were. A week later we packed the room. That helped us out.
Whammo: So, what now?
Ryan: What now? Well, we’ve got a hectic calendar until the end of the year. We always have been in a constant state of ‘what now’ in the band. Whenever we get back from a tour we say ‘where are we going next?’ At the moment we’re half way through our album launch gigs in Australia and the album has just come out in stores everywhere. We’re just thinking ‘let’s see how that all pans out’ but we’ll probably head back into the studio sometime next year for a follow up to the self-titled album.
Whammo: Do you think you’ve achieved enough to get released overseas?
Ryan: Well, it’s interesting. We got a really good following in London when we played the Womad Festival, which was the end of July this year. Lots of people saw us then.
Whammo: I hope you guys inspire a few aspiring musicians to go beyond indie pop or rock and search for a different sound.
Ryan: And start playing some tango (laughs).
Whammo: Yeah, I was thinking that it would be great if you guys got so big that people wore slick suits and created a whole different vibe in the crowd.
Ryan: One or two sometimes surface and we get a few people turning up to gigs in bad-ass gangster suits from the 40s. I’d love to see the whole crowd dancing partner to partner. That would be amazing.
Whammo: I reckon you guys should do a video like that and bring back that whole vibe.
Ryan: Yeah, suits are fun if you’re not in an office.
Whammo: Well said. |
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 THE CAT EMPIRE
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cd
At first I thought 'oh no, here's another wannabe world music/jazz hybrid' but in reality this is like no other CD released this year. The Cat Empire is special. The musicianship is ridiculously good, the ideas are innovative, and the flow is superb. So, how do I describe The Cat Empire? How's this: Combine Ian Dury, Ricky Martin, Madness and Bob Marley, then add Aussie accents waxing lyrical with creative timing and fantastic rhythm. Latin and jazz rhythms dominate but ska is always ever-present on the brilliant self-titled debut LP from this intelligent Melbourne combo. And the sound? Big Band walls of brass, keyboards, beats and percussion keep the energy sky-high but when trying to find the distinctive defining edge that The Cat Empire have over other big-band combos, you can't go past the percussive, quirky and intimate nature of the vocals. All arrangements seem geared to the fickle 2003 music market with tempo changes and complete genre transitions that always seem coherent and suited to the songs. It's not just the up-tempo brass-powered party flavours that entertain; the low-key laments are my favourite moments; tunes like Lost Song, The Crowd and All That Talking are used strategically to give this album its necessary chilled moments. It doesn't matter if this album fails to please Australia's rock snobs because The Cat Empire is already a sort-after live drawcard overseas after appearances at the Edinburgh Festival and Reading. One listen to The Cat Empire is enough to explain that popularity. This music is beyond genre, attitude or age. Outstanding.
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The Cat Empire: Australian Tour Dates
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December
30....The Falls Festival, Lorne, Vic
January
1.....The Falls Festival, Marion Bay, Tas
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