Deafcult
Jun
30
10.51am

DEAFCULT // Caught In A Dream


In its inception, shoegaze was often referred to as ‘The Scene That Celebrates Itself’: a somewhat derisive moniker, coined in the pages of the prolific Melody Maker newspaper during the genre’s early 90s explosion in the London underground. Despite a connotation which (falsely) implied that the artists involved in the local scene were self-serving and self-aggrandising, it’s a curious label that can still raise eyebrows when compared to today’s inter-connected, fast-paced, media-obsessed culture.

From a quiet pub in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, we ruminate on the nature of the ‘self-aware’ artist and its potential impact on shoegaze as a gateway for the emotional release and decibel-laden euphoria of a generation. It’s also a blustery winter afternoon, as we wait to meet up with Stevie Scott: guitarist, vocalist and founding member of Brisbane’s loudest dream-pop sextet, DEAFCULT. After Scott’s arrival, we quickly dive headfirst into a pair of pints and begin discussing the eclectic childhood influences which helped to fuel the creation of the band’s phenomenal debut full-length album, Auras.

“It’s weird to sort of narrow yourself down to a certain set of influences,” Scott delcares in his thick, Scottish accent, as a haze of smoke wafts through the pub’s outdoor smoking area. “My mom listened to things like The Ronettes and The Supremes, which really feeds into DEAFCULT with our vocal harmonies, that whole kind of ‘60’s girl band’ thing. Even things like The Blue Nile, who are a Scottish synth band, sort of fed into other parts of it as well. When we did the first record [the band’s 2015 self-titled EP], we had no idea what we sounded like. We rehearsed and stuff, but it didn’t sound like anything in the practise room. And then, you get the record back and it’s like, ‘Oh fuck. That’s what DEAFCULT sounds like,” says Scott with a noticeable hint of whimsical reflection. When asked how the group’s sound has changed in writing and recording Auras, Scott is forthright in his response, and it’s here that we witness firsthand how blissfully understated someone can be of their true creative talents.

“I guess it’s that we’ve figured out who we are. I just grew up listening to such a wide variety of music that all made an impact on who I am as a songwriter,” he says before quickly chuckling to himself with a slight grimace. “Songwriter?” he ponders out loud, as if it too is a label that doesn’t quite fit. When we insist that, yes, he is indeed a songwriter, and that yes, he does indeed write songs, Scott shrugs the notion off like a sudden chill. Staring into his pint, Scott’s reply of “I guess,” seems to be more equivocation than outright acceptance. When pushed harder for what his approach to songwriting might be, his response is genuine and strikingly obvious in its simplicity: “Do what you feel.”

As the man behind Auras – an ambitious, twelve-track record, two-years in the making and positively overflowing with lofty melodies, warbling synths and fuzzed-out riffs – Scott does his best to explain how DEAFCULT go about bringing feelings to the surface. “We try to play so loud because there’s an idea that you can change the chemical makeup of someone’s brain, you know, when you’re faced with such a barrage of volume,” he says, before adding for extra clarity, “You gotta feel the guitars.” With the group consisting of not two, not three, but four (!) guitarists, it seems that an amplifier fusillade is certainly key to DEAFCULT’s overall dynamic—a train of thought that Scott immediately picks up on. “Which I think is interesting, because we can play with The Grates or Velociraptor, and those are people who never come and see us, but sometimes we can manage to keep them all there in a sort of trance. Even the sound of distorted guitar, I mean that does things to the brain. It shoots off receptors and shit; it’s like a drug.”

“I think it’s quite liberating to be able to just … kind of do what you want as well. You don’t have to sound like Converge, or you don’t have to sound like The Appleseed Cast; you can just do anything. And as a band, we can do anything pretty much.
[SCOTT]

Amateur neuroscience and chemical dependency aside, Scott makes it clear that the DEAFCULT present on record, is completely different from the member pile-on commonly seen packed on stage. “Even though the songs are sort of different on the record, I think all of our songs sound different live. There’s an energy that you can’t re-create on a record, so you’re gonna do other things to make it interesting,” he says of Auras. “It doesn’t sound like you’re standing in front of four amplifiers. It’s just a different thing, and I think that the live show is more of an overwhelming experience, because it’s so visceral.” When asked about where DEAFCULT would fit in, as part of the local and national scene, Scott’s answer reveals the relative ease with which the band can slot in on rock, punk, metal or indie bills, right alongside other disparate acts, like some form of chimeric, guitar-limbed beast. “I think it’s quite liberating to be able to just … kind of do what you want as well. You don’t have to sound like Converge, or you don’t have to sound like The Appleseed Cast; you can just do anything. And as a band, we can do anything pretty much,” Scott admits rather frankly. “I think I’d get bored if we just did synth-pop music or something like that.” And with a dead-pan stare, he then reveals the secret to band’s success. “Also, we like to rock out. Sometimes it’s just good to stomp on a fuzz petal and let it rip.”

But what exactly makes a feeling then? It’s a wholly subjective concept, and one that becomes increasingly difficult to quantify upon closer inspection. Ask someone to describe a dream for you. Then ask how they felt in that dream, and you’ll quickly run in to some issues. For Scott, it was this subliminal realm that he wanted to tap into while crafting the band’s debut album. “It’s got this sort of ‘subconscious level,’ which is where the whole ‘dreams’ and Auras thing comes together. It’s that time of the night, where you’re real sleepy and dreamy, and you can kind of let your subconscious come through,” says Scott. “I would go to the studio at 3 o’clock in the morning and just sing whatever came to me. Nothing set; there’s no lyrics or anything that we’ve written. I would just subconsciously sing, and then whatever I did, that’s what it became.”

This sense of spontaneity helped to a foster an organic and restrained tone on Auras, one that lets the listener float through the various spaces, moods and textures, riding on waves of heavenly melodies before dense layers of feedback and reverb crash through their synapses. “A lot of it comes from looking back to the past in a nostalgic way. We used a lot of those sounds because they felt right with the time period I was thinking about,” Scott explains. “I’ll use the tremolo to bend the strings, and when you do that there’s all these notes that are created at great volume called ‘tartini tones’ or ghost notes. I’ll listen for those ghost notes and then usually accentuate those with the other guitars.” With a laugh, he then stresses matter-of-factly that, “It kind of writes itself.” When asked if his witching-hour, impromptu recording sessions were in fact some latent expression of his neurotic songwriting perfectionism, Scott takes the journalistic jab on the chin like a seasoned pro, offering up some resonant philosophical insights instead. “I wouldn’t say I’m a perfectionist, it’s more like … If someone plays a shit note, I seriously wouldn’t give a fuck. It’s more of a vibe. No one wants to use that word, right? But it’s the vibe. It’s a feeling that you get, and that’s more important I think.”

With the support of Hobbledehoy Records for the release of Auras, DEAFCULT has now gone from a one-time bedroom project to a fully-realised, touring vehicle. “It’s very daunting,” Scott says candidly. “The label’s awesome, because there’s almost no unrealistic expectations of us. Like, he [label owner Tom Majerczak] knows we’re not Ceres, or Luca Brasi, or The Smith Street Band. We’re not a band like that. We’re six people, who’ve got busy lives, who just like to write music.” And while the touring life certainly isn’t for everyone, the band has now surpassed the tenuous, first album hurdle, generating enough momentum to push the sextet out of Brisbane and on to stages around the country. At this suggestion, Scott is simultaneously optimistic and reserved. “I don’t know, I guess we just keep fucking doing it? Keep playing? We’ll keep booking our shows, keep kind of managing ourselves, and hopefully the record will do okay.” Rather than celebrate himself, or the blissful soundtrack he’s cultivated on Auras, it seems that Scott is already dreaming of a bright future for DEAFCULT. “To be honest with you man, I started writing a new record like a year ago,” he laughs.


Auras is available today through Hobbledehoy Records. DEAFCULT are touring nationally this July/August and select tour dates can be found below:

DEAFCULT – Auras Album Tour July / August 2017

(Tickets on the door for all shows)

SATURDAY JULY 15 – Crown and Anchor, Adelaide w. Horror My Friend, Blush Response and Pony Tail Kink

SUNDAY JULY 16 – John Curtin, Melbourne w. White Walls, Lowtide and TV Haze – tickets from johncurtinhotel.com

FRIDAY JULY 21 – The Brightside, Brisbane w. Pleasure Symbols, Ultra Material, Spirit Bunny, and Tall Pines DJs

FRIDAY AUGUST 4 – Red Rattler, Sydney w. Sounds Like Sunset, Skullsquadron and Egoism

SATURDAY AUGUST 5 – The Hamilton Hotel, Newcastle w. Safe Hands, Jen Buxton & The Slaughterhouse Five, Obat Batuk, and Post Truth



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