It’s been 4 years since we’ve heard a new record from Melbourne’s dream-pop merchants, Gypsy and the Cat. Their third full-length album ‘Virtual Islands’ is set to come out on August 5th and has already been well received, with singles Inside Your Mind and I Just Wanna Be Somebody Else both featuring on ARIA and Hype Machine charts thus far. We sit down with the ever-modest Xavier Bacash from the band to grill him on his creative process, how the new album took shape and why he likes Japan so much.
It’s been 4 years since your last album – how’s things? Have you been writing the whole time, or just generally living it up?
The last 4 years have seen a bit of everything. Touring the last album, writing the new album, and obviously some down time in between. I wouldn’t say there has been a break from music at all; the new record has been a long process from writing through to finding a finished product.
And the result is Virtual Islands! What kind of album did you set out to make? And does the final product look anything like that original blueprint?
That’s a really good question. We never sit down with a whiteboard and map out the way a song or a record will sound. It’s a bit more organic than that. Our other records have been, perhaps, a bit more linear than this one. Virtual Islands is a progression from what we’ve done before. Jona Vark (the hit single from the band’s debut album, Gilgamesh) for example is a few chords and a catchy hook; this record probably still has a few songs like that, but there’s also some stuff that’s a bit more out there.
This album sounds like Gypsy and the Cat, but there has definitely been an evolution in the way your songs are put together. What do you attribute that development to?
I think we’ve just changed in the last 4 years. That’s natural, I guess. This record just toes the line between having enough songs to bring you in, and then songs like Odyssey of the Streets where, if you listen to it a stack of times, it could be someone’s favourite eventually.
I understand you spent some time in Japan while you were writing. Did that affect your sound?
Yeah, definitely. That influenced us a lot. Half the record was put together while we were spending time there. That helped influence the way our sound has changed. They’re such creative people and it’s such a creative country. For example, around the world Titanic is one of the biggest films of all time, whereas in Japan it’s a cartoon; Spirited Away. It just shows how open they are to obscurity. I think that made a big impact on the way we finished our record off.
Japanese culture in general, or specifically Japanese music?
Just the feel of the country. The art scene as a whole. From the fashion to architecture; it’s very interesting to us. It’s an all-encompassing thing.
You collaborated with Client Liaison last year, which must have been a blast. How did that come about?
I’ve known Harvey (Client Liaison) for many years – since school actually. Ever since our band started and from when we released Gilgamesh, he was showing me the beats he was making and we talked about me singing on some of his stuff but it just never happened. Then last year we got together; we (Gypsy and the Cat) had this song that we’d written, and I asked Monty (Client Liaison) if he wanted to sing on it, then Harvey got wind of it too and asked if he could do a few things to make it a collab track. It kind of happened organically in the end.
You and Lionel have been doing this for a long time now . What’s the creative dynamic like between the two of you?
I’ve always sort of driven the ship in the sense that I’ll come in and start something off. Lionel has a great musical ear so he’ll then mould it into a track. He’s got a great understanding for harmony, so we just sort of bounce off each other. He tames my wild ideas and we finish up with songs that are kind of listenable. It’s hard. I can’t explain it. We just work well together. We have very compatible personalities. We don’t fight much, we get on and we both have our own separate pursuits, too. Lionel’s doing film school and I’m starting a solo project, and I think that sideline stuff is important for both of us.
Can you tell us about the solo project?
I’ll probably put something out at the start of next year. I’ve got an alias that I won’t reveal yet. I don’t want anyone to know it’s me straight away. It’s kind of like old samples and electronic stuff. Think Bonobo/Panda Bear/Moby.
Mysterious! So the album comes out in August – what’s the plan after that? Can you give us any tour details?
We’ll be touring the album in September and doing some summer shows and festivals. It should be a busy time ahead…hopefully someone wants to book us.
