Art vs. Science
Art vs. Science sticks man Daniel Williams laughs when quizzed about the video for their latest harmonious triumph single, Create/Destroy: “It’s really funny because we were on set and we all kind of thought, ‘Is this potentially going to be a catastrophe?'”
He continues, “We were trying to create a bit of controversy you know? We can’t all be polite and nice all the time. Like [The Prodigy’s] Smack My Bitch Up video – the character runs around on a campaign of terror for most of the night and then you find out it’s a girl. A kid with a sword – that’s us.”
Attempts to churn public outrage aside, this Sydney trio seem to be generating more adoration than anything else. With the lead single of the EP pumping over the airwaves on a regular basis, the two Dans and Jim have embarked on a national tour to celebrate the release of the single and their latest EP of the same name.
“It was just sort of a jam,” Williams explains of the single. “There was this really long seven-minute bridge that was this weird psychedelic jam thing, which wasn’t really going to work for radio, so we kind of left it.
“When Jim came up with the chorus we both demoed it on my laptop at my mums place. I was living there at the time so we just sat down at the dining table working on it while she was doing her taxes or something. It was really weird,” he says.
Birthing songs on his mum’s dining table is something Williams admits is not the regular protocol for the trio, yet it kick-started a creative streak, enlisting the help of revered producer Paul McKercher to develop the remaining four tracks.
“He was just so positive. He drinks a lot of tea, eats a lot of biscuits – he’s a good man,” says Williams.
With the full Create/Destroy EP only released on April 4, Williams admits that the lead single has stirred a few interesting comparisons.
“Some people were like ‘oh it’s like The Alan Parsons Project’. So I listened to a bunch of their stuff and I don’t think it sounds anything like it! Then someone else said it was like Yes, and I was like ‘Ok, I can’t really see that either but I respect your opinion’,” he says with a tone of amusement.
“I think it’s more like Eye of the Tiger than anything.” (CD)
Apr 11, Oxford Art Factory, 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst, $25+bf, moshtix.com.au
