If they haven’t been in your ears the last few years they’ve probably been in your eyes, working their way up those sweet optic nerves and into your brain as one of your favourite audiovisual acts, Naysayer and Gilsun . Never ones to be held to just one of the bodily senses however, the guys have been working hard in the studio, turning out some music and progressively developing their own distinct sound.
Coming along way from the house parties and clubs of Melbourne, the guys have been recently touring their A/V shows around Australia and at festivals like Groovin’ the Moo and Golden Plains . Recently the single ‘In Mind’, featuring the vocals of I’lls’ Simon Lam , garnered plenty of love on triple j and the intranets, and even had Chet Faker singing its praises (metaphorically).
Now, with the release of the new EP ‘ All That Good Work ’, Naysayer and Gilsun are set to continue their impressive output of off-kilter, house-infused beats. The B-side of the EP ‘Blue’ has already started making waves, and even received the remix treatment from renowned UK producer Eliphino . If you haven’t already, check it out.
Most importantly however, the guys are set to play out another massive string of dates across the country soon with Two Bright Lakes and Otologic .
For now, you can get your head around the Ripe Guest Mix mix by the guys. The mix features tracks from names like F rancis Inferno Orchestra , Cosmique Arabe and Le Sins in a collision of deep, electronic and melodic sounds. Good stuff.
Tracklist:
Le Sins
– Grind
Francis Inferno Orchestra
- Here’s To Feeling Good All The Time
MCDE
– Send a Prayer pt. II
Osunlade
– Camera Shy (
Justin Imperiale
Mix) (Edit)
Leave Him Alone
– WL-001
Lords Of Percussion
– Kressy
Cosmique Arabe
– Boys In The Oud
Sleaze Please (
Nick Chacona
Remix) –
AM/TM
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The Ripe: For the visual side of your show, how do you both decide on a pop culture reference to accompany a particular song? Have you formulated a certain process to creating live AV sets or is it something that happens more organically?
Naysayer & Gilsun: It happens reasonably organically, though we find it difficult to switch off and enjoy films in a totally detached way most of the time. It’s not so bad now, but there was a time when everything is being evaluated as a possible sample, which is a dumb way to consume and enjoy media.
We definitely try to pick things that will allow people to make a connection with the actor, environment or general aesthetic, but always want that connection to feel slightly vague and obtuse. Like recalling a dream, rather than a clear memory.
TR: You have slowly moved from sampling music from all genres to producing your own, how has this curved the creation of your own music?
N&G: Sampling music and making edits can, from a production standpoint, be like pulling apart a car and building it up again. With any luck you end up getting a pretty decent grip on all its composite parts and their relationships.
In short, the way we used to make such heavily referential material allowed us to become more adept producers and realise there’s generally a reasonably clear path to hearing your ideas come to life.
TR: What came first, the desire to create AV sets or producing your own music? Chronologically your AV sets came first, but was this a conscious decision?
N&G: We’ve always made our own music, but only started seriously working on original material together over the last couple of years. To be honest, it’s just kind of happened with extremely vague and noncommittal planning. The traditional go-with-the-flow method is working wonders for our general happiness.
TR: When you were creating the All That Good Work/Blue EP, did you have a theme in your head which is consistent with the shows, or was it separate?
N&G: The shows and our music both reflect our interests in a very current, convergent way but I think we really worked on making the EP something that felt more permanent and honest. We work on material for NGTV in the same way but feel more inclined to experiment and leave gaps, rather than just polish incessantly. Specific to theme, I’d say they’re definitely in line. People can probably decide that for themselves, though.
TR: Do you think that there’s a healthy culture which encourages progression for you guys here in Melbourne?
N&G: Definitely. We have a great little network of friends to work with and bounce off creatively here. It’s pretty easy to feel as though having a localised scene and sound is impossible with most people living and trading on the internet, but we seem to have something pretty great here.
Melbourne’s just a big country town, anyway, so it’s hard not to bump into someone every day who wants to ramble and moan about the same music-related things anyway.
TR: This upcoming tour is quite comprehensive and features both live A/V shows and straight DJ sets, what are you looking forward to most across the whole tour?
N&G: It’s been a while since we’ve done a tour like this, so we’re excited just to get out there and play. Whereas previously we may have over-stretched and tried to pull off things beyond our means, this is a fairly simple run for us. Just lots of great parties and new friends, hopefully!
TR: What can fans expect from these up coming Australian AV shows?
N&G: New material and a few different choices regarding how the show will be structured, but it’ll be the NGTV setup they’ve seen in the past. We’re really happy with how everything looks and feels at Melbourne’s Hi Fi and it’ll be fantastic to perform the audiovisual show at FBI’s 10th birthday in Sydney.
It’s worth noting that with Melbourne we’ve opted for an all-night kind of feel. We’ve enlisted two of our favourite DJ outfits for it, with Two Bright Lakes DJs taking the warmup and Otologic playing after us until management kick us out. Should be a lot of fun!
TR: And what can we expect from the All That Good Work/Blue EP?
N&G: Something individual, with any luck. We’re very proud of the originals and totally head-over-heels with the remixes. Hopefully people connect with them, too.
You can catch Naysayer & Gilsun guys doing it all live at these places:
07 SEPT – GOODGOD, SYDNEY (DJ SET)
(w/ wordlife & Club Mod DJs)
08 SEPT – CARRIAGEWORKS, SYDNEY (NGTV)
(w/ The Presets, Seekae, Worlds End Press & more)
21 SEPT – ALHAMBRA LOUNGE, BRISBANE (DJ SET)
27 SEPT – HI FI, MELBOURNE (NGTV)
(w/ Otologic & Two Bright Lakes DJs)
04 OCT – MONDO, PERTH (DJ SET)
05 OCT – FAMILY, NORTHBRIDGE (DJ SET)
06 OCT – RHINO ROOM, ADELAIDE (DJ SET)
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WORDS BY Matt Bladin
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