JAMs: A Taste of Sydney's Music Scene
JAMs: A Taste of Sydney's Music Scene
Ep. 4 - Arrowbird
[JAMs THEME MUSIC] 0:00
Sam
Hello and welcome back to JAMs: A Taste of Sydney’s Music Scene. I’m your host Sam from JAMs - Sydney’s new music family, aiming to build a thriving music scene and community in the greatest city in the world.
This is the last of the ‘Firsts’ themed podcasts for January (yes I know I’m releasing this in May)... I’ve been very behind schedule.
Today’s first-time artist is Arrowbird. She released her first ever, self-titled EP in October 2020. Arrowbird or Ray is a friend I made a couple of years ago after bonding at a party over op shopping and bargains. Ray is an amazing singer and producer and human. I’m just so excited that her EP is finally out (I’ve been waiting literal years)!
I love the eclectic mix of artists I’ve had on JAMs so far and I think Ray’s music gives a new flavour to the music scene. What flavour is that? Well you’re gonna have to listen to the rest of the podcast to find out!
So let’s get to it…
Hello Sydney and the rest of the internet! Welcome to JAMs podcast where I give you a taste of Sydney’s music.
I’m here with Ray and her artist name is Arrowbird and I’m super excited to talk to her about her new EP that’s out.
So this month’s all about first times and this is Ray’s first release as Arrowbird. How does that feel?
Ray
A lot of relief and I’m enjoying that feeling of relief. I could, like, pause time and just feel this forever.
[sound of Jam splatting on a plate]
Sam
I’m describing everyone’s music as a jam flavour. So the one I’ve got for you is mulberry jam in an enchanted pine tree forest.
Ray
Ooh. That’s actually pretty nice.
Sam
And you need the scent of pine while you’re eating the jam, you know.
Ray
Wow. That’s a very…
Sam
It’s very specific
Ray
...gourmet, like, out-there, adventurous jam.
Sam
I wrote down why...so I said, it has rich and interesting textures and flavours and it feels like it transports me to another world.
So for people who haven’t heard your music, can you just describe it a little bit?
Ray
Orchestral, ambient, acoustic, kind of film music, kind of alternative pop but a lot more experimental than traditional song structures.
Sam
Before we go onto the next bit, I saw on your instagram someone post something. I wanted to quote what they said. “Ray’s new EP is fantastic and is the kind of dreamy music that will aid you as you create”.
Ray
Ah yeah, that was my friend Alex.
Sam
Yeah, I’m like super bias because I love your music.
Ray
Aw thanks.
Sam
But it’s really true! Like, I used to listen to it, like when it came out I listened to it on repeat and I like used it to come up with all these ideas for like the podcast and all this kind of stuff.
Ray
Damn, that’s so cool Sam.
[snippet of ‘Disappear’ by Arrowbird begins to fade in]
Sam
So if you need ideas, listen to Arrowbird.
[snippet of ‘Disappear’ by Arrowbird continues to play]
Your music for me, because I know you I can hear all the gaming music influence and, like, sometimes your vocals...aw it’s a little bit punky…
Ray
Bit of edge.
Sam
Yeah. So, I thought maybe if you could give people some background on your musical journey to have a better understanding of where your music comes from.
Ray
Okay. Well I first started off singing when I was really young. My mum kind of just dumped me into, like, singing over karaoke songs and stuff like that. My parents are both musicians so I was surrounded by a lot of pianos. So I just learnt songs by ear, like, wrote some random songs every now and then. Fast forward a long time, ‘cause I was essentially just playing the piano and singing at home, I joined a band around high school, so 2011. That was my first music project with other people, and just first music project in general. So I did that for a few years. And then that was, what genre was that? That was kind of post-punk, slightly hardcore, a little bit heavy. So a lot of belt singing and stuff like that. And then afterwards I wanted to do a lot more experimental things and I really love orchestral sounds and film scores and stuff like that. So I guess I just naturally started gravitating to Arrowbird which is where I’m at now.
Sam
I was going to say, you’re mum’s a singer!
Ray
Yes.
Sam
Is that a big influence on you, or?
Ray
I would say so, in terms of getting me into it in the first place. My mum was just like ‘Oh you can sing? Sing! Sing this!’. So my first two songs were ‘Tomorrow’ by that Annie musical and the Titanic.
Sam
Where does ‘Arrowbird’ come from?
Ray
Funnily enough, speaking about gaming, I was trying to come up with a name for the project. And at the time I had this stupid to do list thing where I wanted to start playing World of Warcraft. I said okay, the character name I’m going to come up with for this character was a hunter. And I thought, oh arrows. I wanted to give it some sort of cool initiation name. So I thought, oh arrowbird. And then I made that character and then shortly after, like a few days, I just stopped playing WoW and then instead focused on actual Arrowbird music. So I almost just wanted to start playing the game so I could come up with a name because coming up with names is just so much pressure.
Sam
Yeah, that is true. But it works and it sounds good.
Ray
Yeah, it does!
Sam
And, you know, enchanted forests and stuff...it all works.
Ray
The scenery in that game is just absolutely amazing as well.
Sam
What made you want to pursue music? As a career path instead of just a hobby I guess?
Ray
I think the fact that I always come back to it no matter what. It’s almost like it’s inevitable that I’m going to start coming up with a song in my head or something. So I kind of need to scratch that itch, so when I hear something I need to write it. And I guess the feeling I get from writing is...I don’t think I ever want to lose that. I don’t think there’s anything that can replace that. So, I feel like I have no choice.
Sam
That’s beautiful.
Ray
Yeah, I got to try.
Sam
I’m sure everyone’s ears are appreciative that you’re writing your music.
And what are challenges you find pursuing this?
Ray
Closing the loop. Once I start something I can’t finish it. That’s my biggest struggle. So that’s why releasing the EP was just such a relief, like I can’t believe I actually got something done!
I have a lot of songs that I need to catch up on. So that’s daunting and exciting at the same time. But I think that’s it, finishing what I start is a very difficult skill that I’m still trying to learn how to do.
Sam
Yeah, it is very independent being a musician. There’s no real outside pressures that are like ‘this is your deadline’, you just have to be self motivated.
Ray
Yeah, deadlines are manifested, they don’t come from an external person so you just feel the accountability is all on you. You don’t always hold yourself accountable, you can just slack off.
Sam
Even with this, I had deadlines I put in my calendar. Like ‘I want my interviews finished by then’ and then I just pushed all of it like a month ‘cause I’m like welp no one cares.
Ray
Yeah. That’s the trap! You have like ten deadlines and you then you keep pushing the deadlines back and you’re like I’ve got control over this.
Sam
Yeah, exactly.
Ray
It’s a deep pit of never getting stuff finished, so that’s important.
Sam
How COVID affected your life, I guess, and as a musician?
Ray
Blessing and a curse. In a good way, I got all my things done that I was supposed to get done for this EP release. I was originally going to stick to this old artwork that I had from someone that had made this artwork at uni at the time. And then I decided, oh my god there’s a new life breathed into this project. All of a sudden I feel like getting an artist to take photos for me. So, I did that as soon as COVID hit. I just had this motivation and so much time to just get all this stuff done because I didn’t have that back then, I didn’t have a luxury of just having time whatsoever. But now I felt like well there’s nothing else I can do. It freed up a lot of time for me to actually think and get stuff done and get the ball rolling. And I feel like if that didn’t happen, I don’t even know if I would have been releasing this as soon as I did.
Sam
That’s really interesting because I feel like there’s two ways that people can go. I feel the same as you. The world paused and now I can actually focus my energies on stuff that I want to do, whereas other people just found that the world stopping they just couldn’t motivate and do anything.
Ray
I was the opposite. I feel like when all that stuff happened that autopilot suddenly turned off. Woah, wait, hang on I need to all this stuff that I really want to do.
Sam
So you’re saying ‘your original artwork from uni’, briefly, what did you do at uni?
Ray
I studied fine arts which eventually just ended up being a media arts course. So I changed the title of my degree but it was pretty much same-same. I just did more audio visual and media related work by the end of my course. But I did a lot of actual hands on art like ceramics, screen printing, painting, life drawing as well. So, like, a legit naked person would just have to draw everything. EVERYTHING. Towards the end I really enjoyed uni because I started doing more of things I wanted to do, like sound-related things.
Sam
Can’t get away from it.
Ray
Yeah, exactly. It just finds its way back into everything I do.
Sam
Yeah, I was going to ask about your art on your music. Is the concept something you came up with? Or the photographer came up with the idea?
Ray
I pretty much gave Ashley free reign. I just didn’t want to be...I didn’t want any creative direction anymore. Take it, do what you respond, like whatever you emotionally respond with with the music, just do it. And it all turned out so beautiful. So I’m very happy.
Sam
Yeah, it looks so good.
Ray
I was following Ashley’s instagram for a few months beforehand. And I was like man this is amazing, I’m going to take a risk and actually message her, really hoping she responds and she did! And here we are. I’ve got all this beautiful artwork, photos for all my music.
Sam
That’s so good. See, collaboration everyone!
Ray
Yeah.
Sam
You probably heard your music for so long, it’s nice to see what it sparks in someone else.
Ray
Yeah and also visuals are not my strength, at all.
Sam
‘I studied fine arts’
Ray
Yes I did. But to be honest I would just rather stick to what I know better and let someone else who’s really good at what they do figure that stuff out.
Sam
Yeah. Is that something you had to learn? That’s something I have to learn. I could do that but knowing that maybe it’s best to let go and be like someone else can do this better than me or is specialised in this.
Ray
Yeah, well visuals is, photography is a whole different other medium from writing music. You can’t be a pro straight away. You have to have been doing multiple projects and stuff like that to kind of know what’s appropriate or I haven’t actually practised my visual response to things, it’s always just aural mostly.
Sam
Yeah.
Ray
I feel better when I’m visually stimulated but coming up with something visual from scratch with no other element is very hard for me.
[sound of jar lid]
Sam
So now I’m going to ask you about your writing process. How do you write your songs?
Ray
A lot of the songs that I write start with the main section. Either it comes to me in my head and I’ll loop that for ages or I have a guitar, like a little guitar lead or something that just comes and I build up on that. So, it’s either a voice memo or a guitar part.
Sam
And do you write it on your computer or?
Ray
Yes. So it starts in my head and sometimes I’ll just have a part in my head for months and not actually record it. I’ll just store it up here which is really stupid because if you forget it…
Sam
I’ve done that so many times just before falling asleep. “I will never forget this idea, it’s too good.”
Ray
Yeah, and then you wake up and then it’s gone. So, either I record stuff on a voice memo and then remember to re-record on the computer. But usually now I’ve learnt that when I hear something in my head and I’ve got my phone or whatever and I’ve got my computer there already, I’ll just record it there and leave it there. As long as it exists in some other form other than in my thoughts. Yeah, I’ll start doing stuff on the computer and then building up layers. So usually either...probably guitar or vocal layers.
Sam
How long did you spend writing these songs?
Ray
Oh my god. I think the demos started when I was still in my band so around 2011. So, essentially there was heaps of untouched one minute and 30 acoustic and voice demos.
Sam
Yeah, I think you posted some of the old videos of you singing…
Ray
Yeah, yeah...that I had these and they were sitting there for like years. Like, two years or something until the band finished and I actually revisited them. Everything’s probably over five years old now which is woah.
Sam
But yeah, that’s really interesting though. Some people are very ‘I have an idea’ and they just want to pump it all out in one go.
Ray
Oh, I wish. No, I feel like my writing process is different to some people who want to just get it done straight away. I love sitting on my songs for ages and listening to how I can make them better and I keep learning new skills and new ways of mixing and then I learn how to…
Sam
Yeah.
Ray
I get this new instrument sound, it’s like I want this on all my tracks. And then rinse and repeat for like every new skill that I learnt. So, it was a lot more of a learning process than it was a productivity sort of result with this EP. But I’m kind of glad I did it that way.
Sam
Well I think the final product sounds really good. And probably now, you’ve got this skill set built. The next stuff will come a lot easier and…
Ray
That’s what I think. I hope so. I mean I can write ideas a lot...like I can get what’s in my head onto ableton a lot quicker than I used to. Like back then I guess I was actually trying to figure out what I wanted and figure out how to make something sound a certain way. But now it’s like I have bit more of a distinct style so I can be like ‘ah I want this, this, this, this’. So, that is quite true. Let’s see how that proves to be useful in my next releases should they come out.
Sam
Yeah and then now about recording and producing. So you’re like a self-produced artist. How did you get into producing music?
Ray
Just before the band finished, I was frustrated with a lot of the production work we had and I felt like there was just too many people, too many cooks trying to make this one meal. And it was really hard for me to explain myself unfortunately and it would always end in a hot headed temper. So, I was like I need to figure out how to do this on my own. Because no one, absolutely no one, is going to know what I’m talking about. I’ve just got to figure out how to do it.
Sam
Yeah, I’ve definitely had that where you’re trying to explain but you don’t quite know the correct terminology.
Ray
Words, words don’t work with me with describing. It’s either going to be some sort of random mouth language or like a beat.
Sam
Yes! I want it to be more shhhh
Ray
Yeah, exactly. So, I was almost forced to have to learn how to record and produce my own stuff because I don’t think I could’ve gotten anyone else to do this for me.
Sam
From other people I know, they get very stressed about if you’re working with someone else and you have to pay them. You’re very conscious as well of how much time they’re spending on it, how much money you’re giving them and it doesn’t give you that freedom.
Ray
Yeah. A lot of money, a lot of money. And that was definitely a factor as well. Everytime I see an amount come up I’m like got to learn how to do this on my own. Get my hair bleached? Na, got to learn how to do this on my own. Got to edit videos, do this on my own. Everything, everything to save money so I can spend the money on what I really need to spend money on.
Sam
Does producing...does that feel empowering? Because I know my experiences, all the producers I know are male. And it felt very restricting and really difficult to communicate. So people at JMC and all that kind of stuff, and those courses for producing and mixing are all filled with guys and it’s a very daunting space to be in.
Ray
Yeah, 100% it’s super empowering. Because also...I honestly feel like the studio space is very daunting in itself. I really don’t like the studio space, like it doesn’t make me feel creative. I feel like the way I write is so different to just a traditional going into a studio and recording with someone. I need to be in my own space and feel in the mood to do something. So, yeah definitely very empowering. Once you step into a traditional looking studio and maybe you don’t have a good relationship, a developed relationship with this producer, you have to instantly try and access your vulnerability, your creativity and… Because a lot of the stuff I wrote, I’m coming from a very emotional standpoint. People are usually not on that same playing field, so already the dynamic is tense. Which is why there is a lot of ‘on edgy-ness’ feelings with producer and artist. Especially if you’ve never worked with them before. Cuts a lot of corners and a lot of emotional conflict and dissatisfaction. I would rather do a shitter job by myself than do a job that is good but it’s not what I want.
I’m a super emotional producer and I don’t see that a lot in male producers. Everyone’s got their own different approach though but I definitely say there’s more heart in it when I do it.
Sam
Was it a steep learning curve, learning how to produce and all those skills? I mean you’ve been building up on those skills for nine, ten years now.
Ray
Yeah, a lot of times I felt very lost. I thought oh I figure out how to do something but then when you want to change it up a bit you’re like I don’t know how to do this, I don’t know how to add this, does this sound good? You get in this loop. You get excited to do something and then you do it and then you question it and you doubt it and then you eventually go through that slog of trying to figure out what you actually want and then it’s good again and then repeat the process. It was definitely very difficult. Drums, for me, was the hardest element of this whole EP because I’d never done it before.
Sam
Yeah, exactly. It’s so hard to know because you’re like ‘I don’t play drums’.
Ray
I don’t play drums. I don’t mix drums. You got to make things sound cohesive in the best way you can but that was so hard. I feel like there was a lot of tweaking, a lot of tweaking. And I think part of it was my fault because I didn’t actually learn how to do those things. I kind of just kept using my ear and if it sounds good, it sounds good right now. But learning some technical stuff would have definitely helped me along the way but I’m stubborn.
Sam
Do you have advice for people I guess? It’s a good idea to go out there and learn all these skills and…
Ray
Do everything you can that you’re capable of yourself first and see how you go. And then when you need help, ask for it. Because that really helped me actually. Someone who already had the knowledge, like my partner, he did a course in audio. So I was able to be like why doesn’t it sound like this? And he’d be like oh no, you just need to take it up a notch or no you’re redlining too much, put the volume down. Just stupid things like that. If you’re quite independent and confident with what you’re making but you just need a little bit of help here and there, for someone to steer the direction, find a friend or someone who can just give you some advice. But it’s up to you as well. If you want to learn how things work, that’s also very good. I’m sure there’s heaps of stuff available online for that.
Sam
Yeah, that’s the world we live in.
Ray
Yeah and I think it will help you a lot more than trying to figure shit out for yourself.
[Sound of spoon tapping on a jar]
Sam
We’re going to move on to our first times section. So I’m going to ask you a few questions.
So what was your first CD?
Ray
I don’t even know if I had a first CD because I had a first harddrive that my dad had illegally downloaded all this music too. So I don’t even remember a CD…
Sam
First album then maybe?
Ray
Oh my god. I think it was Delta Goodrem…
Sam
So good! So good. Now I’ve had...mine’s an Australian artist. I think nearly everyone I’ve asked has Australian artists as their first. Mine was Rogue Traders.
Ray
Oh my god, yes, Rogue Traders. I only had one of their songs on the So Fresh CD. It was like a So Fresh version of Cyprus, because I lived in Cyprus when I was a little bit younger and had all these songs and it was called Mambo No. 5 and that was the first song on the album. I think that was my first first CD but when I came to Australia, came back home, I think it was Delta Goodrem, when I had my walkman.
Sam
Ah walkman.
What was your first concert you went to?
Ray
Avril Lavigne.
Sam
Oh, that’s a good first concert.
Ray
I loved Avril Lavigne and I still love some of her more edgier songs which are so fucking good.
Sam
Did you hear her sing ‘Complicated’ live?
Ray
Yeah, she definitely would have sung ‘Complicated’ live because it was around the time when that album came out.
Sam
S8er Boi.
Ray
Yeah, yeah. But I loved her more rockier songs. Which I later found out that her record label didn’t want her to go in that direction. And I was so bummed because they were one of my favourite songs. She would have made such a good punk rock album. I’ve got a grudge against the record label for that because they wanted her to be a lot more popier. She could’ve been the female version of Blink-182 and we would have had the representation when we were younger. Instead she became a pop princess and maybe she doesn’t mind.
Sam
Tangent, but what’s your opinion on you know the conspiracy that she died? And like…
Ray
What??
Sam
Haha have you not seen this?
Ray
I do not know this conspiracy.
Sam
Everyone has this theory that she died and some person who look like her has replaced her during some specific year and then there’s all this weird intense detail people have gone into it. I don’t know why.
Ray
Oh my god, no. I’m not going to look into it because I haven’t heard about it until now.
Sam
Who was your first favourite artist?
Ray
It might have actually been Avril Lavigne.
Sam
What was your first instrument that you learnt?
Ray
It was piano. I had a piano, I started playing around with toy pianos before I was able to sing. So definitely piano.
Sam
It’s funny because there’s not like piano in your songs.
Ray
No! But I write a lot, a lot of my songs start off with a piano or a guitar.
Sam
And what was the first moment you knew you wanted to be a musician? Or a distinct moment…
Ray
Okay, a distinct moment was when I was in year 8. I was playing a lot of sport up until year 8 and then all of a sudden my teacher was like “oh you can sing you should join the musical”. Then I joined the musical in year 8 and all of a sudden I was spending all my lunches instead of playing sport, I was playing the piano, writing songs. And this was around the same time that I really wanted to start a band. So, I guess I had been working up towards that.
But yeah, I would say around Year 8 was like ooh I could actually do something with this.
[sound of spoon hitting jar]
Sam
We sort of touched on this a little bit, talking about musicians and mental health. I work for a music and mental health charity, Listen Up Music. And, yeah, there is a very big connection between musicians and their mental health and I guess like the process of writing music and releasing music and the vulnerability which we were talking about, I guess it’s quite an unstable lifestyle as well. How has that been for you? How has your mental health been in this whole journey of releasing your music?
Ray
It hasn’t been the best but I don’t think it ever really has been stable in a way that I could actually regulate myself but a lot of the time when I was younger and I was writing music it would be around night time until the early hours of the morning.
Sam
Me too.
Ray
And looking back at it, it had a lot things to do with the anxiety of not wanting to sleep. So that kind of replaced the sleepless nights with actual productivity and that would eventually make me sleep. So that’s how it started off early on. Now I can kind of do things during the day and try and focus on getting a good night’s sleep. I don’t know, music is a very helpful one with my character because I’m very impulsive and I get really excited when I think of an idea and sometimes I can just literally sit down and bang a demo in five hours. It’s been really helpful with me. It’s definitely been my coping mechanism as an A) and only child and B) someone who’s super anxious who just wants a distraction and 3) someone who is also very hyper. So I can make like an echo chamber of productivity in all that stuff I’m trying to ignore. It’s definitely helped me so much through everything. I feel like it’s the best way I can deal with things.
Sam
But how was the release process?
Ray
The release process was actually really exciting because it had taken such a long time already that I was at a different stage of being as opposed to when I was like way younger. Now it was like okay I need to get this, this and this done because I want to actually pursue more goals in the music field and get more stuff done. But at the end it was, yeah, it was okay.
[sound spoon hitting jar]
Sam
I was going to ask you about the choices you’ve made in terms of...yeah, you’re an independent artist and how you’ve chosen to release your music and what are your plans. Whether you want to pursue going on a label or anything like that?
Ray
I guess the reason I wanted to start independent right now as a solo artist is because I wanted to see how much I could do without an external influence. Because this is the first project I have as a solo artist, I don’t want any external ideas yet. Simply because, you know, some people can make you feel a way that what you’re doing is not appropriate, not right…
Sam
Like Avril Lavigne.
Ray
Yeah! Like Avril Lavigne. I didn’t want to be Avril Lavigne and enter the pop world when I wanted to enter something else. I just wanted to see where I could take myself first because then maybe when I do feel like I need that help or I would like to be on a label or something, then I can put the hard yards in and find the right place for me. And maybe if I get enough stuff out there I might attract the right people. So I would rather take a little bit longer and organically get stuff done, find the right people. As opposed to having just started out, find someone and all of a sudden there’s this other element that’s making things stressful. I just don’t think I need this right now.
Sam
Yeah. You don’t want to be put into a box straight away. You can have your own creativity and hopefully people will appreciate what you…
Ray
Yeah and I feel like I’ll certainly reach a stage where’s it’s like okay I can’t do this on my own anymore, I probably need to seek out some help.
[sound of jar lid]
Sam
So, through this process what have you learnt? And were there surprises or things that you wish you knew beforehand?
Ray
I guess to not be such a perfectionist. Honestly, because what I’ve learnt is if you spend too much time on say five songs. Five songs for five years. You spend so much time on them that the feeling of who you are kind of passes and then it comes back and then it passes, you don’t feel like working your music and sometimes you do, you have to feel in the mood. So, the sooner you can get it done at the best of your abilities the better. Like I fluffed around a bit but that was because I guess I was studying at uni. So, I’ll know better for next time. And yeah, don’t spend so much time on your final tracks because personally for me I find that by the time I’ve organised a live set, the songs have changed anyway. I re-change them in my own special way. So just see your songs as polished demos of what you want to show live and let the live performance be a little bit more of a testament to your craft. Because I really missed performing throughout this whole thing and if I had just gotten this done sooner, I could’ve gotten on the stage quicker. And played all those songs live instead of hearing them over and over again for the past few years.
[sound of jam splatting on plate]
Sam
Some questions about the Sydney music scene. My aim with JAMs is to try and revitalise the music scene in Sydney and make more of a community that then encourages collaboration and good spaces for people to play music to try and make it thrive. What is your experience that you’ve had in the Sydney music scene so far?
Ray
Well, from the many one shows that I’ve played, I think being surrounded by your musical community is so important and if you can get enough people together to join forces that might actually be the best thing right now as an independent artist with no money, with no, you know, label. I really enjoyed that one show that me and the boys from Meow xx organised. Which was like...we independently organised it and ran it in our own space and we got all our friends to come and it was sold out. So, I feel like if you just pay attention to the small spaces and things you can get done as long as you’re in a group and you’ve got collaborators. That was a very enjoyable gig and I think it is because we did it ourselves. So, there’s a lot of stuff to pay attention to there.
Sam
And I think also setting achievable goals, I think people have, kind of, grand ideas. ‘I released my music, I want to be famous now and I want to, you know, sell out a gig in like a bigger space’ and it’s like you need to work up to that. And it feels so good to like...I play in a band called SPENCER and the space gig that we did, we made a conscious decision to be like we can fit more people in here but we don’t want to. And we want to sell this many tickets and sell out and feel really good about it. And then just put on the show that we want to and not try be like oh we want to just boost ticket sales and have more people. That’s not what it’s about.
Ray
No, it’s definitely about not aiming unrealistically high for things. Sometimes when you’re starting out it’s better to do things a lot more slower with less higher expectations and stakes because if it doesn’t turn out the way you want then you’re going to disappoint yourself. There’s no point in doing that, you got to do baby steps sometimes.
Sam
Yeah, and you want the music to sound good and not focus on this other stuff.
Ray
Yeah, exactly. It’s so much work. So, yeah, definitely.
Sam
The other question I’m asking people is what do you want the music scene to look like? Like, what kind of things do you want there to be for you as Arrowbird?
Ray
I would love multi-facetted kind of gigs. So, not just music. Something that’s a lot more artsy. Just, multi-disciplined would be amazing. It’s not just a gig, you know, there’s an art show somewhere else, there’s maybe a little independent shop. Once again, that feeling of community I think makes things feel a lot more wholesome.
Sam
Yeah, that’s the thing I want to do with JAMs. It is music focused but I also want to open up collaborations between artists. I know playwrights and all that kind of stuff and it will be really interesting to see what can happen if we merge those different sectors together. It’s quite independent at the moment.
Ray
Yeah, I mean yeah we always look further away than we think we need to when you can just find that someone two suburbs away that’s probably doing the same thing.
[sound of jar hit with a spoon]
Sam
What are the future plans for Arrowbird?
Ray
Usually, I don’t plan my life more than two weeks ahead but that’s subject to change. I would like to release an album next or I would just like to release more consistently. Whether it’s an EP or an album, I just don’t want to take the amount of time that I took to get this done.
Sam
But I also think that, I feel like people focus so much on albums, it’s such a single world out here now.
Ray
I know. But I think I lean toward albums because of the song themselves, they all have this collective kind of…
Sam
Yeah, I was going to say. Do you like the…
Ray
The storytelling of it, the whole world of it is...yeah I write more in collections not singles. If it’s not an album it’s definitely just going to be an EP again.
[Sound of jar lid scraping]
Sam
And could you give me two local artist recommendations? To share the love of Sydney artists
Ray
Okay, so I really like ANGE. I’ve been listening to ANGE a lot. She’s from Barcelona but she lives in Sydney and she does RnB, Funk, Disco. So I really like her for Summer vibes, kind of nostalgia, Summer and dancing vibes.
Another artist is Lupa J, so I think they’re Sydney-based but they recently moved to Melbourne again and they recently released a really sick album that melds industrial and techno and pop together. So, there’s some really good melodic elements but really heavy drums and bass which is so sick.
Sam
Yeah, that’s cool.
Ray
And they recently released a music video for one of their songs. So, really cool artist.
Sam
We’re doing a little inspirational bit at the end for people who are just thinking about releasing their first music or sitting on their music and not sure what to do or they’re too scared to put it out there. Do you have any advice or anything to say to them?
Ray
Better to have done it than to have not done it at all. It’s never easy doing something for the first time so there is going to be a lot of vulnerability, judgement and just over-analysation with a lot of things that you kind of feel sensitive or vulnerable about. So, just do it because you need to overcome that feeling and the more you do it, the more you’ll get desensitised to your thoughts of judgement. It’s a really hard thing to do, to get out there for the first time but the more you do it, the more you’ll see that’s what matters and you’ll just want to get better and release more things. And that’s just the learning progress, there’s nothing that you start doing or learning is ever easy, never should be easy at first.
Sam
Well thank you for sitting with me today Ray.
Ray
Thanks for having me.
Sam
And listen to her EP! I’ve put it on repeat, it was on my top 100 songs of 2020.
Ray
Woo!
Thanks for listening right to the end of this JAMs episode!
Hope you had a fun time hearing all about Arrowbird!
Go listen to her EP RIGHT NOW! I highly suggest keeping uptodate with her on instagram @arrowbirdofficial - this girl puts out some pretty good meme content but also great conversations about creativity and productivity, sneak peaks of things she’s working on - her stories always put a smile on my face!
And if you haven’t already keep up to date with new Sydney releases, interviews and gigs by following us on instagram: @jams_fam_ , liking our facebook page and joining our facebook group.
If you want to explore some Sydney artists, check out our spotify playlist - JAMs’ Jams
And for more information visit our website www.jamsfam.com
Please message and comment with artists you want to hear interviews from and any feedback - always looking to improve the listening experience!
Special thanks to Euan Chaffey for making this groovy theme music that, FUN FACT, was created with only the sound of a jam jar and the homemade jam inside it.
[JAMs THEME MUSIC]