Wow - 2008: A Space Holiday
Bree Carter of local electro rock duo Wow catches up with 3D’s Matt Unicomb and schools him on recording an EP, bedroom production, and signing a record deal.
Bree Carter and Matt Cribb have been playing together as WOW since only November last year. In the nine months that have followed, the duo have headlined to a 1000+ throng at Hanoi’s International Music Festival in Vietnam, played with the likes of Crystal Castles and Telepathe, released a 7 Inch single, and recorded a five track EP – all while gigging on a weekly basis.
The whirlwind experience culminated in a deal with local label Levity (also home to Cut Off Your Hands and Mercy Arms), an offshoot of the well-known jeans corporation Levi’s, which took place in June. “We had a new manager at the time who took our demos to them,” Carter explains. “They must’ve liked what they heard, so about a week later they came to watch us at a show in Bondi. We had a meeting the next day.”
Some may be apprehensive of a record label that has its origins in a multi-national clothing company. However Carter cannot give them enough praise. “Levity is really artist friendly,” she explains. “The whole point of their program is artist development.”
Set for release on 28 August, WOW’s debut EP My Holiday In Space has already received substantial media attention. Those who have heard the EP probably would not have realised the bedroom nature of the duo’s production, as the bulk of each track was recorded before hitting the studio. “Recording was pretty quick,” she laughs. “We were in the studio for three days. We didn’t have to re-track anything. All the synths were fine, and we even kept some of the vocals. We were happy that the producer didn’t take anything away – he just added to tracks. The way you hear them is pretty much the way we brought them into the studio.”
This DIY ethos has led to a very authentic process of writing tracks. “We jam,” Carter says. “We loop a kick and a snare and jam over the top of it. We go back and cut stuff up and use what we like.
“When we were writing for the EP we were more aware of what we would have to play live. We made the tracks so we could play them. With our original stuff, there was a lot we couldn’t play live. It hadn’t been written to play live. We were literally playing three notes on a synth for like half a song – it was shit.”
The most refreshing thing about Carter and Cribb is not their music, but their modesty. After literally going from jamming in their bedroom to signing a deal and releasing an EP in just nine months, WOW have plenty to brag about – but that’s not their style. “We’ve never even been in a band before,” Carter says. “It’s fun. It’s an experiment. If no one buys My Holiday In Space I don’t really give a shit. We’ll put it on our mantelpiece and say ‘cool, we did an EP’. We’re not aiming for the stars. We wrote this stuff in about a month – we were in studio for a few days.
“If we release a [full-length] CD in the future we’ll follow the same process.”
WHO: WOW
WHAT: My Holiday In Space through Levity
WHEN: Thursday 28 August
MORE: myspace.com/wowsydney