Busybee
Norgdom
Perth Music
I talked to Darrell Sundai from Seraphim about how the band got started and where it is headed.
Q. Tell us a little bit of history of the band. How did you guys start out and what have you achieved?
It’s been around a year since I’ve joined the band. The real core of the band are the two guitarists (Roland, Joe). They started in early 2004 with a vocalist named Reigen. Since then they went through a vocalist change, and I think 2 drummers before they got their grubby hands on me. Since I joined it’s been absolutely mad. I think by January or February this year we were playing 3 or 4 shows a month at least, and I remember the dreaded night where we played 2 consecutively and got busted by certain…people. But damn it was fun in an exhausting kind of way, and we played at a certain venue that has recently undergone a name and management change.
Anyway, since then we’ve played a stack-load of shows and also launched a homemade single, which is doing great at the moment.
Q. What bands have had the greatest influence on you and who are your favourite bands at the moment?
Hmmm, I don’t like these questions because I always get confused between ‘influenced’ and ‘inspired’. As far as my personal contribution to the band, no artist influences me to modify or compromise what I create. As far as my drumming in concerned, any similarities in my style to other drummers is purely done without a conscious decision to do so. I firmly believe influence is not a conscious decision. If anything, I am more inspired by other artists to aim for a certain product or result in their creativity. And that ranges from films, books, soundtracks or even things that happen to me. It’s pretty universal and boundary-free, which if you pay attention the music that Seraphim creates, I think it shows. All of us believe that music is too universal to be restrained. Does this sound like a final thought on Springer, or what? The bands I’m really into at the moment are The Wire Complex, The Wednesday Society, Dyscord, Nina-x and The Fault always make me dance. I’m also listening to a lot of Akira Yamaoka, who did the soundtracks for the Silent Hill games. Oh and I’m definitely looking forward to Katatonia’s new album, and the Opeth tour in April.
Q. What helps in writing new songs? Do you need solitude to get inspiration?
I guess the best rule that I often stick to is to never force it out. Sometimes we hit dry spells where we can’t come up with a workable idea or framework for a song for months. I think that’s the beauty of it. It needs time to cultivate and all of a sudden it just explodes when we jam. I find that our best songs are ones that were totally spontaneous. I think its possible to think too hard and you squeeze out something that quite obviously sounds forced. If that makes any sense…
Q. Favourite AFL team?
AF-what?
Q. What is your favourite live music venue? Do you prefer small pub shows with a small audience or bigger shows with lots of people cheering you on?
I’m sure every band would love a huge crowd, but that’s not always gonna happen. In terms of my performance, I don’t change the amount of effort I put in whether its 10 people or 100 people, and I’m sure the same goes for many other bands in Perth. The crowd definitely helps, but they really shouldn’t determine your approach to playing your music. I guess its like a sport really, you don’t always need people watching you to get into it and do your best. As for my favourite venue, I’d have to say our best shows were at Amplifier and Black Betty’s. The sound, lighting rig, as well as stage of both venues are totally monster.
Q. When playing live shows, is it important to make every show a spectacle or does it just happen naturally? Do you feed off the crowd’s reaction or do you try to create a reaction?
I feel we’re all fairly extroverted, and I definitely do like creating a reaction in people, on and offstage. And our guitarist, Joe…well if you’ve seen us play that’s more than enough said. I think the main objective is to give the crowd, hopefully, something they can remember or take home with them. You only really get 45 minutes to have some sort of impact or to provoke some sort of reaction either musically or visually. I know when it comes to my drumming I get into it 100%, and no matter how shit I feel before I sit behind a kit, it vanishes soon after. A lot of drummers aren’t recognized or remembered, and I feel they deserve a bit more credit.
Q. What is your song writing process? Do you write the lyrics and music together or one first and then the other?
We get asked that a lot. I think due to the fact that we lost a singer, when Hannah joined there was this sort of routine of learning and singing over songs where the music had already all been written. I think we got bogged down in this process where we would simply write music for her to sing over, which I think personally was a big mistake. Our song writing process now is a full team effort.
Q. What is your take on the Perth Music Scene at the moment? Do you think it is thriving or is it a bit of over-hype?
I think its definitely thriving. I can safely say, that if somehow I were barred from all international music, and even music from other Aussie states, I’d still be pretty fucking happy. There are bands right here that are far better than the turd that gets worldwide attention. But yeah, it’s a great scene, and all fairly self-sufficient. There’s a great sense of togetherness and I’d feel safer at a local gig than a dance nightclub any night. I feel there’s rarely a week where there’s nothing to go and check out.
Q. What plans do you have for the next few months?
Another release is definitely in the works. I’m actually working on some solo-stuff at the moment, which I hope gets released sometime next year. Yeah, next year will be pretty busy for us, and we don’t intend to take a break anytime soon. Other than that, this week we’re looking forward to supporting our good mates, Head Filled Attraction all the way from Melbourne.
