Culture

I Am Giant are back in New Zealand for a nationwide tour. They touched down in Dunedin on 18 July to play at student bar Re:Fuel. With a new album under their belt and a lot of excitement brewing, Adrian Ng caught up with the band right before the craziness began.

How long has it been since you guys were back in New Zealand?
We were there in the summer just gone, so about five months ago.

You recorded Science and Survival in France, can you tell us about that experience?
We were given the use of an amazing hi-spec studio by our sponsors DC Shoes in their headquarters in St Jean De Luz in the south-west of France. The region is really beautiful so on our days off we did some looking around. It’s a big surfing region ... Amazing beaches but you’ve also got the Pyrenees Mountains like 15 minutes away. It was the middle of the European summer when we were there so some days it was hard sitting in the studio recording when it was so nice outside. It’s the kind of place I’d like to spend a lot more time.

Recording wise it was all day, six days a week, for eight weeks. We had Forrester Savell producing and engineering for six weeks of that time, which was great. Forrester also recorded our last album. After eight weeks we still didn’t have it done and it took, like, another 12 or so back at my studio in London.

Was it much of an evolution compared to the recording of The Horrifying Truth?
I think we were more comfortable pushing things on this record, and since releasing The Horrifying Truth we’ve settled into our sound as a band a lot more. So I think the songs are better, and it’s a heavier, edgier, moodier, more explosive record.

What was the songwriting process like? What did you draw inspiration from?
Lyrically, the inspiration was whatever was going on in our lives at the time of writing, so they’re a collection of stories, thoughts, and reflections from the past few years. Musically, we collected up all the ideas we had from the past six years, even some old ones, and picked the ideas we thought would contribute to make the best record. We were favouring some of the heavier tunes and there was a kind of ‘90s alternative undertone in some of them we were digging, so we kind of focussed on that a bit. When it came to putting all the tracks together on the record, we wanted them to intertwine and flow in one motion and be a journey for the listener from beginning to end.

You guys have been on tour pretty much non-stop, any standout moments?
We just played a Polish festival called Orange Warsaw in the brand-new national stadium in Warsaw. Amazing gig. It was huge and so cool to have a following there so far from home. After we played, they gave us a corporate box at the top of the stadium, with our own waitress to share with Jurassic 5 and Bring Me the Horizon. So we watched the whole Outkast set from there. It was a standout moment for sure.

What is the music scene like in London and how would you compare it to New Zealand?
If I’m really honest, I probably stay in my studio a little too much to be a London scene aficionado but it’s a HUGE musical environment. So many bands playing every night of the week. It’s very dance and electronic heavy ... Even the live rock and pop tends to lean that way. The London rock tends to be more indie and have cleaner, less distorted twangier guitars ... Either that or it’s really heavy, super-munter inverted-crucifix-on-their-lunch-box kind of vibe. Aside from the fact that it is so much bigger than NZ and allows for more variety and musical mutation, I think NZ rock tends to draw more influence from the US than the UK.

Any favorite records you’ve been listening to at the moment?
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Anthology has just been playing on the van stereo. That will always be a favourite. That guy is a master songwriter.

Finally, do you have any memories of playing in Dunedin?
Yeah, we played at the Dunedin Town Hall a few years back with the Black Seeds and P-Money ... That was a cool venue to play and, being a big student town, Dunedin is always a party and a lot of fun.