After releasing sporadic singles for years, Capetonian indie band Al Bairre has finally released a full-on "mini-LP". Kyle Davis answers some questions about this decision, carrying the label of festival darlings and life.
Good day, Kyle. How are things?
Things are so well. I’m just cooking supper. It’s looking divine.
Al Bairre
Congrats on the release of Al Bairre's "mini-LP" Experience the Al Bairre Show with Al Bairre Experience. The title's quite a mouthful – how did this one happen?
We just wanted people to be able to take The Al Bairre Show home with them and experience us from the comfort of a nice chair or table top.
We put a lot of time into getting the energy of our live show into a CD. We wanted people to know that we eventually managed to do that. So we put it in the name.
Al Bairre has been around for some time now, releasing the sporadic single and performing as regular festival favourites. This release has been some time coming, then. Why the relative delay, if one may call it that? Was it a case of satisfaction with online releases as opposed to a physical album, or to what extent did you want to get the track list (and, of course, the tracks themselves) just right before releasing?
We were just waiting until we had enough songs to put something together. This takes ages, though, because we are super fussy. If we don’t feel like a song could potentially be a single then we put it in a special box that we then put in the bin.
The album is quintessentially Al Bairre (as one would expect, of course) – loads of light-heartedness in the music, a bit more heavy-heartedness in the lyrics (but not in the melodies), accompanied by some seriously intricate instrumental work. How does the songwriting process work in Al Bairre? Do you guys have a clear idea of what the "boundaries" are into which an Al Bairre song should fall (as in what the fans and festivalgoers expect from the band) and then run on that platform, or how do you generally finish up a song from when the first word and chord are written until the band feels the song is ready to be unleashed?
The other reason this album took so long is that we still have no idea of how we get a song. We were hoping by now we would have a radical formula that we could follow and just release an album every month, but every song we have written has come about in a completely different way.
So now we just sit in our band room and write a million “quarter songs”. Then, eventually, when all our good moods link up on the same day and Jupiter aligns with Saturn, we start to get something that we all think could be really lovely. Then we build on it from there. During all this, Nicholas and The Twins just sing phonetic nonsense into the mic to get the melodies.
After the song is “finished” Nicholas goes off by himself while the rest of us busy ourselves with idle chit-chat. When he comes back he has all the lyrics. That’s the best part.
On that note, and considering Al Bairre's previous releasing strategy of going for online single releases rather than album or EP releases, it does seem that there's a strong focus on strong songs that stand on their own two feet with the album – in fact, all of the tracks (apart from "Hi'', the quick instrumental introduction) are single material, even though "Tunnels" and "Julia”, for example, are completely different kinds of songs. To Al Bairre, what doth a good single make? How do you feel about balancing "radio-friendliness" with simply following your instincts? Has your philosophy, if one can call it that, regarding this changed since you first started playing together, and if so, in what ways?
What doth maketh a good single to us is just a track that has something unique that makes it stand out from other songs. Maybe a divine drop, or a beautiful bridge or clever change. Anything really. If it makes us go “That’s bad-ass”, then it passes the test. Gotta keep the people guessing.
What you said is completely right. We like to write songs that sound completely different from one another. The songs must each have their own charm and personality and be able to stand on their own. If they can’t stand on their own then they will probably get bullied by other songs. And who are we to set a song up for bullying?
In a short documentary posted on YouTube you described Al Bairre as a "heavy metal band that plays children's music". That's ... quite interesting – care to elaborate? Do you think this is why Al Bairre has become such a firm festival favourite in a relatively short time? Are there restrictions or annoyances that come with being labelled a "festival favourite" band, or has it only been good to you thus far?
Nicholas and I grew up watching punk bands. Those dudes would be on their knees. On their backs. On each other. We just thought that was how it was done. So when we started performing, it seemed normal to do the same thing and just basically rock and roll all night long, sweet Suzie.
So now when we perform we do exactly that – but while playing music that 9 out of 10 children enjoy.
I guess that is why festivals like us. Everyone knows if they watch Al Bairre they will either get lucky or see a great show. We’ve had people do both before.
Speaking of the festivals – every band seems to have a different view of the current state of music venues and festivals in South Africa ... the lack of proper large venues versus the enhanced experience in smaller venues, oversaturation of festivals versus an abundance of opportunities, et cetera. What is your view of how things stand in the South African scene at the moment, and how do you see it evolving in the future? What evolution do you anticipate in terms of Al Bairre's place in the scene/industry?
We think it’s great. The number of festivals and day festivals that have been popping up is radical. With the exchange rate in such a shambles and the majority of the smaller festivals not being able to get international bands on the line-up I see the local bands stepping up and putting more emphasis on providing the audiences with a live show that could match those of the internationals. We’ve started making our live shows more aesthetically pleasing with stunning visuals, better sound, new gear, tighter performances, etc. Now’s the time to shine.
As noted above, Al Bairre has been part of the South African music landscape for a few years now. What have been the highlights for the band thus far? And conversely, any experiences you'd rather forget? Any behind-the-scenes tales that made you glad you never took an office job?
As far as highlights go: at the beginning of last year we registered Al Bairre as a real-life company and now own our very own business. Then getting paid to go to and play at parties around the country with your besties is rather fun too. Definitely makes us glad we didn’t take the day job.
As for experiences we would rather forget: a sizeable section of our office ceiling came loose and fell on Tessa during a meeting once. We thought she was dead. I don’t know why we thought that. It only grazed her. But for those few seconds we thought she wasn’t with us anymore. I wouldn’t actually want to forget that 'cause there is something very comical about a ceiling falling on someone. But at the same time you do kind of want to forget it. Like watching Magic Mike.
What does the near and far future hold for Al Bairre, as far as you can control it?
We’re heading over to Berlin, Amsterdam, London and Brighton in May for a Euro Safari.
If you have any friends in those areas then tell them to come say hello. We would love to meet them.
14 May – Privatclub – Berlin.
17 May – Queen Of Hoxton – London.
19–21 May – The Great Escape Festival – Brighton.
23 May – The Half Moon – London.
25 May – Melkweg – Amsterdam.
It’s gonna be such a time!
What is the meaning of life?
I asked Siri and she told me she can’t answer that now, but to give her some time to write a very long play in which nothing happens ...
I sometimes worry.
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