B-Film Etc. is a bedroom rock duo from Hobart, Australia. Forming in 2013, the band has released six LPs. Over the course of their discography, they’ve explored sounds ranging from: psychedelic shoegaze; to 90s inspired indie rock; to more melancholy, bedroom pop. Their latest album, ‘Maybe In The Next One’ is characterised by strains of folk songwriting amidst jutting indie noise.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with B-Film Etc. about the latest music, challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
We’re from Hobart, Australia, which is located on the little island of Tasmania, south of mainland Australia. It’s a small city (roughly 200,000 people), that’s become quite trendy (it’s often referred to as ‘Melbourne-lite’), due to a number of large arts festivals that have sprung up in recent years. However, if you venture more than a few kilometres out of the city, you’ll find that the place is still quite parochial (so it’s hard to hang onto any pretensions).
The music we make is a raw and amateurish kind of pop. You could refer to it as bedroom pop/rock, slacker rock or lo-fi, but those genre labels mean very different things to different people – as we found out while trying to promote this record. I (Paul) don’t really like heavily processed music. I like the sound of people playing instruments in a room. If that means you get a bit of bleed from other instruments, or the mics pick up some unflattering reverberations due to the lack of acoustic treatment in your living room, then all the better for it. Hell, I don’t mind if there’s a bit of traffic noise in there, just as long as a good performance is captured.
For this record, there was a greater focus on storytelling then there has been in past records. The lyrics are much more character driven, rather than being word collages or stream of consciousness rantings (as has been the case in the past). I found that this freed me up to write in a way that was slightly less judgmental and could even be funny.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
I (Paul) played casually in bands in high school, but it wasn’t until I went to university that I started to take it more seriously. I spent roughly 5 years playing in various groups, trying to make ‘a real go of it’. But when nothing really happened, beyond a few festival spots, then I settled for simply playing music for the fun of it. This was actually quite liberating, as it meant from then on I’d only do the things in music that I enjoyed doing; mostly just writing and recording songs (with the occasional live performance thrown in). I seem to continue playing music out of some strange compulsion. It’s probably quite unhealthy, but I’m quite obsessive when it comes to this stuff, and so I just keep writings songs out of habit.
Caitlin’s story is quite similar. We played in a band together until that fell apart (roughly seven years ago). We’ve been doing this ever since.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
As mentioned above, there was more of a focus on interesting lyrical ideas. We also wanted to strip the sound back (not stress over production) and just focus on writing direct, ‘to the point’, pop songs.
Since our 4th album, Punch Line, we’ve been trying to recapture that initial love of playing music; what it was that inspired us, made us feel like we had to pick up a guitar there and then and bang something out. I can remember buying Radiohead’s OK Computer at the age of 19, popping the cd into my car stereo, and listening to it over and over from start to finish. I latched onto an indescribable quality in the songs and I became very attached to the record. I looked forward to driving places, just so that I could hear it.
For years after, as I pursued music more and more, I intellectualized music to a greater extent, rather than focusing on what really makes a person fall in love with a song; its emotional impact. Sure, people like stylized music, but they love an honest and sincere song.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this over saturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
Technology has given us the tools to release our music to a much wider audience and provided a greater opportunity for us to find our niche. However, it’s also given everyone else access to those very same things, and so there’s enormous competition for everyone’s attention. If you’re like us – mild-mannered people, who are easily demoralized by self-promotion – then it can be extremely difficult to cut through all of the noise.
There also still seems to be a lot of barriers that unsigned artists face. One specific example is Spotify. If you don’t have a distributor, then there’s no way for you to place your music on the site.
There’s also an expectation that you have to have a ‘presence’ on all social media platforms. Personally, I can’t stand social media, and do my best to steer clear of it.
What was the last song you listened to?
Paul – Okay by Elvis Depressedly
Caitlin – Wonderwall by Oasis (part of a 90s mix)
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
Paul – I still have a cd player in my car, and I’ve always found that this is the best time and place to listen to music – so, CD for me
Caitlin – I walk a lot, so mp3s are probably the most convenient, and also what I listen to most.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Bandcamp for sure. I like the layout, the way that you can pretty much make your page look like a cd front and back. I find this far more conducive to an album release, rather than singles – which other sites cater more toward.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
Bandcamp https://b-filmandthecannibalisticpohowardband.bandcamp.com/
Anything else before we sign off?
We should be sporadically releasing some B-sides, Covers and Demos over the next couple of months. It may seem a bit self-indulgent, but I (Paul) personally love it when bands release some of their more ‘warts and all’ recordings, so I’m assuming there are other weirdos like me that may be interested.
