Lakes - Folk from the Australian forests

The project started in 2002 because I wanted to stop playing in a “band”, basically so I wouldn't have to work with other people anymore! I also wanted to start a project with a minimal setup to take on tour, something I could travel with easily. At first Lakes was just keyboard, effects and a drum machine, because that was all I had available: I was very much focused on using what I had around me and what I could easily get hold of. I'd played in several bands before forming Lakes. I started out playing drums when I was 15 in Hobart, Tasmania. In the years before Lakes came about I was in a band called “The Vivian Girls”, active from 1999 to 2001, in which I was the drummer and also sang. It was heavily influenced by the Australian post-punk scene and some English goth and new wave bands. We recorded a 7’’ split and a full-length. In the end the band ran into a lot of problems and we broke up. I'd had enough of being in a group and playing drums, so I started Lakes.

I wanted to find a name that was a bit ambiguous and had some connection to nature. I was driving through Tasmania when I saw a sign with the word Lakes on it. I immediately thought it was a good name that no one had used yet. It seemed simple and minimal to me, and one that could also take on its own meaning once the music was made. A lake can be isolated, cold and dark, and that fits perfectly with what I want to do.

I've never had anyone read my lyrics, I like people to discover them on their own, using the song titles and the words they manage to make out as a kind of “guide” to understanding it all. I like Lakes' lyrics to be abstract and ambiguous, and that's exactly why this answer is so ambiguous!

Who are your musical “idols” and how have they influenced your compositions?

Lakes started out as a post-punk solo project, but shortly after I discovered the folk-dark psychedelia of The Incredible String Band, Comus, Pentangle, Forest and bands of that kind. And from there the next step was to dig into bands like Current 93 and Death In June, who were in turn influenced by the groups I just mentioned. So the most logical step for me was to fully immerse myself in that world. I also loved outfits like This Heat and Art Bears, and in fact the artwork of one of the latter's albums ("Winter Songs") appears on the cover of my first LP. All of these bands are, to me, absolute legends. I also love the New Zealanders This Kind Of Punishment, who I drew on when I started the Lakes project, as well as their fellow countryman Alastair Galbraith, who makes incredible dark music. I feel that Lakes still has its psychedelic and post-punk roots firmly intact, but over time other elements have been added as well. Honestly, everything I've experienced has left its mark, since it all seeps into my brain and shapes my songwriting in some way.

How did you come into contact with the Bologna-based label AVANT!, which released this work of yours?

What can you tell us about the album cover?

I was actually just talking about this with my friend Daniel from Distort Magazine. We were discussing the choice of cover, which for me was something of a subconscious decision. I don't really know what else to make of it, except that I was strongly drawn to that image, which comes from a book on Imperial Rome. I've also been a collector of that kind of book, and I keep searching for them, or maybe they keep finding me. After talking it over further with Daniel, we agreed that the choice had to do with a phase Lakes was going through, morphing into something different. I was perhaps taking on a dominant approach, not directed outward from Lakes, but inward, channelling the energy in the right way and making it stronger.

Douglas P., one of the key figures of the neofolk movement, has been living in Australia for a few years now. Have you ever met him? What do you think of his latest work?

I went to Sydney to see DIJ in 2011 and introduced myself to Douglas, we chatted a bit after the show. He's someone whose approach to music and aesthetic I admire enormously, so it was incredible for me to meet him in the flesh. I was really struck by "The Snow Bunker Tapes", he created a whole new dimension around the songs from "Peaceful Snow", which I also loved. "The Rhule Of Thirds" is one of my favourite Death In June records, so yeah, I'm a big fan of his recent work.

What's the current music scene like in Melbourne? Who are your favourite local bands?

Melbourne is absolutely fantastic for music right now. My favourite bands are Justin Fuller, White Hex, Forces, Straight Jacket Nation, Total Control, NUN, East Link, Prolife, Rule of Thirds, Bordel Militaire, just to name a few.

Do you have any new European or American tours planned?

I don't have any tours planned at the moment. The 2012 European tour was fantastic for Lakes and we hope to get back there in the future.

The US would be a great idea, but there are no plans at the moment!

What does making music mean to you?

Music has always been part of my life, so it means a huge amount. It's the most direct way to be creative and it's rewarding in many different ways. I feel lucky and grateful to have wonderful collaborators, and that's something I appreciate now, whereas in the past I didn't like working with other people. I was so stubbornly convinced I was self-sufficient, but now I can't imagine Lakes without its collaborators.