As part of RTRFM’s Radiothon Opening Party this Saturday, August 11, one of the station’s Drivetime hosts CASEY MCLEAN will be among the many talented courtyard DJs soundtracking the evening. She caught up with Axel Carrington of New Talk (formally Rag N’ Bone), another of the acts who will also be gracing the Badlands stage that evening. They chat their new single, future plans and their affinity with the radio station.
You’ve been working hard and playing a lot this year, recently launching an epic new track, Red Tuesday, and an accompanying video. How did that come together?
We’d always loved the idea of doing a one-shot kinda deal, but never had the expertise or willpower to pull it off, until we contacted local producers PAVLOVA and director Luna Laure. Their understanding of the material and how to present it was as if they knew our brains already, so once the pitch was given we were all on board! Pretty sure my hat still has dirt from the shoot, which was in a half-flooded basement underneath Kakulas in Freo. Credit to the amazing crew and our ‘choreography’ for pulling it together!
I saw that you got together to work on a New Talk The View From Here episode on an extremely stormy day! How did that go? Did you get it finished?
Yes, thanks to RTRFM for being the best and organizing that! It was a wet and wild Saturday atop the 51st floor of the old Bankwest Building. It was filmed in Alan Bond’s old apartment and featured a stinky spa, an extremely loud drum kit… that sorta thing. I hate heights so I preferred the non-balcony parts of the shoot. We ended up shooting four songs that day, so I hope everybody enjoys watching it!
We are very excited to have you playing the Radiothon opening party this year! What can we expect on Saturday night?
It’s a pleasure to play! Hopefully some sort of weird light show – we’ve all been keen on Stan Brakhage lately. A couple of new tunes and relentless energy that can only come from 12am and a number of highballs. I might crank out the mustard suit I got tailored recently (it’s definitely mustard, Jamie) and Sara’s feedback section in Solitude has been absolutely relentless recently. In other words, a pretty typical New Talk experience!
What other acts on the bill are you excited to see?
RTR events always have beautifully curated line ups, but if I had to choose just three? HEEBIEJEEBIES (always interesting, surprising and exciting), Filth Goddess (haven’t seen them before, so I’m very keen!) and Skullcave (no fear here, just burst eardrums).
What do you have planned for the rest of 2018?
We’re releasing our next single soon, followed by an east coast tour in October. We’ve had some time to reflect and indulge in personal interests this year, so now it’s time to hoe down into the next record—the only thing I can reveal is that we want it to be ‘spicy’.
New Talk have been involved with RTRFM for a long time, whether by helping us out by playing events or coming in for chats to entertain our listeners. What is it you love about RTRFM that keeps you coming back and supporting us?
So many things, but if it had to be boiled down to one thing it would be the sense of community through supporting local artists and musicians, playing dope tunes and giving voices to everybody that needs to be heard!
