Shakespearean Word Play 

On August 15, Dappled Cities will release their third studio album. Finally at the mature age of twelve, the band has decided to can its quirky gimmick which has seen them change their name each time they have released new material, deciding instead, to take a serious shot at international success. The band’s vocalist Tim Derricourt talked to me a few weeks ago about their new album Zounds; his own background in American literature and the perils facing many young Australian bands striving to gain international attention.

Twelve years into Dappled Cities’ musical career, the band is finally growing up. After never really settling on a proper band name, 2009 marks a milestone. Their upcoming album Zounds represents the first time the band has put the same name on an album, deciding it was best for all parties involved to be as coherent as possible. The band’s constant name changing has, for several years, been a raging debate on many Australian music forums and on blog sites, with fans questioning whether indeed, Dappled Cities Fly and Dappled Cities is the same band. The simple answer is yes, but there’s more to it than that. Tim explains, “we went from Periwinkle to Palpatine, You Are The Mushrooms, then to Dappled Cities Fly and now we’re Dappled Cities.”

For the first time in the band’s career there should be no confusion, and they’re already seeing the benefits of having the Australian public under their thumb. The first single from Zounds, titled ‘The Prize’, has been Dappled Cities’ most successful single to date, even making its way into a mainstream chart that the band has never charted on before. Tim announces, “We couldn’t be happier actually, it’s been the best received song we’ve had so far… it’s had the most plays on alternative radio for the past three weeks… I guess the next thing is for the album to do just as well.”

In a way, Zounds carries a lot of pressure for Dappled Cities, if the album doesn’t have an impact internationally they may have to sit back and re-access their options. Their two previous albums have tapped into small niche markets in America, Europe and the UK, but they haven’t quite reached the larger audiences that many of their fellow Australasian counterparts have. Immediately Tim mentions Cut Off Your Hands and Architecture In Helsinki as bands who have had an impact internationally, sighting them as an inspiration and hugely important in respect to helping bands from Australia and New Zealand make it overseas. “You get a real sense when you’re touring America and England that bands like Cut Off Your Hands have really made a huge difference,” he says, referring to the number of people in America who associate New Zealand music with the band. He goes on to say, “I think it’s a bit like Australia, where a band like Architecture In Helsinki, that isn’t mainstream, is actually doing quite well in the states and I think it helps other indie bands get over there.”

“… we liked how jazzy and futuristic the word sounded and how it sounds like some sort of future mechanics factory…”  

On a personal level, Tim has a different kind of love affair with America. He has a PhD in American Literature and is a huge fan of grand political love stories, a lot of which comes through in his song writing. “I love reading and my focus in reading is generally around great political love stories, you know, all those kind of great big ideas and I think that comes across in my writing. I don’t write about small things, I always write about big ideas and I guess it’s just a general trend in my life; studying is one part and writing music is another part.” One would also think that as a lyricist with a PhD in literature, Tim may also lend his hand to writing poetry, however as he explains, he’s only recently picked up that art form. “I only actually just started, but I think I’m going to start doing more. I’d like to start writing as more of a professional thing because I never really thought I could be a writer, but then I put some words down a few months back and it was one of the most enjoyable things I’d done.”

Continuing his love affair with old literature, the album title Zounds is borrowed from one of history’s most famously recognised literary figures, William Shakespeare. The word zounds simply means “wounds” in old-English, but Dappled Cities chose the name for an entirely different reason. “We like the idea of this kind of old-world word thing, kind of like because there is something quite old about our band, and also we liked how jazzy and futuristic the word sounded and how it sounds like some sort of future mechanics factory and so we were like, lets call it Zounds, as kind of a joke.” But somehow, what started as a joke, ended up becoming the final name. In more of a clichéd rock and roll moment, the name stuck because the band couldn’t agree on anything other than the Shakespearean word. “It got to the point where we genuinely had to send off the album name and that was pretty much the only one we all kind of had, so that was what it was.”

The next step is for the public to listen to Zounds and make up their own minds about the album. The band has Speak n Spell Records releasing it in Australia and Dangerbird Records releasing it in America and both have a good picture of where the band hopes to direct their new music. Dangerbird Records has already done a lot of ground work for Dappled Cities in America. They released the band’s previous album Granddance and helped the band tour widely throughout the country in 2007/2008. Dappled Cities is now approaching territory that very few Australian indie bands have ever achieved, and are one of the few indie bands in Australia who can afford to live off their music. Tim says, “We always seem to get by as a band. We do the odd job here and there to keep the money coming in but the band is the main thing.”

Now one of the biggest indie bands in Australia, playing live to their home audience takes on a different meaning for Dappled Cities. Tim says, “We don’t play in Sydney very often anymore. We’re more like a touring band now so when we do (play) in Sydney it’s usually part of a big tour.” They even step aside from many international support slots, preferring to let other up and coming young bands benefit from the opportunity. “It’s kind of funny, because we’d love to support as kind of an experience thing. But in terms of wanting to get on the big tours, there’s certainly other bands who are up and coming, who like, that exposure would do them really good. It’s kind of like, everyone else can have a go, because we kind of had that period where we got all the supports and everyone sees you and I think there’s a thing in Australia where if you keep on getting supports it’s a bit mean for the up and coming bands. Everyone has a turn and a time.”

“I think there’s a big difference between Sydney and Melbourne, just for the basic sense that for every venue in Sydney there’s ten in Melbourne…”

Going by Tim’s current description of the Sydney music scene, it sounds like bands need all the help they can get. He blames the local government for placing strict zoning laws on many parts of the city, restricting certain activities which have a huge impact on the number of music venues in Sydney. When compared to Melbourne, downtown Sydney is somewhat of a cultural wasteland, with very few venues and a lack of infrastructure to support the creative industry. “I think there’s a big difference between Sydney and Melbourne, just for the basic sense that for every venue in Sydney there’s ten in Melbourne. I think there’s more inspiration in Melbourne to go out and be in a band whereas in Sydney there are only a few venues, which is unusual because it is such a big city. It’s got stricter licensing laws and more stupid people in charge, probably.”

However, despite being in a sad position when compared to Melbourne, Tim says that he has definitely noticed the Sydney music scene change over the years. “It might sound like I’m old now but it’s like, when we first started, the idea of getting signed and going to America was like this huge thing, no bands were doing it and it seemed to me like, to even play a well publicised gig was an amazing feat. Whereas bands nowadays in Sydney are getting signed more frequently and making their way over to America and Europe. So it seems like something has opened up, I don’t know what it is but it seems like there’s more bands, that’s for sure.”

With the release of their new album just days away, Dappled Cities will no doubt spark world-wide interest in the Australian indie music scene. Zounds may be the band’s greatest achievement and if it turns out to be an international hit they could too be mentioned alongside Cut Off Your Hands and Architecture In Helsinki as a band turning the musical world’s attention towards New Zealand and Australia. There’s plenty of bands in both countries patiently waiting their turn.

Dappled Cities- The Prize: MP3

 Dappled Cities- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under Australia