Interview: Midnight Juggernauts

April 9th, 2010

Over at Block HQ, we’ve got Issue 21’s mix tape stuck on repeat. No surprise: it was created by super-talented Aussie trio Midnight Juggernauts. The three, Andrew Szekeres, Vincent Vendetta, and Daniel Stricker, have done a pile of notable remixes (The Presets’ “Down Down Down” and Cut Copy’s “Hearts On Fire,” among others), while the music they’ve put together as a three-piece electropop act has been burning up dancefloors since 2004. In the leadup to the May 28th release of their new album, The Crystal Axis, we asked Stricker, the band’s drummer, a few questions.

The Block: People like to compare your music to film scores (I think the weirdest descriptor I’ve heard is “slasher-flick disco”). Do you guys watch a lot of movies, and/or take inspiration from films? If so, what are some of your faves?

Daniel Stricker: I just watched this great Japanese film from ’77 called Hausu that not only was amazing, but had a great soundtrack. Our tour bus is always filled with weird and wonderful films. One of which, Cannibal Holocaust, was probably inspirational in some ways for our new record.

TB: Your music gets slotted in with electronic, but you actually play all your instruments live. What was the band’s music background before forming Midnight Juggernauts?

DS: We used to play in garage rock bands when we were younger. Even now, the music is such a mix of electronic elements and live instrumentation – I guess we just got more toys and pedals and started adding to this sound… When we play live now, it’s always live – just using a lot of weird pedals and gear. It makes it way more interesting to play electronic music like you would play a guitar. You can go off on tangents whenever you like.

TB: I read on your Wikipedia that you’re working on stuff for Solange, Beyonce’s sister. That’s pretty random. How did you get into working with a soul/R&B act?

DS: We just kinda met when we were touring at the end of 2008, I think in Paris, and had been talking about doing something for ages. She came out to Australia a few months ago and we just started doing stuff. She’s cool and has been fun to work with.

TB: Midnight Juggernauts is from Melbourne. How come there are so many great electropop acts coming out of Australia?

DS: I guess we’re isolated so there aren’t all these distractions that dictate the type of music you make – you just find things you are really into and work on them within your own context, I guess. When we first started out there was nowhere really to play, as there were a lot of “pubs” and bars all with AC/DC-style rock music. Us and our friends would be playing this weird electronic music, and I guess we all became close over our love for that kinda sound… even if everyone is quite different. So you get this community of people pushing each other. That and looking at a band like The Avalanches get success. That was a real tipping point I think for a lot of us.

TB: You just put out a limited release album through Acephale. And right now you’re working on a new album. What can you tell me about it? How long do we have to wait before we hear it?

DS: It’s a heady prog 60s-70s-90s-2020s sound. It’s a lot of everything rolled into one. More organic than our first, it sounds like a band in a room… with lots of toys. It’s coming out in June. Maybe slasher-flick disco cannibal zouk paisley doo-wop?

Interview Jennifer Croll

Midnight Juggernauts: Vital Signs
Directed by Krozm