One of the best globetrotting artist of the decade is Milky Chance, a German folk group that blends reggae, indie rock and electronica to create an internationally unique sound. The group consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Clemens Rehbein, bassist and percussionist Philipp Dausch and guitarist Antonio Greger. Clemens and Phillipp were childhood friends, graduating together from Jacob-Grimm-Schule in Kassel, Germany. After exploding onto the scene with their debut album Sadnecessary in 2013, they brought in Antonio as a touring member then fulltime addition in 2015. That same year, “Stolen Dance”, made number 4 on Triple J’s Hottest 100. Following the release of their sophomore album Blossom in 2017, the band toured the world, getting more ideas on how they could diversify their sound. Now the band is releasing their third album, Mind the Moon, on Friday, but this time around they’ve changed how they approach songwriting.

Backyard Opera found time to chat with Phillip about the upcoming release and how their sound has evolved on the new album.

“Musically we wanted to get in between the first album and the last album,” Philip explained. “So like, go back more minimalistic and a little bit more electronic, but make the sound better. Spend more time on the details in the sound.”

The first album was recorded when the band was unknown and in college, while the second was recorded on tour. In October 2018, the band stopped touring in order to collect the ideas that they had gathered while seeing the world. Then in January, they started recording some rough demos in the basement of their studio in Kassel. The next few months would see them travelling around to multiple studios across the globe, each contributing something different to the album. Countries like Italy, Norway and even Australia all gave unique characteristics to their song writing. Now that they had the time to concentrate their ideas, the band was able to fine tune the detail in their tracks. The result was a more internationally influenced, eclectic sound. One of the musical ideas they had gathered while touring blossom would later become Mind the Moon’s lead single “Fado”. Using the rough melody during their sound check, it is a great example of how they combined the time and detail of Sadnecessary with the worldly ideas of Blossom.

“It’s actually quite a funny story,” told Philip, “When we released ‘Fado’, a fan on Instagram sent us a video of herself standing outside the venue filming because she heard the soundcheck and we are jamming ‘Fado’. Clemens is not even singing the lyrics. He’s kinda humming the melody. It’s funny that she actually realised it’s that song.”

Another example is “Scarlet Painting”, that is built from a chorus written in November but with an unreleased verse from Sadnecessary, and “Love Runs”, which has a chorus from jams sessions on previous tours. Beyond songs that were written on international tours, one of the album’s biggest feature is the musical diversity that stems from the different studios it was recorded in. The studios directly changed the sound, added to the musicality and generally influenced tone. For example, their Italian studio was in an old farmhouse, giving songs a big room reverb and wooden texture. It also contained a sliding bass, which, after a few jams, would go on to feature in “Oh Mama”. Philip described the studio in Norway, which overlooked the Norwegian Sea, as having perfect production, giving songs a crisp but not too dry sound, as well as a Norwegian variant of the 12-string guitar, which none of them had ever played before. Their Norway studio also influenced the tone of many tracks though its breathtaking and surreal view of the gorgeous Norwegian Sea.

“(In Norway), you’d sit on a piano and be in a room that looks out onto the ocean,” said Philip. “It’s also an influence that you wouldn’t get if you write your whole album in one studio.”

On top of their studios in Italy, Norway and back home in Kassel, Milky Chance also recorded in Berlin and even Australia. While travelling, the band was able to collaborate with numerous artist, like Australia’s own Tash Sultana, contributing to the album’s worldly theme. In an attempt to bridge the gap between their first two albums, employing ideas they had on international tours like on Blossom, but with the proper time and attention to detail that they had on Sadnecessary, Milky Chance has managed to expand their formula while perfecting their style. With the songs and ideas they developed on tour, the instruments and textures they got from different studios and the featured artists found across the globe, Milky Chance’s latest album is defined by its international sound.

“You get a lot of different influences from the different places you go,” said Philip. “People have always said our music is genre-less, or has a lot of genres in it. I guess that helps us to shape it out more and bring that diversity out more.”

Be sure to catch Mind the Moon when it comes out this Friday. Milky Chance will be playing at the Falls Festival across the country from Sat 28 Dec until Sun 5 Jan 2020. They are also playing two side shows at Festival Hall in Melbourne on January 7th and at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney on January 8th. Tickets available here: https://www.secretsounds.com/tours/milky-chance-tickets-falls-2020/

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