Faux Faux Amis—described by their label, Early Music Australia, as “a fun garage pop five-piece consisting of Luke McGrath, Catherine Sarah, Melanie Twidale, Kevin Lauro and a transient roster of drummers.” Emily Allen caught up with Luke ahead of the launch of Early’s entire Fall/Winter catalogue tomorrow, Saturday 16 August. Along with Faux Faux Amis, Alphamale, Aphir, Samantha Hera, The Wrst, Northumberland and Petrichor are also playing and also releasing new material!

What gave you the idea to make a band made up of other Canberra bands? 

Sometimes I feel like Papa Hemingway, hunting big game on the Serengeti Plains. Except instead of elephants, I’m tracking bass players and multi-instrumentalists. For Faux Faux Amis, I poached the rhythm section of Canberra’s reigning surf rock kings Space Party (Darren Atkinson and Kevin Lauro). My co-vocalists – Melanie and Catherine – are both old friends (Mel and I played together in The Bluffhearts), and pretty much just told me they were joining. It was the best decision I didn’t make, and they are now my favourite part of our sound.

How did EARLY MUSIC AUSTRALIA join the picture?

I read in BMA that there was this crazy new label in town putting out records every six months and running shows with live visuals and associated madness. Since I was already lugging an AV rig to our shows, I thought we’d have a lot in common. I was right – I met Sam and Oscar from EARLY MUSIC AUSTRALIA earlier this year and we immediately bonded. Like me, they just get so much joy from making things and sharing them. Plus they 1000% back any bizarre ideas I might have – like an album of one minute songs!

All 10 songs on your debut album are around one minute long. What is your reasoning and inspiration for this?

To keep interested as a writer and performer, I like to challenge myself– for example, last year I live-scored a silent film with my band Shine Tarts at the NGA. And honestly, I just love short songs. A minute seems short, but it’s amazing how much can be condensed into one. I think of these songs as pop-haikus.

How do you feel about the Chop Shop’s ‘Stop Work’ order?

At a time when The Phoenix and The Polish Club were both offline most of the year, I was mega-excited for The Chop Shop. Suffice to say, I was upset when I heard news of the ‘Stop Work’ order. Like a lot of people, I’ve signed the petition and I’m hoping/wishing/praying it gets resolved soon. Luckily, we’ve been able to shift it all next door to Lonsdale Traders.

What are your longer term plans as a group?

We’ve commissioned videos for all ten one-minute songs, and will stagger their release ‘til the end of the year. I’m going to shoot a couple of them, but we’ve got animators, playwrights, cartoonists, and digital artists all set to contribute. After that? I don’t know yet – maybe an EP in French? I also have this idea for an album where each song goes up a key and is faster than the one before it, so it builds and builds as it goes along. I don’t know if it would work, but this is the band that could do it.

the essentials

What: Early’s entire Fall/Winter catalogue launch
When: 8pm Saturday 16 August
Where: Lonsdale Street Traders, Lonsdale Street, Braddon
How much: FREE ENTRY until 10pm. $5 entry from 10pm onwards.
You can find Faux Faux Amis on Facebook