Ever since Melbourne based artist Jacob Rohde released his latest single This Ain’t Love, we’ve been completely hooked on his dreamy indie-electronic sounds.
It’s been a week since we first wrote about the song, and since then, we haven’t stopped spinning it. So we caught up with the artist himself to chat about the new single, his DIY home setup, and rediscovering a love for music.
“I don’t want to put pressure or expectations on anything otherwise it becomes laborious”: Jacob Rohde chats his new single This Ain’t Love and rediscovering his love for music.
HAPPY: Hey man, how’s it going? What are you up to at the moment?
JACOB: Hey! I’m really good! My life basically revolves around writing and recording at the moment haha. Still getting by, so a bit of work here and there too.
HAPPY: We’re loving the new single… could you tell us a bit about it?
JACOB: There’s not a whole lot to tell really… no great moment of inspiration. The song kind of appeared out of thin air. I had been playing around with a few sounds and samples without any idea of where it was going. I think I took the lyrics from another song I was working on and kinda mumbled them through the mic over this half-finished version of the song and it came to life. Lyrically it’s a bit of a reflection of some younger days and bad relationships, things you don’t realise until you get a bit older and wiser I guess.
HAPPY: How are you feeling about it now that it’s released?
JACOB: To be honest, I’m just stoked I got to the end of it and was still excited with the finished product. Sometimes I will start and finish a song in a day or two. Other times if I don’t click or gel or if I lose the vibe with a song, I have the tendency to walk away and start over. This Ain’t Love took a few weeks before I was happy and it never once lost my attention. Feels like I won the battle! It’s been received well too which is humbling.
HAPPY: This Ain’t Love is the latest in a string of new singles from you… how do you see this single as being different from past singles? If at all…
JACOB: I have a habit of getting overly absorbed and obsessed with recording when I’m inspired. My musical output generally reflects the times in my life when I’m in a good spot mentally. I’m feeling really good at the moment, really inspired by life hence why I’ve put out a few singles recently… but This Ain’t Love just felt a bit bigger, a bit more complete. I’m not sure why… maybe because I took the time and really ironed it out? A lot of my mates seemed to enjoy the song and would sing it unintentionally days after so I kinda figured that’s the sign of something good too haha.
HAPPY: You recorded This Ain’t Love all at your house, right? Could you walk us through what your home setup looks like?
JACOB: I have a really small bedroom setup. Nothing fancy, no gear to brag about really. I use a cheap SX Standard Series bass guitar that I got off an old workmate, a Washburn Acoustic which my dad got me for my 16th birthday and sometimes I borrow my housemates American Professional Fender Strat. I plug my C-1 Behringer mic and guitars straight into a Yamaha Audiogram6 audio interface which I’ve had for years and this allows me to record wav. files direct into Audacity. Most of the percussion and drums I sample and reprogram through FL Studio and I use an Axiom mini 32 USB keyboard to load and record synths/piano and fx.
It’s not even close to professional and I pretty much taught myself recording and production through years of trial and error. The most time-consuming part is in mixing and tracking through FL Studio… it’s very DIY.
HAPPY: A few years back, you collaborated with director Lou Quill, who featured your music in one of her documentaries… how did this come about?
JACOB: She found some of my music through Triple J Unearthed, I believe. I was getting some radio play at the time and she heard it and emailed me directly. I licensed three tracks to her documentary Blood, Sweat & Sequins. It was on Netflix and Stan for a few years… not sure if it’s still up though.
HAPPY: You’ve spent the past couple of years on hiatus from releasing music… why take the time off?
JACOB: I lived in Queensland when I was in my early 20’s. I was writing, recording and producing a lot. I was very active musically and life was simple. I wasn’t really concerned about money or a job and things like that. I had released some singles online and they started to get a little bit of traction. I got some blog features and then I started getting some radio play. I had the documentary thing happening and people were catching on… it was all very exciting. I was doing more bubblegum style electronic-pop stuff and I didn’t really have anyone around to help or guide me through the industry. So I guess once it all died down and the excitement wore off I was a bit disillusioned by it all. I reflected on the music I was making and I no longer enjoyed it. It felt immature to me so I kinda took a step back and decided to just live and focus on other things like travelling and getting better musically. 5 years later here I am in Melbourne and I’ve kinda fallen in love with music again I guess.
HAPPY: What else does the future hold for Jacob Rohde? Any other exciting plans in the works?
JACOB: I’m honestly just taking it as it comes. I don’t want to put pressure or expectations on anything otherwise it becomes laborious. My main goal right now is to get a band together and to get the music heard. I’ve been chatting with Marcus Campbell from an amazing Melbourne band Foreign Correspondent and I think we’re gonna try and do some shows together so that’s exciting! Eventually, once all the puzzle pieces fit and it feels right I’ll most likely release an EP.
HAPPY: Cheers for the chat!
JACOB: Thanks! Make sure you check out the single on Spotify and follow my Instagram (@yerrr_rite) for updates.
Listen to This Ain’t Love above.
