TGIF, right? Toss your textbooks in the fireplace and flip your boss the bird, it’s time for two and a half days of doing whatever the fuck you want. If you’re looking to get G’d up for a weekend of frivolity we recommend heading over to our premiere of The Dead Love‘s Love Drugs. If you’re looking to unwind however, Fill The Field from TINKER is bound to do the trick.
Ready to purge all the bullshit from your week? TINKER’s Fill The Field will unravel you with one pull, not even the Gordian Knot would stand a chance.
If you’re a fan of Japanese Wallpaper or fellow all-caps artist TEES then TINKER is right up your alley. This is the solo project of Chris Bristow, the former touring guitarist for Glass Towers who now finds himself working as a film sound engineer at FOX Studios. Which would explain why the sounds of Fill The Field are so good. The production on this track is top notch, even listening through a pair of shitty $2 ear phones from IGA will make you bliss out.
Bristow recorded Fill The Field by himself in a tiny studio in his house in Brisbane. Explaining the process he says “I used a basic Pro Tools set up with a UAD Apollo and usually use their Neve and emulators and some basic pre’s and played around with lots of samples for a starting feel. I recorded my guitars (Fender Strat and Tele and Rickenbacker 330) straight into Tools, it’s something I learned from reading a lot about one of my favourite producers, a guy called Philippe Zdar (Phoenix, Cassius).”
“It gives the guitars a really plastic straight sound and then I usually pitch them and use a whole bunch of effects to make a vibe. Vocals were tracked in the same room. I borrowed a friend’s Miktek CV4. They are a very solid mic for the price.”
Employing the admirable skill of Antonia Gauci in Sydney’s Studios 301 for a mix that amplified the track’s slickness to boss level bad assery. “We played around with a lot of classic bits of gear, 1176 compressors and the analog goodness of the 88R Neve console they have in studio 1.” Bristow says. “It was really creative and rewarding.”
What results is a single that is a lot like a good Tasmanian single malt. Smooth, refreshing, and light to the touch. The various guitar layers and percussion blend into a warm, gooey sound that will simply make you melt. The coup de grâce is the impeccable vocal performance from Jolie. Hypnotising and comforting, just let her voice wrap itself around you for a warm embrace.
“A friend of mine put me in contact with Jolie and said that she has a great voice and it would really suit my project.” Bristow remembers. “A few weeks later I heard her sing at a party I was super impressed by her vibe and tone. That night after many many drinks I stumbled up to her and asked her if she would be interested singing on any track, she agreed and a few months later we made Fill the Field.”
It’s strange, for all the comfort and good vibes Fill The Field exudes, when you look a little closer it becomes clear it’s about wanting to desperately hold onto what you hold dear most. It’s about that one thing that keeps you awake past midnight. That restless notion comes through in Jolie’s voice quite well. Ultimately, it’s a song about being tested by adversity, and sticking through it for the sake of what you love.
Keep an eye on TINKER because he’s going to go very far, and hopefully we can witness the magic of Fill The Field in a live setting soon.
