Urtekk first caught our attention back in 2015 with their DM3 Project, a collection of three songs that harboured a collision of driving krautrock with techno-influenced, hypnotising hooks. Their clip for the third track, Pareidolia, was dope enough to include in our 25 best videos of that year.
After a brief hiatus in the tail end of 2016, we’re starting to finally hear some noise on the Urtekk front. With a few shows, including Blenheim Festival, on the horizon and the prospect of new music around the corner, we caught up with bassist Dave Brewer for the lowdown.
Off the back of a minor hiatus, tech-rock fusion jammers Urtekk are dusting off the live chops for a bold re-entry in the scene.
HAPPY: You’re coming out of a bit of a break, does it feel good to take the stage again?
DAVE: Yeah for sure! There’s nothing like playing to a crowd…we’ve made a few revisions to the set and our approach, plus we’re super keen to play some new tracks.
HAPPY: What was the band up to in the second half of 2016?
DAVE: A lot of writing, recording, rerecording, mixing, editing…all the studio things. Plus we all did our own thing along the way both musically and personally. It’s all good juju.
HAPPY: If it was an album you were working on, how is that project shaping up?
DAVE: We have been writing new music and evolving. In terms on what our next release will be exactly it’s still a work in progress. Whatever feels right for the music itself and where we’re at as a band is what we’ll do. We’re not hung up on releasing an album just for the sake of it. However, in saying that, we’re all feeling really positive about our progress and the direction we’re taking and it would be untrue to say that a full length album isn’t at the very least in our sights.
HAPPY: You’ve always sprinkled in a little of everything – prog, krautrock and even techno. What kind of direction will the new music be taking?
DAVE: We’ve been incorporating a lot of synths and drum machines into our latest ideas. We’ll always keep it a live set up no matter what genre we tackle and even then, there’s no mission statement to fit a specific mould, just what comes out and feels good. We’ve been writing darker tracks, a lot more techno and 3am influences.
HAPPY: Will there be a song title with more than one word?
DAVE: Naming songs is the worst! We’re musical, about the sounds, the poetry comes in waveforms rather than words. If you could even call it that haha. Generally we argue over a list of the dumbest track names imaginable then settle on the least offensive. We invite the listener to give meaning to the names, make it a personal experience. Anyway to answer you’re question, maybe one day a track name will have two words. Maybe even three?
HAPPY: So many producers and even instrumental bands are grabbing vocalists recently, are you feeling a pull in that direction at all?
DAVE: Not forcefully but it’s not something we’re ruling out. A feature vocalist on a track would be cool or to collaborate with a singer on their project. A permanent singer in the band isn’t a priority, but the you never know what surprises are around the corner and what’s unexpectedly going to work out.
HAPPY: You’re playing Blenheim Festival in April amongst some crazy good Aussie acts. Anyone you’re particularly looking forward to seeing?
DAVE: I’m reluctant to single anyone out as to us it’s a little bit like the experience you get from festivals like Rainbow Serpent, Womadelaide or Wide Open Space Festival in that you rock up, you head to a stage, and you discover. I think the festival as a whole, being a not-for-profit and with a focus on locality, is a big part of the experience.
HAPPY: As potentially your biggest performance in quite a while, is there anything special planned?
DAVE: New music for sure and a few changes to our gear and approach. As much as we’d love a full pyro and dual projection setup on stage and request a donkey in a bath tub hand fed caviar by a naked midget on cocaine in our rider…it’s a little out of our budget. But one day. We’re remaining hopeful.
Blenheim Festival takes place on the 13th and 14th of April. Grab your tickets here.
