A band who have performed at nearly ever major Australian music festival in the last 15 years and won an ARIA Award (Best Independent Album) in 2011, next month Art vs Science will release their first album in seven years.
'Big Overdrive' is the trio's third studio record and features their 2021 banger 'Sweat' (produced by The Presets' Kim Moyes) as well as their recent single 'I Saw You', which was produced by band members Dan Mac and Dan Williams, with mixing and mastering by Perth-based producer Sam Ford at his Tone City Recording Studio (POND, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets).With 'Big Overdrive' set for release on 5 August, Art vs Science have today released the final album single, the trippy-sounding indie dance-rock of 'Moonlight'.
"'Big Overdrive' is a celebration of jamming and making music which is fun, different and experimental," Art vs Science says.
"It's a collection of tracks written over most of the band's lifespan, with an emphasis on songs which we think are beautiful in their weirdness. The themes of the songs span love, loss, exuberance, life, death and passion. And dancing."
Here, Dan Williams shares ten songs that inspired the creation of 'I Saw You'.
Chemical Brothers - 'Saturate'
This has got to be the biggest influence on this track. I remember Rose (part of the now defunct Hey Now DJs) spinning this tune at an NYE afterparty following a gig of ours circa 2011 or so. It blew my mind.The way it went from this tense verse with this kind of plucked violin sound playing the melody, and exploded into this beautiful, big beat chorus. All the while an instrumental, and over the same chords, just changing instrumentation and arrangement. Always tugging at the feels big time. It served as a bit of a blueprint for us for 'I Saw You'.
Moby - 'Porcelain'
Jim had the idea to sing the chorus an octave down in the breakdown bridge section, which we loved. The way we treated it and arranged the track around the vocal reminded me of Moby's vocals in the verses of 'Porcelain'. We liked how it made for a quiet and sort of intimate moment before exploding back into the big chorus.M83 - 'Midnight City'
When you're writing a song, sometimes you have a song that is directly influencing it, other times you're sort of guided by things you've heard before but aren't consciously referencing.I think the really stabby vocal synth sound serving as the whole kind of 'chorus' in this tune helped us write a song which we felt could be carried by a synth line in the choruses, allowing the vox to be really simple and spacious.
Orbital - 'Halcyon And On And On'
Hearing this song makes me think of glaciers and huge, open expanses in some Nordic wonderland. I think 'I Saw You' is trying to evoke some of that epicness too.Flaming Lips - 'Race For The Prize'
This one is kind of a sonic reference point. Huge chorus drums, lush strings. Also I guess we were trying to achieve a similar vibe in so far as big sounds, big emotions. I've seen Flaming Lips three times now and cry like a baby every time.Bee Gees - 'More Than A Woman'
Love the Bee Gees stacking of falsetto vocals in this song. Went for a similar thing in the chorus with the lyric: 'Why can't you be there.' Not sure how many layers of Dan Mac are in that stack, but we were probably going for something like this.Dandy Warhols - 'We Used To Be Friends'
'I Saw You' is loosely about a friend who you're growing apart from, for whatever reason. This song has a similar sentiment, albeit less moody and more upbeat.Caribou - 'Odessa'
Love a lot of Caribou's stuff, especially this. Dance music with big feels, mood, freshness. Always what we're aiming for.Young Blood - 'Naked And Famous'
Love this band. Big chorus, big synths, big feels. We were aiming for a gigantic, emotional song with this, hoping to approximate something like this tune.Rage Against The Machine - 'Sleep Now In The Fire'
Quiet verse and loud chorus formula we know and love. Think it's written into our DNA. Attempted to channel some of this moshpit bounce in the choruses of 'I Saw You'.
Art vs Science 2022 Tour Dates
Fri 30 Sep - Caloundra Music Festival (Sunshine Coast)Sat 17 Dec - Wine Machine (McLaren Vale)
