Client Liaison are following in the footsteps of ‘the groove elite’ on the hunt for the 'great Australian sound' on their new single 'The Beat Supreme'.
With echoes of INXS, Icehouse and what Client Liaison refer to as 'the groove elite', producer Harvey Miller and vocalist Monte Morgan have captured the immortal essence of Australian music in the '80s and early '90s.
“I guess it pertains to the canon of great Aussie music – Midnight Oil, INXS, Tina Arena, Christine Anu – just those sort of elite, top-shelf, household Aussie names. . . they are 'the groove elite',” Harvey explains.
“When you line up all your records, all the Australian music, you look at it and there's a real cohesion; you see the sum being bigger than their individual parts.
“['The Beat Supreme'] is an ode to all those kick-arse Aussie bands; not trying to be cynical but there is a line of quality and standard, and there is that top-shelf, the top tier. We're certainly a long way off that top tier, we're not a household name, but it's an ode to all those top-shelf, top-tier acts.”
Following on from the release of single 'The Real Thing', 'The Beat Supreme' is the second taste of a forthcoming album Client Liaison are working on. Accompanying the new song is a video clip with the same cinematic quality Client Liaison have brought to all their visual work. “That was quite fun,” Harvey says of making the music video for 'The Beat Supreme'.
“We had unfettered access to a mine in the Pilbara and it was amazing to actually see the landscape up there. I know it sounds kind of cliché to say 'oh, I had a life-changing moment in the desert of the real Australia', but it quite literally was.
“I hadn't seen legit desert before. We flew into Port Hedland and drove a few hours out, and it was pretty amazing. I should also mention that with that video clip it was the first time we shot on 16mm [film], which is traditional film. That was quite fascinating as well and really exciting. . . this is probably one of the top three video clip experiences that I've had.”
In support of their new music, Client Liaison are currently on tour and Harvey says preparations have focussed on overhauling production for their live set. “The song 'Electric Eyes' off our first album, we've never played that [live] before so I'm working on visuals for that,” he says.
“It's exciting, the stage production; we like to hit people on all fronts and give them a multi-sensory experience – choreography, lighting, visuals, audio – a bit of everything.”
As for the new album they're working on, Harvey says listeners can expect to hear a lot more from Client Liaison in the lead-up to its release. “It's a collection of songs and I think by today's standards there will be a lot of singles released before the album [is released],” he says.
“By that measure, I think we've got quite a few more tracks to release but we're going to be releasing a lot of songs so there will be more by the end of the year. A constant flow of music is now where we're at.”
Client Liaison 2019 Tour Dates
Sat 26 Oct - Enmore Theatre (Sydney)Thu 31 Oct - The Gov (Adelaide)
Fri 1 Nov - Dunsborough Tavern (WA)
Sat 2 Nov - Metropolis (Fremantle)
Thu 7 Nov - The Wharf Tavern (Sunshine Coast)
Fri 8 Nov - Kingscliff Beach Hotel (Northern Rivers)
Sat 9 Nov - The Tivoli Theatre (Brisbane)
Tue 31 Dec - NYE In The Park (Sydney)
