An album that first came to life across the Tasman in New Zealand with a recording session in early 2019, Sydney indie rockers Human Noise have finally released their debut LP 'Animal People'.
A ten-track record with songs covering subjects like friendship, anxiety, frustrations and self critique, the group worked with producer Ben Edwards (Julia Jacklin, Aldous Harding, Marlon Williams) in New Zealand for the majority of the album's tracks; as well as recording two songs with friend of the band, Blain Cuneen at his Sydney suburban home in Belfield."At the end of 2017 I came out of a really long period of session touring that had left me pretty creatively frustrated and that coincided with the end of a long-term relationship," the band's frontman, songwriter Eddie Boyd says.
"I got the sense that the following year would be pretty fruitful creatively, so I decided to book three weeks of recording in early 2019 before I'd written any songs.
"It was a pretty scary move, but one I thought would also be a pretty good motivator to get me writing. I had to pay a deposit and book flights to NZ, so there was no way of backing out.
"I'd never written to a deadline before and it turned out to be something that worked really well for me."
Fans of Rat!hammock, Sonic Youth, and The Strokes will find Human Noise's style of indie punk pleasing to the ear.
"I definitely thought from the get-go that it was going to be a break-up album, but it kinda became just as much about anxiety and friendship and self critique," adds Eddie.
"I made the one year deadline with ten songs. We ended up doing a little chopping and changing in the year that followed – I wanted to add a couple of songs and take a couple off.
"I'm really glad we spent the extra time getting it right. It's the first body of work that I feel completely proud of and I can't wait to share it."
The choice to record with Ben Edwards stemmed from an earlier experience the band had had with him, as Eddie explains.
"In January 2019 we flew to Lyttelton, NZ to record the album with Ben Edwards. Ben is a great producer and really fun to work with. We'd recorded our first album (released under Boydos) with him in 2017 and were very keen to work with him again.
"We stayed at the studio which has this amazing view of the Lyttelton Harbour. The daily schedule usually involved a slow morning with an 11 or 12 o'clock start and then we'd work late into the night.
"Once the instrumental tracking was done we'd go on these long drives around the NZ countryside in Ben's van, trying to pick the right take for each tune. Once we'd picked the takes, I spent a few days doing vocals and then we got stuck into overdubs and the little sprinkles on top."
During the recording process the band made sure to snap a few studio photos, which they share a few of them here.
View from the studio in Lyttelton, NZ
This is what we woke up to every morning when we tracked the bulk of the album in NZ with Ben Edwards. Ben lives in the main house, there's a little hut out the back for the band to sleep in, and the studio is a converted garage out the front.
Clay tracking vocals in Lyttelton
I guess we were at the point of layering vocals and overdubs when this was taken. I always find that part of the process so fun. This would've been for 'One Time' or 'Bad Language' I reckon.
Eddie tracking vocals at Blain's house in Sydney
We didn't get many pics in NZ unfortunately, but this one is tracking vocals in Sydney with Blain Cuneen. We recorded 'Animal People' and 'The Will Of Others' with Blain at his home in Belfield.
Band mixing sesh
This looks like it was a mixing session or maybe a regroup between takes. Blain has essentially converted his house into a recording studio.This is in one of the bedrooms which is now the control room. He put holes in the walls to run leads out to his garage, which is the amp room. Sorry Blain if your landlord is reading.
Dinner break
This is a classic pasta and flat white dinner break. At both Ben's place and Blain's place, we'd usually start tracking around midday and work late into the night. I love a good, late-night recording session. Nothing quite like it.
Human Noise 2021-2022 Tour Dates
Fri 5 Nov - Stag & Hunter (Newcastle)Thu 25 Nov - The Vanguard (Sydney)
Fri 26 Nov - Beaches (Wollongong)
Wed 8 Dec - Small Time (Melbourne)
Thu 16 Dec - La La La's (Wollongong)
Thu 20 Jan - The Retreat (Melbourne)
Thu 27 Jan - Sideway (Canberra)
