Spoonbill – aka Jim Moynihan – has returned to the music scene with his first full-length album since 2009, called 'Tinkerbox'.
It's a departure from his past work, which was mostly, as he calls it, “party music”. The new sound is a cinematic soundboard of strings, synths, piano, xylophone and more; a complex whirlpool of musical experimentation. “'Tinkerbox' was something that I've really been wanting to create,” Jim says.
“Something that would have legs for lots of different situations: being in the car, chilling at home, in a chill-space at a festival, whatever. It's just good listening music, which was the main prerequisite for the vibe.”
A 45-minute long insight into the transformation of Spoonbill's sound, the album's cover is a two-by-three metre oil painting, done by his father Danny, a well-established painter and print maker, and former head of print making at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. It features a red van filled with a vibrant and detailed collection of colours and shapes, and Jim says it suited the music perfectly.
His musical alias comes, of course, from the long-legged wading birds found all over the world. Jim says this name is a nod to his global travels, among other things. “I wanted to choose something that was unique, unusual and not too trendy or cool,” he says.
“I wanted something that was a bit kooky, a bit unusual, and I liked the name 'Spoonbill' because you can play on the 'spoon' cutlery word.”
Jim grew up playing drums and percussion in bands, and along the way met musicians and fellow band members that would then go on to appear in his work. “A lot of those dudes feature on my music, I record a bunch of stuff with them and treat them like samples.”
Getting sounds from different artists left, right and centre means the finished product is a polished example of the perfect Spoonbill cocktail: a balance between electronic, artificial production and real life, natural sounds.
Spoonbill is playing two sets at Rainbow Serpent, one for party music lovers and one for those more suited to the chilled out, atmospheric stuff from his new album. “I really enjoy being able to do the party set, which is really fun because people are stoked and dancing and going off, but it's really awesome to have a space to showcase the chill stuff,” Jim says.
“You don't get the same, obvious response of people raging, it's a different thing, but I think it's something I really enjoy doing.”
The artist isn't new to Rainbow Serpent, he's been a guest for the last five years. “It's a little bit like 'woah',” he says. “When the crowd loses it you get super excited and thousands of people going off in unison is an amazing feeling.
“That's definitely a high point for these events, when people are really obviously enjoying it. It makes all those thousands of hours in the studio worthwhile.”
Spoonbill plays Rainbow Serpent Festival, Victoria, 22-25 January, Fractangular Gathering, Tasmania, 5-7 February and Earth Frequency (SE Queensland) 12-14 February.
