A Twenty-Two Letter Phrase Interview

A Twenty-Two Letter Phrase, the artistic project of renowned Australian musician Angus Gardiner, has today released the compelling, melancholy new single and video Predisposition, a heavily metaphorical, contemplative song about getting a second lease on life, feeling new, and having a complicated relationship with your old self. The track precedes the debut EP for A Twenty-Two Letter Phrase, Just Tell Me What I Gotta Do out September 30, and written through the midst of grieving a close friend. The EP release will be celebrated with an intimate live performance streamed to the A Twenty-Two Letter Phrase YouTube channel on October 1.

Predisposition evokes indie folk influences such as Laura Marling alongside the more symphonic art-rock of Rufus Wainwright, as Angus deftly weaves phrases amongst soft, pervasive acoustic guitar. Ultimately the song swells into a climactic crescendo, encompassing the wonder and confusion that permeate the lyrics of this song. Unresolved, leaving the audience pondering, considering, the song then slows to silence. It's a stunning, thought-provoking journey, as Angus explains, "I wrote this song after reading the book Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E Frankl. My psychologist recommended it and it was a transformative thing for me to read at a time when I was really struggling. Predisposition is a song that came out of quite deep existential feelings about what it means to exist, persist, and make the world how you might like it to be while accepting that it won't ever be that way. Hopefully there are enough layers of metaphor that it means different things to different people."

The video clip for Predisposition is a colourful, DIY affair, directed by Alex Bennison, and features Angus' typewriter, punching out the lyrics to the track and overlayed over close, warm shots of Angus performing the song. The clip is saturated, vibrant, psychedelic, as Angus describes, "The clip feels very familiar to me since it was filmed in my apartment and neighbourhood, and features my trusty typewriter, which I use to keep a daily diary. I also did all the lyric writing on that typewriter. I love the mechanical feel and the physical and tactile routine of slotting the paper in, aligning the margins, and bashing out one letter at a time, with no backspace."

The EP Just Tell Me What I Gotta Do is about as intimate and expressive as music can get. From the deep, cleansing breath of opening track Either Way to the piano-led, softly intense closer Working Silently, Just Tell Me What I Gotta Do is a Jeff Buckley-esque offering, a deeply sophisticated collection of masterful songwriting from a mature, thoughtful songwriter. Reflecting on the process of creating the EP, Angus says, "In 2018 my best friend and bandmate Luke Liang passed away and I was shattered by grief and trauma. Making this EP has mapped and reflected some of my paths as I have begun to understand and process that event. I think I am still some way from what might be described as 'healing' and I don't really like using that word but it is a gradual process and I do make progress every day. Some of the songs, like Again, Either Way are quite raw and reactive and others are more metaphorical... I tried to distill things from a few different perspectives, but Just Tell Me What I Gotta Do is about living your life with fierce intention whilst accepting that there are things about the world that you simply cannot change."

Angus Gardiner, the accomplished musician behind A Twenty-Two Letter Phrase, is a well-known session player for massive Australian acts Montaigne, Jack River, Jarryd James, E^ST, Dean Lewis and more, as well as a founding member of the hugely popular band Papa vs Pretty.

Gardiner set his intentions for the project early, insighting "I wanted to stretch myself and for the work to be truly reflective of me and uncollaborative/individualistic after years of collaborating, if that meant there were some flaws, then so be it." And he has pulled it off, playing every instrument on the release himself (except for drums), mixing and mastering it himself and even creating the cover artwork. Drawing on years of practice, of mastering his craft, this EP is a true demonstration of both considered, perceptive songwriting but also a keen, skilled sense of musicianship. These songs are something incredibly special – heartwrenching, devastating, yet calm, open and empathetic. This EP is a comforting must-listen for anyone who has ever felt deep grief.

Interview with A Twenty-Two Letter Phrase (Angus Gardiner)

Question: How would you describe your music?

Angus Gardiner: Introspective singer-songwriter with slightly kooky harmonies. I take cues from fairly straight down the line popular song traditions but I do try to manipulate the music in a way that feels like my own. I try to be quite deliberate and intentional with the way the music is put together, especially in the more complex arrangements. Basically I think I might be a bit of a nerd.


Question: Can you tell us about Predisposition?

Angus Gardiner: So Predisposition was written around October 2020. I was in a good place, reading, running, keeping my diary. I had a strong feeling that my identity was changing in a positive way. I felt like a clean slate and I began to wonder to what extent I was still the same person as what I was before. I liked the idea of a 'Predisposition' - a weird conditional trait which is necessary, but not sufficient, for something else to happen. That's how I felt my 'two selves' related to each other. They only connected under special circumstances, if that makes sense. There are a few references in the song to feeling as though you're living for a second time, and that you won't stuff it up this time. That's an idea I got from Viktor E Frankl's book Man's Search for Meaning, that I was reading at the time. So… there's a lot there! And it's all pretty abstract, but hopefully people can make their own meaning.


Question: What inspired your upcoming EP?

Angus Gardiner: The EP is really a meditation on grief and my processing of the passing of my close friend Luke Liang in 2018. One of the things that has helped me is to draw quite a clear and deliberate line in my life separating the things within and outside my control, and to quite zealously accept things that are beyond your control and to quite zealously control things that are within your control. It's an interesting way to live and some days I am terrible at it and some days I am ok.


Question: Is there a particular message you hope listeners take from your music?

Angus Gardiner: Not in particular, because I like to leave room for people to relate to the music in their own way. That's what's magic about it. The title of the EP, aside from being a phrase of twenty-two letters, (as is my artist name and legal name) is about free will, and that idea of controlling things. Essentially, it's about being yourself, which is what I am trying to convey with the artist name as well.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Angus Gardiner: I actually haven't done a gig as A Twenty-Two Letter Phrase yet with the pandemic and everything. I have done a lot of live performance over the years and I do really love the chaos and fleeting nature of it. I also love having time to craft things deliberately in the studio. I think they are two sides of the music making process that complement each other. In today's context, music gets recorded without ever being 'performed', and its only really recently that we tend to separate the idea of performance and recording. I still think of them as being pretty well connected and hard to imagine one without the other.


Question: Tell us about your decision to go solo as A Twenty-Two Letter Phrase?

Angus Gardiner: I think a few things coincided. The COVID pandemic meant that I was no longer doing any session playing really, and I still needed to make music so it seemed logical to just make it by myself. I also felt like I was adequately confident having done a bit of work on my perfectionist tendencies. And most importantly, for perhaps the first time, I felt I had something I really wanted to say, and I wanted to say it by myself with minimal collaboration.

Question: What motivates you most when writing music?

Angus Gardiner: For me it's about the magic and inherent value in extracting something from your inner world and putting it into the exterior, physical world. That's really fun, really amazing.


Question: Which music/artists are you currently listening to?

Angus Gardiner: I have been listening to a fair bit of classical music recently, Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms. I have also gotten back into Dr Dog. The band Hammock when I am running or just doing chores. Rufus Wainwright, Merpire's new album which I love!


Question: What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Angus Gardiner: I sort of fell into it and don't exactly feel like I made a conscious choice. I was definitely inspired by being in my old band Papa vs Pretty at the end of high school, getting a record deal and going on tour.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Angus Gardiner: Hard to say… I think someone who would complement my skill set would be an incredible singer, and someone who tends to be 'intuitive' when they make music. Maybe someone like Björk… although there is no one 'like' her!


Question: What moment in your musical career stands out the most?
Angus Gardiner: Perhaps being in Papa vs Pretty when people *actually* started coming to our gigs. I also made a record called Hospital Hill with my friend Jack Carty in 2018 and touring that together was a very great time.


Question: What's a typical day like?

Angus Gardiner: Not a lot is typical right now in lockdown and with a newborn daughter. I am trying to keep myself in a good routine of exercise and some practice. I am studying psychology, cooking, and working on more music.


Question: What advice do you have for aspiring artists?

Angus Gardiner: Learn as much as you can about everything that you need to achieve your artistic and professional goals. Try and understand or at least get a handle on everything about the ecosystem of your music - cultural and historical stuff that gives your music meaning, music theory, music technology, music business, technique. There is always more to learn.


Question: What's next, for you?

Angus Gardiner: Keep writing and developing this new project. Hopefully do some more collaboration with other artists and as it becomes safer, hopefully do some gigs.


Question: Can you share your socials? (links please)

Angus Gardiner: Facebook 
Instagram 


Interview by Gwen van Montfort