Roland Tings Meredith Music Festival Interview

Roland Tings Meredith Music Festival Interview

Roland Tings' -Tomita's Basement' single has been knocking around the Internet since its release last week on Club Mod. The remix of b-side -Cagean Sea', by Future Times' Maxmillion Dunbar, is running free.

You've previously heard the title track, and its remix brought to you by Jeremy Greenspan of Junior Boys. And if you want all the juicy goods in one place, you can snap it up right now on 12" vinyl and digital.

After releasing his debut EP last year on 100% Silk, 2013 sees Tings release the -Tomita's Basement/Cagean Sea' single on Club Mod, followed by a full length LP on Prins Thomas' Internasjonal. In between all the action, he also put together a futuristic Modcast for the folk at Modular; download it for free here!

Aussies are pleased to hear that Tings was announced for the Meredith Festival's next essential bush bash across the weekend of December 13th-15th, which also features Chic Feat Nile Rogers, Derrick May, Deerhunter, Le1f and many more. Catch Roland after dark on the Friday night of the festival. Get all the info from the official Meredith site: http://2013.mmf.com.au

Tomita's Basement/Cagean Sea' EP Tracklist:
01. Tomita's Basement
02. Cagean Sea
03. Tomita's Basement (Jeremy Greenspan Remix)
04. Cagean Sea (Maxmillion Dunbar Remix)

Interview with Roland Tings

Question: How does it feel to be playing at the Meredith Music Festival?

Roland Tings: I'm super excited, I've been going to Meredith for years and I've seen some amazing stuff there. So to have the chance to stand up on that stage and perform is a huge honour.


Question: How would you describe your music?

Roland Tings: Too weird to dance, too jerky to tune out. House music made badly.


Question: Do you write your own songs? What's your inspiration?

Roland Tings: I pull a lot of inspiration from very different places. Sometimes it's a book, sometimes a phrase, sometimes an idea, a situation I found myself in, a moment I experienced, a moment I'm imagining, a place I've never been to.


Question: What music/artists do you listen to when you are not playing your own?

Roland Tings: Brian Eno, Emeralds, Suicide, The American Analog Set, Moon Wheel - a lot of online radio shows like Noise In My Head, Strange Holiday, Beats In Space and Berlin Community Radio.


Question: What do you love about the music scene, in your hometown?

Roland Tings: I think there is just a total lack of regard for commercial viability amongst my friends in Melbourne. People are just doing their own thing; nobody is chasing big bookings or trying to make a #1 hit.


Question: What's next? Tour/Album/Single?

Roland Tings: I have an album coming out on Internasjonal in the next few months and a big tour over October / November & December which looks like taking in about 10 countries - ending in Australia at the end of the year.

Question: Was there a moment you contemplated throwing in the towel?

Roland Tings: Probably every single time I finished a song for the first three years of making music.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Roland Tings: They're quite different beasts, I guess when I've done enough of one I prefer the other. They always complement each other nicely though. When I take stuff I've made in the studio and play it in a live situation I always find out a lot about it - then I'm able to take what I learned and bring it back into studio work.


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

Roland Tings: I just really love shitty cocaine, so it was a natural fit.


Question: What is the biggest challenge you have faced along the way to your musical success?

Roland Tings: Starting with absolutely no musical knowledge at all and feeling my way blindly through the process of learning about music, production, arrangement, performance etc.


Question: What's a typical day like?
Roland Tings: Wake up, walk to the bakery - get a croissant, make a pot of coffee. Check email, do interviews, sort shit out. Start listening to music. Then get on to whatever I need to do that day, production, prep for a live show, graphic design, research


Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?

Roland Tings: Being able to meet a lot of people with the same interests as me.


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

Roland Tings: Haruomi Hosono; dude has some far out ideas.


Interview by Brooke Hunter