INTERVIEW: The Delta Riggs Chat ‘The Real Electric’ And Longevity In The Scene
Interview by Ciaran Nix
Rock ‘n’ roll, soul, pop, psychedelic and dub. There aren’t many soundscapes the Delta Riggs have left unexplored over the years. This time they are here to treat your body to a little bit of shock therapy, offering up an all new interstellar, electronic style with the release of ‘The Real Electric’.
It’s a grandiose floor filler that will set all the nerves in your body tingling. Ungrained had a chat with the band about how the new single came about and longevity in the music scene.
Here’s to the Delta Riggs and an eternity of groove.
Hey Delta Riggs! How are you all going today? Congratulations on the release of ‘The Real Electric’ , what's the feeling like every time you release new music?
Hello! We are all unreal, keeping busy and all that. It honestly feels great to have new music out in the world. Since Modern Pressure (2019), we haven’t released any official music or singles. So, it’s a relief and feels good to be back.
How did the new track come about and what was the recording process like?
It started off as a grungey style idea I had during lockdown and was messing around at the studio at home, not really intended for the Riggs. We had an idea to turn It on its head, and give It an LCD Soundsystem or Empire Of The Sun feel. We wrote a few more bits and bobs around It until It was close to what we hear now. We had a night with Reuben Styles (Peking Duk) and played him the original demo, and he loved It. He suggested a bunch of production ideas, so we ended up co-producing It with him and It brought It into a new world sonically. Super fun.
What’s each of your favourite aspects of the new single and what would you suggest as the best setting for people to digest it in?
For me, I love the large, lush sound of it as a whole. The driving acoustic guitars behind everything really brightens it up too. Then when it’s into the chorus it just feels like an afternoon aperitif hour of power. Ideally digested exactly like that but also and not exclusive to; driving anywhere, running or exercising, around the pool, in front of the heater. Wherever. It’s an all rounder.
The Delta Riggs have been touring and recording around the country for so long now. You would’ve noticed a lot of changes in the music industry and the scene in general. What’s one thing that’s easier for artists now, and what’s one thing that’s harder, compared to when you first started?
I mean a lot has changed before and post the Covid sideswipe that affected everyone, but that’s a beast of its own. I think to start the thing that is in some parts easier but also can be flipped and looked at as a harder element, is the rise of streaming services and social media as a whole. Everyone is much more connected and has open access to information, so your music can touch many areas It may never have reached in the past.
That can also work against you as it’s a very diluted market and a hard place to navigate how/why/where to focus your energy, when releasing a song or putting a tour together.
It’s also a very unpredictable landscape at present and we are seeing loads of artists, from all ends of the popularity scale, cancel tours due to economic fallout. I.e. the cost of touring post covid has risen a lot. It’s a lot harder to tour now with travel increases, cancellations and excess baggage being cut down on flights as a start. Hopefully things start to ease back a bit as it’s really having an impact on artists large and small.
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As you’ve grown and developed have you tried to keep your sound consistent or does it change from project to project? In what ways has it changed?
We have always tried to keep It fresh and push our sound into different corners of different genres. It has allowed us to be able to traverse a lot of styles without taking anyone by surprise. I mean we released a dub version of ‘Active Galactic’, which was a random but an awesome thing to have done. Each song runs 7-8 minutes and has a slew of guests and we really went in hard on creating a dub style production. It also keeps It interesting and fresh for us at the same time.
You hail from the Gold Coast by way of Melbourne. How have these places influenced and impacted your careers and music?
Oh definitely, we all grew up on the Gold Coast but moved to Melbourne when we really started doing the Riggs as a full time focus. It shaped us as a live band being in Melbourne. I remember we used to have residencies in Fitzroy with this Kinks style band called ‘The Frowning Clouds’ that were a rad band from Geelomg. There was lots of that going around in 2010/2011 and a great community of rock n roll bands, so It Influenced us a lot over that time.
What’s one piece of advice you would give to bands just starting out on how to stay together over the years? What’s one aspect of life as a touring musician that people should be better prepared for?
Sometimes I wonder how we have done It so long, ha! I guess achieving a happy balance of your own lives and band lives is really important. Communicating openly like you would in any relationship that goes on for years is super important too. You need to work on It and understand each other on a deep level and remove ego after a few years, as you go through the trenches. Lack of sleep and transience is definitely something you don’t think much of when you start touring, so pick your battles, and don’t send it every night.
Over the course of your career you’ve played massive festivals, shows with international mega stars and headline tours around the country? What are some of the biggest pinch yourself moments of the past 10 years?
We’ve actually had a few of these and if my 20 year old self knew that my future self would have gotten to experience a lot of this stuff, he wouldn’t believe me.
Jimmy Page rocking up to a small club show in Notting Hill was mental. Landing the Foo Fighters Australian Tour In 2015 out of nowhere was also an awesome moment we’ll never forget. Getting to collaborate with many of our peers and artists or producers that inspire us is always a blessing too.
Where do you see yourselves in another 10 years?
Hopefully still releasing music and making cool records. It feels like we haven’t slowed down in the quality of music we write and record so I feel like we will always continue to do so. If we still have that fire in ten years then I’ll be stoked.
Thanks so much for chatting with Ungrained today and dropping some knowledge on us. We can’t wait to see you up in Meanjin once again, delivering that groove and funky Delta Riggs goodness.
No problems. See you soon!
Dance the night away with the Delta Riggs, listen to ‘The Real Electric’ now.