In Conversation With: Phoxjaw
Phoxjaw have just released their debut EP ‘Goodbye Dinosaur’, and along with their mental live performances, it is firmly putting them out there as one of the bands to watch out for right now.
We had a chat with Josh Gallop from the band about the all the crazy ideas and methods that went into making the EP.
How did the EP name come about?
The theme of dinosaurs has been floating around for a while now in our lyrics and much like the actual dinosaurs it’s time for them to go, onwards to the next era of the band.
Why did you choose the songs you did for your EP?
They are a collection of songs that represent the first two years of the band from the very start to where we are now. With enough variation to show you where we might branch out to in the future. This EP is the nucleus of our band and we’ll always grow out from this starting point.
What’s the most memorable lesson you learned whilst recording the EP?
To be creative and try crazy stuff, it makes you different from everyone else. We used a software trumpet sound re-amped into a fuzz pedal into a guitar amp then mic’d it up from a different room. You can heard it at the end of ‘Dinosaur Bones’ from the EP.
If you were given a chance to re-do the whole process, what would you do differently (if anything)?
Not one thing. Don’t look back only forwards, it is what it is and sounds the way it should sound. We’ll try different stuff on the next release for sure, and we’ve learnt a lot from making it. As a band each release you are growing with it so it’s good to see progress across a discography.
What kind of statement do you want to make with your debut EP?
Much like the dinosaurs that are referenced in it, it’s heavy, massive and has the capacity to be soft and gentle like the nice vegetarian dinosaurs that chill in Jurassic Park.
What are the ideas and themes behind the EP?
A lot of metaphors that could fit many situations, mainly writing from personal experience. Giving away a definitive meaning to the song though would dilute the point in it, we want people to make their own connections with it.
Are there any behind the scenes stories of the recording process?
We recorded it on the moon with Elon Musk and Satan, it was carnage. We legally can’t tell you what happened because we’ll be sued by Satan.
Drawing inspiration from the EP title, if you could be a dinosaur, what dinosaur would you be and why?
Well we couldn’t name a song ‘Triceratops’ without picking that one, however when I was a child I had a dinosaur toy that had ‘made in china’ written on the bottom so I thought it was a legitimate dinosaur name. Therefore i’d be a ‘made in chinasaur’
You’ve got the tour with Pagan to conclude a successful 2018, what are the goals for 2019?
Yeah we are super excited for that tour, gonna be great fun. 2019 we’re hoping to release a follow up to ‘Goodbye Dinosaur...’ very early days of planning that though. Wanna hit the festivals pretty hard, and get loads of touring under our belts. Also wanna get some heelys (shoes with wheels) because I never had any as a kid and I feel I missed out, so look our for that coming to a stage near you.
Feature created by Athena Kam