In Conversation With - Black Lime
Indie punks Black Lime bring along a raucous party with their most recent release ‘Mania’, which features an unfiltered rock ’n roll energy and unapologetic riffs. With plans to bring out three more singles, they took the time to tell us a bit more how the idea of this and gives us more insight into ‘Mania’.
How did the idea of releasing four singles in rapid succession come about?
We’ve been a little occupied recently with our knees up in the corner so we were itching to get music back out there to show people what we’ve been working on all this time. We haven’t just been twiddling our fingers, I guess you could throw something in here about ‘discovering’ ourselves and ’taking a personal journey’, but really we just cracked open a cold one with the boys and rediscovered what it means to have a laugh as a group of mates.
How does the video for the song tie in with the music of it?
We’re keen not to kiss and tell about the music video, a lot of what you see there might not make sense but underneath all of that is a hidden agenda and it’s so convolutedly simple it would make you cry. The best part is if you go away confused as to what just happened, that’s the point.
Are there any messages you wish to send with your music?
We cover a whole smorgasbord of subjects in our songs, ‘Mania’ is about psychotic behaviour and the current state of our fair world, the next single dances gently on the edge of politics and singles further afield explore denial and memory. Keep ya eyes peeled.
How did the name 'Mania' come about?
We like to feel like ‘Mania’ is a place you go when your mental capacity is wobblier than a gypsy waltz and your brain launches you into a nosedive of ‘what the seven hell is actually going on?’ We’ve all been there. In reference to the collective ‘We’re in Mania’ towards the end of the song, it’s more a manic scribble in the memory book of the band.
Where did you record the single? Were all of the singles recorded within a single time period and if not, how did the recording process for the earlier single affect the later ones?
Like Noah, we get down in pairs. A lot of the time we write songs in pairs, it’s something which we have realised just now writing this Q&A. So we record singles two at a time, the first two actually came about last year but we weren’t ready to release them yet.
Any behind-the-scenes stories you can let us in on?
After release, our drummer ended his dry spell and got a new job from excessively listening to ‘Mania’ - no seriously. This track works wonders. Best when listened to a few hundred times a day.
Feature by Athena Kam