INTERVIEW: Electronic Experimentalists Ripship discuss songwriting, synthesizers and sucking.
INTERVIEW: Electronic Experimentalists Ripship discuss synthesizers, songwriting and sucking.
if you haven't been baptised in the murky ocean depths that make up a Ripship live show, allow me to describe it for you. up the front, we see guitarist, singer, synth player and lead moustache Callum Lincoln, who projects himself at you like a 3D movie, glaring at both you and his electronic flock of noisemaker devices when they start to shift from the intended path. if you can pry your eyes away from him, you find drummer, singer and stage banter expert Eva-Rae McLean, sitting cool bathed in the glow of the stage lights, pounding out the polyrhythms and odd time signatures that power the Ripship. i’m sure from reading this you’re already excited by this band, but if you aren’t quite there, below is an exclusive interview with the band, which should put you in the mood. i was blown away by them live, so this is the first of many interviews i've set up by badgering the band in question while they’re trying to pack their gear for a hasty stage retreat. (note to aspiring journalists, don't do this. or, do it, because it's gotten me like, a million interviews.) all that being said, please give it up for Ripship…
first off, will you tell our readers who you are?
We are Ripship, a two-piece band originally from Tāmaki Makaurau, now based in Pōneke. We write goofy psych-rock songs, usually based around a sci-fi concept and incorporating some odd beats, synth loops and wacky guitar tones.
someone told me you both come from different parts of the country, how did you meet?
False, we grew up in different parts of Auckland, and eventually matched on Tinder in 2018.
i can't think of many other bands here experimenting with a new wave-y yet psychedelic sound like you guys. Who would you say your main influences are and how did you find them?
We write songs like monster-of-the-week episodes, where we take one thing we like from whoever we are listening to at that moment and twist it into something new. We get inspired watching live kiwi bands: Wax Chattels, Earth Tongue and Koizilla are some of our favourites. Our most persistent influences are probably Battles, Trans Am and King Gizzard.
Synthesisers and electronic music in general is notorious for being hard to understand when you're first starting out, especially if you're playing with other musicians. What was ripship like early on, and how do you suggest someone who wants to make music like yours get started?
Ripship started the way most bands do, by sucking. We went by The Ever-Loving Fuck, and played unfinished songs at house parties and empty bars. Our advice is to play every gig you can- you’ll learn your instrument rapidly and your songs will improve as you outgrow the first batch. If you’re the worst band on the lineup then you’re on the right lineup.
Ripship’s use of synths is pretty utilitarian- we use it in lieu of a bass player, so whatever it’s doing needs to be playable with one hand or fewer. Just start with the preset sounds and see where they take you. Our song B13 is named after a preset on the MicroKorg so that we wouldn’t forget it!
with all the technology you use, writing must get complicated. How do you come up with your songs?
The technology is usually what inspires a new song! We’re constantly mining digital effects pedals for weird sounds, pushing the parameters further than you could with anything analog. Some of the noises would be unusable for most bands, I think we excel at finding a home for them.
Would you say your music is more aimed towards freaks, or geeks?
Geeks, 100%. Freaks are more than welcome, though.
Finally, when can people next see you live, and where can people find your music?
Up next we play CubaDupa, Saturday 8:15 on the Garage Project stage. You can find our music on all the usual streaming platforms or on vinyl at your local record store.
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