Depth perception
As Methyl Ethel, Perth-born Jake Webb spins a dreamy sound conceived on twilight drives
Picking up his first guitar at twelve years old – and instantly falling under its spell of endless possibilities – ignited Perth-born Jake Webb to lay down the textural beat swirling around his mind. From his bedroom-come-studio Webb had found the outlet he craved and soon his part-time hobby physicalised into a full touring three-piece band, Methyl Ethel.
2015 marked the first stepping stone in Webb’s vision via the release of debut record, Oh Inhumane Spectacle. Clocking in at a cool 41:55, the record may have been realised on the sun-blessed Western Australian streets – that shimmering, heat-warped reverb is consistent – however, Webb et al cultivate a sound that transcends locale: transporting the listener into an ethereal state of being.
This free thinking disposition metabolises itself in Webb’s rhetoric. There’s an openness in his turn of phrase that beguiles, extending discussion into new levels of expression.
Lucy Pogoriler: The band name Methyl Ethel is a clear liquid, is that a conscious association with fluidity?
Jake Webb: I’d love to say yes. Band names are a hard thing to do and really it’s the sound of the words that I like, the misspellings. I wanted it to be genderless.
LP: Does your lifestyle in Australia contribute to your musical aesthetic?
JW: I do a lot of driving so that’s why I like to listen to a lot of albums in full. From the moment I get up I have my headphones on all day, then I unplug and plug into the car. That feeling of driving through the open roads definitely influences me.
LP: Your voice is a different pitch than on your record.
JW: I like to embrace the inner diva in me.
LP: In the album artwork there’s a statue with flowers blooming, what is your interpretation of it?
JW: You know Japanese flower arranging, ikebana? It’s all about asymmetry. The beautiful thing about it is it allows people to grasp at it and put it together themselves. The meaning is all subjective.
LP: The whole album alludes to heartbreak, escapism and being in a cloud nine euphoric state of mind, was that from personal experiences?
JW: Yeah totally. It’s from direct experiences, kind of…lyrically, I like to write using fragmented bits from dreams. It’s easier to relate to because its open and more relatable. I had a really weird dream the other night…
LP: Go on…
JW: I had a dream where I was attacked by dogs. I’m actually often getting attacked by dogs [Laughs].
LP: The track Unbalancing Acts has a minute and half of grasshopper and cricket sounds layered with chanting and then it drops into the song. Tell me about that.
JW: It’s the atmosphere of it. I recorded all the chirping sounds in London actually. I went to All Tomorrow’s Parties once and was recording people and that’s what the sounds of crickets are sped up. It’s sort of getting the intention of the field noise. It’s fun to make.
LP: And the artwork for Twilight Driving featuring a man fighting a kangaroo..
JW: That’s Thom’s [Stewart, Bass] uncle, he’s an artist who paints wildlife. You know when you’re in primary schools and there are all those wild life paintings, yeah that’s what he does. Even in fish and chip shops they have all the local fish and he paints those! He does a bit of taxidermy too.
LP: You’ve won a few awards recently, are those something you see as accomplishments?
JW: It makes me really nervous. A lot of the time you get nominated for something and all of a sudden you’re put into a competition that you didn’t ask to be in. You don’t care if you win but people make it a big deal if you don’t win and it’s like, “But I didn’t even sign up for it!” People ask how you feel about not winning, “Well I was fine before you asked me about it!”
LP: [Laughs] That’s why they have the alcohol on hand…
JW: I know! It’s a shame that awards are such a big deal, it puts it all into a hierarchy. If someone wins an award they are automatically considered the best, which isn’t true.
LP: What was your speech?
JW: The award speech has become a vessel for pseudo political bullshit, you must have to be a pretty entitled person to feel the need to become a spokesperson for a whole movement. People work their whole lives for organisations, and then some fucking pop star comes in and thinks they can come and tell the world how it is…I think I said that the wine was good.