Interview with The Cat Empire

On March 4, 2016 Australian multi-platinum selling band The Cat Empire released their highly anticipated new album Rising With The Sun. Rhiannon Johnson sat down with The Cat Empire’s Ryan Bonro to talk about the new album, the band’s influences and what 2016 holds for them.

Q: What is the Cat Empire?

A: A six-piece band from Melbourne.

Q: Can you describe the new album for us?

A: Yes. It’s like being stranded on an island where there’s a parade 24 hours a day. It sounds like fireworks look. It’s a party in orbit. It’s the running of the bulls in night vision.

Q: What was the process for writing the new album?

A: Well, we didn’t actually know we were making an album at first. We just wanted to record a few songs to see how it went, but then we kept going and pretty soon we had enough for an album – A very good album. For the first time ever, we went into the studio having not rehearsed any songs. We often spend a few weeks rehearsing, figuring out the right tempos, what the arrangements are going to be like, but we often change our minds once we get to the studio anyway. This time we just went in and started recording. It worked out great: we didn’t have time to forget anything, just learn the song, play it a few times, record it, and then repeat with a new song.

Q: What influences did you draw from?

A: Our musical influences are made up of what the six of us are into, and that’s always a pretty mixed bag. But Jumps always comes in with a weird record he’s found that sends us off in a new direction – he’s always great to have around to roll the genre dice when we need it.

Q: The music that you create incorporates elements from different genres, have you actively made an effort over the years to transcend typical genre classification?

A: We haven’t had to make an effort, we’ve always sounded like us and it’s a sound that doesn’t really fit in one basket. Except maybe World Music, but that’s a lazily-named basket really. And let’s not kid ourselves, we’re more pop than most world music. But we’re also more jazz than most pop…so…I guess classifying us as genre-benders is the easiest way to put it.

Q: Can you tell us about your favorite moment that has occurred while touring?

A: About nine years ago I lost my credit card in LA, and then found it when it was handed in to reception at a hotel in London a few weeks later. I still have no idea how it got from one place to the other. That’s a long journey for a card to stay balanced, say, in the cuff of my jeans for example, only to be dislodged finally after weeks. But that’s the best explanation I have so far.

Q: How do you find you are received in different parts of the world? For example, “How are you received when at home in Australia versus North America or Europe?”

A: Crowds in different parts of the world do have their own way of enjoying a gig. In Rio de Janeiro, people brought their own streamers and confetti. In Berlin, things turn into a mosh pit and it’s a miracle nobody gets seriously injured. In some parts of Europe, it seems perfectly fine to boo if a band doesn’t do another encore. In Munich there’s a thing where everybody in the crowd waggles their fingers at the stage and goes “Ooooo” until somebody on stage waves their hands over the head and the audience does the same and cheers. But it’s weird walking into that kind of call and response situation and having no idea what your response is supposed to be. One thing that happens all over the world: somebody in the crowd yells “Aussie Aussie Aussie!” Which we generally pretend not to hear and refuse to acknowledge. Australians should just stop doing that.

Q: How would you say you’ve evolved from the debut album and self-titled album “The Cat Empire” to your newest, “Rising with the Sun”?

A: On the first album we figured out what the Cat Empire sounds like, then over the next few albums we tried to augment and add to what the Cat Empire sounds like, then a few times tried to avoid sounding like what we think people think the Cat Empire sounds like, but these days we’re happy to sound like the Cat Empire – but we’re much better at it than we used to be.

Q: What is your favorite song off the new album and why?

A: “You Are My Song.” It’s turned out really unique, you can’t really say “It’s a (insert genre) song.” It just sounds like us. And it’s been a lot of fun to play live too.

Q: What else do you have planned for 2016?

A: We are doing a fair bit of touring surrounding the release of the new album, and then I think we’ll get to put our feet up at the end of it all. It will be great to play around Australia again; we didn’t get to do that last year.

Check out the video for the 1st single “Wolves”