Canberra musician Jack Biilmann on why he recorded his upcoming album Divided Mind in an 1800s church

It wasn't the first trip Biilmann had made to the small New South Wales town just near Cooma - he grew up visiting it with his family and still often visits it when he's in the area. But on this particular day, he took his guitar to play inside the historic Round Plain Church.

"Dad always tells stories about pop owning it, and what happened and all that sort of thing," Biilmann says.

"I remember it sounding pretty cool when I was young but to no real sort of severity. And then I went in there and just went, 'Wow, this sounds amazing. I wonder if I could record an album here."

After speaking to his producer Matt Barnes to determine if it was possible - and determined that with a generator and a recording rig, yes it was - Biilmann geared up for what he describes as his most difficult recording session yet. The result of this was Divided Mind, which is due out on June 16.

"Usually what I would do is focus on having the songs written, doing pre-production, then you do the drums, the bass, the guitars, the vocals all separately," he says.

"So usually I've got one thing to focus on. But with this, I had to do everything live for percussion and guitar vocals, harmonica, and Sara [Flint, of Apricot Ink] doing backing vocals as well. So basically, if any of those elements failed, it would result in a whole new take, rather than not just dropping me in and letting me do that last 10 seconds or whatever.

"I had to prepare far more than I have ever."

MUST READS:

So what exactly does an 1800s church bring to a recording?

A recording studio is usually created to be a dead-sounding space. It's designed so that when the musician plays their instrument, the recording is the sound at its most pure. Things such as reverb are then added to the recording later.

Inside the Round Plain Church - which is not the largest of churches - there is a natural reverb, which from a recording point of view, is hard to control.

"I actually did write songs with that in mind," Biilmann says.

"Hot Blood is by far the busiest song on that side of the album. It's full-on. And I did fear it was going to be too much - is it just going to be a big heap of noise - but it worked out well.

"But we had to work with the space from second one. I wrote these songs knowing it was all going to be reverby.

"We had six mics in the venue, so there'd be close mics on all my instruments, and then some that would capture the whole thing from the top, and then from afar. So basically, we had all those options up our sleeve to go, we want a bit more room sound for then, a bit less for that, and that's how we controlled it."

The Round Plain Church recordings make up side A of Divided Mind. Side B, on the other hand, is the introduction of Biilmann's newly formed band, The Black Tide.

With a lineup of Pat Quinn Quirke on guitar, Joel Cabban on bass, Jono Warren on drums and Biilmann on vocals and guitar, the band recorded throughout 2022 at three Canberra recording spaces. And when Divided Mind takes to the Basement stage on June 16 - the day it is released to the world - it will do so with a focus on this new band.

Using elements of 90s rock, blues, country and some serious guitar riffage, side B commands attention with high energy and heavy grooves.

But for those who can't quite wait those extra weeks, the single Eric (Long Live the King), which features The Black Tide, was released on Friday. And who is Eric, you may ask? It's Biilmann's blue heeler, who often features on his social media.

"It hasn't taken us very long to become a very tight band, well beyond our years of playing together," Biilmann says.

"Because each member is super experienced and super talented, and we've just come together at the right time, I think.

"And I've always had a bit of a split personality with my music.

"I love sort of guitar-based rock and roll music, and when I have musical ideas, it means that I can go is that theme or that riff or that progression is that rock and roll or is that solo? It just meant that I can be free creatively and not have to try and make something that it might not be."

Jack Biilmann and the Black Tide will be at The Basement on June 16. For tickets go to thebasementcanberra.com.au. Divided Mind is out everywhere on June 16.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: