As The Cairos drummer BC Michaels explains, life has certainly changed for the Brisbane quartet since signing with Island Records in 2011. Only two years ago the band was struggling to raise enough capital to record their second EP, 2010’s Summer Catalogue; the release of which was held back for a year, only to eventually be given away for free.
“Personally, I had to go telemarketing, like every fucking day for weeks… I had no money at all. It just really takes a toll on general living conditions, which is what happened after the previous EP.”
“By the time we released it, we were already such a better band and had all these songs that were much better that we wanted to release. The whole experience was pretty bizarre with that EP.”
These new and improved songs comprise the tracklist for The Cairos new EP Colours Like Features and have been streamed by Music Feeds all this week. Now that Island Records is picking up the tab, The Cairos have the means to match their ambitions. Improved studio conditions, structured release schedules and access to top producers have enabled The Cairos to craft music that is both punchy and polished.
“They (Island Records) keep their roster pretty small so they can pay a fair bit of attention to our band… It’s good to be part of a label that is into developing bands over a long term,” he said.
“Wayne Connolly produced us this time. He’s worked with The Vines and some pretty sweet bands. He’s just a really good guy, really down to earth and he helped me a lot personally, trying to get a spot-on drum sound… I really like Wayne as a producer and as a person.”
Another major difference for The Cairos is the level of production they now experience when it comes to music videos. Although the high rotation single We All Buy Stars is an audible triumph, the accompanying video was created without the label’s assistance. Upon viewing, it’s not hard to believe the clip cost the lofty estimated sum of $50.
“Ah fuck, I’d be surprised if it even cost that much (laughter)…. Some of the other guys just decided to drive down to the farm…and I think they all just got really baked and ran around a farm with their camera. I suppose you can sort of tell,” BC said.
The Cairos new video for their latest single Shame promises to be a radical departure from its predecessor. Backed by Island Records, the cheap animal masks have been replaced instead by the creative mastery of Creature Technology’s Russell Sharp (The Matrix Revolutions). Shot on location at “some big house” in Melbourne, BC and the boys experienced their first major production.
“(I) walked inside the actual house and there were literally about a crew of 40 people. I just couldn’t believe it. I’d never really experienced anything like that, where there’s so many people around just to achieve one thing.”
“After having heaps of bad video clips in the past, I think we didn’t really want to be in our video clip all that much… We just watched these actors to sit around a table and run through the whole storyline.”
“The concept is pretty funny. It involves a monster that was created by the same guys who made Golem in Lord of the Rings, so it was just fucking freaky looking. Hopefully I think it will make the film clip look pretty good.”
“Currently I’ve only seen a rough edit of it. Hopefully we can have our first good video clip.”
This Good Friday April 6, 2012 Music Feeds will be premiering the music video for Shame to coincide with the official release of Colours Like Features. Until then, here’s a behind-the-scenes sneak preview courtesy of Pedestrian TV
The Cairos – Behind the Scenes – Shame
The Cairos – We All Buy Stars
