Mansionair: “Trust your gut and make decisions for the long run”
An interview with Jack Froggatt of the Australian alternative pop trio Mansionair.
Mansionair is a Sydney-based trio that will have you singing their songs subconsciously for days.
Our video for Violet City is available everywhere now at https://t.co/PbgZJXJm5u pic.twitter.com/fO4KAqy6RQ
— Mansionair (@Mansionair) May 3, 2018
The indie band, originally formed in 2014, has been living life in the fastlane for years now. It’s been anything but ordinary since the group was formed, and they could not be happier with how things have been going since joining the industry.
Lachlan Bostock and Alex Nicholls, band members and multi-instrumentalists, worked with vocalist Jack Froggatt on some song ideas and ultimately formed Mansionair in a very natural way. After hard work and dedication to improving as a band, things fell into place effortlessly.
Currently, Mansionair is on a record label with bands like as Alt-J and Chvrches. Although the group never expected the mass success they’ve been seeing, they are incredibly humbled by it and encourage their fans to stick around for new music.
In an interview with Jack Froggatt, he discusses the positive reaction Mansionair received after the release of their vastly popular single, ‘Easier’, and how life has been on tour.
Can you tell me a little bit about the start to Mansionair and how the band formed?
Lach and Alex met through mutual friends at a music festival in Sydney called Laneway and began making beats together. Later in the year Lach and I met at another music festal called Splendour, and he suggested we make some music in his studio. We passed some ideas back and forth until he suggested we work on this track he and Alex had been working on. The song was finished reasonably quickly, and we released it later that month. It began to garner some attention, and we decided later that month to form as a band. It’s been a whirlwind ever since
When did you know that music was what you wanted to do as a career?
For us it’s all we’ve really ever done. Both Lach and Alex studied music at university, and I always had a guitar and pen in hand. There was never really an alternative for any of us. I think when we realised we could do it together it became clear we wanted to pursue music for a living.
Who have been your inspirations, either musically or personally, along the way?
We all have such different tastes in music, but have a few common interests like, Alt J, The xx, etc. Individually I was always the folk/rock kid, pulling inspiration from Nick Drake to The National. Lach is more on the electronic side and Alex is into jazz.
As a band, what has been your biggest obstacle thus far?
Finishing music has always been the hardest part. We’re such perfectionists and never want to stop working on a track. After a while of making music we learnt we needed to act a little more carelessly. Things kinda started gluing together a little more. It was a difficult lesson to learn.
How does it feel to know you are inspiring other musicians to do what you are doing?
I mean, I never really thought of that before. If there are people out there pulling inspiration from what we do then that’s a huge honour. Art makes art.
What have you learned from being on tour and making music?
I could go on for hours about these topics. I think above all both with touring and making music you learn how to be disciplined; you learn to trust your gut and make decisions for the long run not just the immediate. We’ve found that being healthy and staying fit is the best to keep the machine moving. It’s important to stay light about it all to and not take everything so seriously.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg-Ocjfhq1M/?taken-by=mansionair
Your song ‘Easier’ is a hit! What has it been like to see how many people positively responded/reacted to it?
For us, we never really thought that song was gonna hit like it did. It was the first time we really wore our hearts on our sleeves and released a song that really said something about the situation we were in. To have people react to it like they did just gave us the confidence to continue to be vulnerable in our words and music. It means a huge deal to hear people sing it back to us, and it’s always the highlight of every show.
What do you hope to achieve in the future in the music industry?
We just want to sustain our strong creative output and enjoy being on the road and interacting with fans on and off stage.
What is one thing fans can look forward to?
More music!
If you could only listen to one artist/band for the rest of your life, who would it be and why?
The National, because every time I listen to a song I’ve heard a thousand times before, I hear or take something new from it
Finally, do you have any special routines before going on stage to get hyped before a show?
We’re not really big on the before show rituals. Usually a couple of teas or vodkas depending on our moods. We have a little group hug/handshake thing. We used to sing this song called ‘You and Me’ by Penny & the Quarters, but we haven’t done that in ages. Maybe we should bring it back.
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Official Site | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify
