My Ninja Lover are a Brisbane band on the rise, who play some very trippy electrica indeed. What makes them even more interesting is that one of their four members lives in The Netherlands. I interviewed the Brisbane trio for The Courier-Mail: herewith, the interview.
For a Brisbane band,
having a member living in
Amsterdam could be a slight
disadvantage, but My Ninja
Lover are determined to turn
it into an asset.
When bassist, programmer
and fellow songwriter Chris
Buckridge moved to Holland
in November, his compatriots,
Manta Ray and Porl,
appointed him point man for
their European invasion. And
while a trip to the Continent
is still a little way off for the
couple, who married in
October, Buckridge's move to
Europe is already yielding a
flow of material via internet as
he explores new influences.
Back in Brisbane, though,
Manta and Porl had a bass-
sized hole to fill.
``We panicked for a couple
of months and then we found
Dan,'' says Porl, who plays
guitar, keyboards and synths.
Sai Dan, who joined the
MNL team about a month
ago, was a former workmate
of Porl's. He had stepped in to
play bass with the pair's
previous band, Zephyr
Timbre, on occasion.
Manta and Porl formed
MNL with Chris, with whom
Porl had played in Trace
Element, in 2004 following
the collapse of Zephyr
Timbre.
ZT, who made waves for
five years by fusing hip-hop,
funk and whatever else
caught their fancy, seemed to
be on the verge of breaking
out, having played three Big
Day Outs in a row and
supported the likes of Moby,
Nelly Furtado and Michael
Franti. Instead, it broke up.
``It's such a rock 'n' roll
story that everything fell
apart,'' Porl says.
The break-up meant that,
with MNL, Porl and Manta
had to start again.
``We've been building from
the ground up,'' Porl says, and
the recognition has been
coming quickly.
First up, only months after
forming, they won Nokia's
Terminal Nine Beats
Competition, which snared
them a trip to London and led
to their debut EP,
Silk and
Daggers, in 2005.
``Winning the Nokia
contest gave us the
confidence to try again,'' Porl
says.
Last year they scored
another accolade, their song
Tin Cat
winning Q
Music's
Queensland Songwriting
Award for best dance
electronica. Chris was able to
collect the award before he
left for Amsterdam.
The band scored further
exposure when Channel 10
picked up their song
2 x 2
to
play with promos for
television programs
The OC
and
Victoria's Secret.
Porl says the clips caused
an internet buzz as listeners
tried to find the source of the
music online.
And now, they're looking
forward to playing the Big
Day Out: the heat, the crowd,
and especially the sound
system. ``We can't wait to hear
our tunes on a system that
big,'' says Porl.
When asked to describe
their music, the consensus
from the three is that it boils
down to beats, bass and
``things that go beep''.
Which doesn't quit convey
the energy of an MNL gig.
Each bandmember does
their own thing, but Manta is
the kinetic centre, never still,
extremely athletic, and gifted
with a set of lungs to rival
Shirley Bassey.
``There's a lot of recycled
energy at our shows,'' Manta
says. ``People give a lot of
energy back.''
``If you're playing the music
and feeling it, it's directing the
way you move,'' Porl says.
``Nothing's pre-arranged.''
For Dan, despite his
experience in other bands, it's
the first time that he's felt the
energy wash away the stage
nerves, so he can just enjoy
the music he's creating and
the reaction of those hearing
it.
``I can just go with it and
not worry about making a
mistake,'' he says.
Dan earned his chops
playing jazz, with the double
bass his weapon of choice.
While he usually plays
electric bass for MNL, he's
looking foward to breaking
out the double when they
support an EP launch by
Brisbane's Tycho Brahe next
month.
It's another evolutionary
step for the band who are
looking to add yet more
elements to an already
eclectic arsenal of instruments
and styles.
``More toys!'' Porl says.
``More bleeps!'' says Manta.
``And Dan has a theremin,''
Porl adds, and for a moment
there is a confusion of chatter
about special effects and the
application of theremin to
jazz.
With their experience
supporting big acts, the band
have seen what it's like to tour
with caterers and semi-trailers
of equipment, and that would
be nice. Quitting the day jobs
to play music full-time would
also be welcome.
For this year, though, it's
more gigs, the release of a
remixed
2x2
EP and a new, as
yet unnamed, EP around
May, and hopefully an album.
And maybe, around year's
end, a trip to Europe might be
on the cards to capitalise on
Chris's groundwork.
``We want to take it as far
as we can go,'' Manta says.
``As far as we can go.''
My Ninja Lover's myspace page
