motel void

Denim Gorgeous is the recording project of a talented Australian musician Peach Pourbozorgi. He talks about music scene in Australia, his writing and recording process, about his upcoming release and more…

You’re from Melbourne. How would you describe the music scene there and how does living and playing in Australia influence you? Is there a strong music scene in Melbourne?

The Melb music scene is great. I can see live music any night of the week. There’s a huge indie band scene of cool bands doing cool shit, there’s mid-level bands that are starting to make it worldwide that still play at your local bar, and there’s some incredible huge music venues that host international acts and big-time shows. Melbourne’s gotta be a leading live music city of the world. The indie music scene is probably a little less DIY than some other places I’ve lived in the world but I rate it, and there’s so many great local bands/artists that I mostly pull all of my influences from the same city I live in which is not something I’ve experienced before!

How hard is it for smaller bands in Australia to go on tour? I come from Europe where „everything is close“, but in Australia the big cities (Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth…) are quite far from each other. Are there good music venues in smaller towns?

I haven‘t toured in Aus but there is defs a shortage of major cities close by. That means most tours look like “east coast” major city tours (I bet Perth hate that) that consist of only a handful of dates, especially if you’re not a massive name. It’s mostly a downfall but it could also be a positive – means tours are easier to organise, maybe more frequent, and there’s a lot of smaller towns in between cities that only have a few venues so if you can play there it’s likely you’ll get a crowd by the sheer fact that they are out that night.

You released your first music in 2017. Have you changed your approach to writing and recording since that time?   

A lot on the recording side! My first two EP’s were just make-shift studios in my dad’s house over a quick month with one dynamic mic to record everything and Pro Tools to mash it together – minimal gear and rushed mostly because I was in between travelling. I moved to Melbourne in 2018 and as the music gear grew so did the process. I still do everything myself at home but it looks a bit more pro these days with a healthy choice of mic options, rack gear, instruments, and some better mixing expertise. I’m pretty excited for the next phase cus I just bought a tape machine and have already got another half finished album on it!

I still write the same I always did – a guitar and a melody. It’s normally an acoustic. I might have a lot more in mind than I did when I first started because I’m thinking about drums, riffs, harmonies while I’m writing now while the younger music is pretty barebones.

It is mostly you behind Denim Gorgeous, but from live videos that I’ve seen, you also cooperate with other musicians. Do they also participate in writing and recording or are they „just“ live musicians?

All the recordings you hear are me. But I have a band of best friends that I play live with. I like to keep the lines blurred of where Denim Gorgeous as a solo project ends and DG as a live band begins. I don’t like the idea of one singer/songwriter fronting a band of musicians to play the remaining instrument and that’s in part why I never named the project after myself.

Guitar was always my main instrument and I think it shows in my ‘very guitar music’ music, but I picked up a few things when I was young so I can play a lot of contemporary instrument “ok”. And so I’ve always written and recorded everything for Denim Gorgeous. I like working with other people in the studio but I also like working alone because it can be a bit of a private experience so it’s nice to feel the freedom to be yourself.

The band is definitely a big part of DG though. They are great musicians. We did a live video last year of the song ‘Broken Machine’. We always played it so beautifully as a band that it had to be captured. That’s my friends Angus on organ (he usually plays bass), Sam on guitar and Jean on drums. It’s on Youtube etc to check out!

I’m always curious about how artists record their songs… Do you remember the first song you ever wrote and recorded and how the process looked like? Is Denim Gorgeous your very first music project?

I definitely can’t recall the first ever songs, I would have been a teenager or even younger. A few of the very first were probably just guitar riffs with chords written on paper – no lyrics. I think I downloaded a software called Audacity when I first got a laptop probably around 14yo – it’s like a suuuper rudimentary DAW. I remember recording straight into my laptop microphone and building some songs in that. They are definitely lost to the ages! At some point I bought an Mbox and Pro Tools and an sm7 microphone and started recording everything with it. I took some of that stuff travelling because it was such a minimal set up and used to record things on the top bunk of hostel beds lol.

The first real stuff that I actually released I can remember vividly. All with the same set up though – one mic, Pro Tools, amp sims, thousands of takes! I probably spent more time editing all that music than recording! That process is all of the What Salts Worth and Songs From The Shelf EP’s. The newer music and my next album that is on the way (very soon) is a little more pro and a lot more authentic. No editing, no midi etc, far less screen time. Thank god for loop record!

I’ve had a couple of little music projects before; most notably a short and fiery one in New Orleans with some awesome friends when I lived there. That was a huge influence to the music I make now. It’s on Spotify but mostly as solo recordings of the other songwriter in the band. It’s called Engine Joe, check it out!

Do you record your music all by yourself? What kind of DAW do you use?

I’ve always done everything myself at home. The setup looked gradually more decorated as the years went on. It started out with one mic, a couple beginner guitars, a cheapo drumkit and Pro Tools. I coulda gone a few directions but I got into the rack gear and became a gearhead. Add some more sophisticated instruments, better (and more) mics, a treated studio space and you’ll get close to where I am today. I’m still constantly learning to play and exploring my style too so a new instrument jumps in the mix every now and then. Like I finally just bought a piano!

I’ve only ever used Pro Tools. Not that it really matters. I’ve tried some of the others but they seemed dull and unintuitive. I definitely don’t really use it as a DAW anymore – it’s more like a place to house the recordings and do one final level. Like a glorified mixing desk really! I recently bought a tape machine and I mostly make the entire song on that nowadays. The workflow kicks ass over staring at a computer screen!! I just bounce it all into Pro Tools at the end to maybe add some volume changes and stuff.

Have you ever recorded in a professional music studio?

Not really. I’ve been on the other side of the desk a few times. But maybe only a couple occasions I can recall actually recording in there and they weren’t for Denim Gorgeous. I mostly found it overwhelming and slow – all this precious gear that isn’t yours, no spilling drinks in the control room, too many overhead lights lol. I need a creative space that I can black out in haha and that’s always meant doing it at home.

Could you name your 3 music discoveries from 2021?

I recently discovered a local band called Snowy Band and I’ve been pretty obsessed with them since! Sometimes you can tell when a songwriter is a league beyond your own level! I get a similar feeling listening to Sun Kil Moon or Sufjan. The new Good Morning album (another local band) came out in October and it’s great. I adore everything they do. Not to mention the new Andy Shauf album or Sam Evian album! It’s not exactly a new discovery but I’ve been on a Randy Newman kick for a few months too. I don’t listen to a tonne of music, more so listen to some music to death.

You’re latest single ‚For M‘ is pretty amazing, one of my favorite tracks from 2021. Will it be a part of an upcoming album?

Thankyou ❤

It will join a few of the other releases I’ve put out this year in my upcoming album ‘This Constant Yearning‘. Depending on when you’re reading this that might actually be unannounced news! The title is from a Hafez poem I found in a book from a friend. I think the album will be out in Jan/Feb 2022.

Have you considered going on tour abroad in near future?

We’ve been in what felt like a state of endless lockdown in Aus and we’ve only just come out of it! I’d love to tour at some point but it’s kind of far from my mind at the moment. I used to live in the states and a return to some of the my fav cities on tour would be a dream!

Thank you for the interview! A.