Interview by CHRIS MARTIN
Sydney based four-piece MM9 has been on a non-stop ride since April. After releasing debut album ‘The Air Between’ the band hit the road and made a serious impression on punters across the country. Next it toured nationally with Perth’s own Karnivool, and now is back on the road to promote the second single from the album, ‘Let It Take Over’.
“We haven’t had too much of a break since the album was released,” says drummer, Ben Ellingworth. “[Let It Take Over] has been getting a fair bit of radio play over east so we thought we’d get back on the road. We also wanted to capitalise on some of the good work we did during the Karnivool tour. On that tour we went to places we hadn’t been before, like Hobart and Launceston.”
Ellingworth cannot speak highly enough of Karnivool. “We went into the tour wondering how Karnivool fans would react to our sound, but as we guessed people who appreciate Karnivool are intelligent people that appreciate good music. They’re a thinking-man’s band; they attract some strong music lovers. I went into it not knowing what to expect, thinking ‘Man I hope these guys aren’t just ego driven’ but when I really got to know them they’re some of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. Night after night they would help us with our gear. It was probably the best tour we’ve ever done.”
Ellingworth also holds another Perth music export in high esteem, namely drum and bass meets metal masters Pendulum. “We’ve talked about gigging with Pendulum; that would be a big goal for me personally. You know those bands that come around and knock you for six? Pendulum did that for me. Hearing them took a lot of things I like and mixed them together. Drum and bass has never really been put up on a big stage but Pendulum has taken that sound and incorporated many different elements into it.”
MM9 are starting to cast a shadow of their own in Sydney’s music scene. But as Ellingworth says, it’s something that the band can’t be too precious about. “We’ve noticed that some new bands are coming up with some of the same techniques that we use or some of the same attributes that we have. We’ve been together for about 10 years so it’s not like we can get upset about people latching onto our sound. It’s an absolute honour. In Australia you can’t be too precious about your scene, you can’t try and monopolise it. I was recently talking to Clint [Boge] from The Butterfly Effect and talked about bands in this situation. Whatever MM9 can do to help an upcoming band we will.”
The Karnivool tour was truly a watershed moment for MM9, and not just because of the exposure to such a large group of new fans. Industry scouts approached the band during the Perth leg of the tour and offered MM9 a spot at the One Movement Festival, which could increase the band’s prospects even more. “That almost made the tour that much better. Not only were we on these really cool tour but we got something amazing out of it. It’s already a world-class showcase but I think it’s pricking up the ears of not only people in Australia but also overseas. Anything that makes people overseas more aware of Australian bands is a good thing. Plus, Perth’s probably our favourite place to tour.”
The band is moving ahead, financially and musically. Financially in the sense that the band is becoming a bigger drawcard, and musically in the band’s approach to the songs. “On the last tour we brought out new versions of older songs we’d written years ago like ‘Trains’ and ‘New Chemistry’. For our own mental health we had to give these songs a new lease on life. We did do a show in Sydney where we brought out some olds songs the old way, but it didn’t feel right. We can still give people a hint of the old stuff, but with a fresh coat of paint. Our original sound had more in common with industrial acts like Orgy and Zeromancer. You can’t take the metal out of someone. I mean you have to move ahead but we’ll always have certain elements to our sound.”
Catch MM9 at Amplifier Bar on the 2nd of October and at the One Movement Festival!
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