For a restless soul like Sydney noisemaker Jonathan Boulet, the only constant is change.
In the last five years – a good chunk of which he spent in Berlin – the mercurial muso has gone from an indie-folk festival mainstay to the grime-smeared Gubba, a character who slithered from Boulet’s 2014 garage-punk album of the same name.
Let’s backtrack a second: just who the fuck is Gubba? “The phrase is an indigenous term for a white man,” Boulet explains, “but when I was thinking about it over the course of that album, it turned into this character who’s kinda like white man’s evil over the course of time, of history. You know the cartoon character Rat Fink? That’s kinda what it looked like to me: it was just this crazy, psycho, don’t-get-in-his-way son of a bitch.”
For the unfamiliar, Rat Fink appeared in the album art of The Birthday Party’s Junkyard, a similarly “moody and aggressive” record, in Boulet’s words. It may seem like an odd reference point, but fans of his self-produced albums may not be so familiar with the rough-and-ready bands he’s played with in the past.
“The whole record is just a summation of all the heavier, aggressive bands that I was in before we moved, like Snakeface, Top People and my solo stuff,” he says. “Everything’s narrowing into the same project in [Gubba], and I think most of those songs could work with any of those bands.”
Despite the sudden sneering doom aesthetic, there’s been no real philosophical change for Boulet, he maintains, even after time spent overseas in a city that many of our generation perceive to be something of a cultural mecca. “It’s such a different place; there’s such culture and history there,” he says of Berlin. “But at the same time, most of me would prefer Sydney because it’s such a thriving city. It’s got everything you need.”
While it’s worth noting this interview occurred before New South Wales Premier Mike Baird’s reiteration of his lockout policies, the nightlife is not what Boulet’s after. “I like being close to the bush, having access to the beach and the bush, and having the good weather. They’re really simple things, but if you’re not around them all the time, of course you’re gonna start to miss ’em.”
Gubba is simultaneously more stripped-back and weightier than Boulet’s previous releases, driven by a mindset of ‘maximum impact, minimal bullshit’ that forms the backbone of his new approach to music.
“The album before Gubba [2012’s We Keep The Beat, Found The Sound, See The Need, Start The Heart] was quite thick, it was quite layered … and it kind of made it harder to hear what was going on because there wasn’t a lot of clarity,” he admits. “I found through the shows that was kind of where I needed to go – for it to work properly, you need to arrange with clarity in mind and make sure everything has purpose. And there was too much – there was bullshit! I didn’t want to have any long, wanky intros, soundscapes, that kinda thing. People seem to have short attention spans; I’ve also got a really short attention span, so I kinda just want the song to start when it starts, you know?”
We talk about the kinds of bands that are carrying the no-bullshit torch and getting Boulet excited – “ridiculous” underground punk bands, specifically Melbourne’s Total Control and “any band that Mikey Young is associated with” – and I can’t help but bring up the recent Hottest 100 countdown to gauge Boulet’s reaction. It elicits a laugh. “It was on at the pub we were at. Every song, one of us was just like, ‘What the fuck is this?’ I don’t wanna rat on anyone, but I think it’s interesting that was the reaction that I think a lot of people had also.”
We swing back to Boulet’s own work, which at present sees him hit the studio every day – as he puts it, “I’ve just gotta sit there until the shit comes out.” He says he’s sticking to the aesthetic established on Gubba for now, at least loosely.
“In the same ballpark,” he says. “I think it was a fun album and it was pretty brash, a little bit offensive on the ears, but I’m hoping to stay close to it. Maybe, like, make it a little more groovy, a little more dynamic. When we launched [Gubba] in Sydney, at one point it just erupted and I was like, ‘Yes! This is why the whole album happened!’ It was very nice.”
Boulet is looking to make the live show more fun than ever, and with Popfrenzy’s Divine Times festival on the horizon as part of the 2016 Spectrum Now program – which sees Boulet play alongside post-punk pioneers The Jesus and Mary Chain – there’s never been a better time. Never fear, hardcore fans; he’s still raging with his other outfits – Snakeface tore up Black Wire Records just last week.
“We’re currently making new music with all those guys,” Boulet says. “Snakeface is starting to record some new stuff; same with Top People, trying to get that started up. [I’ve] got another project called Party Cousin, which is this noisy saxophone and drums duo. Basically right now, for me, it’s time to go to town and just make as much shit as possible.”
Gubbais out now through Popfrenzy andJonathan Boulet playsDivine Times as part of Spectrum Now 2016, with The Jesus and Mary Chain, Seekae, Alvvays and U.S. Girls, at The Domain on Saturday March 5.
