Richard In Your Mind. But what’s in Richard’s? Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
At least a few times a week. When he’s not the frontman of Sydney’s adored spirit-altering, brain-bending psychedelic pop band, Richard Cartwright is a practising meditator.
“Meditation is a constant war with an ever-changing flow of thoughts,” he says. “You just look at what your mind does. ‘Why am I thinking? I didn’t choose to think but I am thinking.’ You try and quiet it down and find the central core of where thoughts come from, and is that the self? I don’t know if it’s about getting answers or if it just feels good. It’s just a weird thing, having a mind. What do you do with it?”
When there’s not nothing going on between Cartwright’s ears, there’s a lot. He speaks enthusiastically, spontaneously, leaping from discussing the soundtrack to Disney’s Robin Hood to the meaning of the universe. You might call him a quick-witted modern hippy.
“I don’t think I’m just Richard 1,702 but I’m some kind of recombination of matter,” he continues. “I like exploring the mind and the nature of reality. Just for fun, or… I don’t know to what end or purpose. If that’s a hippy thing to do, then colour me tie-dye!”
More recently his brain has been focused on the band’s next release, its seventh, which it is in the middle of recording. “We’re deep inside. We’re deep in its guts. I find it the best time. It’s a bit of a ‘no rules’ time.”
While Richard In Your Mind’s last record, 2014’s Ponderosa, was recorded at their Super Love Brain studio in the Blue Mountains, this one is being put together at the iconic REC Studios in Sydney, which have been graced by the likes of David Bowie, Stevie Wonder and Elton John, to name but a few.“When you go up there, though, it’s Savage Garden,” Cartwright says. “There’s all this Savage Garden memorabilia. It’s kind of a shrine.”
The change of location has meant the recording process for this as-yet-untitled album has been different to the band’s usual modus operandi. Rather than extended and meandering studio sessions, the new songs are being well rehearsed as a band and laid down live.
“I know that seems not a revolutionary idea,” he says, “in fact the opposite. But we’ve never done it that way. We wanted to do it this way – let’s not spend half the day setting up the drums ourselves, let’s just walk in and focus on playing. This is the most common experience, but for us it’s new.”
Where Ponderosa was something of a wild ride stylistically, featuring sitars, synths and samples, the follow-up looks set to be more cohesive, focused around a traditional guitar band set-up.“We are trying to keep it based around that idea, but we’re always trying to make it still seem glistening and still have some swirling to it. It’s been a bit different this time. It’s not just a guitar band album but that’s kind of a core idea we’re working from.”
But this is still a Richard In Your Mind album, don’t forget. “If it’s time to turn left, it’s time to turn left,” Cartwright says. “The band records it but we’re still putting stuff on top, so it’s still got magic juice. There’ll always be experimenting.”
Set for release sometime around summer, the new record will be followed by a tour. In the meantime, Richard In Your Mind are playing a clutch of shows, including the second birthday of Newtown Social Club’s band room.
“It’s really one of the best things, going round playing tunes with your friends and hanging out with the cool people at shows,” says Cartwright. “To our fans: just general love vibes, y’know?”
Newtown Social Club Band Room 2nd Birthday hostsRichard In Your Mind, along with Australia, Slumberhaze, Mario Speedwagon and The Spectacles and a secret headliner,atNewtown Social Club on Sunday June 5.
