Five-man Melbourne rock group Ten Thousand have been on our radar ever since their EP Tales From The Wasteland dropped in the second half of 2011. More than three-and-a-half years have passed since then, but they’ve finally released their first full-length album – a mix of arena rock and electronica fittingly titled First Light. According to lead singer Jay Bowen, it’s a record borne of passion and personal belief, and one that’s indicative of the group slowly discovering its own distinctive voice.
“I guess in the course of the last five years we’ve been going through a process of adolescence,” says Bowen. “We started as quite a traditional rock, bluesy-sounding act, and that’s really reflected on our first EP. I think it was a reflection of a lot of what we grew up with, in terms of things like Mötley Crüe and Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC and that tradition of Australian pub rock. But after that you gain more confidence in yourself as an act, and rather than simply being a contemporary version of one of your major influences, you actually start to form your own sound.”
For a long time the band put off the idea of making a full-length album. “We thought for a little while it may be more effective to just release singles,” says Bowen. “But we found that pathway a little bit dissatisfying. We wanted to get a little more traditional, and release an album where it’s like a journey from beginning to end, and its own little universe.”
While an album might qualify as traditional, the recording process was anything but. “We actually recorded it ourselves,” says Bowen proudly. “The singles were great, but we found that they were a little bit too glossy. Even though they were great for radio, they lacked a bit of edge. We just wanted something that was a bit more immediate. You know, like when you’re watching the original Star Wars, and it’s all wonky and grainy, but you connect completely with it, because it hasn’t been over-homogenised.
“We found this amazing space in St Kilda where they record orchestras for film soundtracks. It’s something that’s not done much these days, because it can all be done on computers, so these facilities were largely unused. We had these amazing 40-year-old mics and this big beautiful space with amazing acoustics.”
For the duration of the recording process, the studio was home. “We had mattresses and sleeping bags,” says Bowen. “We each had our own little area that we’d decorate with images on the wall to inspire us. We would literally get up in the morning and play all day until like 3am, 4am, or until the sun came up … and I think it needs to be like that to capture something special. We were totally saturated in this process, and totally obsessed.
“Oh, and it was fucking haunted by the way,” Bowen adds with a laugh. “Doors would open in the middle of the night, and there was this constant feeling of being watched. It was fucking incredible. We were too scared to walk down to the bathroom in the middle of the night.”
Ten Thousand continued to buck convention with the album’s physical release, which they rolled out on a USB drive. “They look awesome,” says Bowen. “They’re in a little metal box. You pop the little USB out, which you can then plug into a computer or a smart TV, and you’ve got the entire album on there. People have gone mad for them.”
Ultimately, Bowen hopes these sorts of personal, unconventional touches will be appreciated by the listeners. “One thing that was really important to us during the recording was the feeling and then vibe, and having those intangible qualities infused into the album somehow. Even though it has a very big sound, it’s a very personal experience.”
Ten Thousand’s First Light is out now independently.
