close
Culture

Interview: Abbe May

Perth native, Abbe May, seems to love a bit of a pun; her musical approach to humorous word play is showcased in a mischievous tone with sexual innuendo on her latest album Kiss My Apocalypse. In taking the impudent phrase ‘kiss my ass’ and combining it with the ‘lips’ of apocalypse, May says it’s “the best way to say, with a calm smile on your face, ‘Fuck you’.”

Kiss My Apocalypse delves deeper into the dynamics of relationships than run-of-the-mill pop hits. The concept of this album was born out of a big falling-out with a former lover, leaving May at a painful loss. But instead of therapy or turning into a “bitter twisted old bag” she began writing songs about it and getting back into her work.

Her music is more than personal therapy, it’ serious business and a life-long passion. Through our conversation it was clear that May works with a large team of collaborators, including cinematographers, jewelry designers, stylists, directors, and photographers, speaking about each of them as if they were all close friends rather than colleagues. She praised their talents, explained her close involvement with their respective art forms, and spoke of the perks of collaboration. Particularly praised was Sam Ford, musical collaborator, friend, producer, and the man by her side at the creation of what was to be Kiss My Apocalypse. 

In their seaside studio, the pair experimented with digital effects, a change in direction from the more guitar-oriented Design Desire. Inspiration was drawn from a number of remixes of her back-catalogue. “I remember thinking what we really need to do it just start remixing stuff, so we take the guitars out and just take the sentiment, and turn it into this trip-hop sort of vibe. And what I didn’t know at the time was that Sam was thinking basically the same thing…and it was basically from there we were high-fiving and going, this is what we want to do. So then we’d write a beat, because I like to write from the beginning point of having a beat, and then I’d build a melody and vocals around it. Then we got together and put some bass synth and melatron melodies over the top, and just layered it like that. It was a real stretch for us and I think every album you should really be trying to push it as much as you can.”

Having released the album a few weeks ago, Abbe May is now hitting the road on a national tour. The busy woman is no stranger to the life of a touring musician, hitting up festivals such as Meredith and Pyramid Rock in 2011 as well as countless club shows across the country. As for her preference between a festival versus a club crowd, she has reasons for liking both: “The intimacy of my own shows are really, really beautiful to share that with a group of people who have paid the money to support us and to listen to new music but I also love the festivals. We have a great time.” Although she wouldn’t hint at any festival appearances in the future, it seems almost inevitable.

The last time May was over in Melbourne on her ‘Karmageddon’ national tour at The Toff, she merged some snazzy light projections into the show. This time around, we won’t be in for more projections; “we’re going to try to really flip you out with a few little sonic tricks. I decided when we started rehearsing for this one that the main focus would be about the sound, and that we would come up with something a little more simple than bringing along a projectionist to the show. You can be expecting some interesting things [at Ding Dong Lounge].”

Abbe May is playing at Ding Dong Lounge on June 21st. Kiss My Apocalypse is available on iTunes and at all ‘sexy’ record stores.

Lot's Wife Editors

The author Lot's Wife Editors

Leave a Response