Dreamy Melodies: Q&A with Guitarist of Australian Post-Rockers sleepmakeswaves, Playing Yugong Yishan Tonight (March 11)

Guitarist Otto Wicks-Green and his bandmates in sleepmakeswaves had just played a triumphant set at Yugong Yishan, and the promoter offered to celebrate with them at the Gulou livehouse by ordering a round of Zombies cocktail.

"I thought 'Why not? We've just had a great show, cheers!'" Wicks-Green recalls of the post gig night cap in 2015. But after knocking the cocktail back, he and his fellow Australian post-rockers realized one Zombie might have been one too many. "I went to pack up the gear with our other guitarist Kid and we both looked at each other, because we could barely stand up straight. What the heck was in those Zombies?"

Ahead of the band's return to Yugong Yishan tonight (March 11), as they tour behind their new album, Wicks-Green tells us more about the themes of beauty and loss in their songs, performing with the elders of their genre like Tortoise, and more.

You've been described as "Australia’s biggest instrumental post-rock quartet." Tell us a little bit about the music scene that you're a part of.
(Laughs) It's pretty cool to be described that way, but I reckon The Dirty Three would have something to say about it! sleepmakeswaves has existed as a band for almost 10 years here in Sydney NSW. In that time we've played hundreds of shows all around the world, including playing with some truly world-class Australian bands, across a wide variety of styles. There is a great sense of community amongst progressive bands. As Australia is a relatively small population, most of us have played together and know each personally, and enjoy each other's music.

Whenever we play shows around the country we always look forward to catching up with our friends in other bands, and performing with them on stage.

You once said: "Our first time touring China in 2015 was one of the big highlights of our touring career." Why was it was so memorable?
We went into China in 2015 with NO idea what to expect. Looking back at our touring career, the first half was mostly DIY shows that were run by passionate young people, in love with putting on live music. We often slept on people's floors and dealt with less-than-desirable production at small venues.

As we left for China I think we were all expecting the shows to be similar and small like the hardcore punk scene in Europe or the US. The reality just blew us away. The 2015 tour of China was one of the most well organised, best produced tours we've ever been a part of. The venues we played were all great quality, and the attendance and atmosphere at the shows was overwhelming. Our promoter Jef with New Noise did an amazing job of making the trip go smoothly, and introduced us to the joys of true Chinese cuisine. We had a few opportunities for some amazing tourist stuff, such as visiting the Pandas in Chengdu, but what we remember most was Jef coming over after every show and saying 'alright, now we go get some food'. Woohoo!

Aside from headlining shows in China, you've also backed up some major bands like Tortoise. What was it like to share the bill with them?
This will push my memory a bit! This was back in 2012. I remember it being a very inspiring tour. Getting to watch such masters of their craft perform every night was a real joy. The sound of their show was gorgeous too. Really nice tones out of a lot of old gear. 

Tell us more about your new album.
This new record is an attempt to capture some of the darker aspects we have gone through over the past few years. Individually and as a band, we were tested by life in a variety of ways, to do with relationships and family and homesickness. The material we started writing inevitably was affected by this, and as a whole the record feels like our heaviest yet.

The theme of the arctic kept coming up as a sort of visual metaphor for feeling lost or hopeless. This idea that within this bleakness, there is still such beauty. This paradox of a desert of water. So we leaned into this concept heavily, and the end result was this sort of extended musical conversation around the themes of loss and beauty. That these things are often one and the same. I'm proud of how we channeled this darkness into something positive, and I'm especially excited to play these songs live.

The theme of arctic also touches on the issue of climate change and global warming, which terrifies me. Soon, unless we all make big changes in our generation and consumption of power, the arctic may not even exist. What a thought.

Anything else you'd like to add?
This tour will be the first with the new album and the first time these new songs ever get played live. I'm so glad that we've been able to get back to China to show you all these songs fresh off the record. I'm really looking forward to seeing you all again!

sleepmakeswaves will perform at Yugong Yishan tonight (March 11) at 9pm. Tickets are RMB 120 presale, RMB 150 at the door. To order tickets now, click here.

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Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
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Photos: Courtesy of sleepmakeswaves