Two Melbourne lads are launching nothing less than a juggernaut of dark disco pop. Allister Hayman meets them to find out from whence the music comes.VINCENT and Andy Juggernaut have been ankle deep in water all afternoon. Midnight Juggernauts' new studio flooded overnight, submerging equipment and ruining the floor. With sodden feet they spent the afternoon shifting gear to Andy's bedroom, where they added the finishing touches to a track for their upcoming album. They even fixed the studio plumbing.
Vincent and Andy, aka Noriega and Gadaffi, aka Midnight Juggernauts, are the toast of Melbourne's music scene.
After selling-out three issues of their first EP, their second instalment, Secrets of the Universe, was even hotter property: it sold out within a week. Their singles 45 and Rising and Shadows are on high rotation on Triple J, with the latter also featuring on Cut Copy's Fabric mix; they've supported the Scissor Sisters, Annie and MSTRKRFT, and have head-lined their own coast-to-coast Australian tour. In between they released a mini-album in Japan and played packed-out shows in Europe. With their debut album due early 2007, they're now set for a synth-rockin' summer.
Yet they remain unsigned and defiantly independent.
Midnight Juggernauts' recorded, mixed and produced their EPs on their label Siberia and maintain complete control of their image and sound. "We've had a DIY approach from the beginning," Vincent explains. "I recorded the vocals for the first few tunes in my living room. When we mixed the tracks down we could hear my cats meowing in the background. And in my screamy bits you could hear the dog howling next door. We kept them all in to add atmosphere."
"We've had offers from major labels, but we've been pretty happy doing things ourselves. It's cool to be able juggle all the creative outlets of being in a band – not just the songs but doing the art works, the posters, the film clips. We really enjoy keeping control of that and choosing how to promote and expose ourselves."
Vincent considers the internet a great leveller for up and coming bands: with a Myspace site bands can build a support base, make contacts, and remain independent as they grow. "Through our Myspace page we've been contacted by indie labels from France to Brazil, as well as some majors," Vincent says. "We were just contacted through our page by Mercury from the UK who look after Kanye West and Metallica and were asked to do a remix for one of their upcoming acts. I still feel like a nerd logging into Myspace but now I can justify it by saying it's for business purposes."
The band has released a couple of 12"s in the UK on Cut Copy's Cutters label and Vincent says their fellow Melbourne synth-rockers have been a big help. "They've been great with the networking. So far a few labels over there have been interested but I can't really say who just yet. Australia isn't that big and the DIY thing has worked fine here but now we're looking to the UK we'll sign with someone over there."
It's difficult not to talk about Cut Copy when you talk about Midnight Juggernauts. Not because they sound the same – they don't- but because they've emerged from the same scene, and it's not a large one.
If Cut Copy are synth-rockers for listless summer days - all gin and tonics, wistful hearts and frisbee in the park - then Midnight Juggernauts are their dark alter egos: strange creatures of the night with a sound that references cornball horror flicks, Michael Jackson's Thriller and death metal, as much as Cut Copy references French house. They create a crossover sound, wrought with tension, which slays the dance floor while remaining drenched in the emotion of classic indie-pop.
Friends since the age of 13, Andy and Vincent have been making music together since 2003. After various stints in metal outfits and the odd foray into Daftpunk style house, Midnight Juggernauts started out playing house parties, before graduating into the usual rock venues. After some teething troubles with staunchly OZ-Rock crowds, they built a following as punters realised they could wear leather jackets, skinny jeans and dance too.
And dance they do. Voted Melbourne's most exciting live act the two-piece, with the addition of a live drummer, cut a modest stage presence: Vincent stands tall and lean behind his keyboard; Andy, lost under a hoodie, hunches over his guitar while Thunderfist –Mitchell from Cut Copy or Myles from Wolfmother - sits largely anonymous behind the drums. But when the music kicks the crowd jumps and hollers - and it's hard not to: the infectious blend of dance-floor rock could win over the most hardened guitar-head.
After packing-out 1000 capacity venues on their national tour –remarkable for a band without an album to their name - Vincent promises their summer shows will be even more spectacular, with "pyrotechnics, lasers, and water features." He's half-joking, but even so, they hardly need it.
The live show is what the band is all about, but Vincent says they prefer to curate unique events rather than gigging merely for gigging's sake. "We're not the kind of band that just plays a lot of shows, for the money or whatever," Vincent says. "When we agree to do a show or plan a show we want it to be a really good party. We like doing one off parties in venues that may not normally be a music venue. We played in a canyon of shipping containers down at the docks once, which was pretty cool. We like to choose somewhere special and make something of the night."
One such event, their Michael Jackson Benefit Concert, organized to raise funds for the gloved one's legal defence, stirred some controversy. "It was a joke that was taken a bit seriously by the press," Vincent explains. "We wanted to do it as a concept for a party and thought it'd be fun to contact the newspapers. But then there was this serious reaction and child protection agencies started commenting. It all got a bit out of hand."
The band is adept at mischief making. Inspired by hip hoppers' penchant for absurd monikers, like 'Ol Dirty Bastard and Snoop, Vincent and Andy adopted the names Gaddafi and Noriega and wore full military uniforms on stage. Their portraits as dictators can still be seen on their web site.
But now they're more focused on the music. After dabbling in various side projects, including a film sound track and remix work, their debut album is well under way. "This year we made a conscious decision to take things more seriously," Vincent says. "Though I haven't written up a manifesto yet - I should probably do that. I guess it will revolve around the importance of not choosing a studio that spontaneously floods itself."
Vincent and Andy may have wet feet but, with their playful and carefully crafted dance-noir sound, they're unleashing an indie-pop juggernaut.
Midnight Juggernauts EP, "Secrets of the Universe," is available now on Siberia.
A version of this article first appeared in the 2006/07 Summer edition of PAVEMENT magazine.
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