LIMINAL

Images: Supplied by Liminal

Writer: Keeley Thompson & Joe Maranta

There is no discernible light source, though his pupils have constricted near entirely, becoming a mere drop of black enveloped by an aqua blue iris. The feel of this complex is reminiscent of the uncomfortably sterile environment of a new hospital. This place has no personality, no discernible purpose and no soul. Every corner he wanders past presents yet another corridor devoid of substance. The few windows he can see display green rolling hills, almost picturesque in nature. Perhaps too picturesque, maybe it’s his paranoia but it doesn’t look true. Everything about this place feels like a fever dream. 

The rush of blood and adrenaline coursing through his body, as well as the hundreds of pinch marks have resulted in his arms resembling a topographical map of Indonesia, the red bumps across his skin a constant reminder that waking up is not an option here. 

Our Theseus chooses to delve deeper into the labyrinth, though he has no thread to track his path. Passing more and more identical corridors, he eventually stops as he finds a door. He opens it and is presented with a deep darkness, he feels a breeze which is as physically chilling as it is psychologically. Purgatory behind him, mystery in front - he begins his march into the unknown. 

This is Liminal.

Reaffirming Australia’s love for experimental psychedelia, the Bundjalung country (Lismore) psych-rock quartet create sprawling, other-worldly studio soundscapes which quickly descend into heavier audio-visual experiences once on stage. 

Led by River Glass (Vox, Guitar), Oscar Myles (Guitar, Synth), Tom Peter (Bass) and Alako Myles (Drums), Liminal sounds like the soundtrack for a soul awaiting judgement in the afterlife. 

KEELEY: How have you all been?

TOM: We’ve been good! Busy though.

We haven’t played many shows recently, I think our last show was actually the Ballpoint Birthday event. We've just been rehearsing every week to make sure we get our new set tight. 

KEELEY: So you’ve been working on new music?

OSCAR: Yeah! The new music is a bit more “melodic”, I guess? 

TOM: I’d agree with that. I’d say it’s got a more jazz-fusion psychedelic rock aspect than our previous stuff. 

OSCAR: It’s a bit heavier too, and a bit less dream-like. It’s all recorded and album ready, we’ve just got to get it mastered. 

KEELEY: What was the catalyst for that change in sound?

OSCAR: A lot of the writing choices we made had the “live” experience in mind a lot more. We made our earlier music with a lot more layers than we could really fit into our shows, this one’s a bit more intentional that way.

KEELEY: Where did you get inspiration from for the next album?

RIVER: That’s both hard and easy to answer, it comes from so many places. I can get it from other music, art, the world around you and the world inside your head.

Lyrically, for this next album, I was inspired by a lot of the stuff going on in the world at the moment. 

TOM: The next album is based off a documentary called Hypernormalisation by Adam Curtis. 

OSCAR: It’s a really interesting watch actually. It kind of makes me depressed, but he (Adam Curtis) points out that the world leaders of today deal with the fact that they can't create a new, nice world. Instead, they create fake ones and fake realities for us to live in and to deal with how fucked up everything is. It's very deep.

A lot of our earlier music is based on dreams. White Dots is based on a recurring nightmare that Alako has. 

TOM: And the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, which is a blog that creates new words or words that describe a larger concept. 

OSCAR: Alako took a lot of inspiration from those words, particularly the ones that describe those indescribable things. For example, Etterath is the feeling when you do something arduous and big and you feel sort of empty afterwards, like you've done a big achievement and you don't really feel fulfilled by it.

KEELEY: I saw you’re returning to Brisbane again soon! How did you feel after your first show here? 

RIVER: Yeah we’re keen to come back! We’re playing at the end of October at Tomcat. 

It was such a good experience. Honestly, it was good just getting out of the area. 

TOM: That was the second time I’ve played at The Bearded Lady and obviously I’ve seen a bunch of gigs there too, but there was a really cool sense of community at the show. It was different in a good way. 

OSCAR: It was really clear that there was a sense of mutual appreciation and respect for music in that crowd. It was cool to feel and experience that. 

We’re definitely all keen to start playing more shows outside of our area. We love Lismore, but it can be hard being a band here, especially since the floods where a bunch of venues shut down. 

KEELEY: Have you found it challenging being a band in The Northern Rivers? What’s your experience been like with navigating the Lismore scene? 

TOM: Honestly, the scene here is small, but it’s also kind of thriving. There were more music venues pre-flood, but now there’s kind of just the pubs in town. 

(ALL LAUGH) 

To put it simply, it could be worse, but it could also be better. 

OSCAR: I think Lismore has now become the kind of place where maybe once or twice a month, there’s a really cool gig on. It’s one of those things where everyone enjoys the occasional show when it happens, and afterwards everyone says “we should do this more often”, but it never really happens like that. I think the town would benefit from more venues hosting regular live music, since there’s only a couple of pubs doing that at the moment.

TOM: It’s additionally hard because there are no pubs in town that have their own PA or backline, so bands need to have that themselves and/or know someone that owns it. Then you need to actually bring the thing in and set it up. 

It’s really easy to get gigs in The Northern Rivers, I think because we know the area and people know us and that’s definitely a benefit to being in a smaller region. Playing outside of this area though is quite challenging. Logistically, we’re three hours from Brisbane but also, Oscar is still finishing High School so we can’t really go too far (at least not for too long).

OSCAR: Yeah, we have kind of been stuck here because of that. I must admit, at times I’d wondered whether I should’ve dropped out, but at this point I've worked too hard for that now.

KEELEY: Do you have any highlight venues or shows that you’ve played at? 

RIVER: I think Anemoia Festival is always a highlight. 

KEELEY: Tell me more about Anemoia Festival! 

TOM: We started running it early last year and put on two shows. 

OSCAR: It was born from love and us wanting to create and run a festival, but also definitely to fill a bit of a gap in Lismore music. The scene here in Lismore is pretty small, so Anemoia feels like a nice little highlight event. It’s also one of the few all-ages shows around here where young people can actually go and watch some good bands.

KEELEY: From the Festival to playing SXSW in Sydney and being on Rage, you’ve done a lot! How do you all feel about that? Was it strange going from ‘local Lismore band’ to being on Rage? 

OSCAR: It was really cool! We had so much fun gathering around and watching our videos on Rage. For most musicians and music-fans, Rage is a bit of a foundational experience when you’re young. It was also cool to watch it and discover new music too.

TOM: Yeah, it hasn’t lost its touch at all. 

OSCAR: That also really helped people locally to discover and recognise us too. It was pretty funny having people come up to us and say “you guys were on Rage?!”. 

KEELEY: How did you get into music as individuals and as a band? 

OSCAR: I probably started taking music more seriously when I was in grade seven. My parents introduced me to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and it really inspired me. It sort of became my obsession. They were my first favourite band and to be honest, they still are. 

All of us grew up in musical households so to play music feels like a very normal thing. 

We all listen to all kinds of things. I know Alako really likes Aphex Twin. 

RIVER: There’s lots of music in my family too. My dad used to play in bands and my mum plays violin. 

My dad first started teaching me guitar when I was around nine or ten and I was playing lots of jazz guitar, Django Reinhardt kinds of stuff. Dad and I would do little duets together and I think that introduction to music still influences the kind of melodies I play in Liminal. 

My mum also used to listen to Bjork and Portishead which are both bands that I still love. 

In terms of my introduction to psychedelic music growing up, I probably owe it to Tame Impala. 

TOM: My history with music is probably a bit different. My dad doesn’t really play in bands, but is a composer and writes music for ABC Kids and also for theatre. I grew up listening to a lot of kids music and theatrical music which is kind of the complete opposite [laughs]. 

I only really got into music around grade nine when my friend needed a bass player for his band. 

KEELEY: Can I just say, you all have the coolest parents ever?! 

OSCAR: Yeah for sure, I feel really lucky to have grown up listening to their music and for the influence that’s had.

Also I think we’re really fortunate that we went to a school that has a good music and arts culture. Shout out to Mr Wordsworth!

KEELEY: Who are your favourite bands you’ve seen live? 

TOM: Clamm is mine! 

OSCAR: I really enjoyed seeing Fungas live. They’re so cool and they’re so lovely.

RIVER: Tame Impala. It sounds like a pretty generic answer but they’re a classic for a reason. 

KEELEY: Three desert island albums?

OSCAR: Quarters by King Gizzard, Selected Ambient Works 85-92 by Aphex Twin and In The Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel. 

RIVER: The Campfire Headphase by Boards of Canada, Dummy by Portishead and also Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works 85-92. 

KEELEY: Selected Ambient Works Volume Two is also great. 

OSCAR: It kind of creeped me out as a kid, a lot more eerie sounding than 85-92. I think Alako would definitely pick Volume Two. 

TOM: I’m going to go with Untourable Album by Men I Trust. I’m also going to say Nonagon Inifinity by King Gizzard because I’d have to balance out my emotions if I was stuck on an island and then I’d pick Innerspeaker by Tame Impala. 

OSCAR: Yeah actually I just picked some of my favourite albums but Innerspeaker would be perfect for the beachy island setting. 

KEELEY: What’s next for Liminal? 

OSCAR: SXSW in Sydney is soon! That’s super exciting. 

TOM: Yeah and then we’ve got the show at Tomcat and then Anemoia Festival.

OSCAR: And I’ll be doing my HSE exams during all of that. I’ll be doing them in Sydney and I’ve also got one on the day of the Tomcat show. 

KEELEY: Geez! Busy times ahead! 

NOTE: Everyone go wish Oscar good luck with his HSE exams. 

FIND THEIR UPCOMING SHOWS: HERE

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