Expatriate

Band

In a country where the mega-media is not the television, but rather the five times a day call to prayer via a public announcement system; so this story beings. An internazionale school in the capital city of Jakarta, Indonesia. A scene at the time you’d describe as the United Nations meets Dazed and Confused. Sons and daughters of spies, Japanese corporate idols, regime merchants, German bankers, Texan zealots and American think tanker types are the norm. Water, replaced by air-conditioning as the source of life. Down at the music department lunchtimes spent making eyes with girls while painting ‘batik’ t-shirts are the norm. One day, one of them hands you a mix tape, dubbed onto it are such bands as Depeche Mode and Nirvana. You put in your ear-buds and the sounds turn you over to a new world. You grab her hand and go and for a drink in the cafeteria, fall in love, end up losing her and in time that whole life to return to the mother country (Australia) to start over again - all torn up.

That was the deep cut. Years later, making music becomes a cure.

Following his fathers work and moving between Australia and Indonesia led to a unique upbringing and outlook on life for singer and front man, Ben King. In one sense, living the life of an expatriate in a bubble but on the other hand, taking in everything the thriving metropolis had to offer. In particular, watching the country turn itself into a fledging democracy at the turn of the Soeharto years was unforgettable and sparked an interest that lead to the studying politics at university.

“It was a life with a double-edged sword. The appreciation and privilege that comes with growing up in another culture is not lost on you. But on the other hand – moving around so much at such an age tends to lend everything a sense of impermanence; there is a kind of sadness in a way because you grow up with a feeling that all good things do come to an end. Change itself becomes something in your life to rely on which is a strange feeling. On top of that you lose sight of where you’re roots are because you’re walking in and out of two different worlds – it does tend to set you up for life as a musician”

Stepping in and out of different cultures was an experience shared by drummer Cristo. Growing up the child of Greek immigrants in Sydney, he too was caught between two very different worlds. One would be there behind the door of the family home, while the other lived outside.

"I travelled through two very different worlds, parallel cultures that often broke free and collided with one another. I had an opportunity, even as a child, to feel the pronounced differences between various ethnic cultures... those early years are a vast source of inspiration, particularly from an artistic perspective and they remain very special experiences to me."

It was some years later that Ben met and drank with Cristo and Damian Press – keyboardist and guitarist in Expatriate - in the bars of the indie music scene of Sydney. One would run into the other, play in a band with another and eventually Cristo and Damian would live together in a house that came to be known as Ginsberg Studios - the studio run by Damian Press.

Damian fashioned a studio and general creative space for the band to facilitate, without distraction and on their own time, a sound and a vision to take forward. It was here, in the hundred year-old house, that Ben brought in his initial demos for what would become the ‘Lovers le Strange’ release. The four-track EP was recorded, engineered and mixed by Damian. The two singles, - The Spaces Between and Killer Kat - were added to the highest rotation on Triple J – the national broadcaster. It was from this start that set forth in motion several appearances at various festivals, a sold-out national tour and support slots for the likes of Wolfmother and The Presets.

Following on from international appearances in 2007, including London, Toronto, New York and Los Angeles, the band headed to Robert Lang Studios in Seattle, USA to commence recording of their debut record, In the Midst of This. It was in this very studio the likes of Nirvana did their last sessions and is where Foo Fighters recorded their first two records. The band lived in a two-story house on top of the studio, buried into a hill on the edge of the Seattle harbour. The setting was all together beautiful and wholesome with Ben framing the scene, in a blog entry, as like ‘being in a bookmark for the American dream’.

Over the course of several weeks, and with producer John Goodmanson (Death Cab for Cutie, Hot Hot Heat, Wu-Tang Clan) at the helm, they brought to life the stunning and bold record that is their debut long player. As Ben says

“We wanted to marry our raw performance as a live band with our ability to amass layers of sound through our tinkering with technology and general studio knowledge; John was a great facilitator for bringing out the guitars, drums and volume”

The band left with a collection meticulously crafted songs that would herald an exciting response from reviewers and the press in Australia.

Upon return to Australia, the band prepared for their biggest tour to date. It was at this time that Dave Molland, long-time touring bassist, became a full-time member of the band bringing with him flair and an abundance of energy that would become apparent and is now talked about as part of Expatriate’s live shows.

Upon its release in Australia, the record debuted at number 38 in the ARIA charts. Following the release Expatriate were nominated for an ARIA Award (the Australian BRITS) for “Best Breakthrough Artist for an album” and ended up being named on the cover of Rolling Stone as “one of the most important new bands of 2007”. It wasn’t a surprise that the subsequent tour of Australia, including numerous headlining festival appearances, was a triumphant achievement. After solidifying their place in the contemporary musical landscape of Australia, the four members are now, in fact, expatriates; moving to Berlin in the winter of 2008.

The main catalyst for the relocation came from Riverman Management, the company behind Placebo, taking the band on and managing them. As a result, "In The Midst of This" is now in the starting blocks in Europe. At the conclusion of the European summer of 2009, Expatriate will have already played arena shows as main supports for dEUS and PLACEBO, as well as playing a number of the major European festivals including Nova Rock, Werchter and Rockwave. The bands appearances at Rock am Ring and Rock im Park, in Germany at the beginning of the festival run in June, were a convincing kick-off for what listeners can expect in terms of intensity, expressiveness and musicality from this band. As with many an artist that has come before, Berlin has injected itself into the artistic veins of the band in the form of inspiration for the second record – much of it already laying in wait as demos. But that is further down the track.

For now, Expatriate’s new album ‘In The Midst Of This’ will be released through PIAS in October and they’ll be performing in arenas throughout Europe in October/November as special guests to Placebo on their winter production tour. It promises to be an exciting year for the band from the other side of the world!

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