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Adventures and business deals: The new era of Client Liaison

10 November 2016 | 9:55 am | Hannah Galvin

Melbourne's Client Liaison, have just released their debut album, Diplomatic Immunity. We spoke with both Harvey and Monte about aesthetic & their artistry.

Without meaning to spoil the illusion too much, there are some positioning strategies to consider as a means of marketing yourself as an artist. Creatively projecting your persona, inheriting a distinctive voice through a multi-sensory lens can be a really engaging enhancement when establishing your place in the industry.

With their love of pastel coloured suits, permed mullets and keen interest in the Australian Taxation Office, Melbourne duo CLIENT LIAISON are a prime example of sticking out from the crowd; in fact, they're probably as niche as you can get for an Australian outfit.

Supporting the colourful dialect of their retrospective electronics and emotive disco, the boys have progressively evolved into quite the empire - what with a series of EPs and accompanying themed video clips, an extravagant live show hosting super-sized props & choreographed dance numbers (featuring touring members Tom Tilley and Geordie Miller), their very own Client Liaison HQ space in Melbourne, a brand new high-end "casual beachwear" clothing label simply titled, 'Client Liaison Designer Line', a limousine (just because), and most importantly, their debut full length record, Diplomatic Immunity.

Fresh on the shelves, it's an accumulation of songs both new and old that explore a range of different moods for all occasions, executed in true Client Liaison style. Featuring the legendary Tina Arena on their track, 'Foreign Affair', the body of work is quite an ornate piece, and a wonderful artefact to Australian art and culture.

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Upon marveling in its glory, we were so lucky to catch up with both Harvey Miller and Monte Morgan of Client Liaison, to talk branding, writing and everything else nestled within their creative little hub.

Purple Sneakers: Let’s talk aesthetics. You carry a really strong image, what is it about the 80's business vibe that you guys love emitting?

Monte Morgan: The corporate mythology which is one of our core themes, the nomadic business man… There’s something special about it, since masculinity, cosmopolitanism, lots of ideas why we gauge in that narrative.

It’s something that’s not really brought to the table much in this field, is that why you like mixing it with music?

MM: Yeah, we’re always aiming for a multi-sensory experience. So whether that be video clips, the live show, our fashion line, merchandise… We want to hit people on all fronts.

You’ve got an entire office space decked out in this theme. What would one find inside of Client Liaison HQ?

MM: We have a wardrobe department, our manager has an office where our graphic designer’s often working, and where the deals are done. We have a couple of music studios, storage with our designer range, a rehearsal space where we keep our rehearsal DJ decks, piano, instruments, just things we’ve collected over the years. We like this kind of office environment where lots of people can work at once in their own space.

How long have you been working in this space for?

Harvey Miller: I think about six months, but we’re probably leaving in a couple of months, at the end of the year.

Would you be taking all of that to another similar space?

MM: Yeah! We’d have to. Though we haven’t found a space yet, so we’re not sure.

Is this where you write and record your music?

HM: Yeah we were in a warehouse across the road for quite a while, so a lot of it was done there and then a lot here; but we’ll do it on the road, in hotels or friend’s studios, holiday houses – wherever we are. It’s a pretty basic set-up, we usually just use a mini-keyboard and a microphone.

Your debut record, Diplomatic Immunity, has just been released. How much time was spent writing and putting the record together?

MM: It’s hard to even say as some of the songs were put together before even the EP. It was just an accumulation of songs over the past five years. Some new, some old.

So it wasn’t a conscious decision to just start an album one day, it’s come together organically?

MM: Nah, we’re always working on music, it’s more the format that we agreed to release it in that is a sign of the time, I guess. If we were around in the 90s, we probably would’ve released three albums by now, it’s just supply and demand. We were ready for an album this year, and that was the deadline, so that’s what we produced.

It carries quite an Australian theme. What was the inspiration behind taking the album in that direction?

HM: We’ve always been interested in Australia, it’s an interesting place. There’s just themes that we get excited by – the idea of diplomatic immunity, taking the Australian tax-payer’s money and running overseas, they’re like core Australian values to us.

There’s also other things about travel and romance, accepting others and universal themes of breaking borders. That sort of thing.

I guess it’s kind of educational in a way, as well as emotional for the listener.

HM: Yeah!

MM: I like that – ‘educational’ - that’s great. Put that word in, I like that, we should start using that. "Educational concept album".

Tina Arena features on, ‘Foreign Affair’. How did the collaboration come to fruition?

HM: Well! I’m glad you asked that question. We wrote the song, and in the pre-chorus there was an ode to Tina. There was a lyric there that reads, “As we kiss on the beach of Sorento”. Then, we went to develop the chorus, it was a bit out of Monte’s register, so we thought we’d have it done as a duet. Then, we had the wild, sharpest idea of having Tina on the track, which was made a reality by our manager getting in contact with her manager.

She came in and did a fantastic job in laying it down – it was quite a surreal experience.

How much time did you get to spend with her?

MM: Not that long! I only met her for one day, she was in and out pretty quick. She knew what she was doing, like, she didn’t even know the song, she just had a listen and read the lyrics through, and then next thing you know she’s smashed it out. She’s very accomplished, she’s been doing it for years – you can tell.

Where most tracks are hard hitting, some of the albums songs are really stripped back, like, ‘The Bravest Beginnings’, and, ‘World Of Our Love’. Could you explain the importance of texture in composition?

MM: Yeah! Texture’s a really nice word. We’re always looking to act at different moods, slow it down at different tempos and genres. We’ve always been big into the idea of the power ballad – putting that next to a dance song and creating that contrast in emotion. There’s nothing worse, to me, than listening to a whole album of one style of song. So that was an important goal from the get go.

Is that to also allow different themes?

MM: Uhh, different moods I would say. Music is a vessel for mood. You’ve got 50 minutes, so why not explore different moods?

You recently released the clip to, ‘Wild Life’. Could you explain the concept behind this clip?

MM: It’s sort of honouring our heroes like, Bond, Hogan, Greg Norman – all the famous tax evaders of our country. And just working with the ATO to develop the clip was fantastic.

What is it about the retrospective electronic realm that you love working in?

MM: We don’t really calculate it, it just seems that it’s the way we naturally gravitated, to the way that we work. The way we work just naturally evolved, it wasn’t really forced, so it’s hard to give an accurate answer, it’s just who we are.

HM: Electronic music is very malleable too, like open to collaboration. There’s nothing finite about it.

So rather than being forced, it was something you started purely because you love it.

MM: Yeah! And we also work with computers, and electronic music sounds great on computers.

Your live show involves extra members, as well as big props and dancing. Why is this element of entertainment important to a live show do you think?

HM: I just think most bands forget that people are watching more than listening, they’re feeling, they’re experiencing, they want to remember a moment. They’re not going to just remember the fact that you did the first chorus as it sounds in the song, they’re going to remember a mic flipping and hitting something, you know? They’re going to remember any real moment, any real live connection where you feel like, “Wow, I witnessed something that no one else did,” or, “We just witnessed something that no one else did”.

I guess that reiterates what you were saying about the multi-sensory experience?

HM: Definitely.

You’ll be performing at Spilt Milk this December. What can the audience expect for that set? Has anything been added to the live show since your last tour?

HM: We’re always trying to add one more element to it each time. We look at what needs work the most, what’s the least exciting part and the most exciting part. We’re really eager to get stuck back into the live show because we’ve been finishing this album and doing music videos, so over these Summer festivals, it’s going to be a taste of what our tour will be next year, so we’ve got a kinda condensed hyperactive form of that. We want to give everyone the most upbeat, positive, fun-filled, family-packed adventure they can get.

When can fans expect that album launch tour?

HM: We’re looking at the beginning of March.

What’s next for you guys?

HM: We’re just going to be developing the live show now that we’ve got a bit more time. It’s fun to do some remixes too. We’ve got a designer range of clothing, so we’ve extended upon the idea of merchandise to really actually design clothes from the ground up. It’s a full range, beach wear, and we’ve got some pop-up stores coming up for it in Melbourne and Sydney. We bought a limousine, so we’re going into the limousine business – that’s exciting. We want to give people a great experience travelling around the city with us, drinking some Fosters. So yeah!

MM: Always new adventures and new business deals to be done.

Oh yeah, there was a post I think on Reddit of you guys driving around Melbourne in a limo.

HM: Yeah, Collins Street in Melbourne, we were filming the ‘Off White Limousine’ clip, so we can’t wait to get that out there.

Will that be the next video that comes out?

HM: Yep!

Grab a six-pack of Fosters and have a couple over a listen to Client Liaison's debut record, Diplomatic Immunity, available now through Dot Dash / Remote Control Records. Melbourne pals should head over to the pop-up store launching 'Client Liaison Designer Line' Friday, 11th November at Collarts in Fitzroy. Sydney fans, keep an eye out, for you're soon to be hit with the threads too!

Words by Hannah Galvin.

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