The Offtopics eight-track self-titled EP, the culmination of their Back On The Zine project, was a massive undertaking the Melbourne soul band. Not just in the fact that the bring the EP to fruition, the eight-piece funk group released three acclaimed singles, complete with comic-style covers in the lead-up, but mainly for the 18-month period it took to record the 12-inch. That experience in the studio – marred in part by a departing band member and a restructure of plans, a stint of ill-health – has helped carve out the final sound for the EP, punchy upbeat, funky, soulful and the ultimate party, pretty much everything that the Offtopics stand for in their live show.
It is fitting then that The Offtopics went into the studio with the aim of recording the songs and arrangements as close to their live shows as possible. Lead singer and funk dynamo Polash Larsen says they just wanted to create the entire release ‘live’. “The idea was that the rhythm section, comprising of guitar, bass, drums and keyboards would lay down a bed over which we could put our horn parts, special solos and vocals,” he says. “This could be sweetened with some percussion and handclaps if we felt like it. This is usually my rough and ready approach.”
Things didn’t quite pan out that way – losing their guitarist mid-recording meant a lot of the recording wasn’t done in the order initially planned. Polash instead took the pragmatic approach of keeping the project on track and decided they would record all the guitar parts within the next two weeks, and took on all the guitar duties, ensuring the recording sessions went ahead and the sound the band wanted was achieved.
Leading into their studio time to lay down the eight tracks for the EP, The Offtopics needed to whittle down the tracks they wanted to record for the EP, which in itself was another process. “I think a band’s first recording has to be a kind of statement that encapsulates the musical identity of the group,” says Polash. “By the time we were set to record there were 20 songs (mostly original) that had been played live by the group at one point or another. The EP wasn’t really written for, as the process was more reductive in that it was about letting the most appropriate songs choose themselves. I’ve never had the luxury of writing a bunch of songs specifically for recording so usually it’s about culling. This is one part of the process I tend to struggle with so I open it up to discussion. Everyone in the band has been or still is currently, the leader of their own group so their opinions on what’s a ‘good’ song counts for a lot. This culling process is usually informed by recording a very rough run through of everything that’s on the table. We then go away and listen to it before working towards a consensus.”
When it came to deciding where to record, Nick Herrera at The Grove came highly recommended. The band had already recorded some demos in a lounge-room mobile studio set-up, but didn’t want to pursue this avenue for the final tracks. Nick was no stranger to recording with big bands, and came with a reputation of having worked with brass bands, something that was appealing to Polash. He engineered Hiatus Kaiyote’s 2016 Grammy-nominated single Breathing Underwater. “Nick could record at both the band hall where we rehearsed and at his studio The Grove,” he says. “In the end I opted for working at The Grove as Nick explained that he could work more efficiently there and he had access to more equipment. He was also willing to work in a piecemeal way over an extended period fitting the sessions around everyone’s commitments – which was just as well!”
The EP was mastered by Joe Carra at Crystal Mastering, and all comic artwork was created by Melanie Miles at Hybrid Expression. The vinyl for the singles and the EP was pressed at Zenith Records. For Polash, the finished product is more than what he hoped for and a release that he and the band are proud of. Due to the effort that went into the EP, the band wanted it to be more than a one-off release – they wanted it to be something truly special. “It’s a far more polished sounding product that what I originally had planned,” he says. “I had always aspired to make a vinyl pressing but I hadn’t really thought too deeply about the implications of that or what would be involved musically – Nick’s sonic knowledge was really crucial here. CDs are becoming less important in inner-city markets. While a single song on mp3 doesn’t seem all that special to me, a proper seven-inch vinyl with an A-side and a B-side with kooky cover art does. A vinyl 12-inch for me evokes all the positive nostalgia that I get when I remember ‘discovering’ my parents’ record collection. Eight songs presented an opportunity to be repackaged as two-plus-two-plus-two and then six-plus-two equal eight. Working further along I imagined what these releases might look like all together. Around the corner from my house was a small comics studio and I hatched a plan to devise artwork that would create a narrative going from cover to cover to be resolved on the final release. The fold-out poster helps the covers hang together but also reflects the local focus of the project. The songs were written, rehearsed, recorded, mixed, mastered and the covers designed on locations somewhere on or just off the edge of that map.”
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I’m trying to be cool, while my bladder is full, I’m jiggling my thighs, while meeting your eyes, it’s a hop to the left, a slide to the right, like I’m dancing, I’m dancing, I’m dancing alright!
The ‘prototypical’ Offtopics song, A Man Needs Cooling pulled together all the elements from the band’s live set into a hilarious funk romp. An awkward sexy monologue – with the hero busting for the loo – and inherently, all about dancing. For Polash, it is a little bit more than just tongue- in-cheek. “It might be a silly scenario to set to music, but its also a fairly accurate reflection of my world,” he says. “We’re all just hopeless idiots groping around blindly in the dark.”
The song was pretty much complete when the band headed into the studio. “It was one of those situations where I came in with a solid concept, lyric and structure at the outset like some kind of genius and everyone jumped on board,” says Polash. “It’s nice when that happens, but the real me is more likely to half-arse it and then spend weeks whipping a thin idea into shape. Full credit to Nick Herrera here as it would be tempting for many producer/engineers to attempt to change the direction of the song. Instead the studio process takes the concept even further. The vocals drip with both reverb and slap back. Mark’s (Bretherton: keys) keyboards are energetically bouncing back and forth through the dance break. By the end the protagonist’s full bladder is almost something to celebrate.”
lyrics
A Man Needs Cooling (Girl)
(Slow sexy spoken intro)
Ebmaj7 Bbmaj7 repeat
Hey girl.
It’s time to be honest.
It’s too late for anything else.
The way you’ve walked over to me…
I can believe
That you like what you see.
And it’s not that I feel blase
But I have a very VERY pressing matter to take away.
Hey HEY
Verse section
Ebmaj7 Bbmaj7 F Gm7 Bb
Girl… I’ve been looking at you from across the room
Ebmaj7 Bbmaj7 F Gm7 Bb
From the corner of my eye so I wouldn’t look crude
Ebmaj7 Bbmaj7 F Gm7 Bb
But when you looked at me I got a little bit nervous.
Ebmaj7 Bbmaj7
Girl… When a man likes what he sees his temperature climbs a hundred degrees
F Gm7 Bb Ebmaj7
He needs coolin
Girl… I was breaking out in a sweat I just had to get my throat wet
I needed water to quench the fires you lit in me.
I am burning.
Girl… When you looked away I got me a two gallon jar and I drank it all down.
And I believe it got steamy
Oh So Steamy
Girl…. Now you’re approaching me as I’m turning to flee. There’s a man I have to see about a dog
In the men’s room.
(Pre-chorus)
Ebmaj7
Girl… There’s a question in your eye. What’s up with this guy?
Bbmaj7 (last chord comp x 5)
What is he doing?
Chorus
No chord Eb Bb
I’m trying to be cool while my bladder is full
Bb Eb Bb
I’m jiggling my thighs while meeting your eyes
Bb Eb F
It’s a hop to the left a slide to the right
Ab Bb
Like I’m dancing I’m dancing I’m dancing Alright!
Bridge
Ab Bb
Mmmmm…. This queue ain’t getting no shorter.
Ab Bb
Oooohhh….. Why did I drink so much water?
Ab Bb
Ahhhhhh…. I got to keep it nice.
Ab Bb
Ooooohhh… I got to hold it tight! (or you’ll leave)
Chorus x 2 as outro to end.
I’m trying to be cool
While my bladder is full
I’m jiggling my thighs
While meeting your eyes
It’s a hop to the left
A slide to the right
Like I’m dancing I’m dancing I’m dancing Alright!
I’m trying to be cool
While my bladder is full
I’m jiggling my thighs
While meeting your eyes
It’s a hop to the left
A slide to the right
Like I’m dancing I’m dancing I’m dancing Alright!
credits
from The Offtopics - "Back on the Zine" EP,
track released November 2, 2018
Polash Larsen: Guitars, Lead vocals
Mark Bretherton: Keyboards, Backing vocals
Linc Yow Yeh: Drums, Backing Vocals
Tim Webb: Bass, Percussion
Omid Shayan: Saxophones
Howard Norsetter: Trumpet, Vibraslap
From Bourbon Street in New Orleans to Memphis and Jamaica via the bars of Brunswick, The Offtopics deliver infectious songs
that will make you tap your feet and bring a smile to your face. Fronted by funk dynamo Polash Larsen, these are some of Melbourne’s most talented musicians working their basses off to show you a good time....more
