Words by Joshua Bowling (Dream Coast)

After the release of their intoxicatingly dark debut Strangest Desires last year, Brisbane’s COLLAR return with the visceral Hard Time To Take It EP. Featuring immersive electronic production from Charles Murdoch and Spencer White’s signature deep vocals, the release is a hypnotic, beat-driven offering.

Since arriving on the scene late last year, COLLAR have already performed at an array of tastemaker festivals across Australia, including performances at Dark Mofo, Jungle Love and Yonder. With a self-programmed lighting show, COLLAR’s live set toes the line between a dystopian rave and an electrifying art installation. We sent some questions to COLLAR to hear more about Hard Time To Take It and their writing process.

Futuremag Music: Hello COLLAR, it is a pleasure to speak with you again! How have you found the year since your debut?

COLLAR: It all still feels fairly new to us, maybe a little strange. I think we’ve been lucky, in that all the shows COLLAR have played, have gone ahead. The strange part is being able to witness a significant change in the way the industry is working due to obvious restrictions and the heavy handedness the music business has been dealt.

Futuremag Music: We were fortunate enough to be at your first gig together. For us it was the first gig back after lockdown, a special experience. How have you been finding performing as COLLAR?

COLLAR: The shows seem to be more exciting each time, I do feel like people are really cherishing the ability to go and see shows far more than before. There’s a certain crowd energy from each performance which is really comforting to witness looking out. Every show we’ve played seems to be quite different in some way and there’s a certain excitement with being able to adapt with different scenarios thrown at you.

Futuremag Music: In our gig review from last year, we noted that Tripping Over Myself was a live standout. The song opens the new EP, can you give us some insight into how this song came together?

COLLAR: It was an idea I’d taken to Charlie early last year to which seemed to click for the two of us. His interpretation of how the song should feel was everything it needed. For such a somber subject, I think it’s weirdly uplifting. To give you a little context, the chorus came from a late night walk home, buried in thought and trying to talk to myself with some logic and reason.

Futuremag Music: Lost In Something and Perfect Dress suggest a new openness in your lyrical content. Where do you find inspiration and how do you approach writing for COLLAR?

COLLAR: We’ll usually approach it differently each time it comes to writing, either of us can bring an idea or concept to the table and work on it from there. The music alone lends itself to writing honestly, with some kind-of comfort and ease. We started getting fairly exhausted by the lack of effort people were putting into their lyrics and melody, so the only way we could combat our mutual distaste was to approach most things in a non-conventional way. This in particular makes the whole process far more exciting.

Futuremag Music: Charles’ Modular Synthesiser is a focal point of the live set. Considering there is a dense atmosphere (In the instrumental Frost for example) in your music, it is not hard to imagine Modular synthesis and ambient music being a big part of the writing process. Can you share a little on this?

COLLAR: It definitely plays a huge part in the way we write. The ability to be able to manipulate sound and textures gives you another way of approaching writing. There’s a certain warmth you get from running predominantly everything we do, analogue.

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