CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS 122: UNICORN ON DRESSING UP AS UNICORNS AND SINGING BACKWARDS

Interview by Brooke Gibbs.

Twists, turns, sparkles, glam, Western Australian band, Unicorn, has it all.

Futuremag Music Editor Brooke Gibbs, caught up with Unicorn singer-songwriter Jenna Hardie to talk about their latest video for Cats, how they became Unicorn, and all the fun twists and turns in between!

FMM: Thank you so much for joining me. It's been an exciting week because you just released a new music video. How does it feel to have it out there?

Jenna: It's so exciting. I mean, this song was written in 2016, so I was just listening to the very first demo the other day and it hasn't actually changed much, but it's really great to have the final product, something that we're really proud of and took a big sort of team effort to make. It's always nice to be able to share it with the world.

FMM: I love that, and what has the reaction been like so far? Have people reached out to say that they're liking the video?

Jenna: Yeah, so it's quite a sort of strange, twisty, turning, journey kind of video. We were fairly ambitious in what we were trying to do. There's like, one section where I had to learn the song backwards and sing backwards for a little section. Everyone's been saying it's really great and they love it, so that's been really nice to hear.

FMM: Yeah, and I'm glad that people love it because, I've obviously watched the video myself and it is a well-deserved video to get that sort of attention. It's very well planned, it's great. What are some of the inspirations behind the visual components to the video?

Jenna: So the song's sort of meaning is about how attract certain people and how certain people are attracted to us. It's sort of like a real celebration of friendship. I wanted to capture that in the video, which was the party scenes and all that sort of stuff. Your friends are sort of always there, but then we took a lot of cues from the lyrics. So, for instance, the crystal ball is telling stories; well, why don't we have a clairvoyant and a crystal ball? Then, the next line was back-to-front. So we said, well, why don't we actually sing the song back-to-front? So, there was a lot of visual. Yeah, we used a lot of lyrics to determine what we were going to see.

FMM: It sounds hard that you learned it back to front. How did that go about and how many attempts did it take to get it perfect?

Jenna: It was really hard. I had to write everything out phonetically and listen, rote learning, just listen to it over and over and over again. Then, because we had those sort of glitter bombs, we only had five, so we only had like a really short… we only had five takes to get it right, so the pressure was on.

But, I'd practiced it a lot, so, yeah, we were fine. But, that was probably the trickiest bit to edit as well, because that was trying to sync your mouth up when you're saying ‘crazy cats’ back-to-front and all that sort of stuff.

FMM: Of course. Sounds like a very big tongue twister, for sure. And speaking of the glitter bombs, I love that because I love the sparkly elements. I mean, you've even got your sparkly jacket on now, and that kind of ties into when you think of unicorns and Unicorn's your band name. So, how did you come up with that band name? And why does it best represent who you guys are?

Jenna: So our previous drummer, Jess June, and I were… when you're starting a new band, you're sort of, like, brainstorming ideas. And we originally thought of Druzey, which is sort of like a shiny rock, but then we tried to say it in the pub and it was like, Druzey. No one could hear it, so we're like, okay, that's no good. And then we were just making a joke about Unicorn because I love unicorns. Jess loves unicorns. And then we did a bit of research and found out there weren't too many bands out there. I love the scope it gives you for wearing costumes like this. I've been known to dress up as a unicorn with this sort of wig on [points to the wig behind her]. I think of unicorns as sort of magical and sparkly, and I want the music to sort of sound a little bit magical or take you to a different place or whatever.

FMM: I think that represents you guys, too, because when I listen to your music, it's very unique and I can't really, I guess, compare it to any other band that I can't think of who it sounds similar to, because it's very unique. And I guess unicorns are like that whole process of they're rare, they're unique. So, I feel like it works well with what you guys do.

Jenna: Thank you. Yeah, I describe it as old-rock, goth-glam.

FMM: Yes, and you can never go wrong with glam. Everybody loves glam, as you said, you've even got the unicorn costume in the music video as well. So, there's plenty of opportunities to dress up and I think you mentioned before, you guys dress up on stage as well if someone comes out to a gig and sees you live?

Jenna: Well, yeah, we do try and put on a performance. Like, for me, it's a show, so you sort of put a bit of razzle dazzle. We had a gig last night, and I was flouncing around the stage with this on with the band, Jack, Locky and Ella. So, yeah, we like to make it a show. Like, it's supposed to be fun to come out and watch gigs, but there's still that element of heavy-rock, grunge as well. So, a unique beast.

FMM: Yes, it definitely fits in. And looking at the video, there's an incredible list of creatives that have all come together for these projects. How did you know these were the perfect fit for what you wanted to get out in your visualisation?

Jenna: So, Dave Lemay and I work as the creative team on the music video. We also did a previous one for our other song, Circus. We sort of put fly all the ideas around and figure out how we're going to do it. And then Dave reached out to Jess and Amy, and they did all the set design and everything. Then, we called on all our friends, basically, and got a big crew of people that were happy to be the party people. So, yeah, it takes a team to make a video like that, that's for sure. We even had some special effects with one of our mates, Antony Webb did all, like, the zoom ins and the fancy bits.

FMM: It’s great that your friends came on board too, because that's what makes it more personal as well and that fun element.

Jenna: Yeah, it was wild when they all came because we had, like, you know, the power we had power cuts that day and we had like, you know, 15 people all excited to be to be doing the filming. So, it was sort of it got a bit hectic there for a bit while we're at a tight schedule. But, I think everyone had a really good time.

FMM: And that's the main thing. As long as everyone comes together and has a great time. So what goes on behind the scenes of a Unicorn music video? So you've got, like, power cuts, you've got people coming together, having fun. What are some of your favourite memories from making the Cats video?

Jenna: Well, we had a huge gig on the Thursday night, and then Friday morning we were at this completely white room, which is where we filmed the closing scene, followed by the next day, full day from sort of 9am to 9pm. I don't have a particular favourite bit. I actually absolutely love the whole process. I'm, like, on a massive buzz during it. There's like, people coming and going and there's a schedule. And working with Dave is a real privilege, because he's absolutely amazing at what he does. So, I did work in advertising for 15 or 20 years before in my career. So, that sort of helped be able to translate some of those skills across. But, yeah, I mean, I just love the whole thing. And then the editing part, where you get to see it sort of come together and it's exciting, of course. So, you've got all that and then you've got the editing part.

FMM: How long did the process take from start to finish?

Jenna: This time last year, I sat down with Dave and said, I want to do two music videos, which Circus one, we pumped out really quickly. We only had a short amount of time, but this one, it probably takes sort of six weeks of pre-production. And then we could have probably done it a bit sooner. But, we had our drummer, Jess left to go and have a baby. So, we've got our new drummer, Locky, and then we had Katie, Rumble, Doug, who also finished up with the band, so we've been training up Jack Charles, so we sort of held onto it for a little bit longer. So, yeah, I mean, we filmed it in August and it's only just come out, but we probably could have put it out in December. But we were like, oh, we might as well wait until we're all ready to rock and roll and have a proper party and celebrate it, of course.

FMM: Sometimes that wait makes it worthwhile, too, because then you've got that final piece that everyone's on board with and happy with as well.

Jenna: Yeah, exactly. But, yeah, it definitely was longer than usual, but also awesome.

FMM: Yeah, of course. So, in saying all of that, what do you hope people take away with them when they watch this music video?

Jenna: I guess it's about, yeah, we're all in this together and it's about the relationships we have with each other. So that's kind of what it's about, like friendship. So I guess life throws you all sorts of things, which is sort of shown in the video with all the sort of twists and turns and different places that you go in it, and that sort of about life will throw you all sorts of stuff, but your friends are still there.

FMM: That's what I loved about the video, too, because with all the twists and turns… do you remember the old Choose Your Adventure novels where you choose like, go to page 50 for this, page 40 for that, and you'd have different experiences? It reminded me of that sort of novel.

Jenna: I know. I mean, when we were creating it, we didn't even know where it was going. And even when we were filming, I was like, Where are we going with this? So it was definitely a fairly organic creation, like it was planned, but at the same time it was like, Whoa, where are we going?

FMM: Yeah, and I think it worked out because that's what the message of the song is about. And it's also about finding your tribe, but it sounds like you found your tribe, and Unicorn are a very close-knit group of people.

Jenna: Yeah, we do. I mean, most of us live in the same suburb, which is very convenient. Yeah, we hang out a lot. I mean, we're all passionate. We love doing it. That's what it's all about, isn't it? Just doing what you love.

FMM: Of course, and it's handy that you guys are so close together, especially when it comes to rehearsals or having to edit things and do projects.

Jenna: Yeah. Poor Ella. She lives an hour away, so they have to suck it up because we've got a free rehearsal space, like, five minutes away. So, unfortunately, Ella pulled the short straw on that one.

FMM: Exactly. Yeah. For anyone coming across Unicorn for the first time, do you want to give a brief introduction to who the members are, what their role is, what you're all about?

Jenna: Yeah, so I'm the singer-songwriter and created the band about two years ago. We've got Locky Hoffman on drums. He also plays with Moana, who've been around for about ten years. Amazing band. Jack Charles or Jack Hall has recently joined. He played in 45th Sunset, I think it is, and they had some really big success about eight years ago or something, but he hasn't been playing for a while, so we were stoked to get him on board. And Ella Monroe, who is a solo artist as well, and amazing on bass. So that's what makes up the four-piece. And our past members have been Jess June on drums and Katie Rumble on guitar, who, they were the people in the band who recorded the song and did the filming of the music video with us.

FMM: Right. It sounds like you guys have a very unique background in terms of diverse experience that all comes together into the one project.

Jenna: Yeah, I think we all have fairly different musical tastes, but all sort of in the same big pot of and we're also all massive music fans and love going to gigs and play music.

FMM: How do you balance that different music taste like when it comes to deciding what music you're going to put out there and what you're going to work on?

Jenna: I write all the songs, so it's more about if I bring a song to the band, it's about whether it's gelling and sounding good or not. We might play one for a couple of weeks and say no, but everyone sort of puts their own spin on the song, the writing, their parts. Ella's got a really unique bass playing style, so that definitely enhances the sound of the Unicorn sound. But, yeah, everyone just brings in their own bits. I mean, everyone's very musical and intuitive, so they sort of know it's about doing your part for the song, not about being a guitar hero or something.

FMM: And it's all about what people vibe with too. I mean, people are obviously digging your sound because you released Circus only last year and it's already got international success that I've seen.

Jenna: Yeah, we've had some radio plays and interviews in UK and Canada and really been pushing it out to the world, so I think I really just want to produce quality work. So while it's a bit more expensive sometimes and sometimes not, but yeah, just really trying to only put out the really good stuff, so it takes a little bit longer to get out sometimes.

FMM: And are you guys working on anything new? It sounds like you've got some shows coming up and 2023 sounds like a very big year for you guys.

Jenna: Yeah, so we're actually heading down to Capel tonight, which is just past Bunbury in Western Australia and another gig in Margaret River over Easter at the river, which will be great. And then we're wanting to record a bit more, so we're planning to hit the studio and record a couple more songs and get them out into the world later in the year.

FMM: Yeah, that sounds like a very exciting year for you guys. I'm really excited to hear because I've heard Cats and Circus and I love it. So I'm excited to hear more from you and where you guys go from here.

Jenna: Yeah. Now the tricky bit is choosing the songs because there's a few that we would really like to record. So, yeah, we're going to have to figure out which ones are going to be the next to release.

FMM: Is there a process you go through when you figure out what you're going to release next or how do you decide that?

Jenna: We've demoed a couple of couple of songs, so Locky's got a rehearsal space where we've been able to set up, like, a proper sort of demo, so having a listen to that and then we'll probably share that with our producer, so that's Dave Parkin at Blackbird. We'll share with him probably our top couple of songs and then get his opinion and then go from there. So, I've certainly got my firm favourites of the ones that I want to record, and I think the band all feels the same in terms of our strongest songs. Do you know what I mean?

FMM: Yeah, of course. And what's your end goal? Where do you hope Unicorn ends up?

Jenna: Well, I would love to have this music played everywhere. Want to record a couple of albums and do some amazing work, play with amazing people. Travel and play music around the world is the ultimate aim. So, yeah, we've got big stars in our eyes.

FMM: I think that will happen because you guys are talented. You guys have the potential. I love the uniqueness of the costumes, the visuals, the music in itself. You've got all these different strengths to your name.

Jenna: Thank you, Brooke.

FMM: Was there anything else you want to add about this particular music video or yourself as, like, a band that we haven't talked about today that you want people to know?

Jenna: Just to go and watch it, buy a t-shirt, support the music industry. Our whole social handle is unicorn.wamusic, so go take a look. Like, share, follow all those things. That really does help a band in being able to keep playing music and keep creating.