Sticking Their Necks Out
Shortly before I began my interview with Lloyd Swanton, bassist for Australian jazz trio THE NECKS, I listened to their most recent release: Mindset. It’s two tracks, each a full 20 minutes in length. They’re brooding, densely layered and methodical, exhausting to listen to and masterful. Reviews on their website quite rightly refuse to classify the group as just “jazz”.
Towards the end of our interview Swanton mentioned the 20 minute tracks: “They’re almost pop singles by our standards.”
The Necks formed in 1989, making the band only a year younger than me. “It was originally formed as an improvisation band with no intention of performing in public,” Swanton says. “I often say that the humble origins of the band meant that we were prepared for whatever level of recognition we got because we actually had no ambition for the band whatsoever.”
22 years later The Necks’ level of recognition is beyond improbable. With multiple ARIAs, rave reviews for their albums and performances, and sold out shows in the US, UK and Australia, they have realised a pinnacle in a realm of music where pinnacles are few and far between. Swanton is candid about their approach. “If we’d decided we were flogging a dead horse we would’ve retired it ages ago.
“My definition of passion is sort of a lifelong thing, anyway,” he goes on. “My definition of passion is finding something you find immensely gratifying and fulfilling and doing that for three or four decades."
And neither Swanton nor his two counterparts, Tony Buck and Chris Abrahams, lack alternative pursuits. As technically and creatively brilliant musicians they each sport an epic list of solo and collaborative projects. The Necks are not something they need.
“We’re not making a fortune out of this band but we’re seeing the fruits of all our years of work,” says Swanton. “I don’t know if you’ve heard that joke about the jazz musician who wins a million dollars in the lottery. His friends say ‘what’ll you do now?’ and he says ‘I’ll just keep working 'til the money runs out’. That’s where jazz is at worldwide.”
But The Necks are not quite jazz. “In The Necks we’re constantly trying to find new sonic avenues in our instruments,” explains Swanton. “And one might call that virtuosic but it’s not virtuosic in terms of trying to impress people with a barrage of notes and using your instrument as a lethal weapon... It’s almost a game that we play,” he summarises, adding with a laugh, “in front of a paying audience.”
The game Swanton refers to is played in two halves, each half an hour long. The Necks improvise uninterrupted for the full length of each. It has been called “absolutely riveting”, “a post-jazz, post-rock, post-everything sonic experience”, and “a religious experience”. Swanton is less flighty. “I figure if our music can be successful, all sorts of things are possible.”
The Necks will play The Street Theatre on Sunday February 19. Tickets range from $29-39 and are available through The Street’s website.
