Bounding Through the Night: A Conversation with The Cat Empire

Several years ago a globetrotting friend of mine introduced me to the fast-paced, fun-filled, musical extravaganza known as The Cat Empire. At the time, the Australian sextet composed of Harry James Angus (vocals, trumpet), Felix Reibl (vocals, timbales), Ollie McGill (keyboard), Ryan Monro (bass), Jamshid “Jumps” Khadiwhala (decks) and Will Hull Brown (drums) had yet to release a record in North America. Thanks to the wonders of the internet and overseas shipping, I was able to get my hands on their Australian self-titled LP, as well as their sophomore record, Two Shoes (not to be confused with their North American record by the same name). Upon first listen, I instantly fell in love with the mishmash of styles that flowed out of my speakers. The Cat Empire is the epitome of a un-definable band. They touch on every genre you can imagine, even ones that haven’t been made up yet. A huge inspiration behind the creation of this very magazine, (a staunch reader might notice that they are quoted on our banner), when given the opportunity to sit and chat with my favorite band from Down Under, I jumped on it faster than a cat on yarn.

Pop Zap: Why did it take so long for Two Shoes to come out in North America?

Harry James Angus: It takes a while to get recognition in another territory -- it took two or three years just to get an album out in Australia. You’ve just got to do the hard yards and get recognition before you can get support from the labels, so it’s just the nature of how it works.

PZ: You do a lot of improvisation when you’re on stage, yet you are also huge story tellers -- specifically Felix -- with many songs like [“Days Like These”, “The Car Song, “Beanie”] you really tell a full story. What do you consider yourselves more of (improvisers/storytellers)?

Felix Riebl: It’s both actually, ask anybody. I’ve said this lots of times and I really do believe it; I think that for me a song comes out of a story, especially in this band when some sort of thing happens that’s “story-like”, and then a song sort of just condenses it into a feeling. I think the job of a songwriter is to convey that story in the song, and the job of the band is to make a musical movement within that in live shows. They can be different from night to night depending on how it feels. So whether it's instrumental or the words that tell the stories, the stories are told.

HJA: And then Ollie will do an epic keys solo that’s like The Iliad and The Odyssey and The Old Testament and The New Testament all in one.

PZ: I didn’t know that you could play Homer on the keys!

Ollie McGill: (shrugs)

(everyone laughs)

Jamshid “Jumps” Khadiwhala: In case the tape recorder didn’t get that --

HJA: Ollie made a benevolent gesture.

PZ: So you’ve just finished you’re new album, So Many Nights. You recorded it in L.A.; the last album you did in Cuba with Jerry Boys (Buena Vista Social Club), what was the deal this time?

Ryan Monro: Most of the bed tracks were done in Australia. We did all of the dubs in Melbourne.

PZ: What should we expect?

FR: There’s a lot of strings, actually. Ollie did the arrangements for it; the string arrangements are really quite unique. It’s the same with the horns. I think all the extra things recorded make it not sound very generic, they sound very interesting and add a lot to it. It’s a different record; I think the songs are much stronger in themselves, and the sound of it, I think it’s a much purer sounding record. It’s going to surprise people.

PZ: Since you recorded with Jerry [Boys], have you ever played with Buena Vista Social Club?

RM: No. The closest we got [was when] a few of the guys went to Ibrahim’s (Ferrer ) house in Cuba. We played with Amadito (Valdes) who is their timbales player; that was an afternoon when we played with him. Cachaito (Orlando "Cachaito" López) dropped into the studio once or twice and we met their horn section... so we were sort of vaguely in touch with them but we never played [with them].

PZ: You’ve played all genre of festivals (jazz, folk, blues) which shows just how diverse The Cat Empire is. However, there does seem to be a trend with festivals opening their doors to the less genre-specific music. Why is that?

Will Hull Brown: I think people know a lot more about music these days. People like stuff from all different genres and that’s why a band like us can exist. Because of that phenomenon, of people being more educated about different kinds of music that are out there, and being open minded enough to say “I’m not just this kind of person who listens to this kind of music, I like different music from all over the place.”

PZ: You’ve played here (Winnipeg) three times and have clearly garnered a lot of respect, as is a testament to the bigger stage you’ve played each time. How does that feel -- going back to places you’ve played and watching what were once small crowds getting bigger and bigger?

JK: [It’s] the only way to judge how you’re doing, in the earnest sense of things. I mean, I think there’s a lot about music that I don’t understand -- things like marketing. I see a lot [of it] in America: people judging things in odd ways; but for us, I think we had quite a good upbringing in music. [Because] it was always based on a live response from people, and what they tell their friends. That’s probably the most rewarding thing that’s happened to this band: knowing you can just rest on your show and if it’s working, it’s working, and if it’s not, it’s not. But most of the time it has worked for us.

PZ: So Felix, your brother drew a picture of a cat and put it on your fridge --

FR: Kind of--

RM: No, he did--

FR: It wasn’t on the fridge though--

All: Yeah it was--

FR: Really? I thought it was on that pillar in the kitchen...

(everyone laughs)

PZ: There’s also [your high school band name] The Jazz Cat; and there’s also the fact that your name is Felix and there is the famous cartoon character, Felix the Cat. Are these all just crazy coincidences?

RM: No, it’s like in the (Michael Jackson) “Black and White” video where he morphs into a cat at the end. We don’t actually have a bus, we just--

HJA: Bound through the night.

RM: Let the record show: we bound through the night.

The Cat Empire are currently touring Europe and will return to Australia in February. Their latest record, So Many Nights, is available now in Australia, and will be released worldwide in early 2008. If you can’t wait that long, head on over to www.thecatempire.com and order your copy today.