A QUICK CHAT WITH CHUTNEY

Can you tell us a bit about your inspiration for your single "Toxic"?

CHUTNEY is a klezmer band with a twist: we play a mix of quirky originals and funked-up takes on traditional Eastern European Jewish dance tunes. We’ve also developed a tendency to reimagine pop bangers through the lens of klezmer.

We had a gig lined up with Ilan Kidron (The Potbelleez frontman) in 2021 and were discussing what crazy new tunes we could add to our set list. Ilan noted that the string riff in “Toxic” sounds “really klezmer,” so that was all the inspiration I needed to klezmer-ify Britney’s 2003 hit. (We only discovered years later that the riff is actually a Bollywood sample!)

Something about the song’s dark romance led me to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, especially after I realized that importing Beethoven’s descending bassline might open up a whole new set of possibilities for the otherwise pretty harmonically static “Toxic” verses. I sketched up a chart and we tweaked it in rehearsal, at a gig, and in the studio into its present form.

What are your influences and how do they affect your songwriting?

Half of us are children of the 90s, so Britney remains a formative icon and a subject of deep nostalgia. Half of us are also classically trained, so we often find ourselves referencing classical harmonic language and even referencing classical music’s greatest hits (like the Moonlight Sonata).

Almost all of us are Jewish, and we have been immersed in that musical culture since childhood, so a lot of Jewish/klezmer tropes tend to emerge spontaneously—for example, the hora circle dance feel of the “Toxic” choruses.

We also love Muse—we dig their shamelessly epic, dark, emotional power and (related) their love of minor keys!

Each of us has backgrounds in different genres and spaces—funk, jazz, world, renaissance, classical, pop—so we ultimately synthesize our musical personalities every time we write a new track. It’s precisely that mix of disparate ingredients that gives CHUTNEY its distinctive flavor. 😇

What’s the creative process like for you?

Partially answered above. I identify the seed of an idea—say, the illicit lovechild of Britney & Beethoven in a Balkan bar—and then I just unleash my imagination. Sometimes the most exciting ideas (like transplanting Beethoven’s bassline onto the “Toxic” verse) will come while I’m commuting or cleaning.

Regardless, the form of the whole piece is usually intact before I start writing it down. I sketch out the skeleton and then flesh out the details (transitions, horn lines). We try it in rehearsal, the song evolves with the feedback of the band, and continues to evolve from performance to performance—and even in the studio!

If you could change something about the Australian music industry, what would it be?

I would love for klezmer and klezmer fusion to be more widely known and appreciated! We’re hoping that “Toxic Moonlight” will be a gateway drug for the uninitiated. 🙂

What do you think life would be like for you if you didn’t have music as an outlet?

Pretty stale! Really unimaginable. There’s music in my head most of the time. I’d probably become an ultramarathon runner, to run away from the hideous dystopia of a musicless existence…

Is there anyone you would like to collaborate with? Why?

The Cat Empire have been huge heroes of ours since the beginning—in our early days, we’d finish gigs with a klezmer cover of “The Wine Song.” We love their energy, spunk, and irreverent synthesis of divergent world music styles within the unmistakable lens of contemporary Australia. Collaborating with or supporting them would be a dream come true.

What’s your advice to young people who want to make a career for themselves in the industry?

Clichés are often clichés because they are true. Being true to yourself—that is, backing yourself and creating exactly what you want to create—seems to be the most relevant guiding principle I can extract from CHUTNEY’s story. I really think people want to hear authenticity—they want to hear you.

Who’s the most interesting person you’ve worked with/met?

Probably Ilan Kidron. He’s the most insanely, shamelessly creative person I know. Ideas spurt out of him like most people blow their nose. Impossible to keep up but endlessly inspiring.

Any plans for a tour on the cards?

Yes! We’ll be playing a bunch of shows supporting the brilliant Melbourne Ska Orchestra through NSW and south QLD in August!

THE BRIGHTSIDE OUTDOORS, BRISBANE (support, 8pm)
SAT 24 AUG THE STATION, SUNSHINE COAST (support, 8pm)
SUN 25 AUG SOUNDLOUNGE, GOLD COAST (support, 6.30pm)
THU 29 AUG KING STREET BANDROOM, NEWCASTLE (support, 8pm)
FRI 30 AUG WAVES, TOWRADGI (GONG) (support, 8pm)
SAT 31 AUG METRO THEATRE, SYDNEY (opener, 8pm)