Audio Muffin’s Inside The Bakery series is proud to continue with words and wisdom from melodious dreamweavers, The Middle East.  The Townsville, Queensland (Australia) band has been featured on The Muffin before (link!), but this time out lead vocalist Jordan Ireland was kind enough to share some thoughts with us on music, monkeys, muffins and more…

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Audio Muffin: How did the band first find each other? What’s the music scene like in Townsville?

Jordan Ireland: The scene is small and that’s how we found each other.  Everybody knows everybody and there’s no segregation between music genres.  It’s a bit like monkeys in a small jungle - they all dig bananas and bound to each other in that way.

AM: The album, The Recordings of The Middle East, has such a haunting atmosphere about it, especially ‘The Darkest Side’ - is that something you consciously try to create, or did it just naturally come about?

JI: I definitely didn’t plan it.  The majority of it was recorded at my Dad’s shack house out of town at a place called Alligator Creek.  The place has a certain stillness about it that can be eerie for some.

The Middle East - The Darkest Side

AM: The album has been warmly embraced by people the world over - are you pleased with making the transition from a local/national band to an international band? Are there any challenges that come with that?

JI: It’s strange.  They’re such old recordings for now and not something we’re very pleased with or wanting to be known by.  It is nice to be able to play more and travel with mates.  I find it hard trying to get some meaning out of it sometimes.  It’s hard to stay sharp and not be the goose.

AM: Now, a lot of people feel like music blogging (and the internet in general) is a double-edged sword. Some say it has contributed to even shorter attention spans for listeners, while others argue that it gives bands exposure that they never would have received without it.  What are your thoughts on the digital age of music?

JI: I haven’t known any other age so I can’t comment too much.  I think a lot of music blogs are excellent. Ones that are about the music and not mass advertising work really well, plus I always dig hearing new music.  It’s true though - there’s so much on offer now that people don’t care.  You can hear any kind of music you want to hear with a few clicks. It would be nice to have to travel to hear different kinds of music…to Spain to hear Latin music, to New Orleans to hear jazz, to Australia to hear the didgeridoo, or to the moon to hear space rock.  There’d be some different stuff coming out if people had to do that.

AM: Speaking of increased exposure for the band - are you excited about playing SXSW and Coachella this year? Is a full U.S. tour in the works?

JI: I haven’t thought about it too much - I think I’ll be excited to be over there. And yes [a U.S. tour is] in the works…somewhere.

AM: What else is on tap for The Middle East in 2010? Any new music we can look forward to?

JI: We’re recording an album at the moment. I’m not very happy with it so far, but it’s not finished so who knows. It could be gold. It could break your mind. We’ll see…we’ll see.  We’re hopefully releasing it in June.

AM: And lastly, a question that we like to ask of every band that passes through the Audio Muffin bakery - what is your favorite kind of muffin?

JI: Blueberry….wait….chocolate.

The Middle East - Lonely

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The Recordings of The Middle East is available now at Amazon

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