Names: Maria Moles, Bonnie Stewart and Helen Svoboda
Occupation: musician
Nationality: Australian
Current Release: Lava on Room40
[Read our Helen Svoboda interview]
For a while, it seemed as though the model of the bedroom producer would replace bands altogether. Why do you like playing in a band rather than making music on your own?
The feeling of being together in a room creates a sense of spontaneity without edits. It allows for synchronised exploration with others. The influence of others' musical decisions is what enables one to find new and unexpected sounds in response.
What, to you, are some of the greatest bands, and what makes them great?
The Necks are an inspiration to us. They have been performing together for over 35 years so must be doing something right! We’re inspired by their improvisational language and musical connection as a group; they each have the space to bring their individual voices to the improvisations while together creating a unique unfolding sonic landscape that can’t be defined as any particular genre of music.
Before you started making music together, did you in any form exchange concrete ideas, goals, or strategies? Generally speaking, what are your preferences when it comes to planning vs spontaneity in a collaboration?
Our first proper musical meeting was in the studio - we started with a series of improvisations to see what was possible across our collective sound. The instrumentation of the group makes it possible for many sound worlds to emerge. These explorations led the way for the rest of the session, which was entirely spontaneous. We felt it was best to allow the improvisations to lead the way.
There are many potential models for creativity, from live performances and jamming/producing in the same room together up to file sharing. Which of these do you prefer – and why?
Technology has allowed us to connect creatively across continents when the live situation isn’t possible. Different projects may require different models or a mix of all. For Panghalina, the music-making came first in a single room, and the production followed. But even so, there was very little production to be done; all of what is on the recording was played live, with no overdubs added. So, to do it the other way around would have culminated in an entirely different outcome.
How do your different characters add up to the band's sound and in which way is the end result – including live performances – different from the sum of its pieces?
Each member of Panghalina is an established composer and performer in their own right and has developed their own distinctive approach to sound. Helen (voice, double bass), Bonnie (voice, effects, drums, percussion) and Maria (synth, drums, percussion).
Playing with each other has opened up new places for us to discover as improvisors. Allowing for overlapping duos within the trio format, creating possibilities for various concentrated sound worlds to emerge; the dense carpet of rich textures and rhythms across two percussionists, enveloped by wordless gestures between the two ethereal vocals, glued together by the unity of high frequencies in the arco bass harmonics and synthesizer.
Is there a group consciousness, do you feel? How does it express itself?
From the beginning, each of our improvisations seemed to follow a natural arc and flow. We were in the same mind about musical ideas and approaches and shared mutual excitement for the project and its potential. We joked about being telepathic and searched for a band name that hinted at this magic group consciousness. Panghalina is the Filipino word for ‘charm’ - a word that seems to best encapsulate our experience of playing together.
Tell me about a piece or album which shows the different aspects you each contribute to the process particularly clearly, please.
Nightmare at A1 Bakery on our album ‘Lava’. This improvised piece exhibits Maria’s warm synth layers, Helen’s vocal and double bass driving melodies, Bonnie’s affected vocal fragments as well as rushes of percussive rumbles from Bonnie and Maria.
What is your sense of ownership like as part of the collective songwriting process? What is the balance between the lyrics, melodies and harmonies, and the groove in terms of your sound?
All of our pieces so far are co-composed and improvised without lyrics. Some pieces (for instance, Stellar Tides) are open and spacious, whereas others (Not Super) feature more frenetic grooves and bursts of fragmented energy. As we continue to play more together, we are still uncovering the many options available within our collective sound and the ways in which these intersect between moments of unity and contrast.
What tend to be the best songs in your opinion – those where you had a lot in common as a band or those where you had more differences? What happens when another musician take you outside of your comfort zone?
So far, we haven’t had another musician collaborate with us as a band per se, but we have just had the pleasure of performing at Canberra's SoundOut festival recently. Here, we performed as a trio, collaborated individually with other artists and even collaborated together as part of Clayton Thomas’s ensemble with about 15 other performers. As improvisers, we love to be stretched to new surprising places. It can push us to be stronger in our individual practice. Panghalina is all about flow and working together as a group. We are bringing our differences and finding common ground.
What are your thoughts on the need for compromise vs standing by one's convictions? How did you resolve potential disagreements?
Luckily we haven’t run into this problem too much yet! It did take us a few goes at agreeing on a band name! So far, we have made sure we all agree on any band decisions. We have become obsessed with a fun astrological app called CoStar. We plan to consult with the stars for any potential future disagreements!
Do any of the band's members also have solo projects? If so, how do these feeds into the band's creative process?
Each of us has a distinctive solo practice - Helen Svoboda (bass and voice), Maria Moles (drum kit and electronics) and Bonnie Stewart aka Bonniesongs (drum kit, voice and songwriting) - and this is what largely led us to bring each of our own voices together into an ensemble context. Within the music, each of our individual sounds remains identifiable, but the excitement is in the way that each of us is able to adapt and meld these together into a meeting point/three becoming one.
In a live situation, decisions between band members often work without words. From your experience and the performances of your current tour, what does this process feel like and how does it work?
Across our tour so far, some of our shows have involved a pre-planned set, whereas others have been entirely improvised. It is interesting to see the benefits across both - as a relatively new band, we’re learning to strike a balance between the evolution of existing pieces and moments of raw exploration. It feels like a constantly adaptive organism.
How has the interaction within the group changed since you started performing in connection to the album? How do you keep things surprising, playful and inspiring?
It is interesting to perform pieces that were first improvised, recorded and later named. In this sense, the recording becomes the ‘score’ or point of reference - a way to categorise and distinguish our variety of ensemble sounds. Our group interaction continues to evolve and strengthen as we perform more, and as a result, in our sets we prioritise the evolution of a given ‘piece’ in the way that it naturally develops across each new performance. The energy and environment also directly affects the interpretation of each. Rather than performing a track as it appears on the album, it is fun to view these as sonic prompts that guide moments of spontaneity.
Have you worked with outside contributors - from sessions musicians via producers to other songwriters? How did this change, improve or challenge the established dynamic and how do you look back on that?
We were so privileged to work with wonderful producers/engineers Tim Harvey and Marcel Borack while recording. Having them both present as part of the process was such an asset. We would play and record, and Tim and Marcel would sometimes give us prompts such as “What about something groovy” or “Try another vocal one”... Such simple ideas gave us all the direction we needed to jump in and play.
Most bands eventually break up. What makes you stay together? What are essentials for a successful band?
Panghalina is a new band, but the momentum we have received so far sets us up to continue creating. We already have a second album up our sleeve for a future release, and plan to continue performing across Australia regularly. Essentials include clear communication, sharing of tasks, openness to new approaches, and friendship - all of which we have in spades!
