THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “For the first time since 2021, Pipe-eye, the moniker for Australian musician, singer and songwriter Cook Craig, has a new LP. With nods to the venerable influences of funk and ’70s / ’80s synth dance classics, Pipe-defy is a stylistic departure from his previous albums. For this project, Craig explains, he’s wearing his influences on his sleeve.
“At around the time that I was starting to write songs for the album, my mum gave me a bunch of old CDs from my early teens that I hadn’t listened to in ages,” he says. “There was heaps of Grandmaster Flash, Herbie Hancock, Zapp, Stevie Wonder and other stuff like that. When I kept writing songs they kinda just started sounding like that… so I guess it kinda just kickstarted an old obsession I had for that style of music.”
Indeed, each track beckons listeners to lose themselves in a tapestry of mesmeric synth rhythms, sobering orchestra hits and foot-tapping, knee-slapping, hand-clapping groove. Pipe-defy stands as a testament to Craig’s resolve to explore new aesthetics with each new release, furthering his quest to push himself to into new songwriting terrain. “When I was writing the songs for the album, (which I had about 20 of), if I wasn’t bopping my head subconsciously to it, then it was cut.”
Despite this however, there are a handful of tracks which delve into something considerably more sentimental. “Not all the songs are funky and kooky. There was definitely a couple numbers that I wanted to be a bit more ‘ballady,’ like Lords of Lithium or Don’t Fade Away … I wanted them to be more affectionate and break up the flow of the wacky.”
Written and recorded between life on the road touring and returning home to the quiet life in Melbourne, Pipe-defy lyrically mirrors this sense of place, touching on themes of profound nostalgia and the vulnerability that comes from being split between two seperate lifestyles. “It’s bizarre tossing between being at home and being on the road, people might think it’s glamorous which it kind of is, but there’s also the reality of being not quite at home in either place, whether it’s here or there” says Craig. “I guess as I was writing the lyrics this was an intense focal point of what I was feeling at the time and I think in a song like I’m Coming Back, this is most evident.”
Notable on the album is a lack of guitar — these tracks feature keyboards and synthesizers, with the addition of bass guitar, of course; “I could never not have a bass on a song,” says Craig. “As it’s my first instrument, I feel like I’ll often begin writing songs on a bass and then build off that.” The focus on a powerful bassline and keys-based compositions is intensely evident in tracks like Catch Me On A Break, Snake On A Sand Dune and The Taste, which envelope the listener in pulsating hi-fi stereo. “Another heavy hitter on the record is my Roland Juno, which I couldn’t have done without to get that smanky snappy sound.”
Known for his tenure in both King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard and The Murlocs, Craig’s four previous solo albums as Pipe-eye have played a prevalent part in his development and growth as a songwriter, musician and composer. Pipe-defy incessantly edges towards something more advanced and poignant than ever before, whilst retaining Craig’s authentic songwriting style and appreciation for the quirky, macabre and melancholic.
Drawing from likeminded musicians and fellow bandmates in parallel projects, Craig borrows the collaborative dynamism of King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, with fellow bandmembers Joe Walker (mixing, production) and Michael Cavanagh (drums) contributing to the album. Another notable difference from previous Pipe-eye albums is the production style. “I intentionally wanted to go for a much more hi-fi sound for this album, which Joey nailed. It was definitely a departure from previous Pipe-eye sh*t which was always on the lo-fi side.”
Prepare to embark on a symphonic adventure unparalleled. Pipe-defy takes any preconceptions the listener might have had about what a Pipe-eye album sounds like and smashes it over the head of the auditor in a sonic affront from the first note of the record to the last.”
