Abbe May’s ‘Design Desire’ third solo album was released Friday, 7 July.  Already her singles are getting a great response and plenty of time on the J’s. Nothing but glowing reviews all round and she’s heading on the road: Design Desire Tour & ticket info

Q and A with Abbe May

Recently, I had the chance to pick Abbe’s brain a little. Here is what she had to say…

How long have you been playing, singing, writing?

Abbe: I have been singing since I was about 3. It was a big part of the games we would play as children. I’ve been playing guitar since I was 11 and attempting to write songs since I was 12.

What music did you listen to growing up? Has it influenced your own style?

Abbe: My parents played a lot of old school stuff like Chuck Berry, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Lennon particularly…and also a lot of 1950′s rock and roll like the Big Bopper. They used to put it on in the evenings and let my siblings and I go crazy dancing to it in the lounge room. I now realise that they probably did that just to exhaust us for bedtime. It has definitely influenced my style. I think the early masters of rock are a good foundation for any musician.

Who’s the most inspirational person to you (in music, or in life)?

Abbe: My mother and father have very strong natures. I’ve never seen my mother get down about anything. She is realistic about life. I’ve never seen my father stop looking for depth. I aspire to be like them.

You’ve just released your latest album, Design Desire. You still have lots of heavy guitar riffs and stuff, but your singing style seems to have softened a little. Is that something you consciously wanted? Or is that what the music called for?

Abbe: Yes, I really didn’t really want to do the typical loud rock and roll vocals. Even though the music is so heavy it seemed too obvious a choice to record the vocals in the same way. We wanted to do something a bit less usual so we tried marrying those light, etherial, feminine vocals with heavy, masculine riffs. I also wanted the lyrical content to be coming from a place that was seductive and not aggressive.

Explain a bit about your songwriting process. How does it happen for you?

Abbe: I generally start with a guitar and sing nonsense words over the top of any riffs that are forming…often they arent even words but just a kind of phrasing of sounds that help me map out  the length and pattern of each vocal line. It is a process of gradual refinement from there. Once I have the melody and structure I will write the lyrics within the patterns I had initially worked on. Usually the song is about 80 – 90% ready by the time I take it to the studio. I like to allow the recording to develop a little character in the song because I think it keeps it interesting.

Performing live on stage or recording in the studio – which do you prefer?

Abbe: Both have their merits. In the studio you have so much control and you can really define the songs structure/feel and the tones that you want to use within it. Live is a bit wilder…and I think I prefer it. There is less control over external factors and you simply have to go with the flow. It can lead to ideas for songs that may not have come to you if you were in the studio.

Do you usually listen to an album again, once it has been released?

Abbe: It is very difficult to. When you record an album you have to listen to little parts of it over and over… it’s like that Bill Murray movie ‘Groundhog Day’.  I generally choose not to listen to the work once it is finished.

Is there any aspect of the music industry that disheartens you?

Abbe: I don’t really get disheartened about anything outside of love. Everything else is extra for me. But love can be very disheartening and I suppose that is why I write about it so much. Im certainly not the first person to write about it, but love has an interesting degree of menace to it that is quite inspiring to write about, even if it is disheartening in other ways.

Who have you been listening to or seeing live recently?

Abbe: I’ve been listening to a lot of Caribou and some Bryan Ferry and I’ve been watching Perth two girl blues explosion ‘Hootenanny’ religiously.

So there you have it. Abbe is amazingly busy just now and really I appreciated her time. I tried to make it mostly painless for her – and keep it clean and simple. I didn’t ask her about the album cover – or being uncovered on it And I didn’t ask this question (to quote Abbe from Facebook): Best interview question ever: “On a personal note, what can you tell us about your relationship with Satan?” haha

Abbe May Design Desire Tour

• Catch Abbe rocking it live on stage.  Buy tickets –> Design Desire Tour & ticket info

Design Desire Album Out Now

• Download it on iTunes
• Order a signed copy from JB Hi-Fi