J.P. SHILO - Interview

I interviewed J.P. Shilo between September 2020 and May 2021. It's a very personal interview, a technical talk between two musicians. 

J.P. Shilo at the Melbourne Town Hall Grand Organ. © L.J.Spruyt Photography

For some years now, I have been following the brilliant work of J.P. Shilo, in all his facets as a multi-instrumentalist. My initial contact with him was through the great Rowland S. Howard. J.P. was the bassist who, along with Mick Harvey, accompanied him live. Wanting to know more about him, I discovered his band, Hungry Ghosts. It was unconditional love at first audition ... from then on, I have been carefully following his musical career. He's a musical genius. Period! After having already interviewed him, in a different context, for Mondo Bizarre Magazine, here is a new one, solely focused on his musical gear. From musicians to musicians and to everyone who might be interested in knowing more about technical issues related to J.P.'s music.

*It also includes a couple of questions about Jubjoté, J.P. Shilo's upcoming album, out June 25, on Heavy Machinery Records, along with a film by L.J. Spruyt Photography.

Can you talk about your Fender Jazzmaster guitar? Is it all original, or does it have any hardware changes made by you?

I bought the Jazzmaster in 1997 – brand new, in Melbourne. I guess that makes it 23 now. It is finally “finding its voice”. It is all original. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUTnWShOsSk)
On the first Hungry Ghosts record, I was loaned a nice old one from the 60s by Birdland Studio’s Lindsay Gravina. That’s where I got my first taste and never looked back. By the time we got to NYC we got to play Sonic Youth’s guitars! A Fender smorgasbord.
I had a strat copy as a youngster, but soon outgrew it/refined my taste by the time I started writing seriously. I never really felt comfortable with it…

In Pop Crimes: The Songs of Rowland S. Howard, you also play with a Fender Jaguar. What are your impressions of that guitar compared to the sound of your Jazzmaster? 

I have been fortunate enough over the recent years to have been loaned a lovely selection of vintage Jags to aid me in my mission of honouring RSH in the Pop Crimes shows.

The first one (the one I have used mostly used on this project, and also on various recordings) was kindly loaned by Rob Snarski of The Blackeyed Susans. His is the red L Series one from 1963(?) I believe the neck was replaced in the seventies.
(Playing through a vintage Jag is “crucial” in trying to emulate or even give a vague “impression” of RSH’s signature tone. )

My Jazzmaster’s “voice” is far too young & mellow… and would require much more reliance on pedals and amp to even come close to achieving the tone.

J.P. Shilo performing with The Triffids at the Perth Internacional Arts Festival. © L.J.Spruyt Photography

It’s one thing to play the same notes, but the pick-ups and the age of them are what really reveal the true tone. If you can start with that signal from the actual guitar, you’re in the right ballpark.

Most recently I used a 1965 shoreline gold, loaned to me by Lewis Boyes, (who plays w/ Adalita, and runs a fantastic boutique store in Melbourne called Found Sound) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUkvk7qW05A)

My dear friend, Julian Wu, from Melbourne, loaned me his 1965 olympic white Jag for the recent U.K. / France shows. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgbb_rlaq74&list=PLtdFi4AWsK3w4yYzUTeTOu-JiT-RotPCj&index=3)
Each one is obviously slightly different, but as I said I am very lucky to have been trusted to take them all for a spin.

As far as the design of a Jag vs Jazzmaster, I’m sure I’m not alone in saying the positioning of the pick-up selector on the Jag is often fraught with the looming dread of the “cut-off” position/combination. I always wondered why I often saw photos of peoples Jags with tape on the switches. Now I know, one has to be conscious not to accidentally kill the signal in ones enthusiasm. That is its only drawback.
I love the floating tremolo system, all that behind the bridge option for making noises. Lots of other guitars have behind the bridge strings exposed, but not really enough length to get a quality resonance from.

I was intrigued to see Lee Ranaldo & Thurston Moore’s modifications on a couple, (when Hungry Ghosts used their studio.) They had pick-ups built in behind the bridge, to fully harness it as a working option.
I am most comfortable on Jags and Jazzmasters. Everything else feels weird now.
My electric parts for Hungry Ghosts are best executed on a Jazzmaster.

I also love playing nylon string guitars though, and love to modify and manipulate them beyond their intended classical purpose. I currently use a sweet “parlour” size model called “Motif” made by “La Patrie” from Quebec. I’ve been writing a lot of new pieces for Hungry Ghosts on it.

J.P. Shilo performing with Mick Harvey at Giardini di Villa di Marzo - Avelino, Italy. © L.J.Spruyt Photography

Which guitar amplifier do you use the most? What is your favorite? - Which pedal set do you usually use live? Are there any changes to that set, depending on the band, or artists, with whom you are playing?

Again I am a Fender man, and have used a Pro Reverb for many years – (I believe that was Poison Ivy’s preference too.)
Of late I have been plugging into (and preferring) Music Man amps. They are essentially a Fender just with a different badge. 

I recently purchased an old 4x10 Music Man, which is great to get that pure amp tone.
Interestingly, it was Mick who pointed out to me in our recent rehearsals that the Music Man was RSH’s preferred make, that it was a 210 used on The Friend Catcher! and that it made sense that I was naturally gravitating toward it. (My ears must be becoming refined)

Rowland’s use of the Twin Reverb was more out of convenience. They were/are easier to access/hire around the world.

I’ve said before, in the Hungry Ghosts days, I didn’t use pedals, (not even a tuner!) Apart from the fact I couldn’t afford to buy any, it somehow seemed like it was “cheating” or compromising the pure tone of the guitar. Phasers and flangers, etc. kind of gross me out… they seem tacky, and often end up sounding a bit “Disneyland” in the wrong hands… haha (I’ve loosened up on that idea though over the years - depending on the project I am working on, but quite often they feel like a disguise, or like cosmetics. I can’t hear the guitarist, just their favourite flavour of ice cream! Haha).
I like to experiment with sounds etc. obviously, but I like to hear a pedal, if I click it on, I want it to actually do something. Quite often I see players with a fully loaded display of pedals at their disposal, but nothing that can’t necessarily be achieved by just cranking up the amp and letting the valves sing! I’m not particularly impressed by “bling”.

J.P. Shilo performing with The Triffids at Meredith Music Festival, Australia. © L.J.Spruyt Photography

When I was playing in a short-lived side project called The Saddests (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi01sd0OmtI), I had a beautiful old vintage Colorsound Overdriver with the creamiest fuzz, and hugest boost… that I only clicked on for one solo in the whole set. It was always a “surprise”! I often scared the daylights out of the unsuspecting mixer, who would spill their drinks and frantically spread their fingers out over all the faders, wondering where the hell that sound just exploded from! They would spent the whole set, finding their ideal balance of the mix, etc. then Bam! By the time they located the source, the solo was over! Haha… It is an effect, and should do that.

As far as other pedals go, I am actually quite sparse and always try to actually modify the guitar physically.

That said, the RSH pedal by Reuss Musical Instruments was a Godsend in being able to articulate the sounds of the MXR blue box & distortion + in the one unit for the Pop Crimes shows (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxWndzKDPEs). I still use the RSH 2 model, even though my suggestion of adding an extra knob to vary how much blue box effect could be dialled in led to updated models. I’ve just managed to find the sweet spot on it for the sets that we’ve played.

I’ve used the RSH 3 on a piano accordion but not guitar (yet) Hopefully I get around to it.
My pet peeve/bug-bear on tour is the Fender Twin without a Master Volume. The fact that one can barely push them on stage past 1 without deafening everyone else is a right pain, and the valves rarely get a chance to find that really rich crackling sweet spot tone, that the ones with master volumes can. Also so many times I turn up for soundcheck, have stipulated that I need a Fender Valve amp with working spring reverb, and then the footswitch is missing, or the reverb doesn’t work. Aaargh.
A neat little tool, I’ll have to invest in, is one of those “Glow-Baby” volume controls (that plugs in through the effects loop – between the pre-amp and power amp stages to be able to get that warm tube sound) that would have gotten me out of a pickle on the road.

I did have my Pro Reverb tweaked to achieve something similar. Giving me enough head room to push the gain up to “hot”.

J.P. Shilo performing solo at Chapel Off Chapel, Melbourne, Australia. © L.J.Spruyt Photography

In comments on your Facebook pages you have mentioned some idiosyncratic guitar styles of yours. Expressions like "chalk guitar" "ping guitar" "swirl guitar" and others, reveal a very specific stylistic code. I would like you to explain to us these styles.

Quite often in sleevenotes I’ve had to give my techniques “pet” names to differentiate them from just “guitar” (when there are multiple guitars on a recording.)
Not only that, but sometimes to draw attention to a particular sound that may not even be recognisable as a guitar.

On my most recent LP “Invisible You” – the opening track “Kid King Kong” has a sound/technique I have referred to as “Guitarre Obscura”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b31Jg3q_d60
I have developed and been modifying this technique since the mid 90s - It involves twisting and weaving a bamboo skewer through the strings, and then tuning accordingly, and moving the skewer to a particular fret. I have got it to a point now where the “secret tuning” creates a reliable set of clanging percussive tones that I can pick out notes and chords consistently.

I used the same technique on the title track of As Happy as Sad is Blue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzBU5j15iLM
It sounds like there are drums/percussion on the track, but it is just the prepared “guitarre obscura”

My initial experiment was on an improvised piece with Hungry Ghosts – “Africa”
https://jpshilo.bandcamp.com/track/africa
It was with picks though, (which you can hear come loose during the song! I eventually incorporate re-weaving the picks into the song. Hehe)

I’ve always enjoyed the sound of gamelans, and tried to get a guitar to sound something like it over the years, the sombre, slightly atonal percussive feel. Beautiful yet slightly disturbing.

I have since made some new modifications of this technique which allows me to also play clean melody lines with some of the strings. This piece will be on the next Hungry Ghosts LP.
In the early days I messed around with cutlery, and palette knives, but the most effective (due to its size consistency & cost!) has been the bamboo skewer.

J.P. Shilo

© L.J.Spruyt Photography J.P. Shilo previewing a new
 Hungry Ghosts piece
 called "Dahtdejuahl"
at the Gasometer
 (Melbourne) July 16th, 2017.

 Featuring his
'Guitarre Obscura' technique,
this sequence of shots captures
 the moment he removes the skewer
 at the dramatic climax of the song.
The swift action causes
the strings to ring out
with a distinctive koto-like sound ∼

creating a segue into the next piece,

 where he then uses
 the skewer as a pick.

Another technique I have used on a few recordings is the “chalk guitar”. I initially used billiard chalk (which I would pocket from pool halls around the world, sorry folks ) The consistency of the chalk was best/finest, and created the smoothest friction. But the size of the blocks was not conducive to long strokes, hence the more frenetic “bowing” style on the initial recordings.

I guess it could be considered a sort of “acoustic e-bow” in that it gives the impression of feedback or even violins, but is completely acoustic! I use it when I want string sections to sound a bit warped.
The most recent example is on Tropical Fuck Storm’s LP – Braindrops, on a track called “Maria 62” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atUj74KPAys
(I also added some violins into the mix, just to confuse things.)

I have since started using sticks of street chalk, which allow for longer smoother strokes.

I’ve performed it a few times live, but it can get quite messy  and the guitar strings do tend to get “clogged” and unplayable after, so it remains a studio technique mainly.

I also used the “chalk guitar” technique on the last officially released track by Rowland S. Howard - “Lost in Space” (The b-side of the “Golden Age of Bloodshed” single. Again combined with violins, it gives a slightly whirring/nauseous/sea-sick feeling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Clfoqef1vGM
“…He was very weak by that stage. We had no idea really what we were to be doing. We'd recorded the 8 songs that are on the Pop Crimes LP. By this stage we were twiddling thumbs, and waiting on instructions from RSH. He said he'd like to do a song called Lost in Space. There was a strange loop that his pedal was making that was an off-cut from another song. He played harmonics over the top of it, then sat on the couch in the control room, and asked me to decorate. I sat in the control room with him and layered some violins and chalked guitar. He was fading, but didn't stop me so I guess we were writing a song. Mick tried playing drums to it, but aborted that mission quickly. - it was shelved, and dusted off for the b-side of Golden Age of Bloodshed." No idea if that was where we were headed. The piece surely didn't fit the rest of the record... it was like a space walk~~”

J.P. Shilo © L.J.Spruyt Photography
The Aftermath: chalked guitar for
Tropical Fuck Storm song "Maria 62"

The “Ping-Swirl” technique is probably used most notably on
the 3rd Movement of S L E E P
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BWSmmrMqmk
(This was recorded LIVE in the early morning of October 8th, 2015 – The morning my friend and colleague James Cruickshank passed away. I had played the piece to him on one of his earlier stays when he was already quite unwell, and he fell asleep smiling, so I took it as a compliment).

As the title hopefully suggests/conjures, it is a combo of picking out harmonics, and adjusting the volume knob of the guitar with the ring&little finger of right hand, so the attack/pluck is inaudible, but the bell like harmonics are “swirled” into the mix. (Obviously I deviate from standard tuning – (often) so that is also a factor in why it may sound “different” for those playing along at home.)

I rarely use standard tuning anymore.
A few years ago in The Blackeyed Susans, I made the conscious decision to completely change my tuning, it felt like a way of personalising my role/sound in the band, and also kept it interesting, in that I had to re-learn all the songs with new chord structures!
It was a way of keeping things fresh. The tuning I settled on, was the same as my “Alone, Alone” tuning for Hungry Ghosts, and due to the lowered notes I could also create more interplay with the bass, or even an affect where the guitar itself sounded like a bass being played; take it’s place (kind of free up the bass).

This particular tuning is also used in two other different techniques not yet mentioned.
A “calliope” type sound that I used on this track – Fireflies (from As Happy as Sad is Blue) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxkgewaE0ho
It involves playing with the tremolo effect. The intensity is set to 10, the pulse is on 1.
I tap out chords with my left hand, and also tap higher chords with my right hand. It is timed to the pulse of the tremolo, so that the strings are touched only when the volume is briefly muted, giving that distinctly fairground organ feel.

A combination of a very similar tuning + the tapping technique, is on “Voodoo Talking” (from Invisible You) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEy_Nx0J14w
I am playing the bass line with my left hand, and tapping the “stabbing” chords higher up the fretboard.
This recording is basically LIVE - just me doing this technique & Steve Shelley on drums. (I later overdubbed a slide guitar that sounds like violins, and mixed in some of Mick Harvey’s organ parts but it is an incredibly simple arrangement.)

Some techniques are discovered purely though messing around, others are from challenges, like somebody giving me an object in the studio and saying “I bet you can’t make a sound using this… thing.” Hehe!
Ie. This thing(?) I managed to attach to a guitar and mic up, during recording the song “Contact” from Mick Harvey’s “Intoxicated Women” LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v8EB2uIJAM I have a few other techniques, which Rowland credited on Pop Crimes as “General Strangeness” but these didn’t always involve guitars.

J.P. Shilo © L.J.Spruyt Photography
Guitar modification -
(with found metal contraption)
used for recording
Mick Harvey's "Contact"
from Intoxicated Women.

Do you prefer to play the electric guitar with a higher bridge position, for greater tone definition and decrease of buzz fret, or, on the contrary, for a lower bridge position, to play with less string tension?

Hmmm, I prefer higher. Often with the de-tuned strings there is more chance for string buzz. That said, I am adaptable, and modify my playing depending on what tools are at hand. Some guitars demand to be played certain ways, and regardless of what you try to inflict upon them, you get bucked.
Adaptability is the key! (It’s probably a good motto for Life too).
That, and a sense of humour.
Some shows, I’ve been given almost unplayable guitars, and decided then and there, I’ll just play slide guitar, or something else- hmmm maybe piano? ...anything can happen on tour; “what does this button do?!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmJwkimMVoM

What type of pick and string gauge do you choose to play the electric guitar?

I prefer a 0.73m pick. And favour 10 or 11 gauge strings (Though in Hungry Ghosts, I did replace the low E & A strings with D & G bass strings for a while, as I was tuning down to C & G).

That said, I have also been known to string a guitar with “Bonsai wire” for some projects.

J.P. Shilo performing with The Triffids at the Perth International Arts Festival, Australia. © L.J.Spruyt Photography

Now, let's move on to the bass. Again, here, you seem to be a Fender man, playing a Fender Jazz Bass. In some videos of your live performances, I identify you playing on Brian Hooper's bass, and, most of the time, on Mick Harvey's bass. An Ampeg SVT-410 HE speaker seems to be the one you use mostly, with an amp head that I couldn't identify, maybe an Ampeg too. I would like to know more about the sound, and the tone, which defines your style of playing bass.

You have a keen eye! Again, I do prefer a Fender.

Through the Pop Crimes shows with Rowland I used Mick’s Jazz Bass (mostly.)
When Brian was re-introduced into the LIVE line-up, I would play on “Ave Maria” – he found the part I had written too “delicate/not to his style of playing” and would take a break.
(I also ended up singing it recently for the “tribute” shows - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYf4zx2qeXY it is one of my favourite RSH songs)

We usually did “Autoluminescent” as an encore and I often ended up playing Brian’s bass on that one as well.

On the actual Pop Crimes recordings however, I borrowed a nice old 70s Fender P-bass from Cut/Copy (a band I spent about 6 months touring internationally/playing bass in from late 2007 to early 2008). Funnily when they asked me to join, I had never played bass before, but they said that didn’t matter, they were confident in my abilities to pick it up.
Ampeg is a reliable choice of amp, and always a relief to find an SVT waiting on stage at soundcheck. With Cut/Copy, we were doing large festivals to tens of thousands, so the “fridge” was optimal. But for smaller shows the 4x10 is/was just as effective.

On the Pop Crimes record, we ran my bass through a Fender Princeton guitar amp and had that powering a quad box which created a very unusual tone, so we went with that set-up throughout.
The bass-line on “Pop Crimes” was based on a riff initially made up by Brian, though it was taught to me by Rowland, so it suffered from “Chinese Whispers” by the time I recorded it for the album. Brian later jokingly remarked that I had “fucked it up, and now I have to play your stupid bass-line!” haha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HgjwFtX2Lk At the start of that song, and also on Rowland’s “explosion” part, I played a “drill” through the bass pick-ups. It is listed as a “drill” just to simplify the term, but it was in fact a small “battery-powered milk-frother”, (for making cappuccinos!)

I did use a fibre-glass “Italia” bass for a show when I guested in Blue Ruin once at a charity event in 2012. It had two separate outputs for each of the passive & active pick- ups. It had a semi-hollow body, so depending on the song I could get some really tasty/nasty/gnarly tones (and feed back) going on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PT0aKrpNNw

J.P. Shilo performing "Ave Maria" with Pop Crimes: The Songs of Rowland S. Howard at Metro Theatre, Sydney, Australia. © L.J.Spruyt Photography

The way you play the violin is extremely cinematic, it immediately takes us to a timeless, deep and classical space, between sacred and orchestral music, and there are moments of overwhelming intensity, which I risk to classify as “vertigo of silence”. This is very obvious in your theme (already a classic) SLEEP, which you dedicated to Rowland S. Howard. At what age did you learn to play the violin?

I’m still learning! My actual violin skills are very rudimentary, and my technique is “questionable” to say the least. I’m not a trained violinist.
I do love the sound of violins though (also cello & double bass) and have always tried my best to get a pleasing tone. I’m glad you enjoy.

J.P. Shilo performing

at Leaps & Bounds Festival

- Gasometer Hotel,

Melbourne, Australia.

© L.J.Spruyt Photography

In Hungry Ghosts though it was evident very early on that Tim Howden was a far superior player and therefore handled all the string parts. I got a little better/more confident over the years and so ended up playing a lot on my solo pieces, and subsequently also for others both LIVE & on recordings.

Mick Harvey’s “Sketches From The Book Of The Dead” & “Four (Acts of Love)” also throughout RSH’s Pop Crimes, other notable albums include Adalita’s Self-titled Debut LP, Amaya Laucirica’s “Early Summer” LP, and Brian Hooper’s “Trouble” (to name a few)  

J.P. Shilo performing with The Triffids at the Perth International Arts Festival, Australia. © L.J.Spruyt Photography

I play cello on this version of Nothin’ (from Pop Crimes)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbvbN4ZU-P0 And also use the bow on the cymbals. I thought it would be nice to have something that did the job of the bass guitar, but had a slightly different tone and texture.

I play Double Bass and violins – (as well as drums/glockenspiel) on this song with Adalita https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4YjXsCNjC4 SL E E P was really born out of an experiment, I was trying to create a relaxing/hypnotic feeling. The violin felt soothing, and the tempo of the piece is such that one unconsciously matches ones breathing to the repetitive wave like pulse. It was intended to lull. I played my recording of this experiment to Rowland, after our show at ATP Festival, in the van on the drive home. I looked in the rear-view mirror and noticed RSH had closed his eyes and drifted off, (which I took as a compliment.) He never mentioned the piece to me, however apparently once home, he told Genevieve (McGuckin) that he had just heard my latest recordings and enjoyed them. It wasn’t until his funeral, that I was asked on behalf of the Estate to perform it at the service.

J.P. Shilo during rehearsals for MONA FOMA Festival at Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra rehearsal space, Hobart, Tasmania. © L.J.Spruyt Photography

The next time I played it was at the Emmanuel Vigeland Mausoleum in Oslo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZhvWae-DN8 I rarely perform the piece live anymore, but have incorporated the technique into a version of Lee Hazlewood’s “Dirtnap Stories” that I sometimes include in my solo sets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqwvoXcw-MI I like your “Vertigo of Silence” appraisal.

J.P. Shilo performing solo

at Les Copains d'Abord Festival,

Vieussan, France.

© L.J.Spruyt Photography

I assume you use a loop pedal when you play your most intimate pieces on the violin. The result is masterful, with a simple and lightweight solution. I would like you to talk about the way you compose on violin.

Most people assume that it is a loop pedal, but it is in fact a 4-second delay (with about 3 or 4 repeats, so that it decays, and I can continue to build layers upon it.)
Because it is 4-seconds, I can fit two notes in there, and then play a different set of notes in the gaps, or harmonise with the first two.

In some ways it is kind of like a live version of the Phil Spector “ping-pong” recording effect, (the original take is played along to and transferred onto another track, or in this case another cycle, then back in on itself onto the 1st track on the next take, or cycle. As the track gets “drenched”, the initial track decays, and so this is how the “Wall of Sound” is built. 

J.P. Shilo performing solo at the Post Office Hotel, Melbourne, Australia. © L.J.Spruyt Photography

I've just realized that the two times I saw you in concert (both with Mick Harvey, in Portugal), maybe a little more than half of your performance was on keyboards. It is interesting to notice it since my first impression of you as an artist is that of a string musician. However, I consider you a very discreet keyboardist, who correctly fills the spaces of the songs, with enormous efficiency, and without great ramblings, which is, for my parameters, something praiseworthy. How important are keyboards in your music and composition?

For me, efficiency and proficiency go hand in hand. In that regard, having rudimentary skills probably works in my favour! I rarely make flourishes or embellishments because I wouldn’t know how to. In any ensemble/band setting though, serving the song & being “economical” is key; just because you CAN play all of the parts, don’t think the rest of the band is going to thank you!

I do marvel at players who are more dexterous, and I’d like to become more proficient, but I also like the idea that the piano, (or any instrument for that matter), is full of potential beyond my capabilities, that it all remains a mystery somehow. I had some accordion students a few years back who were at beginner level, and they kept getting frustrated at their inadequacies and lack of technique. I remembered feeling like that too when I first started, but through hindsight, I reassured them and reminded them to relish that feeling, inside that is the drive to express. Once you learn something, you can’t unlearn it, and then the risk is once you do advance, boredom can sneak in, and perfecting techniques takes over from the initial wish to express something. The formative years of Hungry Ghosts would be an example of that expression, we played as minimally as possible to divine as much feeling out of a single note. I think we came to have an unspoken understanding that that was what we were aiming to achieve. Hopefully that comes through. All that said, my allegiance is to expression through Sound generally, not to any one particular instrument specifically. Instruments and equipment are the tools. Though I actually really enjoy playing the piano and have been composing much more on it lately. The piano is possibly the most perfect instrument; so complete.

J.P. Shilo performing solo at Camelot Lounge, Sydney, Australia. © L.J.Spruyt Photography

There are moments of yours (on video), where we can see unorthodox instrumental approaches to the piano. Do you use personal piano techniques as you do with the electric guitar?

I can’t help it! I love to explore and play things differently than how they are expected to be played, the piano being both a percussion and string instrument allows for much more scope beyond the piano stool and pressing the keys. I like to have fun with it (though I’d probably be the nemesis of piano tuners). On this track - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnvpT4MVxkQ the screeching ghostly sound is me playing the strings on the piano internally with a metal piece. 

J.P. Shilo recording for The Jeffrey Lee Pierce Sessions Project Vol. 2 at Atlantis Studios, Melbourne, Australia. © Mick Harvey

You have already mentioned, in comments on your Facebook, about the use of the Reuss RSH-03 pedal on your piano accordion. Can you tell a little more about the results you have obtained in terms of sound, using that guitar pedal?

Not really, I still use the RSH-02 during the Pop Crimes shows. I used the RSH-03 on an accordion in the studio once for a session with a very "heavy" band who asked me in to play some traditional sounding accordion, which I did. Then, I said keep the tape rolling on one of their more sludgy numbers, and I sprayed it with some hellishhly thick chords running throught that pedal which sounded frightning. Ahaha I'm not sure if that's what they expected, but it is the Devil's instrument after all.

J.P. Shilo - dressing room at Melbourne Recital Centre. Pre-show with Hungry Ghosts. © L.J.Spruyt Photography

You also play the accordion. Did you start playing this instrument before or after learning to play the piano/organ?

I “borrowed” my first accordion off my aunt when I was 19. (She’ll say “stole”, but it was just a loan) Anyway, she said if you can play a tune on it, it’s yours. I kept it for the night, when she returned the following day, I played her the Title Theme from The Elephant Man soundtrack. She was impressed, and said “Happy Birthday” Within 6 months I had written a handful of pieces on it for Hungry Ghosts “Three Sisters” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7D8beHGGQs

“Trying To Lift a Rock with a Bottle on Your Head” - https://jpshilo.bandcamp.com/track/trying-to-lift-a-rock-with-a-bottle-on-your-head

And of course, our “hit single” - “I Don’t Think of You Anymore, But I Don’t Think About You Anyless” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS9SUmAyKWM

(Which you can download here -  https://jpshilo.bandcamp.com/track/i-dont-think-about-you-anymore-but-i-dont-think-about-you-anyless

J.P. Shilo (& Tim Howden) recording Hungry Ghosts debut LP at Birdland Studios, Melbourne, Australia. © Hannah Eaves

By the time I recorded my 1st solo record, I was getting a little more dexterous, and wrote Begone Dull Care - https://jpshilo.bandcamp.com/track/begone-dull-care

I think I was actually trying to learn Billie Holiday’s “You’re My Thrill” but this tune came out instead. When I first joined The Blackeyed Susans, I was just filling in on guitar for a couple of shows for Dan Luscombe, while he was “double-booked”. After he returned, Phil Kakulas, The Susans’ chief songwriter, said, “Hmmmm, you play accordion as well don’t you? Maybe you should stick around…” That was 15 years ago! I’ve since dragged it all around the world, with The Blackeyed Susans, Hungry Ghosts, Mick (Harvey) and also with The Triffids. My original squeezebox was put into retirement by unsympathetic baggage throwers after a few world tours. A couple of years ago, the same aunt who gave me my 48 bass "Baile" accordion, brought me a new one - a 48 bass "Busilacchio" and said that she thought it was time for an update. (I think I have about 6 now, but my wife insists there are more... oops)

J.P. Shilo performing with

The Blackeyed Susans

at the Post Office Hotel,

Melbourne, Australia.

© L.J.Spruyt Photography

J.P. Shilo performing with Mick Harvey & The Intoxicated Men at the Post Office Hotel, Melbourne, Australia. © L.J.Spruyt Photography

J.P. Shilo performing with Mick Harvey & The Intoxicated Men at the Post Office Hotel, Melbourne, Australia. © L.J.Spruyt Photography

Perhaps this next question is a bit outside the scope of this interview, but because I find it relevant, I shall ask it. In your last interview to Mondo Bizarre Magazine (01/2020) you mentioned that your next album would be from a live concert, held in November 2018, commissioned by the City of Melbourne for The Melbourne Town Hall Grand Organ. I know it will be called Jubjoté. It is an interesting and disturbing piece, in an unusual musical way. It uses a dream narrative of yours, which leads us to a possible reflection on Art, with regard to its accommodation to the status quo by most artists, but also to the salvation of a few who seek in it a way to elevate their existence beyond common sense, restlessly and without concessions to vulgarity. How was that experience, say, in a more institutional and business context?

I was approached by The Melbourne City Council to create a piece for The Melbourne Town Hall Grand Organ, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, and probably the most valuable. It is truly a magnificent Beast! There are about 10,000 pipes in it, that scale 4 storeys, with wiring that would span over 700 kilometres, the distance between Melbourne and Adelaide, (or Faro to Quintanilha), a mind-blowing masterpiece of sound and engineering! I was given complete creative freedom from The City of Melbourne to compose whatever I liked with it. It really was a treat to work in that space and to harness the full scope and potential of an instrument of that magnitude. The music for Jubjoté was composed quite quickly in the Town Hall, “After Hours” – There is obviously very tight security, but once I was inside, the organ was mine! And I naturally relished every moment, pulling out all the stops and discovering the intricacies. What does this button do?! The piece also incorporates a spoken word element. A narrative which was based on a very profound dream that I had had some time prior. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but the nature and mood of the storyline, in hindsight feels strangely pertinent to our current global state – of being in a nightmarish predicament and looking for the solution, or escape. It will be released on June 25th through Heavy Machinery Records, accompanied by a sublime film by L.J. Spruyt Photography. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvwXNaV3jSw

J.P. Shilo performing with These Immortal Souls at Metro Theatre, Sydney, Australia. © L.J.Spruyt Photography

J.P. Shilo - St. Anna's Tunnel, Antwerp, Belgium. © L.J.Spruyt Photography

By the way ... I would like to know about your interpretation of Jubjoté, in order to compare it with my interpretation above. I am curious to know if I got close, or if I failed splendidly.

It’s a piece that is open to all interpretations, like any dream analysis that can take on a personal or societal reference. (From a solipsistic perspective, perhaps the subconscious is a mirror of society in general.) The term – Jubjoté – is a modern French term (which may or may not exist)- meaning ~ To wake up from a dream, not knowing how it ends; and trying to return, to find out how it does. The piece is all about that.

J.P. Shilo - Jubjoté Cover art by L.J.Spruyt Photography

When it comes to the diversity of musical instruments you play, if some Renaissance artists reincarnated today, you would certainly be one of them. We finally come to your voice. It's amazing that you also have an impressive gift here. Your voice timbre is able to reach different pitches of vocalizations very close to other artists you play (from Rowland S. Howard to David McComb). In addition to this, you have your own voice, which is very special, reflected in your solo album Invisible You, or in the live performances of The Saddests. I would like to know more about the use of your voice in your music career.

The voice is a very intriguing and possibly the most versatile (and portable) instrument I know. It is obviously the most intimate. You can play it anywhere and you don’t even need to take it out of its case! I have been enjoying exploring how it works lately. The projects I’ve lent my voice to have required different elements to get inside of the songs, and performing my own works naturally opens up and broadens that scope to places I don’t even know yet. For the recent Mick Harvey record “The Fall and Rise of Edgar Bourchier and the Horrors of War.” A “concept album”/ collaboration with English writer Christopher Richard Barker. I was asked to assume certain characters and perform the songs from that place. Here are two examples, where the voice inhabits different moods/personas on the same album. “This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.” “The Darkling Fields of Stowborough” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4pl8a5kOHI “Pounding For Peace” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkhwj5omrDk

(I also play the accordion on this one) Earlier in the interviews I’ve mentioned how I’d chosen to make instrumental music in my early career because Leonard Cohen had stolen all the best words. I said this half-jokingly in the context of who I was speaking with at the time, but at the heart of that, I had very high expectations of what I would hope to achieve in a literary sense. I am relieved now that I made a concerted effort to spare people the trite clumsiness of my journal contents. I feel like I really had nothing to say that hadn’t already been articulated by poets far superior. Hungry Ghosts maybe said more by saying nothing. The titles of the pieces felt like enough to trigger an image, (for me at least). We took a more “impressionistic” approach. I like poems and lyrics to be like paintings, I prefer to be showed something, rather than told. Maybe a good song allows you to converse with it or walk around inside it somehow. The Saddests was a side project I was working on at the time, with some fellow Blackeyed Susans members. A vehicle I was able to explore my voice, and push myself in terms of being a ‘frontman’. We played a collection of songs we thought were the ‘most’ Sad (hence the band’s name) It served its purpose at the time, I quickly integrated what I learned from the few gigs we played together, which the Invisible You album was born out of. Then, the Pop Crimes shows kicked in. With regard to the dearly departed wordsmiths I have chosen to honour. The fact that they were masters at composing a well-turned phrase, takes a lot of the hard work out of it (for me). As a “sonic-manipulator” I could focus more of my attention on deciphering/analysing/replicating tones and implying their harmonic mannerisms. I’ve always held that my role in these “tributes” is to “serve the song” – and really try to embody the attitude that helped create them. That is what I meant earlier by the statement, “It’s what’s behind the fist that makes a punch…” The notes are just one element of the song. I guess my approach is that of a loving cephalopod. If at some point during one of these shows the audience closes their eyes and gets the impression or feeling that a wisp of the spirit of any of these Artists that we love is hanging in the air in the room, then I’m satisfied with that. Along with Rowland S. Howard - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcLDwYhDIQk 

David McComb - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPA_700ZNSM

I’ve also been fortunate to have been offered the keys to some of Jeffrey Lee Pierce’s previously unreleased songs. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp4-MAk5y0Y

With my own “songs” – Invisible You probably feels the closest to my "natural" voice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtUtyu2gZZ0 

My approach to the vocal chords is not really that different to other instruments. My ear is naturally tuned to creating and matching tones, and I am an experimentalist. The difference is the literary element to vocals. Having something worthwhile to say, is a whole other dilemma. I greatly admire those that can use words well.

J.P. Shilo performing with These Immortal Souls at Metro Theatre, Sydney, Australia. © L.J.Spruyt Photography

J.P. Shilo (with Clare Moore-drums)
 performing at
 Leaps & Bounds Festival
- Gasometer Hotel,
 Melbourne, Australia.
© L.J.Spruyt Photography

Are there any other instruments that you play that have eluded me? If so, which ones?

The sound of the vibraphone, that numb honey buzz is something I’ve always loved. I’ve been very fortunate enough to play the vibes live throughout Europe with The Triffids. They’ve always been a part of Hungry Ghosts’ sound. Unfortunately, I don’t own a set, hopefully one day some will magically appear. I really dig gamelans and gongs as well. I have an optigan at home that I drag out for its quirky sound from time to time (and inevitably construct soundscapes on tour, just using the contents of my hotel room) I’ve never really had much luck with “wind” instruments. The idea of having to stick a thing inside my mouth to make music through feels somehow disturbingly invasive. I enjoy listening to others doing that though, (except flutes & bag pipes!) All that said though, I am a noise maker at heart, and like to play & extract sounds from anything really. A Cristal-Bachet or an Ondes-Martenot would be fun to mess around with. As much as I love traditional music(s) and techniques, I also get a huge kick out of watching composers like Harry Partch, Iannis Xenakis and Toru Takemitsu, even Silver Apples… I like the idea of kinetic sculptures and reactive music, and spaces that can play themselves. I once saw a Japanese group called Stringraphy that had strings fastened throughout the room that were amplified by polystyrene cups, the strings were played with cotton gloves. I think I might enjoy playing that.

We are approaching the end of this interview. I would like to expose a thought and a final request to you. During this extensive interview, I noticed that several projects and collaborations with other musicians and bands escaped me. I thought I knew you quite well when it comes to all of your projects, but I now realize I only know you reasonably well. I would like this interview to remain a recorded memory and a consultation document for the future, for new generations of fans of your music. Would it be too much to ask you to make a detailed list of all the bands that you played with, or are part of, as well as of all collaborations with other musicians/projects, carried out until this year?

It's a long list! I believe this is up to date and contains most things, maybe missing one or two but close ~ https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3413423762015772&type=3

J.P. Shilo recording new material with Hungry Ghosts. © L.J.Spruyt Photography

Useful links:
J.P. Shilo
https://www.facebook.com/JPSHILO
https://www.instagram.com/jp_shilo/
https://jpshilo.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCscMOXP3HXA9a0PtQ57CVDQ

L.J. Spruyt Photography
https://www.facebook.com/l.j.spruyt.photography
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC04ZXx56QLqBKuextWb0pQQ