Earlier this year Melbourne’s Ratfink! burst onto our radar with hazy folk-rock gem ‘Plastic Bits’ and recently he’s released a gripping ten-track album titled WHEN U WERE MINE. With this significant landmark, we thought it was essential to get to know more about the musician behind the moniker, Raph. What we discovered was a confirmation of how truly DIY this project is, with minimal equipment, humble recording set-ups and a refreshing appreciation of perfectionism. As such, this record’s appeal is in its lo-fi charm. It captures the feeling of late-night inspiration when those disparate ideals and gradual brought together into brilliant visions, such as the aforementioned ‘Plastic Bits’, as well as new favourites ‘Gay Song‘, ‘Calcify My Mind’ and title-track ‘When U Were Mine’. With the tender melodies of Raph’s high school mate Liv weaving throughout these narratives of friendships, relationships, sexuality, identity and a growing anxiety about the state of the world. For On The Record, let’s dive intoWHEN U WERE MINE with Raph guiding us throughout.
Welcome to Unrecorded! For those who aren’t already familiar with Ratfink!, can you introduce yourselves?
Ratfink! is me Raph, a bit of a weirdo, a bit of a dreamer, a bit of a loner, who records the music in his bedroom using pretty lo-fi gear. I’ve always liked the Mac De Marco approach of using a guitar you found in a thrift shop to get a unique sound. My mate Liv joins me on most of the tracks for vocal harmonies – and as she has a killer voice – does lead on a couple tracks as well.
Congratulations on the release of your album, WHEN U WERE MINE! What does this release mean to you?
It means a lot to me to see if I could do it all myself. I’ve had brief stints in professional studios where a guy you don’t know is supposed to get your sound straight away and in a couple takes. Never been more uncomfortable.
You’ve known each other since high school, so how has your relationship and music evolved from then to now? Does it make songwriting easier?
Liv has always spontaneously broken out to sing around her mates – whether working out a bar, walking down the street or at a party. So when I started recording these songs it was only natural I thought of her as a nice lil ying to my yang.
Gay Song was a cool example of a collaboration. She would send stream-of consciousness notes for the words based on her expriences, and I would cobble them together so they fit the melody and vibe of the song.
You’re both drawn to recording at strange hours, so do you find that recording at certain times changes the mood, atmosphere and outcome of a song?
Artists and vagrants prefer the nether hours don’t they? I remember Julia Jacklin did most of Crushing after midnight and I thought that made sense. There’s something about the stillness and mystery of the night. Like you’re doing something at a time of day where society expects you to be asleep. That’s badass!
Vocal duties are shared by both of you, so how do you decide who will take lead on which track?
Liv will only sing lead on a track she’s passionate about. Gay Song obviously, and Euphoria fit the mood for her. Most of the others are a lil more rock n roll so were written for my voice. But her backing parts take them to another level. She;s got a good ear for it. Like Marigolds was a song I didn’t rate until she said it should be on the album. I guess I just thought it was a lil cringe or something.
Let’s take a closer look at the quietly anthemic ‘Gay Song’, can you tell us about the personal experiences that inspired this song?
Well I can’t speak on behalf of Liv but I think the lyrics do a pretty good job of painting a picture of what inspired the song. My favourite lines are the ones about being forced to play netball because there were no girls football leagues. So kicking pointless goals and the like. It was like that, Liv was better than me at kicking a football and would beat me in a wrestle but wasn’t allowed to play!
How do you find balance between heavier themes of identity crisis and environmental disaster with a tender dream-pop sweetness?
Oh damn – this feels like a question from a high school exam. I dunno about the balance. I guess I just like to write about a range of things rather than just relationships all the time. And I don’t like being shoe-boxed into one genre.
Tracks like ‘Plastic Bits’ and ‘Calcify My Mind’ have a retro flair. What era of music feels the most like home to you both?
We love to hear it. I wanted the guitars to be rock n roll and they ended up sounding a like chainsaws, which is kinda cool. I think they could exist in any decade. If you’re gonna play a cheap strat with overdrive and reverb turned up to eleven that’s the sound you’ll get I guess. There wasn’t much thinking behind it.
‘When U Were Mine’ closes the album with a nervous energy, so why was it important for you to end the record on a more subtle note rather than a big, loud finish?
I guess as the title track its kind of the heart of what the album’s about, the song that brings closure on a certain period of my life. If you notice towards the end the instruments all fall out of time – that’s intentional. It’s supposed to fall apart like a relationship falls apart. And then stops on that abrupt note. Kind of like a void, a nothing space where you ain’t really sure what happened or what to do next.
Following the release of WHEN U WERE MINE, what will be next on the horizon for you?
The next album is already written but I might take a breather and focus on gigs for the time being. I reckon I might put out a funky little EP late next year though, just made of songs that don’t really suit the vibe of the albums. The great thing about doing everything yourself is you can do whatever the hell you want!
You can find title-track ‘When U Were Mine’ in our Shades of Pop playlist.
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