Not missing a beat

Missing Hours on their debut LP

Brother and sister team Ant and Emma Hewitt are Missing Hours – that’s music speak for “band you should know about.”

Hailing from Geelong, they started their band because (in Emma’s words) they “had something to say.”

And how. Their self-titled debut LP is a rock-steady collection of raw and intimate tracks.

Lauren Smelcher chatted with Missing Hours.

Explain the song-writing process to us – where do you get your ideas and how then do you follow through?

Em: We usually get a flash of inspiration from an experience or an observation at first.  We then sit down together and Ant will start playing some chords and I start singing some melodies with nonsense words, whatever comes to me at the time.  A lot of the songs we write are created very quickly, often we will start playing an idea and pretty much the whole song structure, melody and chords, will just flow out completed.  I believe writing is sometimes a form of channeling. 

Ant: The lyrics are almost always written last for us.  We like to live with the musical idea for a period of time to get a real sense of the personality of the song before we start putting words to the music…we don’t like to rush anything – if it feels like we are starting to use our logical minds too much to finish an idea we will leave it and move on to something else…the songs always reveal themselves when they are ready.

Emma, you’re being compared to Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson – what do you think of the comparison?

I am very flattered by the comparison, but of course Shirley Manson is a legend who has been around for years and we are still in our early stages.  I guess if I have a career half as long and successful as hers then perhaps I may be worthy of comparison!  Shirley’s originality and individuality in what is largely a male dominated industry is definitely an inspiration to me; she has remained true to her creative ideals while continuing to evolve as an artist over the years.

Who inspires you?

Em: So many people in different ways!  Anybody with an artistic or creative vision,  people who think outside the square and dare to live differently are truly inspirational.  We have also been inspired by a lot of 90’s rock music lately like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Garbage, Smashing Pumpkins, Placebo...the music we grew up with.  Oh, and of course friends and family are a constant source of inspiration!

Ant: I’m inspired by people who have the conviction to follow a dream where there is no guarantee of success or security and manage to retain their ideals and integrity in whatever it is they are doing.  I’m really inspired by people who are down to earth and friendly…it’s a great thing when someone is prepared to share their stories and experiences with you.

Is it difficult to work as a brother-sister team? Do you take heart in the success of bands like Angus and Julia Stone?

Em: It is really cool most of the time, we are always on the same page with what we want to hear.  We are great friends, so we would be hanging out anyway if we weren’t working together. And we can’t break up which is a bonus!

Ant: I think siblings have a bit of an advantage when it comes to music, there is almost an unspoken understanding and always a feeling of working toward the same goal.  The musical side of things is amazing, probably the hardest part of working together is knowing when to switch off from music and be “normal”.  There is no such thing as conventional time when writing or recording music…there is definitely no ‘nine-to-five’ routine, so it becomes that thing of reminding each other occasionally to switch off and chill out.

What I’m most inspired about by Angus and Julia Stone is not so much their commercial success, but the fact that they are daring to do something that is outside the mainstream convention.  They are really mining their own genre and you can get a strong sense that every song they play has a very personal meaning to each of them…that is the most inspiring thing and it’s fantastic that they are achieving great success on their own musical terms.

What can we expect from the LP?

Ant: The album almost has two sides to it.  Kind of like a split personality!  There are the moodier rock songs, but we are also big fans of acoustic music and orchestral instrumentation and harmonies so there are some quieter moments on there as well.  We blended a lot of rock guitars with live strings as well as synths/samples/loops and acoustic instruments…most of the songs were written on acoustic guitars or pianos and it was really important that the songs could stand up with just one instrument and voice before we would commit to full band arrangements.  We hope that some of these songs may provide inspiration or comfort to someone in the way that we have always taken comfort in the music of others.