Pond at Primavera Sound to end the week – recorded during the 2017 festival on June 3rd 2017 and preserved live and for posterity by RNE.
Pond is often heavily associated with fellow Perth-based psychedelic rock/pop band Tame Impala, as members of both groups are longtime close friends and collaborators. Watson is currently a full-time member of both acts. Lead singer Nick Allbrook contributed to both bands from 2009 to 2013 before leaving Tame Impala to focus on Pond and his own solo career. Multi-instrumentalists Joe Ryan and James Ireland serve as crew members for Tame Impala’s live act. In addition, current Tame Impala members Kevin Parker, Cam Avery, and Julien Barbagallo are all former members of Pond. Parker continued to work with the band as its record producer until 2020, and Avery collaborated with Allbrook as the duo Allbrook/Avery. Watson and Ireland sometimes collaborate under the name GUM & Ginoli, remixing songs originally recorded by other artists.
As of September 2024, Pond has released ten studio albums and one live album.
So you get the impression it’s something of a collective, the interactions between Pond and Tame Impala. You could also say there is a heavy amount of influence one group has with the other; cut from the proverbial same cloth – but in the area of music, as with every other creative endeavor, it’s the point of view that makes them different; vision factors huge. And what Pond sound like, is different from Tame Impala.
It further explains how vast and rich non-mainstream genres are; how it’s about evolution and exploring. For all we talk about the stagnation of Modern Music, it’s the seldom traveled paths and personal journeys that are making the difference. It’s always been that way – we’re just more aware of it now, thanks to current technology.
So maybe you’re well familiar with Pond and you’re saying to yourself “blah,blah,blah”. This is geared to those not familiar who are looking for something to discover.
Either way, enjoy and get ready for the weekend.
