Alongside a Custom Mix for Kloke, Steph of Big Yawn and Stefanino Panino talks to us about process, collaboration and what it takes to make something that actually hits—whether it’s a track or a panino.
DO YOU SEE ANY OVERLAP BETWEEN THE WAY YOU BUILD A TRACK AND THE WAY YOU BUILD A SANDWICH? (BOTH ARE LAYERED, TEXTURAL..
STEF:With regards to both, I'm fortunate to be surrounded by a team of people who are passionate, highly skilled and truly work towards delivering the best outcome. I'm just one piece in that. An overlap with the two is constantly challenging each other and taking criticism on board in order to reach and hopefully exceed the shared goal - the highest quality product that we're proud to release into the wild. To be honest, I don't love the sandwich/music comparison question - I find it a bit corny (the bread is the drums and bass that everything sits on bla bla bla), but what I do know is that you can't polish a turd, be it food or music. Good food and music comes from high quality ingredients and patience and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone to achieve something special. You can't cut corners
HOW DID YOU APPROACH THE MIX YOU MADE FOR US— WERE THERE ANY THEMES, MOODS, OR PLACES YOU HAD IN MIND?
S:The songs in the mix are some songs that are in high rotation in my life - in the shop, the car on road trips, while cooking at home. I like to listen to a variety of music, from quite abrasive to gentle - so for this mix I definitely leaned more toward the smoother end of the spectrum. I kind of asked myself, if I walked into a Kloke store, what would I want to hear while trying on a new pair of trousers...
WHAT’S BEEN INSPIRING YOU MUSICALLY LATELY— SOUNDS, ARTISTS, GEAR?
S:Sounds - open stringed instruments, 3MBS Melbourne in the mornings, Rhythm Yard on PBS, Astral Glamour on RRR Artists - Allan Holdsworth, Fredrik Thordendal, Skee Mask, Michael Hurley, 80s King Crimson Gear - I've started playing guitar/bass again in big yawn, so I'm going for a 'less is more' approach with regards to gear. My 1979 musicman sabre II that was recently brought back to life by Shub Guitars is my main piece of equipment that I'm enjoying playing at the moment. It's big and heavy and sounds pretty unique!food and music comes from high quality ingredients and patience and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone to achieve something special. You can't cut corners.
HOW DOES THE SOUND OF BIG YAWN COMPARE TO WHAT YOU’RE PLAYING OR LISTENING TO DAY-TO-DAY
S:It's pretty close most of the time. We're in the process of writing new material at the moment, so I am finding myself listening to music more actively than usual - listening out for interesting ideas - especially with regards to unorthodox/unusual guitar use. The previous Big Yawn albums were very sample heavy, especially the parts I was contributing, so I was always listening for exposed sounds I could grab and manipulate, whether it's an intro to a Fear Factory song or an exposed bass or drum sound from an 80's Madonna song. Stylistically it may be worlds apart, but sound or idea-wise you never know when something might jump out.
IS THERE A PARTICULAR MOMENT OR MEMORY THAT REALLY SHAPED THE WAY YOU THINK ABOUT MUSIC — OR FOOD?
S:Music: Funnily enough, I remember listening to Hysteria by Def Leppard at my cousin's house when I was like 4 years old and being like wow - this is so exciting! The song Rocket in particular. That's a moment that's really stuck with me. Just the way it's recorded and the energy. Yes - the song is corny as hell but it did something to my tiny brain that made me interested in big, exciting sounds! Food: my nonni (grandparents) on both sides were and still are very important to how I view food. My dad's side are Calabrese - southern Italians who are very self-sufficient, making their own salami and basically never needing to go to the shops for anything. I look back fondly at sitting at their table and eating salami and coppa that my nonno Antonio made and having a glass of sporto (port) or a Melbourne Bitter, even at the ripe age of 6 or 7. My mum's parents are from Trieste and Sardinia. My nonno Renato was very passionate about food, his signature was large bread Gnocchi, about the size of a small fist, stuffed with speck or shinken - a typical Triestin dish. My nonna, Maria, who was born in Sardinia but moved to Trieste when quite little, made a northern Italian soup called La Jota which I still make from time to time. My mum made sure my brother and I had strong relationships with our nonni - she knew their influence on us would prove important.
WHATS YOUR GOT TO SANGA THIS WEEK?
S:We have an amazing greek lamb sandwich special that we are running at the moment. It's like a fancy HSP in panino format. I've pleaded for it to stay on the menu but the crew think I'm crazy as we've already downsized the menu from 13 sandwiches to 10 about 2 weeks ago and here I am trying to add another! It's that good!
WHICH IS TOUGHER ON THE BODY : A LIVE SET OR A LUNCH RUSH?
S:Neither - both feel great if everything is working properly - equipment, my brain and everything in between!
WHAT’S NEXT—FOR BIG YAWN, FOR THE SHOP, FOR STEPH?
S:Big Yawn: we are currently writing a new range of songs/ideas for the NGV Friday night series in August. We will perform twice there in August, 1/8 and 29/8 - hopefully recording the new music for a future release.
Stefanino Panino: we just got our liquor license so we will be serving alcohol alongside our delicious panini during the day in addition to staying open later on Fridays and Saturdays, with a new night menu. It's been a long time coming so we're pretty excited/nervous..
Me: when not working on the above - sleeping!
