Pain Gain share ‘muscle memory’, the inspiration playlist behind their debut self-titled record

Reinvention is an idea regularly found at the core of all too many artists' bios, but seldom feels entirely applicable. At a time when music can feel more nostalgia-driven than ever, the idea of reinventing oneself is an understandably attractive outlet.

In many instances, such a term might feel out of place, but in the case of Pain Gain, it’s all too appropriate.

The group began as a deliberate left turn, comprising three people with all too successful careers in their own right. Chloe Kaul of Kllo, Hamish Lefevre (SWIM) and Samuel Cooke (CRUSH3d) united for what was, at the time, meant to be a temporary escape to the forests of Australia’s South Coast, armed with guitars, modular synths and a tape recorder. What emerged was a chance at instruments they’d never used, attempting to learn on the go and avoid the polish that has been so associated with the rest of their music.

What resulted was a brooding, vulnerable insight into the group’s own approach to creation and the uncertainty that came with such a leap of faith. With such successful careers in electronic music to their name, the record provides a shift into an arguably more real approach to music itself.

Following its release, the group has shared a series of inspirations that helped to inspire the writing of ‘Pain Gain’.

Listen to the playlist via Apple Music.

We remembered listening to this in the car on the way up (to our first songwriting camp). We had all been big fans of Corbin for such a long time, and there’s just so much emotion in his music. This was the first new release from him that we’d heard in a while, and it really hit us.

The stripped-back instrumental and non-traditional song structure almost feels like a stream of consciousness slowly evolving while still holding this really deep emotional weight. That really sparked something in how we wanted to approach writing songs together, with emotion always the thing we were chasing most in the music.

It’s such a haunting, beautiful song.

The way Grouper approaches songwriting is also really inspiring to us. She kind of floats on top of the songs, but also meanders through them in this really natural way. The structures don’t feel traditional, but then these refrains come back and hit in exactly the right places.

We weren't necessarily expecting to record acoustic guitar on this trip, but this song probably inspired us to pull out the guitar and try to make something that had a bit of that Grouper feeling. Something intimate, loose, and emotionally direct.

Funny story (from Sam): Our manager, Cal, was driving Hamish and me home from a festival Hamish had played. It was early in the morning, and Hamish and I were trying our best not to let on that we’d just taken mushrooms. We sat in the back seat and about 15 minutes in he put on Blue.

It was the first time either of us had heard it and has stayed with us ever since. It almost became part of our psyche, not just as a source of inspiration, but as a kind of benchmark. Whenever we think about what defines an incredible song, this is one of the first that comes to mind.

Ever since Dark Red came out in 2016, that song has been a cornerstone of inspiration for all of us. There’s something about the euphoria at the end of it. The weight and release of it that still feels unmatched.

In the context of an album, this song is the definition of a last track. Shlohmo drags you through the mud for 10 tracks, then gives you this to remind you that everything is going to be okay. The way we feel about this had a lot to do with us adding Dead Dog Dream onto the record at the end.

Dean Blunt is so good at making you feel like he does whatever he wants and leaves it be. He might not actually do that - it just feels that way. We find so much power in that kind of process.

100 makes you feel like you want to jump on couches and bounce off the wall. It has such an incredible structure that again feels effortless but is actually really thoughtful and complicated. Amazing song, amazing artist.

-

Jack Colquhoun is Mixmag ANZ's Managing Editor. Find him on Instagram.