Babe Rainbow

After signing with King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s newly minted p(doom) Records imprint last year, sun-soaked Australian psych rockers Babe Rainbow announce their new album, Slipper imp and shakaerator, out April 4th. Their most “homegrown” project yet, Slipper imp and shakaerator is a suite of maverick, zephyr-light acid-pop following its own north star and chasing subtle, slippery, subterranean grooves to delirious destinations. Lead single “Like cleopatra” follows previous album cut “LONG LIVE THE WILDERNESS,” and is an 80s funk-inspired pop banger in disguise. 

“When our neighbor Tam’s cows dried themselves up, and we had to wait for one of the cows named Mary to have her calf to have fresh milk, we were buying ‘Cleopatra’s Bath Milk.’ This might explain the theme of ‘Like cleopatra.’ Drink deep or taste not,” says the band. “The song reminds us of the natural spring outside Julian [Abbott]’s studio where we’d naturally congregate when the sun was at its zenith early into a day’s recording session. We’d stretch; take coffee and fruit. It’s a sweet spot to enjoy the Nature sprites and spirits. Why is everything so nice? We found our Cleopatra in Camille [Jansen] who kindly sang backing vocals on the album. She has a definite ancient Egyptian aristocratic air to her coolness. Cheers to the rhythm of life.” 

They say it ain’t where you’re from, it’s where you’re at. But for Angus Dowling, Jack ‘Cool-Breeze’ Crowther and Dr Elliot ‘Love Wisdom’ O’Reilly, the character of their home, Australia’s idyllic Gold Coast, permeates every atom of the dreamlike, joyful, psychedelic music they create together as Babe Rainbow. The trio grew up in Rainbow Bay, later relocating to Byron Bay, an area of breathtaking natural beauty, where the waves are always strong, the magic mushrooms grow freely, and old, abandoned farm buildings abound. It was and remains the perfect locale for young dudes to play their music as loud as they want.

The trio jammed tirelessly in abandoned shacks, and as their sound began to develop, they booked shows in Brisbane where they crossed paths with King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, who began to book the embryonic Babe Rainbow as opening band at their shows. The Gizz connection would prove fortuitous for Babe Rainbow, who signed to the group’s Flightless label for their 2015 eponymous EP, and whose 2017 self-titled debut LP was produced by Gizzard King Stu Mackenzie. The album established a loyal following for Babe Rainbow, one which has only grown over the records since.

The trio recorded Slipper imp and shakaerator in a massive warehouse on an old banana farm where they could work alongside friend and producer Timon Martin and magical Miles Myjavec on percussion and flute. The roots of the tracks often lay in riffs and figures cooked up by guitarist Jack Crowther. “‘Cool Breeze’ has always got something going on,” says Angus. “He’s always keen to jam, and Timon’s so good with helping to realise the potential of a song.”

The key this time was not to overwork these early ideas, to give them space “to flow, to grow,” he explains. “Keeping a loose feeling to the music is so important. An idea develops together outside but it doesn’t take its wings until you take it into the studio. We experiment with synths and drum machines and overdubs, and we love that, but we never wanna escape too far from the hippie power of the music. We’re made of rainbow.”

Slipper imp and shakaerator is a celebration of all the colours of the Babe Rainbow – the milk, Angus jokes. “I love the fact that, with all the touring and the changing tides, and hair, the creative relationship within the band still feels so strong. I feel so lucky to have this psychedelic family, which is really the essence of the band. We’re just a bunch of laid back surfers, cattlemen’s sons.” But as Slipper imp and shakaerator proves, these babes have access to powerful, home-baked psychedelic magic, and they aren’t reluctant to share. Come grab some – all are welcome.