LILIAN VASE

ballpointpressbne
Sep 22, 2023
7 min read

Updated: Mar 5, 2024

Words: Keeley Thompson

A fish swims downstream as reeds sway with gentle encouragement in the balmy summer breeze. Rocks and moss bring an earthy palette of green, brown and grey to the creek floor as the water reflects sunshine onto the bodies of surrounding trees.

Frosty beers from a faithful esky keep one hand cold while the group dangle their feet in the water and enjoy nature’s cathedral of sounds.

This is Lilian Vase.

Lilian Vase is the Meanjin alternative-psych-lofi-jangle-pop project of Indigo (Vocals, Guitar, Keys), Angus (Bass), Marcus (Guitar), Maia (Synth) and Ben (Drums).

Creating music that sounds like how fresh cut grass smells, a mango weiss bar tastes, and grandma’s rocking chair feels, Lilian Vase is a soft place for weary heads to rest.

KEELEY: How did Lilian Vase come about? What’s the backstory or lore, if you will?

MARCUS: The lilian lore!

INDIGO: So about five or six years ago I met Marcus at a Homeshake gig at Brightside. I knew of him because we both skate and grew up on the Sunshine Coast.

I remember seeing him on one of my favourite YouTube channels and thinking “man this guy’s cool” so when I saw him I knew I had to go up to him and say hi. For the rest of the night I was following Marcus around asking if he wanted another drink hahahaha.

MARCUS: Hold up, he’s getting ahead of himself … there was mutual respect.

INDIGO: After that we arranged to get together and have a jam. I’d just bought a guitar…

MARCUS: A really quality Fender Strat that’s still around to this day

INDIGO: We had a jam on the balcony and every week from that point on I went over to Marcus’ place and we’d record little tunes. We would frequently order pizza or eat doritos and drink lots of wine. I knew Angus this whole time and said to Marcus “I really like Angus, I think he’s super cool”

ANGUS: Again, the feeling was mutual

INDIGO: Angus joined us for the weekly wine and pizza jam nights and that was the start of it really.

MARCUS: We recorded a lot of demo’s during those times and that was kind of the foundation for the sound and synergy, I guess you could call it.

ANGUS: I remember the night I went around you (Indigo) had a song planned. You’d play the chords and we’d all shuffle around the instruments and each have a go. That's exactly how the song ended up. At the time I didn’t think it was going to end up like that but it did.

KEELEY: That’s a really fun way to approach recording! Do you still go about it that way?

MARCUS: Yeah!

INDIGO: That’s not the end of the lore! My friend was working at a hotel in the city and knew I was making music and he linked me up with his boss for an interview. The owner was like “so you guys can play music” and of course we were like “yeah we’re pros”.

He asked us if we could play a three hour set and we were like “oh yeah no worries” and he told us we could play every Thursday night for three hours for $400. Marcus and I were like “yeah that sounds reasonable” but when we walked out we had a collective “fuuuuuck”. On the Uber drive home I was like “we gotta get shit together”.

MARCUS: It was a little secret bar where you had to get a code to get in.

INDIGO: We loved playing there. It

was such a good space to get started in.

KEELEY: Were you able to fill three hours?

ANGUS: Sorta. We kinda looped the set so we played a lot of the same songs but spaced them out. So by the time a track got played again most people had already left.

KEELEY: What’s your creative process look like?

MARCUS: There’s a lot of inspiration out there. I’m not gonna say vast, but we’ve got a pretty broad array of influences. I think we can all agree on the 60’s and 70’s (though most musicians can probably agree on that). But there’s a lot of modern approaches and techniques that we kind of use in our approach to bring about different ways of creativity.

We really tend to tailor our approach to how we’re moving as a band and so our structure tends to change a lot.

ANGUS: Mmmm yeah it’s pretty free flowing. Every month we seem to go through a renaissance of sorts where we’ll play really slow, soft songs then we’ll change to weird dark songs. We had a Jeff Buckley phase.

INDIGO: Yeah we definitely go through phases.

MARCUS: Babe Rainbow was a biggie, then Conan Mockasin and then shoegazey. I think we can all agree on Mac Demarco being a big influence though. Indigo does a huge percentage of the song writing though - the powerhouse, if you will.

KEELEY: What’s your favourite memory as a band?

INDIGO: Our last gig was a big highlight, but I think a special memory is going to Marcus’ old house in Yeronga. That was kind of the initial forming of the project - we didn’t have a clue - we didn’t think we’d ever play live.

ANGUS: We didn’t have a drummer for a year or two.

INDIGO: We did heaps of gigs without a drummer which is funny to look back on, because now if Ben’s not at a practice it’s so humbling. It really makes me wonder how we got away without him.

ANGUS: Makes my job heaps easier having him.

INDIGO: I feel like Ben is the modern day Mozart.

KEELEY: What would be your dream venue to play at?

BEN: I’d love to play Red Rocks

INDIGO: The chip factory?

ANGUS: Yeah that’d be pretty insane.

INDIGO: I reckon a zero gravity space shuttle gig would suit us pretty well.

ANGUS: I’m thinking like Pink Floyd Pompeii

INDIGO: Honestly, playing locally in Brisbane feels amazing so really anywhere here is such a dream.

KEELEY: We’re very blessed to have such a thriving music scene here in Meanjin (Brisbane) hey. That and we’ve got the river, and some good bridges.

MARCUS: We need one more bridge that spans from West End to Toowong. That’s my pick.

KEELEY: Petition to add Lilian Vase to the Brisbane architecture/infrastructure team?

INDIGO: If they had some brains about them they would!

BEN: At least add a zipline or something.

ANGUS: Import some crocodiles into the Brisbane river to make things more interesting!

KEELEY: How would you describe your music?

MARCUS: We’ve really battled with this question.

ANGUS: Suave-a-delic

KEELEY: What scenario can you imagine your music being played in?

INDIGO: It’s really hard because we really don’t subscribe to one genre or style.

ANGUS: There’s always a consistent weird theme, it’s never straightforward. Different, unusual.

MARCUS: Sunday chiller I think. We’ve got some blues, rock, shoegaze things going on. I think there’s *almost* something for everyone.

INDIGO: Yeah I’d love people to be chilling when listening, but also be energetically charged seeing us live.

KEELEY: Dream rider?

ANGUS: Doritos and wine… it feels poetic

BEN: A well cooked steak.

BEN: Wine, cigarettes and good food.

MARCUS: And a jester

ANGUS: And that stuff you spray on your strings… string lube… in case we run out

KEELEY: What’s the best gig you’ve ever seen?

MARCUS: Ah fuck mee.

INDIGO: I think Aldous Harding at Princess Theatre. She was so unapologetically introverted which was cool.

BEN: I was Bon Iver at Riverstage this year and mix-wise, that was incredible.

INDIGO: I saw John Maus at The Zoo once and that was sick.

MARCUS: Actually, Mac Demarco at The Zoo in the ‘2’ Era. It was summer, super sweaty. It was such a good era for Mac.

ANGUS: I remember seeing Pond at Alhambra Lounge and that was crazy. Nick was getting thrown in the air and caught again. It was wild.

KEELEY: What’s your favourite song to perform?

INDIGO: This is hard too because it changes all the time.

MARCUS: Mdmango Lassie is one of mine

INDIGO: I really like Keep My Cool but I also think All I Wanna is always really special. I think it always connects synergistically within the group.

ANGUS: Keep My Cool is my new favourite I think. We’ve tried going bluesy which we’ve never really done before.

BEN: Yeah Keep My Cool recently because it’s just so fun. Usually it’s Nightshade or All I Wanna. They allow for a bit of creativity on the drums.

KEELEY: Three desert island albums?

INDIGO: The 200 song Mac album because I’d finally have the time to listen to it all. Midnight Snack by Homeshake and probably a First Beige album. I’ve gotta have a dance on the island.

BEN: Currents by Tame Impala, Tusk by Fleetwood Mac is a good deep listening album too. I can’t think of a third one though.

MARCUS: The Doobie Brothers compilation album is a good one.

ANGUS: I’d go the Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood album, Jerry Paper Toon Time Raw! and then maybe The White Album by The Beatles.

BEN: We’ve gotta throw in some Steely Dan too.

KEELEY: What’s your thoughts on the Brisbane and Australian music scene?

INDIGO: The amount of talent that’s in Brisbane is truly incredible. Respect to our local venues like Can you Keep a Secret, It’s Still a Secret, Bearded Lady and Black Bear Lodge for supporting small bands and the local industry.