No Apologies Given With 'Bar' McKinnon From UMLAUT

Interview by Kris Peters
At first glance/listen, Melbourne-based experimental collective
Umlaut are yet another in a growing line of bands creating 'art'
instead of music by throwing together an eclectic grouping of
sounds and instruments as their personal choice of expression.
Their style and seemingly haphazard musical output is, at first,
difficult to take in, but once you find out the backstory to the
band things seem to make infinitely more sense and the proverbial
penny drops like a lead balloon.
All of a sudden, the same music that 60 seconds ago sounded like a
layered multitude of messiness now sounds like a Picasso painting
would were it able to sing. Why?
Because Umlaut's founding member is none other than Clinton ‘Bär’
McKinnon. You know the one? The same guy that was a major part of
Mr. Bungle's sound before the turn of the century? Except this time
as Umlaut prepares to drop their new album Desole there's another
person who, by presence alone, helps set the askew things into a
more palatable delicacy. His is another name you should recall -
especially if you are a Bungle fan.
Joining Umlaut with McKinnon - funnily enough, with both of them
now living in Australia - is former Mr. Bungle skin thumper Danny
Heifitz. Along with Angus Leslie and Shane Lieber, Umlaut's new,
more streamlined four-piece are diving headfirst into a new
chapter—one forged in chemistry, intuition, and a shared love of
unpredictability.
With Desole scheduled for a July 25 release, HEAVY was granted
exclusive time with McKinnon to discuss a wide range of topics,
from the new album to his days with Mr. Bungle and everything in
between.
"This thing has been so delayed and a long time coming," he sighed.
"On some levels, I don't even believe that it's going to come out
(laughs). I'm hoping that it does!"
We ask McKinnon to go deeper into Desole from a musical point of
view and what he was going for with it.
"In the past, it's been a very instrumental, chamber-pop affair
with some songs thrown in there with vocals," he measured. "This
album is pretty vocal-heavy in a way and straight-ahead in a lot of
ways. It's funny, I get these questions like, what is different
about this album? And I'm not really sure. The main difference with
this album is that it's got the legendary Danny Heifetz on drums
from Mr. Bungle, the true DNA of Mr. Bungle. And he's down here in
this town with us and has graced us with his drumming on this
album. We're really excited about that and people hearing that. I
think people will hear that Mr. Bungle DNA in the drums when they
hear Danny doing his thing. It's just very straight ahead, it
doesn't it doesn't mess around."
In the full interview, Clinton discussed further the release of
Desolé, humorously critiquing its title and sharing insights into
the production challenges they faced. He provided details about the
musical style, noting a shift towards a more vocal-heavy and
energetic sound, influenced by drummer Danny Heifetz's
contributions.
Clinton reflected on the emotional journey of releasing music,
likening it to a parent's hopes for their child, and discussed the
balance between creating hit songs and maintaining authenticity. He
emphasized the collaborative nature of Umlaut, highlighting the
importance of each member's input, particularly guitarist Angus's
production skills. The conversation also touched on the desire for
listeners to appreciate the album as a whole rather than just
singles, with HEAVY endorsing the album's quality and encouraging
the band to continue their creative efforts.
Talk also turned to Mr. Bungle's tenure as a band, including some
funny insights into his relationship with Mike Patton. We spoke
about Bungle's legacy and what they brought to music and
more.


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