Emmerald: Your other project that's more jazz-based, is that going to be a full-length project?
MDCL: Yes, definitely, when it comes. (laughs) This album was over two years in the making and it was going to be finished a few times before it was finished, but it got finished when it got finished.
Emmerald: Was there anything that delayed you, or were you just kind of taking your time with it?
MDCL: I went through a few different writing processes where I'd start to build some tunes and then I'd end up just keeping two of them. That kind of thing went on for a while. And then we had our first child about a year and a half ago. I said I was going to have the album done by the time he was born, but it just didn't happen. It was great though, because the whole album reflects that progression of time for me. The earliest tunes were written around the time of "Relax Unwind," then there's the stuff in between, and the bulk of it came within the last six months to a year.
Emmerald: How would you say having a child has affected your music or your approach to the business end of things?
MDCL: It's just made me think about getting more disciplined and makes keep on it. It's an odd time in the industry and I'm glad that I've got to this point where the album's finished and the Japan release was confirmed straight off the bat pretty much. The paradigm has shifted a bit in the industry and it's created a more level playing field for a lot of people. It's at a point now where every man's tune is on whatever label and it's up against the next man's tune. I think the good music will get through.
Emmerald: Will this album be on your record label, Antipodean Records?
MDCL: I actually don't know at this point. The idea was to do the album sampler as a four-track promo on my label and then take it from there and work with strategic partners in different areas to make it work best. I want to retain a lot of control with it, with how it's represented, so it's either my label, or a label that has a parallel vision. In New Zealand it'll be on Antipodean.
Emmerald: Is there a projected release date?
MDCL: Well I'm looking for it to be out there early in the New Year. The Japan release is late September, and that's when we're kick it all off.
Emmerald: Early in the new year? That's too long to wait. (laughs) I'll have to get it for $50 from Japan.
MDCL: (laughs) Well that's the policy, you know.
Emmerald: I know, I know.
MDCL: I think there's a lot of talk about the Japan situation because a lot of albums have been released there. You know, for me the fact of the matter was I had a great A& R man there and a great label that heard it, wanted it, signed it, now they're releasing it.
