Interview: Babe Rainbow Embrace Psychedelia, Nature & Their Roots on ‘Slipper imp and shakaerator’

Australian psych-rock band Babe Rainbow return to their roots on ‘Slipper imp and shakaerator,’ a dreamy new album shaped by nature, memory, and the magic of original connection. Reuniting the founding members for the first time since their debut EP, the band tap into deep forests, rolling hills, and cosmic inspiration to create a soundscape that’s both grounded and otherworldly.

‘Slipper imp and shakaerator’ – Babe Rainbow

Australian psychedelic rock band Babe Rainbow immerse themselves in the natural beauty of their surroundings.

Based in Byron Bay, the band’s four members are no strangers to the elements – a constant source of inspiration woven into their newest album. Out April 4th via p(doom) Records, Slipper imp and the shakaerator was created in an enormous warehouse located on an old banana farm. Recording the LP in a remote location meant the production process took on a new rhythm. Immersed in an unfamiliar area, surrounded by forestry and nature, the group channeled their environment into sound. With new locations came fresh inspiration, and the result is an album shaped by place, memory, and the spirit of collaboration.

Slipper imp and shakaerator - Babe Rainbow — Slipper imp and shakaerator – Babe Rainbow

“We’d done a few albums of us experimenting with people we met on the road and bringing in influences from everywhere,” Babe Rainbow’s vocalist Angus Dowling tells Atwood Magazine. “This is the first record since our debut EP where it’s just the ‘original Gs’, pushing the songwriting in the direction we want, without any groove geniuses around helping us in those really deep and special moments of writing a song.”

The album’s curious name stems from the title of a subsoiler chisel plow intended for intense circumstances in Australia. The idea that something so simple can be so powerful fits the album’s stripped-back, ‘original babes’ approach. Even though the band – comprised of Dowling, Jack ‘Cool-Breeze’ Crowther, and Dr Elliot ‘Love Wisdom’ O’Reilly – included fewer outside sources on this album, they still incorporated features from Camille Jansen and Stu Mackenzie.

“Cami sang on all the songs on the album, but I feel we haven’t fully tapped into our connection together yet,” says Angus. “She brings an insane new flavour, which is stupendous. It feels really cool and powerful to add her to this lineup.”

Consistently, Babe Rainbow continue to give fans new music to add to their nature appreciation soundtrack. The first single off the LP, “LONG LIVE THE WILDERNESS,” offers a glimpse into the record’s psychedelic essence, foreshadowing what’s to come:

Looking for a constellation
Looking for a better life
Everything dances
Everything becomes clear
We made it to the other side

Babe Rainbow’s “Super Ego” Is a Summer Psychedelic Masterpiece

:: INTERVIEW ::

**Guided by the natural world and their own evolution, slipper imp and the shakaerator captures who Babe Rainbow are now — and where they’re heading.**

Music is a form of expression and self-discovery, marking Babe Rainbow’s songs as exactly that.

“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.”

Rainbows are fountains of hope, showcasing a new horizon of possibilities for everyone who experiences them. Babe Rainbow are no exception, as their latest release flows with creativity and new perspectives. As time passes, new memories are made – a reflection of the band’s journey through music, nature, and friendship. The future is on their side, as their sound and passion continue to explore new paths while holding true to their classic, well-loved psychedelic grooves.

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:: stream/purchase Slipper imp and shakaerator here ::

:: connect with Babe Rainbow here ::

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A CONVERSATION WITH BABE RAINBOW

Atwood Magazine: How would you describe your latest LP? What sorts of memories, and places, whether physical or in a period of life is it resemblant of? Is there one song in particular that elicits these feelings?

Babe Rainbow: It’s definitely very forest, deep forest. Our friend bought this studio and we went out and recorded it all in just two weeks all of a sudden. It’s a really long drive out through the forest and there’s creeks and we all kind of lived more near the beach, so it was like deep out into the forest. I feel like the songs, I don’t know, they sort of started in that element. They’re forestry, water sign forest, not like house music forest, but more of romantasy.

The creation of this album was different from past projects, focusing on the original members of Babe Rainbow. How did you tap into this, and how did it feel to stray from previous approaches? Additionally, what did this process look like?

Babe Rainbow: We used to meet people that we thought were awesome and then we would bring them in as an equal member or collaborator. Then we would make songs all together, but this time we sort of just did it all together because we were at our friend’s forest farm.

With this new album on the horizon, how do you feel you’ve evolved as a band? What motivates you to consistently produce music?

Babe Rainbow: Definitely playing live shows, it informs you as to the sort of songs that work live at the show. So then, ideally the more you play the more you sort of realize what songs you should try and make to then play. It’s all about playing live, I mean, for us it is. The longer that you go into it the more you realize how to make those sort of moments happen so then you can transcribe them into a venue.

Relating to your song, “LONG LIVE THE WILDERNESS,” how do you incorporate nature into your daily lives? Likewise, how does that translate into your music?

Babe Rainbow: Two of the guys run their parents’ fruit orchards and cattle properties, there’s a lot of green rolling hills and driving through the countryside. We all grew up surfing together and traveling to Indonesia and Sri Lanka and discovering places to surf and snorkel. A really good friend of ours has a business where he takes you out to these islands on these dive boats and you swim with the sharks and the turtles. I feel like it’s just everywhere here. It’s so different to come over to parts of America and Europe where it’s much more of a city. It’s definitely less of a city life where we are, it finds its way into all the songs.

The lyrics in “Sunday” touch on astrology signs and constellations. What is your astrology sign, and do you follow astrology closely?

Babe Rainbow: I should follow it more, we used to be much more tapped into it. I am a scorpio sign, I’m more interested in the love language of it. When we were making that song, the earth sign was sort of a carry on from the nature setting that we were in. There’s this old shack if you drive right up to the top that no one lives in, covered in timber shingles. It just had such an earth sign feel, it’s not as deep as it seems.

How was it working with Stu Mackenzie and Camille Jansen on their features in the album?

Babe Rainbow: So good, Camille sang so nicely and just transformed all the songs that she sang on. When we sent everything to Stu, he totally transformed it again. We already thought that it was the best thing we ever made. Then she made it way better, and he made it even more better. Both of those times, even though they’re really good friends of ours, we weren’t with them. When we sent it away, they worked on it for a few weeks and then sent it all back. So it was nice, it wasn’t like we were a part of the process or anything, we just got these amazing presents in our email.

Were there any musicians or songs that specifically influenced your newest album?

Babe Rainbow: I don’t think so, I feel like all of the singing is always influenced by Elvis. There’s definitely some Dolly Parton country music sort of feels in there. I really like that new Clairo record too. I feel like subconsciously everything you’re listening to finds its way in. I can’t speak for everyone else, but they’re definitely my influences. We watched Air play when we were in New York it was like such a psychedelic experience to watch them play all those songs that we used to love so much and still do. I feel like that influenced Jack a lot. Elliot just plays a clean baseline, so he can be influenced by Queen.

What can fans look forward to with this new album and what will they resonate with?

Babe Rainbow: The structures of the songs are more thought out than usual. There’s some singing and then it sort of allows this base for yourself to feel it and ride the song out. They’re less sort of radio start to finish, they sort of flow more from the initial idea of the song. There’s quite a bit of variation in there, sort of more upbeat stuff, and really mellow stuff. There’s some acoustic stuff, instrumentals, and a bit of dub music which is new.

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