CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS: UNICORN | BAROQUE, BOLD AND A LITTLE BIT PIRATE

Interview by Brooke Gibbs.

Stormy nights, honky tonk pianos, underwater photo shoots, and pirates, Unicorn's latest single Wonderful, Wonderful is anything but ordinary. We caught up with frontwoman Jenna to dive deep into the making of the band’s most dramatic work yet. From emotional songwriting moments to band dynamics and dreams of choreographed dance crews, this Creative Conversation reveals the theatrical heart behind Unicorn's evolving sound and why Wonderful, Wonderful marks a compelling new chapter.

FMM: Congrats on the release of Wonderful Wonderful. What’s the reaction been like so far?

Jenna: Thank you. It's been interesting to hear people's feedback. It's a bit more of a pirate kind of song. It's really hard to describe music, isn't it? So far it's been really positive. I did like some feedback from a blog who described it as baroque rock or cabaret, punk or art pop. So I was like, yeah, I feel comfortable with all of those. I like the dramatic. I like the big sort of sounds and stuff. So, I did have to Google what baroque rock was. It's from the 1960s, and I feel like it did really resonate with the kind of music that we make.

FMM: I read that Wonderful, Wonderful was born on a stormy night on a honky tonk piano. Can you paint us a picture of that moment for you and what was going on emotionally and creatively?

Jenna: Well, the piano is this one. It was. Yeah, it was a wet night. I think I was just mucking around on the piano, really and listening outside to the stormy weather. And so that's where the words and lyrics began, and then where it went. I don't generally have a plan for where a song goes. I kind of like to say where the song takes me. You know, the lyrics that I came up with for the bridge are like ‘drowning in you.’ So I guess there's a bit of that sort of love and human emotion type part of the song. And that's where cover of the single came from. So that's a picture of me underwater. I got one of the members of our creative team to jump in the pool and take 800 photos to get the right shot because I didn’t how hard it was to look serene underwater. I learned that the hard way. I thought I was underwater for the next three days. I was like, that was hard, but out of 800 shots, I think we got a good one.

Musically, I say it’s a pirate song because it feels watery and it feels like on a boat. When we play it live, I’m sort of rocking on a boat and I feel that we did capture that kind of feeling in the music, which is where I wanted it to go, given that it started from listening to the rain outside.

FMM: You've said this is your most compelling work yet. What makes Wonderful, Wonderful a turning point for Unicorn?

Jenna: Every song is sort of a new exploration, isn't it? You try out different sounds or different beats each one is different. This one sort of feels a little bit darker and moodier than some of the other songs that we've done. We used some dramatic keys and we worked pretty hard in the studio to make it sound quite grand and I feel like we did achieve that. But, I guess, each and every time, you’re still learning with every production that you go into and the people that you’re working with. The band all come in with ideas and work together. This is the first song where we went into the studio and our sound producer didn’t have anything to change. He's like, yep, great. Perfect. I was like, oh, my God, I've done it. No changes.

FMM: Last year saw the arrival of Sara McPherson on bass. How has her addition shaped the band?

Jenna: She's been great. Our previous bass player moved to Melbourne, so it was a nice transition. We were able to get Sara and Ella to work together, so Sara learned all the songs that Ella had written. Then, we’ve got a couple of new ones that Sara has put her baselines to as well. We just recorded Sweet Ride which was written by Sara, and similarly she’s been able to transform what Ella originally wrote and turned it into something else as well. So, she’s a legend, and it’s really great to have her on board in the band. We’ve got a really lovely band and it feels like everyone’s connected and supportive and it’s a really safe place to be able to throw ideas around. I think we get the best out of everyone that way.

FMM: If Wonderful Wonderful was a movie, what would it look like? Who would direct it? What would the scene look like?

Jenna: I feel like it's very Pirates of the Caribbean esque. Who would be in it? Leonardo DiCaprio? A lot of my songs I like to try and make them like sound like that big and dramatic. So, you know, they'd obviously be corsets and fabric, fabulous dresses and probably a zombie or two somewhere, a shark, a couple of pirates.

FMM: That would sound great for a music video! Any plans for one?

Jenna: I think we're gonna save our music video for the next single. We did a lot of music videos and then decided that we needed to focus on getting a few more singles out and now I want to do another music video because they’re so much fun. Even just describing then what the movie would look like, I’m like, yes, we need a music video for this. I work with a girl who does dance and I’m like, I want you to be doing choreographed dance one day and I just do the little moves and I’ve got a full dance crew behind me doing a dance.

FMM: What’s next for Unicorn?

Jenna: We’re getting close to being able to pull together a singles album. I would like to do another music video and then more recording more music. Hopefully get over to the east coast, soon, Melbourne and Sydney, maybe over to Asia. Yeah, big, big plans, big stars in our eyes. We want to just keep going and keep sharing our music and connecting with our wonderful community that supports us and grow our community as well.