Across the string of singles Cong Josie has shared in the lead up to his forthcoming debut full-length, it’s become clear that the final release is going to be one hell of a ride; over these tracks, we’ve been treated to dancefloor-ready groovers blurred with freaky pop tendencies and tied together by Cong’s enigmatic performances, that come across as just as charismatic and endearing as they are haphazard and dripping with sleaze.

On a listen the tracks are gripping, but presumably, little compared to experiencing it in the flesh; and fortunately for us, we’ve been treated to the closest thing available at the moment. Captured to VHS tape in the sweaty bandroom of Hotel Westwood, the 40 minute film feels essential in making sense of Cong Josie’s warped sonics. Because it’s not just an early listen of what we might be hearing when the record finally drops - instead, with Cong’s thrilling onstage persona placed centerstage for us to fixate on, and with his band The Crimes making the whole affair all the more hypnotic, the show feels a bit like a missing piece to the disorientating Cong Josie puzzle.

We had a chat with the man himself to find out a bit more about the film, his forthcoming album and how important performing live is to him.

TJ: Hey Cong, how’s it going? TJ were able to get to know you a little in March with the release of ‘Persephone’, but for the unacquainted, what’s the story?

CJ: I’m good, just lockdown dwellin and snake oil-sellin, thanks TJ. How are you? The story is that I manifested/was unlocked by therapy sessions that my daylighting alter ego Nic Oogjes took part in. We share the same letters. I thought it was called a telegram, but apparently it's an anagram. I'm somewhat of a faux-cowboy from the future, looking to spill my soul, confess everything and to have a good or sad time, all the time. I have a fabulous band that are so good they should be locked up called The Crimes. They're all very glamorous, I'm not, but we are all equally shifty!

You've very kindly shared a little preview of your forthcoming album with us today, in the form of this glorious live film. What can you tell us about this particular show? What inspired the filming of the show, and particularly, the 80s VHS aesthetic?

The show that we filmed was the launch of the 'Persephone's Underworld' tape release at Hotel Westwood in Footscray. It was a wild night. They made a tequila based cocktail in our honour called the Cong Song Stinger. A member of the audience ate the scorpion (I recognised him, he works at a Coburg pub...) that they put in a jug of the stuff for the band directly from Mona's (Crimes singer) hand from the stage. 

What inspired it? Well, lockdowns, lockups and unlocked periods has made playing live so precarious I just wanted to document one of our few shows we've done so far. The current lockdown started a week or two after we filmed. All of our shows have been in between lockdowns in fact, so there's some urgency there. I'm so excited by the near-enough-is-good-enough, don't-be-precious kind of ethos that the project has that we just did it without really any planning. I hear/see the flaws, but I like them. My adrenaline got the better of me, I pushed too hard singing and I lost my voice pretty quickly. I'll get better...

It's shot on one VHS camera by Nathaniel Stewart (@oldmatee788). Nathaniel videoed a few minutes of a NO ZU show at a festival from last year and sent it through (to my daylighting alter ego...) and I just loved it - more than any other vid of the band that I can think of. It's just how I always 'saw' the music. The VHS isn't completely an 80's throwback choice for me either, I've just always disliked crystal clean digital live videos. Nobody needs to see myself in such high definition. Pretentious perhaps, but I've always found moving picture mediums that saturate, have imperfections and their own uncontrolled artefacts much closer to the way memory works. I want any video document to mirror my feeling of a time and the sort of chaos that's in the moment, more so than capturing insignificant details. 

And anything you want to let us know about the album before it drops next month?

Yes, the album is called Cong! and will be released on October 22 via It Records. Buy buy buy! I'm so proud of it mainly because it is so close to the bone for me and that it came out so directly and unimpeded. Johnny Cayn (real name Cayn Borthwick apparently) really made it come alive with his incredible multi-instrumental talents and openness for anything including working with an egomaniac that had decided that he is a 'singer' now and forever. We had a rule that everything would be recorded in a maximum of two takes. For me, it's energy comes from that spontaneity. Also having more time on my hands meant that there was more time for shady deals and fast money schemes, which I am also known widely for.

Watching this clip, it’s pretty clear you’re truly in your element onstage in a hot and sweaty room. How important is the live show to you? Is there a reason why you want fans to be able to experience the album with some kind of live element at the moment, rather than just the recorded tracks themselves?

More than ever I miss playing live. I took it for granted all those years, didn't we all? It's my favorite thing. It's when I'm the most present for better or for worse (sorry friends and family). One new thing I have felt acutely with this lockdown though is just how much I build everything around live shows. Much of that stuff is where the activity is, where you interact with people and it all feels like some kind of collective energy pushing in one direction. Whether that's doing all the promo stuff, liaising with everyone that makes the show happen, the band all building up to it, friends and family discussing it or whatever, there feels like a natural wave. I've existed in that kind of tidal system forever... and I never learnt how to read a rip 🙁

Why present a visual element? I'd like people to know what the live element is and for that to inform how they listen/view the recordings. They go hand in hand. When we recorded Cong! I would simply picture stalking around a dimly lit smokey stage in a cowboy hat... that would be enough direction. The recordings are kind of just that imaginary live performance acted out in my head. They exist in the same world as imaginary shows by Roy Orbison types crossed with wild-man rockabilly artists in an EBM club or something. There's not a lot of cold truth or historical accuracy in my fantasy world, just an impressionistic vision of some very individual utopia of music. I also think it is just an interesting time to watch a live performance with an audience - how novel! Hopefully it isn't a drag since it is something we can't do now, instead I hope it comes across as something to look forward to and to appreciate more than ever when we can. 

It’s a pretty strange time to be releasing music, but what’s keeping you inspired or excited at the moment? Anything to look forward to?

Such a strange time. I've gone in real waves about it all, but in my more optimistic moments I have been excited about the challenge of releasing music now. I've enjoyed the need recently to be even more DIY regarding some album artwork, photo-shoots, promo and a music video - all which have dragged me into practicing various crafts. This may include working on papier mache self-portrait-head nightly for a week... Also, we began recording the< I>Cong! record over more than two and a half years ago so I'm just so excited it has built up to this release - I'm not going to let myself feel down about it, it's a big achievement for me. I cannot wait for people to hear the album and to see where it all leads in a brand new vaccinated world. I also can't wait to expand the audience so I can spruik my Cong Snake Oil cure-all potion (*does not work on Covid!) to more people. If this singing business doesn't make me rich, one of my countless schemes surely will.