A podcast by Richard Kingsmill
Most albums are carefully planned. Songs are written well in advance, numerous rehearsals are arranged, producers are briefed, demos are carefully dissected. Weeks of studio time are booked, months in advance, to maximise the chances of capturing the best performances. Patience is built into the process at every step.
That’s how most albums are made.
Then there’s an album like Hi Fi Way.
When face-to-face with the challenges of the infamous second album syndrome, You Am I simply threw away the rule book.
They imposed insane deadlines on themselves. They had scraps of song ideas just a few weeks before recording was due to start. They were a long way from home and had been for the longest of times. Near to exhaustion, after their most manic year so far, they decided to roll the dice.
The adrenalin You Am I were running off across 1994 fuelled the magic behind Hi Fi Way. The band captured bolts of lightning that 30 years on still bring a sense of wonder.
Once they had finished the 14 song album in just eight days, they were left dazed and confused. What exactly went down? Was it any good? They really couldn’t tell.
But soon enough, once the album went straight to #1, they realised they had made something pretty special.
Hi Fi Way is no ordinary album. There are worlds within worlds on this record. It’s an album that was largely created from the subconscious, mining some dark thoughts that only today make some sort of sense.
HI FI WAY: THE MAKING OF YOU AM I is the latest podcast offering from Richard Kingsmill. Set to drop on Tuesday December 17, it offers a rare insight into the machinations of a band and an album, both of which had such a profound influence, from someone who had a ringside seat.
Kingsmill says today, “After nearly 40 years of working in radio, I had some time to finally breathe this year. I had the luxury of looking back. I started revisiting some favourite albums. Quite quickly I realised there was an untold story around one of them – Hi Fi Way. This record constantly makes great Australian album lists, and I thought I knew everything worth knowing about it. But once I started scratching away at it, I realised how wrong I was.
“To put it simply, what I found was an album that contained all the ingredients – the strengths and the fragilities – behind the band itself.
“The ride You Am I were on in the mid-‘90s was a rollercoaster. They thrilled their quickly growing fanbase. And although they were on a roll, they also often appeared close to losing control. Their singer and songwriter was captivating, but unpredictable. It was often difficult to read how he was coping with it all.
“This is in an era when every single movement of a band was not documented. This was in an era when men – let alone men in bands – never talked about their mental health. Much of the process behind You Am I’s brilliance went largely unseen. Much of the anxiety, panic attacks and phobias that accompanied that brilliance went largely unexplained.
“I felt like it was time to uncover what exactly went down when this legendary album was created.”
The December 17 podcast release will be the first of 3 episodes written, narrated and produced by Richard Kingsmill around Hi Fi Way. Each episode will drop on the same date each month.
February 20, 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the release of HI FI WAY.
