Going like clockwork

"Eight months ago it felt like we had one foot in the grave," says Emily Lubitz, songstress up the front of Melbourne indie-folk crew Tinpan Orange.

Such a troubled proclamation may suggest that our interview has taken a sour turn, but Lubitz is quick to follow up her words with a booming laugh that belies any concerns. She speaks openly about the progression of Tinpan Orange, admitting that after slugging it out on the road for a number of years she and the band had had enough.

"With our last record [2009's The Bottom Of The Lake] it was self-produced with four of us, as we didn't have a drummer at the time, and that felt great and nice and safe for us. We toured for around two years with that record and by the end of it we were tired," Lubitz says. "We had to make a change otherwise there didn't seem to be a way that we could sustain what we were doing."

That change has come on two fronts for Tinpan Orange: firstly adding drummer Danny Farrugia to the line-up, and then for recording their material, recruiting Melbourne-based helmer Steve Schram, whose production gifts have recently been heard on releases from Bonjah, Clairy Browne & The Bangin' Rackettes, and San Cisco.

"You have to find fresh meat and inspiration like that," Lubitz puts it in her energetic growl, "otherwise you do get tired and you do get sick of each other.

"I think the main thing was that the music needed to develop and we needed those new people and the energy they brought with them."

Lubitz points to the band's recent single Barcelona as evidence of the new dynamic within the Tinpan Orange ranks at work.

"Barcelona came about from this groove that Danny and Harry Angus on keys put together and that pounding beat is what makes the song," Lubitz says of the crowd-pleaser.

"Having Danny join the band and add drums to our set-up has been another huge change for us and it's great to have him because he's a real musician. He's awesome to work with."

Lubitz says Tinpan Orange are making "their best and most exciting music ever".

This Lubitz attributes to the presence and influence of Schram during recording.

''We decided to work with Steve Schram because I'd really loved some of the work that he had done on some recent records and I think he's just got this real and amazing pop sensibility to him,'' she says.

''He's exposed us to a lot of new sounds and ideas and that stuff that he's injected into us has made for a good mix of radio, pop and our sound. It's not mainstream what he's doing - it's edgy - but he's worked on all these great records like on the Little Red album and it's like he gets bands ready for their big breaking point.''

Lubitz reports that, save for a key ''song or two'' still to be written, recording sessions with Schram for an album have progressed well, with a prospective release date before the end of this year. Before the band re-enters the studio to finish that work, it is on to the live circuit both at home and abroad with dates across Canada with The Cat Empire following a visit to the Corinbank Festival next month.

''For me, I think that doing festivals is fun because at the same time there's pressure and then kind of no pressure,'' Lubitz says, opening with an intriguing claim before explaining herself further - a recurring occurrence throughout our conversation.

''You're always going to be playing to a lot of people that probably haven't heard of you, and you want to make a good impression on them. But then again, you don't owe them anything because they don't expect anything from you and they haven't paid money to just see you perform.''

It's something she finds very freeing and is looking forward to at Corinbank.

''When they get it, when they really pick up on what you're doing, then the feeling is really amazing. It's so satisfying. It's kind of hard to tell how it comes across to us on stage but I see it in the little things, like if they laugh at my jokes between songs or how they clap,'' she says.

You might want to pay a bit more attention to the way you clap next month - Lubitz will be listening.

''I can tell you there's a certain tone to the way an audience clap that shows you they're into it. People applaud out of obligation almost, sometimes, but this is like they're actually celebrating what you've just done and it's not a forced thing.''

As Lubitz tells it, the festival circuit has been vital to Tinpan Orange's survival as a band, although now with their songs playing on the radio and greater exposure a seeming certainty, it may not be long before a wider audience embraces the Melbourne fivesome.

''We've been touring for more than four years now and our whole career has been based on playing festivals,'' Lubitz says. ''Previously we haven't been particularly radio-friendly. Our stuff has been very folky, so building a fan base has come entirely from touring and festivals. It's been our gateway through to people.

''Now we're breaking through a bit with radio and a slot on the Laneway festival line-up in Melbourne so maybe we'll be opening ourselves up to a whole other audience again. I'm not sure what it all means, really!

''It's all been one crazy ride for us, so I only hope it keeps going.''

Tinpan Orange at Corinbank Festival

WITH: Josh Pyke, Jen Cloher, Busby Marou, Sietta, Waterford and much more

WHEN: March 2-4

WHERE: Brindabellas

TICKETS: Days from $39 and weekend $159 from corinbank.com and Landspeed Records, Civic