Client Liaison say “Tina Arena is Australia’s Beyonce” ahead of duet

Melbourne musical duo Client Liaison are proof it works. On an APRA songwriting camp working with Mr Hudson (Kanye West, Duran Duran) and Dann Hume, the topic of the official Client Liaison car — a Toyota Soarer — was mentioned.

Mr Hudson told them “No, you need a limousine. An off-white limousine.”

Not only did it turn into a title of the standout track from their debut album Diplomatic Immunity, Monte Morgan and Harvey Miller AO are now the owners of an actual off-white limousine, circa 1982.

“We like to take an idea and really run with it,” Miller says.

They’re in the process of turning the limo into a rental car, the Client Liaison Limousine Service, which could fund their musical activities. They’re putting an ‘80s-era TV, Fosters on ice and hot towels in the vehicle ready for weddings, formals, anything.

“Everyone’s driving these gross new limos and Hummers,” Morgan says. “Bring back the romantic idea of the limousine. We also want to use it when we go on tour, we might have to freight it from state to state but we’d love to get off the plane and have the limo there to greet us. We’d like it hang out the venue so we can leave out the front of the venue not the back. It’s just not cheap parking it in the city, it takes up a few spaces.”

Client Liaison are not your average musical act. Since their debut EP two years ago they’ve made music videos for everything they’ve released.

Client Liaison — Wild Life

“It is not the wisest financial decision but hopefully we’ve got a cult following because of that, a dedicated following,” Morgan says.

Visuals are in the DNA — Miller’s father directed everything from The Man from Snowy River to Les Patterson Saves the World.

The Client Liaison videos — which explore their ‘80s-inspired aesthetic — moved them from ‘80 punters in a Melbourne pub to playing every major festival in Australia.

“YouTube is the way we got out there,” Miller says.

“We started making songs but we really reached our audience when we started playing live,” Morgan adds. “People don’t just listen, they watch. They get excited by moments. So let’s dance, let’s wear something and make an effort. And if we’re going to wear something on stage we may as well create it.”

They’re freshly back from Bali where they got not only their new stage outfits tailored, but items for a Client Liaison designer line (everything from sun visors to T-shirts) which will be sold in pop-up stores.

“We’ve always wanted to have a multi-sensory approach to Client Liaison,” Miller says. “Music is first and foremost. But we’ve tried to put effort into every facet.”

Diplomatic Immunity taps directly into what they call the “Client Liaison narrative” — created in a Melbourne top-floor office space filled with champagne bottles with Fosters logos, green carpet, banks of synthesisers and a room dedicated to their wardrobe. Fittingly, John Elliott has an office nearby, perfect for their love of the boozed-up excess of ‘80s Australia.

They even bonded with a Melbourne businessman who sells Ansett merchandise online, and have sold yoyos from the defunct airline at their shows.

“The Client Liaison narrative revolves around the corporate mythology ingrained in the band name, the nomadic businessman travelling around, the theatre of politics,” Miller explains.

“But it’s not a full concept album, it’s loose concepts and strong themes. We live in Australia so we write about Australia, but we write about politics not Australian politics. We travel a lot so we write about airline cuisine. I could spend the next 45 minutes talking about the piping hot Qantas omelet.”

The pair are often accused of being ironic or a novelty act. They insist that is not the case.

“I feel we sidestep the irony,” Miller says. “If you do anything with conviction it renders it with a seriousness. There’s one access point of humour to us, which is absurdity. People see us riding in a limousine and think it’s absurd and they smile. We’ll grant them that. But there’s no set-up for a punchline, we’re not here for that. People don’t listen to our music and laugh. We’re not in the business of making people laugh we’re in the business of making people dance.”

The pair think their genuine love of ‘80s and early ‘90s music may make some feel they’re less credible or serious.

“Why don’t people who are into rock music, which formed from blues and became prominent in the ‘50s and ‘60s, get asked what it is about those decades they’re so interested in?,” Miller asks.

“No one ever questions why people make rock music. We feel the same way about the eras we take from, the ‘80s and early ‘90s, where our interests in music were born, those synthesisers and palettes of sound. And why is it not a gimmick to wear tight rocker jeans and a rockabilly hat but it is to wear acid wash jeans and a suit? I’d argue those people are further stuck in the past than we are.”

Last New Year’s Eve Client Liaison recruited Daryl Braithwaite to sing The Horses with them.

For Diplomatic Immunity they wrote a song called A Foreign Affair that referenced Tina Arena’s past without a shout out to a beach in Sorrento.

When the chorus was out of Morgan’s vocal range they got in touch with Arena — who came to their Melbourne pad (“she said ‘How did you guys get such a swish space’”) to turn the song into a duet.

“Tina Arena is Australia’s Beyonce,” Miller says. “Her willingness to participate with an upcoming act says a lot about her as an active musician. She also graciously signed a copy of her autobiography for me.”

Once again, Arena was selected not for irony, but for her vocals to improve their song.

“People dancing to the song will take care of any criticism some people might have,” Morgan says.

“There was an ‘F’ word in the lyrics she took out. She said ‘That’s not classy’. And she was right. Time and place.”

After festival shows over summer they’ve got a theatre tour planned for March

“We want to make a theatrical experience,” Morgan says. “Take it to the next level.”

The pair already have “Hollywood fat cats” CAA representing them in LA, with a US lawyer.

During a trip to San Francisco fans who’d discovered them on You Tube staged an after-party for the band with a swan sculpted out of ice.

“The world is a big place,” Miller says. “We want the Client Liaison narrative to be experienced overseas.”

“We know we don’t fit into the mould of the contemporary sound, there’s no drop. But it’ll find its place. When we play shows that’s when we really sell it, when people see us in the flesh.”

HEAR Diplomatic Immunity (Dot Dash/Remote Control) out tomorrow.