Jodi Phillis: Dream On.

Jodi Phillis plays The Zoo on Saturday.

“Being a mother is incredibly taxing,” laughs Jodi Phillis. “I’ve got a five year old daughter, and I’m pregnant expecting a baby in June. So it’s been pretty busy just doing family stuff. I haven’t had time to write a lot, but I’ve got a few ready to go.”

It’s two years now since Phillis, a former member of both The Clouds are more recently Deerhunters, released her debut solo opus In Dreams I Live. While finding time to write and record the follow up has been tough, it’s been understandably harder to find time to get out on the road and actually perform live.

“God… before I had any kids you’d see women like Bjork or Sinead O’Connor, high profile women, whoever, and you find out they’ve got kids, so you see them and think, they’ve got kids, that must be what you do. You have them, they’re part of your life and you do what you do. Then when you do have them it’s not like that at all. You just cannot dedicate the amount of thinking time, doing time, that is required to write songs. It gets cut by about 80%.”

Has it changed your focus as to what you want from your music?

“It’s made me more relaxed about it. I’m a lot less ambitious about it, that’s for sure. I was on a real mission before I got married, I had to be the breadwinner and the mother as well as following my dreams and being true to myself. I worked really hard doing In Dreams I Live, recording on a really tight schedule, darting all around the place. It was over the top, and everything suffers, so I’ve just gone ‘fuck it, when the album’s ready it will be ready’. Quality is the most important thing, not how much you get out there.”

Recording sessions for the follow up album are underway, but in a more comfortable environment.

“My husband (Candle Records labelmate Tim Oxley) and I bought some home recording stuff, and the first project will be my album. It hasn’t been simple. There’s been lots of questions and bugging a lot of people. I’ve always fantasised about recording at home, but I’m not a very technical person. Tim was pretty confident about it, so we’ve learned it together. It’s been a lot easier with two people trying to work it out.”

Have you had to work around each others studio needs?

“Tim’s album came out last July, so once I’m out of the way he’s hot on my heals to get back in. Well, he’s already started it, but we have to get mine finished…”