Brisbane’s Bandito Folk explore “noir tainted space” to conjure up magical new tracks with their new EP, ‘The Embankment’.
“I think it's just a little bit more of a development in sound. There seems to be two distinct parts to the EP – the front end of it being a little cleaner and then the back end of it being a little bit more... perhaps mysterious or ambient.
"For me personally [my favourite song] is probably the final song on the track, which is called 'Just Because You Don’t Know My Name',” says lead vocalist and guitarist Josh Tuck, who adds that his creative mind has expanded since the band’s first EP, ‘Please, Don’t Smile At Strangers’.
“[I was influenced by] pictures of scenes that created parameters that I could write to, and that is something that I have been developing since writing those songs to try to get things a bit more cohesive. That's an ongoing development and this is the first glimpse.”
Josh is the main songwriter behind the band's music, but says a solo venture isn't for him.
“I think [I decided to form a band] because, as a person, I am perhaps more leaning towards being a little bit introverted. I've never really wanted to be that one guy in the corner at the pub that no one is really listening to – I think that I have got more to say than that.
"I think I felt that I needed more people there to make the songs more likely to be listened to, or at least if they were going to talk I couldn't hear them because everything else is so loud,” he laughs.
The art of telling a story is one aspect that plays a large role in Josh’s love of the folk-rock genre.
“I guess [I like] the storytelling aspect to it. I like artists like Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Paul Kelly – I just think that they are really good storytellers and that kind of music just seems to fit words rhythmically as well. Poetry and prose just seems to fit better with that style of music.”
Despite listening to this plethora of influential storytellers, his dream is to work alongside an artist that has managed to avoid the spotlight.
“I'd really like to work with, at same point, a guy called A.A. Bondy. He has got an album called ‘Believers’ that I just think is amazing, absolutely incredible. He's sort of out of the limelight and I think that I like that, because [the album’s] still really well produced.”
Since forming back in 2012, the band has already played alongside Halfway, The Medics, Millions, Battleships and I, A Man.
“Halfway were really good because they're just a really great bunch of guys and I really like the music that they make – considering they've got so many people and they still manage to find space for everyone to be featured in some way.
"I think that takes a lot of musicality and a lot of skill. I think we could learn a lot from a band like that with so much experience.”
With their origins founded on home soil here at QUT in Brisbane, the band’s fan base is ever increasing, and rightly so.
“We were all studying the BMus degree, which is the Bachelor of Music. We all met at one time or another, we weren't all in the same year, and then some of the guys went on to do other degrees. But we all met here about three years ago.”
Despite their early success, Josh is excited for the band’s future.
“I think that those [memorable] moments will come, we have had lot of good gigs that are definitely highlights for sure. We are all very ambitious, but we are still trying to get where we want to go.
"[I plan to] just keep writing, keep doing everything related to music that I do and see where it takes me.”
Bandito Folk play Qld Art Gallery’s Up Late Nov 29. They support Machine Translations at The Hi-Fi Nov 30. They launch ‘The Embankment’ at Black Bear Lodge Dec 12.
