Thursday 5 June 2014

Bare Island Q&A

Your name:
Rob Bryant.

Where are you from?
Sydney, Australia.

Name of band:
Bare Island.

Who else is in your band?
I'm a solo producer.

How would you describe yourselves?
I'm a guy who simply cannot believe the possibilities technology now offers the home producer. I have a very humble project studio that major artists could only have dreamed about prior to the 70s, in some ways at least. I want to explore it!

Who are your main influences musically?
With Bare Island I am trying to capture something dreamlike. It's a distant impression of how music sounded around the late 70s and early 80s, with the explosion of punk, glam and new wave. I don't think my music sounds like anything from that era, it sounds like my nostalgia for it, when I'm relaxed and reflective, and that's what I'm trying to convey. I think perhaps Burial works like this, almost painting an impression of another style of music from another time.
The most common comparisons I hear are to artists like Massive Attack, Sigor Ros, Cocteau Twins and other 4AD acts. They are certainly artists who have influenced me and I'm happy to be compared to them.

What do you hope to achieve in music?
I hope to build an audience that enjoys my music as much as I do, and that inspires me to keep creating.

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?
I think the release of 'Night Songs'. I learned so much making this EP. About 2 months before release I realised I didn't know enough about mixing to really do the work justice, so I got hold of a couple of great books and just buried myself in audio engineering. The change in the sound I was producing was staggering, and I think 'Night Songs' is a big milestone, one I intend to build upon.

And what’s the moment you want to forget?
If we go back to my live career with a number of Oz bands, I very distinctly remember one night we were setting up for a pretty big gig, and all the electronic drums were programmed and saved onto a little Yamaha midi box. I tried to load up the opening tracks and got a disk error. We had to cancel the gig! Always back up, kids!

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?
I think 'Almost Gone' is quite representative, it has a great sense of space and a little drama.

Where can we listen to it?
http://bareisland.bandcamp.com/ (the whole EP is available for free download)


Where can we find out more about your music?

Anything else you’d like to say that I forgot to ask?
I'd like to say thanks to the incredible community on Twitter. I've found it to be an overwhelmingly positive and encouraging space.

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