The Bamboos are a soul / funk influenced collective from Australia. Their latest offering ‘Lit Up’, from their forthcoming album ‘Night Time People’, is an energetic cocktail of grooves and soul power. Mixed by Bob Clearmountain (whose mix credits include everything from ‘Born In The U.S.A’ and Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’ to The Cure and The Rolling Stones). The Bamboo’s mainstays Lance Ferguson and vocalist Kylie Auldist are also the creative forces behind one of 2016’s biggest singles, “This Girl” by Kungs Vs Cookin’ On 3 Burners.
Lance Ferguson (Guitarist) from the Bamboos has kindly fielded our twenty questions below:
Hi, how are you today?
Very well and thank you for asking!
What’s the weather like?
Autumn has hit proper! We even considered putting the heater on this morning for the frst time (one
tear…)
How do most of your songs start life? A piano part? A chord? Or melody?
Usually with drums: A sampled break, a particular rhythm: I love writing from the drums up.
Have you ever been starstruck?
Yeah a few times…The worst was when I met Yukimi Nagano from Little Dragon (I was a blithering tongue-tied fool).
If you weren’t doing this, what would you like to be?
I’ve never had the opportunity to work in a record store, so I’d start there… I do however like the idea of mowing lawns for a living (I’m actually serious).
What’s your favourite book?
I have to go with ‘The Right Stuff’ by Tom Wolfe.
What were you like at school?
An outcast…A skater, a comic collector.
What’s the music scene like back home?
Melbourne is the music capital of Australasia for my money (and I raised that money by selling my entire Star Wars toy collection to buy a plane ticket to get here from Auckland in 1990).
Best gig you’ve played so far?
It’s still got to be this show we played in Piza, Italy a decade or so ago. The festival was set up in an ancient Roman ruin, and we played during the sunset. One of those moments where you look around at each other and go “This is #$&ing nuts!”
What’s your favourite single?
In terms of an actual ‘single’ that I identify as a physical ‘single’, I have to go with the vinyl 7” of ‘Axel F’
by Harold Faltemeyer. My dear Dad came home one Friday night with it and played it over and over again on the family record player for about two hours.
What do you listen to in your tourvan?
Anything that is the complete opposite of ‘serious music listening and appreciation’.
What were your favourite artists growing up?
Initially Adam Ant, Madonna, Prince…A little later: NWA, Public Enemy, De la Soul.
Who would you want to play you in the flm of your life?
Donnie Darko (Not Jake Gyllenhaal but Jake Gyllenhaal as Donnie Darko)
Vinyl, CD, Download or stream?
I’m not a format purist and I listen to a tonne of music on streaming services; but in terms of physical formats I’m always going to go with vinyl.
What’s the best cover version you have ever heard?
There are so many great ones in this world. I’m going to choose Aretha Franklin doing ‘You Send Me’.
Tell us about your recent release?
Our new single ‘Lit Up’ was mixed by the legend Bob Clearmountain, who mixed ‘Born In The USA’, Bowie’s ‘Lets Dance’, Roxy Music ‘Avalon’ and a bunch of monumental records.
I spoke to him on the phone in the middle of the night (due to time differences) and had yet another fan-
out moment (see question #4). I fnished by thanking him for getting me through High School – he also mixed The Cure’s ‘Just Like Heaven’ you see.
Any hopes for 2018?
I hope to run my frst offcial marathon – also to arrange my record collection alphabetically by record label.
What would be your dream collaboration?
It would be a dream to make some music with Jon Hopkins, who I consider to be a genius.
What’s the strangest thing that has ever happened at one of your own gigs?
Once I was doing a Jazz trio gig at the races and we swapped instruments for a song out of mischievous boredom. I went from guitar to Keys (which I have no idea how to play) Drummer went to guitar (atrocious). Keyboard player went to drums (woeful). No one in the crowd batted an eyelid.
Preorder link: https://the-bamboos.lnk.to/NightTimePeopleID
