Buchanan are a Melbourne band who have just finished recording their debut album Human Spring which is due for release on May 10. You can pre-order your copy of the album at iTunes or at Pledge Music.
Human Spring is another album being brought to you by Pledge Music, there are still plenty of ways that you can help get this album onto shelves so please, if you like the sound of the album, head on over and pledge to pre-order yours at Pledge Music.
Hi guys, welcome to Beauty and Lace.
What made you want to be musicians?
I think, at least with me, my whole family were involved in the music industry so I was just raised in a very musical household. Was probably always a given!
Can you tell us about how you met and formed the band?
Well Luke and I met while I was finishing my final year of high school – he was my local barista and was in a band. He gave me their EP and I fell in love with it instantly. So when it came time to find a guitarist for Buchanan it was a bit of a no-brainer. Miles, who has played bass in the band for several years, went to school with me, so again it just kind of made sense.
Where did the name come from?
We were trying to find a strong name that didn’t really have any visual or sound association. We had a list of about 20 names and everyone voted unanimously for Buchanan!
How would you describe your sound?
I’m not sure… Maybe hunk-rock?! Myself not included, there’s some pretty good looking boys in this band!
Who has had the biggest influence on your career?
We all have such different and varied influences. I listen to a lot of 80’s stuff, like Genesis and Toto, but then Luke listens to a lot of punk music. I think our biggest influences in creating the Buchanan sound have come from learning from each other and kind of forging a fairly new sound as a band.
The debut album is set for release on May 10, can you tell us a little about the album?
We worked on it for almost 18 months. For this album we set out to create a really cohesive piece of work, so we wrote a short story about an imaginary ‘movement’ or uprising of people. Whilst the songs don’t directly reference the story, we had a white board up in the studio with it scribbled around the edges so anytime we were stuck for inspiration we could refer back to this story idea and keep moving forward. It definitely helped in giving the album a sense of purpose and shape.
Where did the songwriting inspiration come from?
Again, the songwriting was informed by this story we wrote. The story itself was inspired by recent revolutions across the world, honing in on the positive side of people coming together and standing up for what they believe in, as opposed to the destructive side of war.
The launch gig is coming up next month, what can we expect from the show?
Well we’re very lucky to have Clubfeet DJ’s and Harts as supports. We also have a massive surprise in store for the show which we can’t talk about just yet. But basically we’re looking forward to just playing again – it’s been a few months since our last shows so it’s time to hit the road again and see if we’ve still got it!
What can you tell us about the recording of the album, and how did it differ from recording the EPs?
The EPs were very much centred around a DIY approach to recording. We wanted to step it up with our first full length and hire a producer and mixer and do all those things that really elevate a band to the next level. From that point of view I’m extremely happy with how it turned out – working with Catherine Marks, who has recorded the last couple of Foals albums, was a dream and I hope we can collaborate again in the future.
Can you tell us a little about your career highlight to date?
My personal career highlight came very early in the process. We opened Laneway Festival on the mainstage in 2011 and played our first show to a very big crowd… The feeling I think we all felt that day, I’ll never forget! On that day only, I felt like a bit of a rock star!
What’s next for Buchanan?
We’re going to do a couple of shows around the album launch and then I think we’ll wait and see what happens. I’m going over to England in a couple of months to write on some other projects and then I’ll come back and the plan is to do a headline tour and maybe some festival shows, so it’s looking to be an exciting year indeed!
Thanks for your time and good luck with the album launch.
Thank you very much!
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