Brisbane nine-piece Bullhorn have been playing their dynamic mix of funk, soul, hip hop and reggae for almost four years.
Bullhorn released their second album in September last year and since then they've been busy tearing it up all over Australia's east-coast festival circuit. “We did our second album recently. We just released that at the end of last year in September and we just toured for that actually. We did a whole heap of festivals at the end of last year including Caloundra Music Festival, Falls Festival, The Village Festival, The End Of The Line Festival and heaps more,” frontman Steve Buchanan says.
Bullhorn have been spending most of their spare time writing new songs, with another album in the works. “This year we've been gigging a lot but we've been keeping it really local. We've actually just been focusing on writing recently. We've been getting a lot of new material together so the plan at the moment is to head back in to the studio at the end of the year,” Steve says.
Consisting of seven, brass-horn players, one drummer and one emcee, Bullhorn's line-up is certainly an unusual one. The band's unique format perhaps explains the variety of genres they are seamlessly able to blend into one. “It's a mix of different stuff like funk, soul, some reggae, hip hop and drum & bass but basically it's all just dance music. It's all about getting the people on the dancefloor.”
Bullhorn will be playing their next big show at the Kuranda Roots Festival in north Queensland next month. It's the second time they've played at the boutique festival, and Steve says the band is itching to get back up there. “We actually played there last year as well and we had such an awesome time. We played on a Saturday night and we just had such a great reception - it was one of my favourite gigs.
“It's only a small festival but there's always just great people there and it's a really supportive atmosphere. It's not the biggest festival that we've played but I reckon it's definitely one of my favourites.”
Steve says he loves the Kuranda Roots Festival because it doesn't have a drunken-yobbo element. “It's that really friendly atmosphere. You don't get any problems with people drinking too much or causing fights. There's none of that. It's a really good atmosphere and everyone is there to have a good time, to enjoy the music and to enjoy the beautiful location. It's put on by a lot of the same crew as Island Vibe and it's a similar thing, except Island Vibe is on the beach and Kuranda is in a rainforest. You just gotta go to the festival to really understand the energy that's there.”
For those who haven't been to north Queensland, as well as being a pristine natural environment, Steve says it has a rich cultural hub. “It's such a beautiful part of the world. In particular, the Kuranda rainforest is just incredible, and there's so much to see and do in Cairns, and it's actually a culturally rich area as well. A lot of great bands have come out of there like Oka and the lead singer from Dubmarine – he's from that area too. It's a really beautiful part of the world with a lot of vibrant culture going on.”
The band have been working on a lot of new material the past couple of months, and they're planning on debuting some never-before-heard songs at the festival. “We've been working on some new material lately, so there will plenty of that stuff in our set. We've got a few tracks that we've already been playing live but also some that we haven't brought out yet that we've saved for Kuranda Roots Fest,” Steve says.
Steve is looking forward to catching some of the great acts playing at Kuranda himself, even describing one band as a spiritual experience. “Formidable Vegetable Sound System and Hugo & Treats. Hugo is actually incredible, and I think he's actually playing after us on Saturday night and it's always just a great act to see. I saw him at Island Vibe and it's almost hard to describe the shows - it's almost like a religious experience,” Steve laughs.
Fans of roots, reggae and electronic music are sure to enjoy the lush setting and chill vibes that only the Kuranda Music Festival has to offer, and Steve is confident that all festival goers will love it. “Everyone will be there to party and have a really good time.”
The Kuranda Roots Festival takes place 12-13 June.
