While there’s a gap in Caravãna Sun’s schedule, the band’s bass player Ant Beard is taking the time to work on a solo project.
His new single ‘Beneath The Waves’ is due out early November.
“I’ve spent my whole adult life touring around playing high-energy shows and connecting on a dance level,” Ant says, “whereas this is more aimed at the heartstrings and the soul.
“A huge amount of inspiration would be Carole King and Bill Withers. Mid-'70s piano, singer-songwriter stuff. I always had a huge affiliation with the piano growing up and it’s kind of nice just to strip it back.”
Ant is a recreational free diver, which served as inspiration for ‘Beneath The Waves'. “[The EP is] very much tied to the ocean and the feeling of being underwater.
"The impermanence of life is kind of a meaning for the song. Diving down on one breath, you eventually have to come up.
“I’ve got a small studio beneath two massive bunya pines. There’s some incredible country down here in Broken Head, so I’ve set-up my keyboard looking out into the forest and playing music.
"It’s definitely a nice refuge for me to be creating these songs and getting in touch with the views.”
The new song will be performed as part of his Australian Music Week showcase. “As I get older as a performer on stage, one thing I’ve learned is that sense of honesty, of rawness.
"That sense that you could walk onto a stage and expose every single part of yourself. That’s what makes people feel and that’s what makes me feel.
“People came to [Caravãna Sun’s] shows because they want to lose themselves in dance. I’m so grateful because that’s taught me everything I know.
“But now I want to open up this other facet of my life that makes people connect on a more personal level.”
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Ant’s fellow band members are supportive of his solo endeavours, and he discusses the dynamic of the band and how they are like brothers to each other.
“I think as we get older we create a more sustainable model for the four of us. As people first and foremost, but then as artists and what we want to do with our lives.
“I’m truly grateful to have the guys by my side. We’re like brothers because we spend so much time together, time with the ups and downs of the music industry and trying to live off a passion.
“So when it comes to decisions like this, they’re super close to the heart of what’s happening.”
