Brisbane five-piece Kurilpa Reach have distilled their roots/ reggae/ psych rock influences into their debut EP, 'Fool's Fall'.
Showcasing their eclectic style, 'Fool's Fall' ventures across the band’s vast and varied breadth of musical influences. In this emotional and musical roller coaster, each of the six tracks offer something different and unique while maintaining a wonderful flow from one song to next.
Released 16 November, the EP is the first complete body of work from the group, following on from the release of their first two singles 'Rat Race' and 'Bilson', the latter of which was premiered on scenestr in August.
Tell us about your new EP, 'Fool's Fall', and what you wanted to achieve with it?
[Vicente Burdell] We’ve been a band for about two years now, and between playing gigs relentlessly we’ve spent the two years writing a lot of music. There was never any game plan on how the EP would be created, we just took our time testing out heaps of songs and getting really whacky with them while also being able to test them out at our gigs.
Eventually, we found the songs that we were most proud of and what summed us up the best, so it felt only natural to put them on our first EP. Essentially, we wanted to achieve something that reflects our sound and put out some great, quality music that people can enjoy, and we feel really confident we’ve done that.
Being your first body of work, was there an artistic statement you wanted to make with the EP?
There wasn’t any strict artistic intention as each song came to stand alone. We’re all in our early 20s, at a point of transition into adulthood and writing these songs over the past two years has allowed us to capture how we have felt coming to terms with the process of truly growing up and maturing. The EP really captures the fact that our sound is super diverse, but has that KR flavour running through it all.
Have you been happy with the response to the singles so far, 'Rat Race' and 'Bilson'?
Yeah, the response has been really fantastic. We’ve had a lot of positive feedback from our fans and friends and both songs have got in the top 3 in the AMRAP charts as well as 'Rat Race' getting premiered on triple j, so the response has really exceeded our expectations, which is nice. It’s always a bit nerve-wracking releasing new music, but the reception these tracks have received have made us really happy and proud of what they are and also, just excited to finally share the EP with everyone.
Are they a good indication of the sound and style Kurilpa Reach are working with on the EP?
Yes and no. We’ve stayed true to our reggae foundation but have tried to push it as far as we can. We didn’t leave any stone unturned and stayed as free as we could stylistically testing out every idea we had. There’s a lot of crazy, psychedelic dub moments as well us more subtle, poignant and emotional parts so it’s a big tasty bag of mixed lollies.
Since forming, what has it taken to get the band to this point of releasing a record?
We had it in our heads since the start that we wanted our first EP to be a really well rounded representation of us. It was a pretty organic process as we just wrote for ages while constantly gigging so when it came time to record we knew what songs people liked and which ones we were the most proud of. It did take a while but now it feels like the perfect time to be releasing it.
You guys must be excited to finally launch it at The Zoo? Have you got any special plans for the show?
Yeah, we’re stoked to be launching our first EP at The Zoo. We’ve got The Baby Breaks and Perve Endings on support who we all love so there’s not going to be a shortage of good music. In terms of plans for it, we’re really trying to challenge ourselves in how we can craft our set and make it a really charismatic show so it’s definitely not going to be your average Kurilpa Reach show (not that they’re ever average).
What can audiences expect from Kurilpa Reach's live performance?
Insanity. We really amp up the music for our live shows and try and keep our songs evolving in the moment. It’s always a big sweat fest with a lot of dancing, live dubs and big psychedelic rhythms. If you’re not up for a good time, then it might not be the event for you.
What's happening for the band over Christmas and New Year?
Lots of time at the beach. We’ve had a long but good year so we’re all keen for a bit of a holiday and some time to write new music! We’ve got some big things in the works for early next year so we’re going to rest up and make sure we’re in the zone come January.
Have you thought about what comes next for the band?
We’ve got a tour off the back of 'Fool’s Fall' in the works. We haven’t been on the road yet so we’re all really keen to go spread some good rhythm around the country. We never really stop writing so you can also expect a bunch of new music throughout 2019!
