With the current climate of coronavirus, bushfires, and political unrest, Benji And The Saltwater Sound System are here to offer you a bright, bubbly slice of rootsy-pop to push fears of a toilet paper shortage to one side for at least three minutes.
With strong Paul Simon flavours throughout, a jaunty rhythm section and laidback vocals, 'Promised Land' fuses frontman Ben Fowler's cultural observations living in the Solomon Islands with the jazz, reggae, world, folk and African roots of the band's past musical projects."'Promised Land' actually started to take shape while I was living in the Solomon Islands," Ben says.
"I lived there for a bit over a year in a village of about 200 people. We didn't have electricity, running water or a stable food supply. It was a really raw and fun existence."
Ahead of the song's release tomorrow (6 March), scenestr is stoked to share an exclusive stream of 'Promised Land' today. Enjoy.
When it came time to record the song, Ben says the group was caught up in the recent bushfires crisis. "The recording was interrupted by the Far South Coast bushfires. We did a chunk of the tracking at a beautiful space near Bermagui called the Four Winds.
"We also did a bunch of the recording in Sydney at Harvest Recordings in Marrickville. I feel like this track now has some of the smoke crusted onto it. The lyric 'one promise in the bush is worth two in the city' really started to stick out during the bushfire period."
Benji And The Saltwater Sound System play Kiama Jazz & Blues Festival 6-7 March. They have a bunch of other NSW dates throughout March-April. Visit their Facebook page for more details.
