BANANAGUN - Watch the video for new single ‘With the Night’
BANANAGUN Watch the video for new single ‘With the Night’
New album ‘Why is the Colour of the Sky?’ Released November 8th on Full Time Hobby "Australia's answer to The Go! Team tap into utopian '60's psych and spiritual jazz” Uncut
“The sound is even more sophisticated than before, and the avant-psych-pop colours are getting shinier and jazzier” Shindig!
Melbourne-based Bananagun share ‘With the Night’ from their upcoming second album ‘Why is the Colour of the Sky?’, which is due for release on November 8th via Full Time Hobby. The piano led single reflects frontman Nick van Bakel's personal journey toward spirituality. Speaking about the song, van Bakel reveals, "This is our first piano song. I wrote it when I lost faith in our system seeing how broken and corrupt it is. It was a strange few years during the pandemic and social media hysteria etc, personal circumstances that lead me toward something more meaningful and nourishing in spirituality.”
Van Bakel continues:
“It’s kind of about feeling isolated because religion is such a dirty word now too, although it’s quite trendy to have a Buddhist tattoo. I got a lot of peace and inspiration out of studying natural law and finding my own way outside organised religion looking for my own light. A dark night of the soul that forces you to search inward for the treasure the external world denies.”
‘Why is the Colour of the Sky?’ is an album that departs from the ultra-slick bursts of sunshine-pop and afrobeat that defined their debut ‘True Story Of Bananagun', and muddies the waters with a heavy blend of incendiary jazz and freak-beat experimentation. It’s Bananagun alright, but braver, bolder and more mysterious than ever.
Recorded at Button Pusher studio Preston, Melbourne and tracking with minimal takes - ‘warts’ n’ all’ - provided "the most organic, pure way to record”. Also imperative was to manipulate the social conditions in which the takes were performed and nail the ‘vibe’ during recording: “It was all "attitude towards life and esoteric stuff, natural law, how energy transfers, sounds, chemistry between people”, explains the band’s guitarist/vocalist/flautist, and songwriter Nick van Bakel, "trying to foster an environment together where we can make some magic, capture the phenomena of energy and soundwaves interacting with each other in the room. And that was definitely what we wanted it to sound like - pro human.”
‘With the Night’ Music Video - https://youtu.be/F2I3hWpBcHo
Preorder the album: https://fulltimehobby.ffm.to/whyisthecolourofthesky
Australia Live Dates 2025
Fri 28 Feb - Trocadero Room, Sydney
Sun 16 Mar - Aireys Inlet Festival
Fri 21 Mar - Brunswick Ballroom, Melbourne
Track list:
Brave Child of a New World
Children of the Man
Those Who Came Before
Feeding the Moon
Gift of the Open Hand
With the Night
Hippopotamusic
Free Energy
Wonder Part I
Wonder Part II
Praise for ‘The True Story Of Bananagun’
“Bananagun will provide fun, freedom and much-needed fuel in the fight against aggressive thinking” 5/5 Shindig (Album of the Year) “Their grooves are impeccable. Let the sunshine in.” 4/5 Mojo “Effervescent Aussie indie kids gorge on funk and tropical pop.” 9/10 Uncut “Bananagun celebrate music from around the world, with a fun, magpie-ish and utterly compelling approach... It’s fantastic stuff.” 4/5 Record Collector “Nothing. No mind nor soul, creature nor critter on the surface no- face, of this entire solar system, is anywhere near as perfect as ‘The True Story Of Bananagun’. So Young “The group’s relentless energy oozes out of each and every song…you’re taken away from reality and sent hurdling into the fun zone.” ‘Album of the Month’ Loud & Quiet Website Bandcamp Instagram
