Wille and the Bandits
Wille and the Bandits are to release their first nationally distributed album 'Grow' on October 14.
We took some time to chat to Wille Edwards about the band's future, the upcoming album and their tour.
How does the upcoming album 'Grow' differ to your previous releases?
'Grow' is our first self produced album so we have really tried to harness and capture the essence of our live shows more than ever, which has given it a really progressive feel and almost filmic edge.
As with our previous albums we have covered a broad range of the styles in our repertoire, but this time we have taken things much further. Not only have we introduced new and bigger sounds but also we feel we have honed the subtleties of our performance.
The album was a joy to make and is definitely the record we are all most proud of to date.
How would you describe your music to first-time listeners?
Describing our music is always really difficult as we try our hand at many different styles. I guess we are based in roots, rock and blues with a more psychedelic progressive edge. We also bring in to the mix some world, Latin and reggae elements. We normally suggest people listen to us and decide for themselves. It really is interesting and surprising the bands and artists people compare us to sometimes.
How did you find the process of creating the album? What challenges did you face whilst doing so?
This has been the most enjoyable and easy album to make ever. Learning from previous experience I think we knew how we work best and what we wanted from the recording experience. We had the songs really tight before we went into the studio. We gave ourselves plenty of time freedom to experiment with ideas. As well as picking an environment and engineer that we knew we could relax with. So we moved into a caravan outside the studio (Propagation House in north Cornwall) for a few weeks and got tucked into making music with no distractions or boundaries. I think the calm and focus of the environment shine through on the record. It really allowed us to explore the material, as well as inspiring and enhancing our playing throughout the process.
Where do you find influence for your music?
Between the band we listen to a vast range of music, which undoubtedly influences how we write and play. But we can find influence for song writing in almost everything, whether it is environmental issues, social issues, ideologies or just a walk along the beach.
What can attendees of your upcoming 20-date UK tour expect from the show?
We are bringing a lot of new exciting elements to our live show for this tour, as well as the trademark slide guitars, spaced out soundscapes, arrays of percussion and bass playing acrobatics we will be introducing keyboards to our sound.
No new band members though, we are making Matt play them at the same time as his bass as we didn’t think he was working hard enough before. We will also be playing a lot of new tracks that people may not have heard us do live before.
How do you balance personal life and working life?
(laughs) The simple answer to that is we don’t have one. On one hand we work very hard, constantly touring or recording, but on the other hand it never really feels like work. So the lines between social life and work become a little blurred sometimes. We are also very lucky and glad to have understanding family and friends, which are essential when you come home broken from a long tour.
What's been the best moment of your career so far?
We have had so many great moments already. We have toured some of the most beautiful places around the world and met some great friends along the way. Played some amazing shows and festivals to massive crowds - which is always good for getting the adrenaline going - as well as performing alongside some great bands and truly legendary musicians including Deep Purple, Joe Bonamassa, Status Quo and The John Butler trio.
Although the best thing for us must be that we have managed to build something from nothing that with the support of our fans has allowed us to travel the world and experience life in a truly unique way.
What can we expect from Wille & The Bandits going forward?
We have some great things lined up for the coming year. We are releasing our first single ‘Gypsy Woman’, which have just finished making a superb looking video for.
We will be embarking on a full UK national tour throughout November to launch the album, after which we head off to continental Europe to continue touring and promoting right through to the summer festival season.
The vibe of the band is at an all time high at the moment and we have a great record to tour so it is shaping up to be a very exciting and fruitful future for us.
'Grow' is released October 14