Tell us about your new single/ album/ tour?
We have a brand new single called The Beep Test. I wrote it in LA with Anthony Kilhoffer (Kanye West, Watch the Throne) and Space (Digital Daggers, Seether). They’re both incredibly accomplished in their own right so it was incredibly humbling getting to work with them both and hopefully the start of a long collaboration. We finished it off at G.O.O.D Music before I flew back to Aus for this tour with Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood, and now it’s out! So it’s been a bit of a whirlwind these last couple of months haha
What’s your favourite work at this point in time?
I always like the last thing I’ve done the most… otherwise what’s the point, right?! These last couple of years I’ve been working on being less precious about songs, which in some ways makes you more passionate about them. If something arrives, and it’s close to complete, I’d rather just put it out there and see what it does rather than just let tracks collect dust until an album arrives. When you wait for an album you don’t really finish tracks – when you’re happy to just release songs as and when they arrive you work harder and you get to experience that passion and pride more often.
Tell us a quick, on the road or studio, anecdote.
I was actually ‘on the road’ with my app, Vampr, earlier this, doing a trade show in France talking about the importance of collaboration in the music industry. I’d quite literally just put my bags down in Cannes after 30+ hours in transit with my business partner Baz Palmer (of Hunters and Collectors) when my Australian phone rang with my agent like “we have Keith Urban’s team on the line – they want to know if you are available to support them for the Aus leg of their world arena tour and we need an answer today”. I thought it was a joke, like, where the hell did that come from! What I failed to mention to my agent at the time was that I was severely under the weather with food poisoning – all Baz wanted to do was celebrate and pop champagne, meanwhile all I could do was vomit and laugh!
What, or who, inspires you?
I find most of my inspiration from things that happen around me – world events, experiences, politics, colour. I think as we’ve progressed as an act I’ve purposefully turned away from music for inspiration, to things like writing, paintings and fashion. I’ve always viewed albums as like movies and see songs in colour, so to limit your inspiration to other acts and just music, I think, is limiting.
Which song do you wish you wrote?
Haha I’m guilty almost everyday of saying “I wish I wrote that song”. At the moment it’s probably that Drake track called ‘Too Good’ with Rihanna. Or ‘Closer’ by The Chainsmokers. I love that song.
How would you describe your sound in food form and why?
I think I would describe Buchanan as like Marmite. It’s not for a lot of people. But the people who like it really love it and we’re really proud of that.
What’s next for you?
I am heading back to LA to continue promoting my app Vampr. It’s like LinkedIn for the music industry and it’s really starting to gain some serious traction – so I’m very excited about that. I’ve also got some writing projects lined up for some pretty big acts which I can’t really talk about but I’m super excited about. And of course we’re just about to launch into this Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood tour. We’ll be playing arenas and stadiums for the first time ever so we’re all just incredibly excited and just want to get out there and give it our best.
What’s your scene?
I’m not sure that I’ve ever had a scene! I’m very content in the studio or on the road with my team, just creating. And then I’m just very happy at my local having a low key drink at the end of the day.
About Buchanan
2016 has seen the four-piece release two albums, perform headline tours and with words like ‘million’ being used to describe their online streams and views, it’s safe to say Buchanan are blowing up and their infectious sonic goodness is spreading like wild?re.
Buchanan are getting ready to release new single ‘The Beep Test’ in late November. The track was written and mixed in Los Angeles at G.O.O.D. Music with legendary producer Anthony Kilhoffer (All seven Kanye West solo albums). The track was also co-written with Space (Digital Daggers, Seether).
Having recently relocated to Los Angeles to launch his tech startup ‘Vampr’, a LinkedIn-style music app connecting musicians and the music industry, Buchanan’s enigmatic frontman Josh Simons has been co-writing on a number of exciting projects with Kilhoffer, some of which are set to drop soon from Kanye West’s infamous hip-hop label.
KEITH URBAN’S “ripCORD World Tour AUSTRALIA 2016” DATES
Tuesday December 6 – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Thursday December 8 – Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
Friday December 9 – Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
Saturday December 10 – Canberra, GIO Stadium
Monday December 12 – Sydney, Qudos Bank Arena
Wednesday December 14 – Sydney, ICC Theatre (formerly Sydney Convention Centre)
Friday December 16 – Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Saturday December 17 – Brisbane Entertainment Centre
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