The Bamboos announce new album with disco-funk single ‘Ex-Files’
The Bamboos’ unstoppable evolution continues with the disco / boogie-drenched “Ex-Files”, the first taste of their forthcoming 11th studio album, This Is How You Do It out on November 3rd 2023. What might sound on paper to be a new direction for the band makes total sense once you recognize the trademark combination of Lance Ferguson’s soul-powered production style, the band’s effortless groove and Kylie Auldist’s incredible voice.
Soul, funk and jazz music of all shades and flavors has always been an inspiration to the band’s founder / guitarist / producer Lance Ferguson, so it’s no surprise that the band continues to chart new musical pathways. “It’s 2023, so let’s not get caught up with things like musical convention, because everything is wide open now”, he affirms. “By definition nothing that we release can ever possibly be outside the sphere of “our sound” because that sphere is continually expanding, changing and redefining itself as we create the music”.
This single follows on from 2021 album Hard Up which garnered the band their sixth ARIA Award nomination. That album was the best received of their career to date, with radio support across Europe and the UK as well as cracking the top 20 of the US Triple A radio charts. On top of that, songs taken from it were used in the feature film 80 For Brady, NBC TV show Kenan and an international ad campaign for Old El Paso. In late 2022 they also released Live At Hamer Hall, the live recording of their shows with the fifty piece Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performed during a break in lockdowns the previous year.
This Is How You Do It contains a few more surprise turns from the band and features guest MCs from the US and New Zealand as well as Melbourne vocalist Reginald AK, who just happens to be the son of Kylie Auldist. No matter how anyone might end up trying to categorize it, “Ex-Files“, along with the forthcoming album, is ultimately the sound of The Bamboos sounding truly comfortable in their own skin and ready to keep exploring the possibilities of what their music can be.
A European and UK tour has also been announced for November. It will be their first in over ten years, and will take in dates across Spain, France, Germany and finishes in London, which will see the band play to some of their most loyal fanbase.
“Ex-Files” out digitally on August 4th 2023 via BMG / Pacific Theatre
