Interview: Boy & Bear
Boy and Bear are back after the surprising success of their debut album ‘Moonfire’. fluoro spoke with frontman, Dave Hosking about their new album, ‘Harlequinn Dream’, the bond within the group and their fascination with cowboys and dinosaurs.
Dave Hosking has been playing music since he was a teenager. A solo project in 2009 saw the beginning of what has today become Boy and Bear. Originally settling on being a four piece, the group noticed that there was a need for a fifth person as they expanded their sound. Hosking believes that “the family is now complete.”
The making of ‘Harlequin Dream’ was an eight-month journey that included a trip to New Zealand’s snow-capped mountains to perform and film the album’s first single, ‘Southern Sun’. Following director Ben Jae’s vision, the band had an experience like no other. See the film clip to ‘Southern Sun’ opposite.
(f) What differences and strengths do each member bring to the group?
(DH) I think something that is relatively unique [to Boy and Bear] is that Killian (lead guitarist) and Tim (drummer) were both the frontmen in their previous projects and songwriters in their own right. It took a while to work out the best way of writing and delegating when you all naturally have egos!
There is a big overlap in taste and the music that we love, but also a sense of diversity. You must have a common ground yet be able to push each other creatively and I think we have managed to find that balance relatively well.
(f) Did you think your debut album ‘Moonshine’ would be so successful?
(DH) Not at all! To have that success was fantastic and rewarding. I think for us it is important to embrace that and let it go for what it was. It is important to move forward to develop and refine our craft and keep on writing. You enjoy those moments because it is not always easy and not always like that – there are plenty of setbacks. But you take them with a pinch of salt and a sense of longevity in mind.
(f) The recording of ‘Moonshine’ saw you travel to Nashville, however for the recording of ‘Harlequinn Dream’ you stayed in Sydney, Australia. How has being able to return home to friends and family instead of heading out for chips and beer changed the process of putting this album together?
(DH) We knew that we wanted a longer process, staying at home meant that this longer period of time was possible; you couldn’t do that overseas.
Being at home, it’s not for every band, I think some bands like to remove themselves from their comforts and that brings out the best in them. I think this time round in context to how much travel we did in the past few years, it took the pressure off being able to record locally. Most of us are self-confessed housecats.
(f) Tell us more about the album cover for Harlequin Dream.
(DH) The cover is something we are really proud of. I had a concept of cowboys versus dinosaurs that was based on the film ‘Valley of the Gwangi’. I just thought it was a fantastic concept for our album art but when I pitched to the band it was greeted by long straight faces.
We ended up embracing this sense of fantasy of all the things that as a little boy you loved like cowboys, dinosaurs and battles. It became a plethora of crazy ideas and in a strange turn of events it did seem to tie the record together thematically. The artist, Vaughan Flanagan executed it [the illustration] in such a strong way.
(f) What can fans expect from this new album?
(DH) It is different to ‘Moonshine’ and if we get this right every record we create will be somewhat of a departure without drifting too far from what is important to us. Harlequin Dream is a bit more classic in terms of its structures and choruses. It is less folk and more 1960s or 1970s rock. It is definitely old sounding and is warmer than the first record.
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Boy and Bear’s second studio album ‘Harlequinn Dream’ will be released Friday 16 August. Our lips are sealed on what 2014 is looking like for the band. What we can say is that some recent signings to new partners will see them taking on Europe.
