Following on from their 2014 release ‘Rain Or Sunshine’, Cairns very own THE TASTE kick off 2015 with a tour down the East Coast and the release of their latest EP ‘REFLECTIONS’. The Taste’s permanent members comprise of:- Rachel Brabin – Lead Vocals & Piano, Mitch Sullivan – Guitar, Matt Mullins – Drums, Bongos, Vocals & Guitars, and Vainz – on Rap Vocals.
Recorded at Purple Sound Studio by engineer Damian Codotto and Produced by local guitar maestro Chris McKelvie, the band spent a weekend in November laying down the tracks and working with guest musicians including Enzo Russo (Bass & Percussion), Chris Oakshott (Guitar) and Greta Stanley (Vocals).
The 10 track offering features a smorgasbord of Funk Rock, Soul and Hip Hop, with all 4 members sharing the song writing duties as well as a song penned by singer songwriter James Braithwaite.
The East Coast Tour kicks off this weekend in Townsville before heading to Mission Beach. The band then travel south to Byron Bay and Brisbane before returning for launch shows in Port Douglas and Atherton. The Jack will host the Cairns ‘Reflections’ Launch on Australia Day Eve – Sun 25th Jan, following on from Balcony TV at The Jack in the afternoon (feat The Taste, George Davies, Miss T & Master O and Clarketown). Free entry to both events at The Jack with CD’s and Merchandise available at the gig.
I caught up with guitarist Mitch Sullivan for a quick chat..
TM:- I noticed you guys are number one in the Top Of The Trop Charts, any promotional secrets you would like to share with other local acts?
MS:- Yeah we are which is great. Top Of The Trops is a great site and its cool to see Rain Or Sunshine still up there. Promotion is very important and is something we have put an emphasis on. I guess finding your target market is first and then working from there. I don’t like to over promote so there is a fine line, I think if people see something to many times they do tend to ignore it. Is very important to find the right balance.
TM:- There seems to be a few collaborations with other local musos on your new E.P, what prompted that?
MS:- We love jamming and playing with other people. Myself and Matty have shared the Bass playing duties over the last 6 months but for the album we wanted to get someone in just to make the recording process easier. First choice for us was Enzo Russo (Busby Marou/Kasey Chambers) and luckily for us he was available. Amazing musician who just fit right in there. So funky and did an great job. Greta Stanley we invited to appear on the track ‘Seventeen’, we had an idea of getting her to sing the opening and closing verses to help the story of the song. Came out really well and Greta did an awesome job. Our producer Chris McKelvie added some amazing guitar parts here and there, and our good friend Chris Oakshott also played guitar on the closing track ‘I Won’t’.
TM:- Where did the “Reflections” name come from for the E.P?
MS:- We noticed a theme of Reflecting throughout all the songs, even with 4 song writers every seemed to be writing about past situations. Lyrically is very different to Rain Or Sunshine which had a strong weather theme.
TM:- Whats next for the Taste?
MS:- Tour kicks off tomorrow in Townsville which we are all very excited about. Spending sometime in Byron Bay next week which we are also gonna do some additional recording at Buzz Studio at Arts Factory Lodge. The creative juices are still flowing so we thought why not book in for a few hours. Then we’re all really looking forward to Balcony TV and our CD Launch at The Jack on Sun 25th Jan.
The Taste – Reflections is available at The Flying Monkey Café and Travel Beats.You can check out a Soundcloud sample of the Taste’s Reflections below.
Todd Macalpine
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