After five years of hard work developing their sound and building a loyal fanbase, The Belligerents really hit their stride in 2015. First gaining the attention of the country at the beginning of the year with their single ‘In My Way’ the indie/psch five piece followed up with the release of their EP Outside:Inside which featured another Triple J favourite ‘Voices’. The band rounded out the year in style with a national tour and a breathtaking cover of Fat Boy Slim’s ‘Praise You’ for Triple J’s Like a Version.
Truly establishing themselves as an artist to watch in 2016, The Belligerents are now giving us a taste of their forthcoming debut album with their single ‘Before, I Am’ which was first premiered by Rolling Stone Australia yesterday. The new single showcases the band’s trademark sound while presenting a different, more experimental vibe that was largely inspired by the unique recording environment. The band tracked the album in a remote location off the East Coast of Australia as Bass player/producer Konstantin Kersting explains – “To record the album we set up a studio in a big farm house on Stradbroke Island. We hired and borrowed a heap of gear to make it work and it actually turned out to be the most fun recording session we’ve ever been a part of. Most of the recording was done in the living room, some of the guitars were recorded in the bedrooms and bathroom and the control room area was set up in the kitchen. We spent a total of two weeks there and walked away with a pretty much finished full-length album.”
The original idea for ‘Before, I Am’ was first penned on an acoustic guitar but was later morphed into a full fledged rock tune after being fleshed out by the band. The single was expanded upon even further in the studio as Kersting explains – “‘Before, I Am’ is different from previous releases in the sense that we recorded in a totally different location which wasn’t a ‘real’ recording studio. That gave us the freedom to experiment with some different and unusual sounds and really push ourselves to explore new ground, both in terms of production and songwriting.”
‘Before, I Am’ is a fitting first single as it will be the album opener and was the fist track the band wrote for the new record. Take a listen:
https://soundcloud.com/the-belligerents/before-i-am/s-JMbrN
To celebrate the release of their new single The Belligerents will be hitting the road for their first run of shows in 2016. The tour supported by Pilerats will see The Belligerents bring their high energy live show to regional towns and capital city’s across Australia. Check out all the dates below:
‘BEFORE, I AM’ SINGLE TOUR DATES
Saturday 26th March | Hills are Alive | South Gippsland VIC
Friday 22nd April | The Gum Ball | Hunter Valley NSW
Thursday 28th April | Rocket Bar | Adelaide SA
Friday 29th April | Gasometer | Melbourne VIC
Saturday 30th April | Brighton Up Bar | Sydney NSW
Friday 6th May | Elsewhere | Gold Coast QLD
Saturday 7th May | Sol Bar | Sunshine Coast
Friday 13th May | The Foundry | Brisbane