Brisbane recording artist Banff has been kicking around for a while now (you might even recognise his face from ex-Brisbane band Little Casino), serenading listeners with his beautiful and dreamy indie pop. He makes the type of music that you want to be the soundtrack to your lazy afternoon, warm and positive – with his lyricism clearly advanced as he weaves stories into his songs. He certainly made sure he was heard with his two already-released tracks The Great Unknown and Stand In Line, the latter especially receiving over 145 000 listens, and now he is readying himself for even more.
Banff’s debut EP, Future Self, will be out on June 19 via We Are Golden/Create-Control. It was placed into VERY safe hands when mixed by Tom Iansek (Big Scary, #1 Dads, Pieater) at Mixed Business studio in Melbourne. Once an old milk bar in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, the studio is now something of a ‘musical haven.’ We were lucky enough to nab a sneak peek into the goings on of the time he spent there, complete with photos and captions to document it all. Keep an eye out for a full Big Scary cameo – not only did Iansek mix the EP, but the brilliant Jo Syme played drums.
Thus, welcome to the Banff photo diary, documenting his recording process at Mixed Business.
Studio time – Mixed Business is actually an old milk bar that Tom and Jo cleverly converted into a lovely little musical retreat. Writing and recording in this old house/building was definitely one of the most memorable experiences of my career. Everything felt very relaxed and homely, which got the creative juices flowing. Some seriously amazing songs have come out of this place, and no doubt plenty more to come.
Walking into Mixed Business in September of 2013, ready to record the great unknown.
Strumming away on the beautiful Blueridge. We sat in the tracking room at mixed business for a couple of days jamming out my songs and writing little bits and pieces before we began tracking everything
Gearing up for my first vocal takes. This shot was taken in the tracking room, which is actually the lounge room of Mixed Business. Those pink cupboards seem to pop up everywhere in the Australian music scene.
Coffee break. I frequented this little alley most days. The guys at the Juddy Roller coffee store treated me to some nice brews here.
Tom hard at work in the control room, particularly inspired by the Labrador tribute wall behind the monitors
For about 5 of the 6 days I spent at Mixy it rained. Finally the sun decided to shine through the skylight and set a great mood for tracking drums and vocals on “the great unknown”
Jo Syme busting her moves on the drum kit. Jo played drums on The Great Unknown. Her ability to jump on the kit and belt out 3 versions of the 1 song instantly blew my mind. The struggle was determining which was the best. I think we made the right call.
Setting up to track guitars on stand in line. I think we were about 3 or 4 days into our studio time here and decided to pull out the heavy artillery
Pondering over how to treat all again. My pal Dan came into the studio this day, and took a few shots of the session. At this point I was really struggling to get a vibe for the track, and sat for an hour or two in this chair thinking of different treatments. Tom eventually decided to take the song away from being primarily guitar driven and introduced the piano. Instantly, a heap of new ideas surfaced from that small change. I think the feelings leading up to tracking this song really made it mean a lot more to me. It’s probably my favourite on the EP
View from the kitchen – I spent a lot of time in here drinking tea and thinking of new vocal lines and harmonies. It was so cold in this kitchen, but a good spot to stand, stare and toss around new ideas without any noise or interruptions
All smiles after 6 big days of tracking! Tom and I began our week jamming out my demos before eventually knuckling down on day 3 to record the rest of ‘future self’. What you can’t see here is the hook-ring game on the wall. I managed to take down the reigning champ on day 1, the second biggest achievement of the week!
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- Studio time – Mixed Business is actually an old milk bar that Tom and Jo cleverly converted into a lovely little musical retreat. Writing and recording in this old house/building was definitely one of the most memorable experiences of my career. Everything felt very relaxed and homely, which got the creative juices flowing. Some seriously amazing songs have come out of this place, and no doubt plenty more to come.
-
- Walking into Mixed Business in September of 2013, ready to record the great unknown.
-
- Strumming away on the beautiful Blueridge. We sat in the tracking room at mixed business for a couple of days jamming out my songs and writing little bits and pieces before we began tracking everything
-
- Gearing up for my first vocal takes. This shot was taken in the tracking room, which is actually the lounge room of Mixed Business. Those pink cupboards seem to pop up everywhere in the Australian music scene.
-
- Coffee break. I frequented this little alley most days. The guys at the Juddy Roller coffee store treated me to some nice brews here.
-
- Tom hard at work in the control room, particularly inspired by the Labrador tribute wall behind the monitors
-
- For about 5 of the 6 days I spent at Mixy it rained. Finally the sun decided to shine through the skylight and set a great mood for tracking drums and vocals on “the great unknown”
-
- Jo Syme busting her moves on the drum kit. Jo played drums on The Great Unknown. Her ability to jump on the kit and belt out 3 versions of the 1 song instantly blew my mind. The struggle was determining which was the best. I think we made the right call.
-
- Setting up to track guitars on stand in line. I think we were about 3 or 4 days into our studio time here and decided to pull out the heavy artillery
-
- Pondering over how to treat all again. My pal Dan came into the studio this day, and took a few shots of the session. At this point I was really struggling to get a vibe for the track, and sat for an hour or two in this chair thinking of different treatments. Tom eventually decided to take the song away from being primarily guitar driven and introduced the piano. Instantly, a heap of new ideas surfaced from that small change. I think the feelings leading up to tracking this song really made it mean a lot more to me. It’s probably my favourite on the EP
-
- View from the kitchen – I spent a lot of time in here drinking tea and thinking of new vocal lines and harmonies. It was so cold in this kitchen, but a good spot to stand, stare and toss around new ideas without any noise or interruptions
-
- All smiles after 6 big days of tracking! Tom and I began our week jamming out my demos before eventually knuckling down on day 3 to record the rest of ‘future self’. What you can’t see here is the hook-ring game on the wall. I managed to take down the reigning champ on day 1, the second biggest achievement of the week!