Having just launched their first single and film clip ‘After Antiques’, WiLSON are set to bring Boney alive at their residency on Tuesdays in November. Featuring Lochie Bradfield (aka Ah!Puch!) from ‘Prophets’ and ‘Garang Garang’ and Ross Kingston from the late, great ‘Slum Boys’, the duo have created their own unique blend of psychedelic pop, surrealist funk, spacey grooves and dubby dance fun, mixed with neologic vocal stylings. It’s been a long journey so far – from black market art book dealings, Papua New Guinean musical epiphanies, Prince and Sheila E covers, night terrors, and a few kids thrown in for good measure – but WiLSON are just getting started.
You guys have both been involved in some really interesting musical projects in the past, how did you end up playing together and forming WiLSON?
We originally met each other for a project called ‘Fingerprince’ which was a Prince cover band of all things! There were some really talented musicians in that group though, including Monte from Client Liaison as Prince! It was a lot of fun. But Ross and I quickly realised that there was something more significant going on musically between the two of us than playing covers. So we started playing together a lot at the Ah!Puch! studio in the city, working on a few different sounds – from 17 minute acoustic ballads to afro-house inspired beats. Slowly the WiLSON sound was born, and we’ve really used the recording process to develop the themes and content of the music. Playing the songs live is a relatively new thing for us. ‘After Antiques’ is our first recording to see the light of day, except for one little demo we did. It might be a bit ambitious releasing an 8-minute track first up, but we felt like it was a nice introduction to our sound.
Congrats on getting your first single ‘After Antiques’ out there; a really expansive and spacey groove. Is that an indication of the sound you guys will be reproducing live at your upcoming Boney November residency?
I don’t think we’re actually won’t be playing ‘After Antiques’ live – it’s a bit too spacey. We focus more on music that people can dance and trance out to. Though who knows? Maybe we’ll throw it in.
Without giving too much away, what onstage antics can audiences expect at these shows?
It’s always fun seeing Ross on an inspired night, blissing out and speaking in tongues. He’s developed a whole neologic languageverse which has to be heard to be believed – Soweeny yesorum!
What does a Wilson live show entail, are some instruments are played live?
The live show has really emerged out of our studio process. Lochie performs live mixes, and also plays keyboard and a sampler. He’s also thinking about incorporating a guitar into the live set-up, but isn’t sure exactly how that will work yet. Ross will be playing congas and perhaps some samplers if we can find the right power adapter for them! Mainly he’ll be singing though.
You have gathered an impressive line up of supports for the residency, was this done in collaboration with Boney bookers or was the selection process all up to you guys?
Yeah, that was up to us. There are a few groups who have been involved with Ah!Puch! in the past like Hakim & Anbessa and Ezeldin Deng from Creative Rebellion Youth. There are also some new faces around like Bachu, Diamond Cubes, I/O & Fortunes.
I know it’s a bit like asking which is your favourite child, but who are some of the acts you’re most looking forward to playing with?
You might get us in trouble here! I’m really looking forward to Hakim & Anbessa’s set of Eritrean pop – those guys are wild! I’m also really looking forward to seeing what the Creative Rebellion Youth set is like. I’ve got a lot of respect for Abe Ape, and John Jnr’s track ‘Waves’ is amazing! But I think each night is going to have its own special vibe.
Boney seem to have worked hard, booking some awesome acts in their first few months of operation, what are your thoughts on the new venue?
It’s nice to know that Pony has been replaced with another live music venue. The worst thing that could have happened was that the building be turned in to apartments. But Boney looks great – they haven’t skimped on anything – the sound system is great, which is always my greatest concern as a performer. And the food looks pretty yummy too!
Were you sad to see the old Pony go?
It was kind of sad. I’ll miss that smelly, sticky old carpet. But you got to get back on the horse, even if it is boney.
The WiLSON teaser looks great and Tonedeaf has just launched your clip for ‘After Antiques’. Who did you work with on that project?
Lochie has made all the video clips for WiLSON so far. Though he was working closely with NASA on the ‘After Antiques’ video.
Finally, can we expect more online releases or even something physical in the near future?
Yeah there will definitely be more releases coming up, both online & real world. Keep your eyes on wilsonforever.com for updates. We’re hoping to do our next single as a 7”, but we have to look in to the costs. It’d be wonderful to hear our music on vinyl…said every musician ever!
Thanks, enjoy the residency shows.
Thank you.
