Dave Hosking has learnt a lot about himself in recent times.
“I think I’ve discovered over the last few years that the art that I love, whether it’s music or visual, it’s personal,” says the frontman of indie-rock ARIA winners Boy & Bear.
“I’ve wanted the stories that I tell to be real and honest, and to avoid them being melodramatic, and just try my best to present them in a way which is true to the way they happened for me, the way I felt. It is really challenging for me, something I’ve had to work really hard on.”
Speaking to the frontman of one of Australia’s fastest-rising bands feels like a morning chat with a mate over coffee. Free from any affectations or awkwardness, Hosking giggles a lot, isn’t particularly conservative with his language and really makes a conscious effort to make the conversation comfortable.
Chatting sleepily before a Boy & Bear rehearsal for Splendour In The Grass, Hosking reveals that the band’s new album Harlequin Dream, set for release in mid-August, reflects this notion.
It’s a lot more anecdotal than the band’s debut LP Moonfire. The pretty, albeit ambiguous, lyrics have been replaced by Hosking’s vivid and quite personal reflections on specific experiences.
The record’s lead single, ‘Southern Sun’, came easily to Hosking; it practically wrote itself in the wilderness at Falls Festival during the summer.
“It was just one of those moments when I had that chorus which I’d been playing around with a bit, and I had a little bit of a melody, and it was the moment where everything came together which is really great as an artist,” Hosking says.
“It’s a strange thing sometimes when it all just pieces together. We were like an hour out from the stage, and I was just sort of singing some stuff and Tim (Hart, Boy & Bear’s drummer) just came up and was like, ‘What did you just play, cause it was great’, and then we got paper and a pen and it just sort of wrote itself, and it was really cool!”
In regard to influences, Hosking admits being very careful with the music he listens to during the album creation process, so as to keep his music organic and unique.
“Two years ago, I just stopped listening to anything contemporary, I guess because it’s sometimes a bit distracting listening to stuff that’s coming out and new production techniques.”“Funnily enough, maybe like two years ago, I just stopped listening to anything contemporary, I guess because it’s sometimes a bit distracting listening to stuff that’s coming out and new production techniques, and if you want to identify yourself and find your own sound, you’ve gotta dig a lot deeper than that,” he says.
“I’ve always been listening to older music but with this I was listening to it all of the time, so for two years I was digging through everything from Leonard Cohen to ABBA, to Springsteen, America, Neil Young…”
Hosking really is a natural storyteller; he’s certainly not afraid to keep talking.
“… long story short; I wasn’t really listening to any music when we were making the record, which I think turned out really well. I went from listening to heaps before it but then I sort of stopped, I didn’t have the emotional capacity to take on any more!”
Having finished the record, Hosking is easing himself back into contemporary music. Although currently touting Australian newcomers Vance Joy and Dustin Tebbutt as strong contenders in the scene, he says if the band were to collaborate, cross-genre would be the way to go.
“I like the idea of doing something in hip hop, I mean I’m not even a big hip hop dude, but I think collaborations work well when they’re cross-genre. I’ll have to have a think about that one… maybe we should be working with Kanye!”
Never thought Boy & Bear would be K.West fans, did you?
“Funny, I loved his last record SO much”, Hosking admits, “but where do you go from there?
“That’s the problem when you have such a phenomenal record, like his last record, you do raise the expectation. Sometimes the hype in itself gets so big you can never match that, but, um, I’m pretty sure Kanye is doing alright anyway. He’s not struggling, is he?”
“Sometimes the hype in itself gets so big you can never match that, but, I’m pretty sure Kanye is doing alright anyway. He’s not struggling, is he?”Yeezy aside, it seems that the well-spoken frontman isn’t struggling either – with the ladies!
“I’ve had a recent experience, um, I’m trying to think of an appropriate way to say this,” the singer admits sheepishly.
“It is strange being a single male being in a band, that unusual opportunities tend to present themselves … I’ve met some really great people who have been really good fun, and we’ve ended up hanging out for a couple of days, then I kind of never see them again.
“I’ve never actually gone up to someone and pulled the ace card from the back of my pocket and presented a kind of ultimatum, but I have definitely found myself in some interesting positions! Look I’m being vague about it, but maybe that’s probably for the best. I don’t kiss and tell!”
Along with their upcoming album release, Boy & Bear are heading off on a huge national tour through October and November. They’ll be playing venues such as Perth’s Astor Theatre, The Forum in Melbourne, and Hosking’s personal favourite, Brisbane’s Tivoli. There’s also an all-ages show at the Enmore in the band’s hometown of Sydney, which Hosking says is a little more nerve-racking.
“The Enmore’s good, but it has this added pressure of being at home in Sydney and sometimes when it’s home gigs they’re a little bit harsh because there’s family and friends and that pressure is sometimes a little bit strange … I think definitely The Tivoli number one and The Forum will be good to get back to as well,”
Finally, when asked to describe himself in three words, Hosking muses for a while.
“I think I’m honest, um, slightly weirder than I thought I was; I think my social radar’s a bit skewed at the moment, and … I think I’m a bit of a softie,” he says, thoughtfully.
“I really care about my family and my friends and I think although I love music, and I love what I do, maybe it’s sort of reflected in what I write about, but at the end of the day that’s what’s most important for me.”
Harlequin Dream is out August 16th through Univerasal.
Boy & Bear Australian Tour 2013 Dates & Tickets
16 DAYS UNDER A SOUTHERN SUN TOUR
w/ BATTLESHIPS and DUSTIN TEBBUTT
THU 24 OCT | ANU BAR, CANBERRA ACT
Tickets available from www.ticketek.com.au | 132 849 | All Ticketek outlets
FRI 25 OCT | ENMORE THEATRE, SYDNEY NSW (ALL AGES)
Tickets available from www.ticketek.com.au | 132 849 | All Ticketek outlets
FRI 01 NOV | WOOL EXCHANGE, GEELONG VIC
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix outlets
SAT 02 NOV | THE FORUM, MELBOURNE VIC – SOLD OUT
SUN 03 NOV | THE FORUM, MELBOURNE VIC
Tickets available from www.ticketmaster.com.au | 132 849 | All Ticketmaster outlets
THU 07 NOV | BEACH HOTEL, BYRON BAY NSW
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix outlets
FRI 08 NOV | COOLANGATTA HOTEL, GOLD COAST QLD
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix outlets
SAT 09 NOV | THE TIVOLI, BRISBANE QLD
Tickets available from www.ticketek.com.au | 132 849 | All Ticketek outlets
FRI 15 NOV | WAVES NIGHTCLUB, WOLLONGONG NSW
Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix outlets
SAT 16 NOV | WRESTPOINT SHOWROOM, HOBART TAS
Tickets available from www.tixtas.com.au | 1300 795 257 | From Wrest Point Service Centre directly
THU 21 NOV | HQ, ADELAIDE SA
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix outlets
FRI 22 NOV | METROPOLIS, FREMANTLE WA
Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix outlets
SAT 23 NOV | THE ASTOR THEATRE, PERTH WA
Tickets available from www.showticketing.com.au | 08 9370 5888 | From Astor Theatre Box Office direct
