LW Mag LW Magazine
Related Articles
We caught up with Nic Preen, the vocalist from indie pop band Al Bairre who have just won “Open The City” and have earned themselves the opportunity to open for international acts; Boys Noise, alt-J, The Hives and Skunk Anansie at the upcoming Vodacom In The City. See what Nic had to say and get acquainted with this awesome South African band.
Explain to us the feeling when you were announced the winners of “Open The City”?
It felt like when you wee in your pants. You know? Refreshing and warm!
What were the reactions from each band member?
Kyle told a random on the bus he wasn’t talking to, that he was opening for the Hives in Johannesburg. The twins do this thing where when they get excited they run about three meters apart and then straight into each other. Tom went missing for a couple days and I wet myself.
What do you think was the main attribute to you winning?
Our incredible fans! People were going to incredible measures to ensure all their friends voted ‘Al Bairre’. I think even if we had lost, seeing the amount of support there is out there for our music would have been a victory.
For people that haven’t heard of Al Bairre, give us a quick rundown of who you are?
We are an aggressively unfancy classic indie pop band from the mother city who combine cello, violins, guitars, keys, ukeleles and drums to form an orchestral icecream.
“A variety of instruments being thrown around and some terribly choreographed dance moves by five rhythmically challenged suburban white kids”
What does the name of your band mean and how did you come up with it?
I was a huge fan of the French philosopher, Albert Camus and his views on Existential Nihilism and Absurdism and reciprocate a lot of that in the lyrics you hear in our first E.P ‘when I was tall’. So much so that Kyle began calling me Albert (Its sounds like Al Bairre when pronounced the way the French do) and when the time came to play our first show we were still nameless and the event organizer overheard Kyle call me Al Bairre and from then on it’s who we’ve been.
How long have you guys been playing together?
A year and a half.
What are you planning to bring to your performance at Vodacom In The City?
Energetic, fist pumping classics from the Al Bairre discography as well as one or two covers for the girls and boys out there who just wanna have fun.
What can fans and newbie’s expect from your performance?
A variety of instruments being thrown around and some terribly choreographed dance moves by five rhythmically challenged suburban white kids.
What has been your most memorable gig to date?
Every festival we’ve ever played! Mainly Splashy, Oppi, Synergy and Park Acoustics. We can’t wait for Daisies!
How do you think Vodacom In The City is going to compare to that?
Surreal. Complete and utterly surreal. Just to see our name on the poster brings a tear to our eyes. Never in a million years did 12 year old Nicholas, listening to the Hives on his Mp3 player ever think he’d one day have a band opening for them! and not just them! ALT- J , SKUNK & BOYZNOISE. Still a little in shock.
What does opening for the likes of Boys Noise, alt-J, The Hives and Skunk Anansie do for the band?
It’s already done a lot. I think more people already know who we are now and to have that gig on our resumé is going to be really helpful when we make the overseas charge.
What are you looking forward to most about opening for them?
The enormity of the show. We’re all about bewilderment or maybe even the story we’ll take from it to share with our grand-kids one day.
You will also be playing at the sold out Rocking the Daisies in Cape Town, what are you looking forward to about that gig?
We’ve been going to Rocking the Daisy’s for years now and all our friends are gonna be there. Having never played there before and now performing on the Mainstage on the Saturday is so exciting. We’ve always wondered what it would be like to be on that stage and to finally experience it in front of friends and family! I think we might cry and ruin the whole performance.
What’s next for Al Bairre after Vodacom In The City and Rocking the Daiseis?
More releases! More tours! More videos!
