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We’d like to introduce you to, if you haven’t heard of them before, Simon & the Bande à Part, a Cape Town based Indie Folk Rock Band (previously known as Simon van Gend Band). Simon & the Bande à Part have recently released their new album “Blinking and Breathing”, we caught up with Simon – guitar, vocals and songwriter – to talk about it and the bands place in the South African music scene, which turned out to be an interesting read. Enjoy.
Tell us about Simon & the Bande à Part, how you got started, the name and what your goals as a band are?
We’re a three piece, from Cape Town, made up of Eric Michot on bass, Ross Campbell (Urban Creep, Fetish) on drums and myself, Simon van Gend on guitar and vocals. I also write the songs. I’ve been playing with Eric in various bands since about 15 years ago. Ross joined us for the recording of my 2nd album, Pocketsongs, in 2004 and we’ve been a band ever since. Up until recently we were known as the Simon van Gend Band, but I’d been feeling for a long time that we needed a more inclusive name, because our sound is really about much more than just me. Eric says he dreamed the name “Bande à Part” (he’s French). It’s a French expression which refers to a group or artists who work outside the mainstream. Seemed apt so we decided that would be our name. We kept the “Simon” partly so our fans wouldn’t get confused, and also I guess because I’m the songwriter.
There are a handful of Indie Folk Rock bands hailing from South Africa compared to other music genre bands at the moment. Tell us why you think that is?
I think mainstream radio dictates to a degree what their listeners will get into, and what style bands will need to gravitate towards if they want success locally. I guess maybe it’s also to do with the pace of modern life – maybe people don’t have time for calmer, more reflective music – they want their music to help keep their adrenaline levels up.
What was your reason for going with this genre of music?
It was never a conscious choice really. I play the music I love. I seldom think in terms of genres. I play acoustic guitar. I pick it up and write songs about whatever feelings or thoughts are churning inside me. People tell me it sounds folky, so I go with that when people ask me to describe my music. But at the end of the day, these are songs that I think anyone can relate to.
The Indie Folk Rock genre is definitely growing on the international scene and South Africans are becoming more accustom to it. How do you think this will benefit Simon & the Bande à Part?
Well, if that’s true, I’m sure it will be useful to us, but I think the main thing for us is to focus on growing our fanbase, regardless of what the trends are. The music we make is introspective and reflective, and I guess appeals more to a certain kind of person – and there are plenty of people out there who would love our music if we could just reach them. Fortunately the Internet has changed the way things work and we no longer need to rely so much on the mainstream media – there are channels on the web that allow one to reach and cultivate niche markets all over the world.
“It’s a true story about something that happened in my childhood, and I think it captures something we all feel deep down, about wanting to feel safe and loved”
You have recently released your new album entitled Blinking and Breathing, give us some insight to this album and what can fans expect from it?
It’s a bunch of songs that I wrote over about a three year period, during which I fell in and out of love, and there are songs that capture the various stages of that. Some happy, some sad. Most of my songs deal with difficult feelings – even the happier ones have a melancholic edge, but they’re not heavy and dark – because what happens when I write is I start to free up my feelings, and even if they’re sad feelings, they become liberated in the process, and it becomes playful. Kind of hard to explain really, but I often have the experience of hearing a really sad song, yet it leaves me feeling good and grounded and somehow more free, and my music does something similar for me and hopefully for others too.
How long did you spend recording this album and how many tracks does it feature?
The actual recording took 10 days, and we recorded 16 songs. We then chose the 12 best for mixing onto the final album.
How does Blinking and Breathing differ from your previous albums?
One of the main differences is in the overall quality of the production. Around the time of the recording of our previous album “Guest of my Feelings”, we heard an EP by Angus & Julia Stone, called “Chocolates and Cigarettes”, and were really taken by the production on it – really clear and full-sounding, without being at all over-produced. When it came to choosing a producer for the new album, we decided to try our luck and track down the producer of that album, an Australian producer named Ian Pritchett. He was interested, so we sent him our demos, and on the strength of that he agreed to come over and produce our album.
In your opinion which song off the new album do you think is going to get the most attention?
The opening track “Am I the Worm” is probably the catchiest song, it’s got a nice quirky rhythm, quick-fire lyrics, and a soaring chorus full of longing and nostalgia. I think it would be a hit in a world where the mainstream radio didn’t require you to sound like whatever is on the billboard charts.
Which song means the most to you?
Probably the title track, “Blinking and Breathing”. It’s a true story about something that happened in my childhood, and I think it captures something we all feel deep down, about wanting to feel safe and loved.
Based in Cape Town, how often do you gig there and do you have a usual residence that fans can catch you at?
We’re not gigging a whole lot at the moment, partly because we’re focusing our energies on getting the band out there through other means – the media and the web. Also, I’m putting a lot of energy into a new thing of mine, called “A Song A Week”, where I’ve committed to writing one song every week for the next year. Anyone interested in following this should visit http://asongaweek.simonvangend.com, and please let me know what you think in the comments section.
Have you got any nationwide gigs lines up? If so, please give us the details?
We’re going to be visiting Joburg and Pretoria at the end of May for a few market gigs and some house concerts. We’ll be playing at the House and Leisure night market on 29 May, at Katy’s Palace Bar, 6 Desmond Street, Sandton, then Friday night in Pretoria (details will be on our Facebook page closer to the time), Saturday morning at the Neighbourgoods market in Juta Street, Joburg, Saturday evening we’re doing a house concert in Craighall Park (again check out our Facebook page), Sunday morning at Finders Keepers Market in Rosebank, and then a Sunday evening house concert in Parkview (check Facebook). I’d really like to urge people to head over to our Facebook page, where they can hear songs and if they like the page they’ll get updates on when and where we’re playing.
What’s next for Simon & the Bande à Part?
We’re working hard at getting the word out there, and are very keen to get overseas at some point. I’m going to be doing a solo tour of the US in September, and hopefully to pave the way for a full band tour. Also very keen to get our foot in the door in Australia, and am hoping our Australian producer can hook us up with some contacts there. The tricky part is finding a way to do it without having to mortgage my house!
