When a band’s music sends you bopping along and itching for more, than you know you’re onto a good thing. Melbourne funk and soul band Saskwatch IS that good thing.
Saskwatch consists of a whopping nine members, led by powerful front woman Nkechi Anele, playing soul inspired numbers, think Aretha Franklin, with pop induced hooks.
Saskwatch have been together for two years, with half of the band members meeting at the Victorian College of the Arts while attending school there. From this humble, yet promising, beginning, Saskwatch has rapidly grown into a soul success.
The band had a stellar year last year which really made their mark, not only on the Melbourne scene, but also on the Australian funk and soul scene in general. The release of single ‘Don’t Wanna Try”, with its mellow soul sound and killer vocals, gained the band well-deserved recognition and set them up for what has been an even bigger year for Saskwatch.
The band began 2012 by playing two major festivals, Golden Plains and The Falls Festival’s Lorne event, which gained them enormous exposure, as thousands of people from around Australia attended these festivals.
They then had the honour to support funk and soul legends, American band, Earth, Wind, Fire at the Palais Theatre.
Tom Pettit, the bass player for Saskwatch, said, “that was a pretty crazy show, just for one, getting to play at the Palais ‘cause it’s an amazing venue, and two, to get to play for Earth, Wind, Fire, just because they are one of the biggest bands in the world and have been… for almost forty years…yeah it was crazy just to get an opportunity to do that.”
All of this, plus a residency at Melbourne’s Cherry Bar, and it’s not even half way through the year yet!
When asked what’s next for the band, Pettit replies, “Hopefully just building on what we’re doing now; ah playing lots, it’d be good to be playing lots around the world, and just um still having good times.”
If you’re not familiar with the funk and soul genre, don’t fret, you don’t need to be a soul fanatic, or to have even listened to the genre before, to enjoy Saskwatch. The band’s music simply makes you want to dance and hum along to what they’re playing, so you’ll be grooving along in now time.
Saskwatch are set to release their debut album towards the middle or end of this year, so make sure you keep a look out on their website www.saskwatch.com.au or head over to their Facebook page to keep up with all the latest updates.
Links //
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDxDT56fseU&feature=player_embedded
http://soundcloud.com/saskwatchmusic/pushin-me-away
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Currently heading towards the finish line of a Media and Communication degree, Safiye loves to reward herself with her three essentials: fairy tales, fashion and Frank Sinatra. She is also obsessed with all things music, and is lead singer of Melbourne band Vacant Skies. If she’s not singing, you’ll either find her laughing like a hyena, frantically writing ideas in her journal or talking way to fast. Safiye talks so fast sometimes that people struggle to keep up, but she insists she has to, as she has so much to say and so little time.
