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“DEATH 2 is a triumph for Banks Arcade. It’s a bold, innovative, and emotionally charged EP that cements their place as one of the most exciting bands in the current musical landscape” – Everblack Media

“…there’s never a dull moment throughout DEATH 2…the world has been given an amplified chance to see the true potential of this group, beyond confines and with zero external expectations hindering proceedings” – Hysteria Mag, 9/10

“There’s just not many bands who can pull this sort of shit off…it’s so clever, exciting and interesting” – The Break Down With Nath & Johnny

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Congrats on your new EP. A Muse. It’s coming out 28 June. You’ve said that the EP covers personal issues, how are you able to convey that or use that to find creative inspiration in your songwriting process?
For my songwriting process during that time, it wasn’t as thought out as some other songs that I’ve made. Sometimes you go into the studio and there’s not necessarily any immediate things that are happening to you. And so you open up your project and you begin to write from a more technical side. When you’re dealing with transient issues that are affecting your life, that’s when, for me at least, music becomes a bit of an outlet because I’m just going in there to pour my heart out and I’m not really thinking about what I’m doing. A lot of the songs on A Muse, came out in that way. They were a response to things that were going on in my life or thoughts that I was having. I got in there and created the bulk of the writing in an almost frenzied state, all the ideas were hitting me at once. The process to get it to the final songs that you end up hearing went through two separate recording sessions, one in the UK, one in Australia to get it to the level that we wanted. It’s a drawn out process. I try to start with something authentic and something that is real.

Your songwriting comes from a vulnerable place, why do you think fans are able to resonate with your music?
I think that music is a form of language. Everyone can feel isolated in their own conscious state. If you feel alone or if you feel like all of the thoughts that you’re having or things that are going on in your head is unique to you – when you are able to talk to somebody, that can help alleviate stress or create a positive experience for you. When we listen to music and when we engage with art, it really is just an extension of human connection. So, if I’m listening to music and I’m enjoying it and I’m connecting with it, it’s probably because it’s resonating with me emotionally. I would say that that’s how people are able to resonate with it.

For new fans who will come across your music, what song would you recommend they listen to first to understand your message and who you are as a band?
This is a question that’s very hard for me to answer because we have so many different sounds, so it would depend on the person. If it was somebody that I thought liked heavy music, I would tell them to listen to a song like Roulette. The first track off of the EP kind of covers all the bases of what we sound like.

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What has been the best fan experience/interaction you’ve had so far?
There are a lot of people you connect with when you’re touring and you create so many cool stories of people that connect with the music. Every one of those interactions that I have with somebody who genuinely listens to all the music, knows all the lyrics – I’m equally as blown away. How does this person like this so much? One that comes to mind is there was this guy who was at an acoustic set. I think his name is Riley. Every single show we’ve ever played in Melbourne, he’s been there and he brings all of the set lists from all the shows and gives me old ones that I haven’t even seen. Things like that are really special.

What is your favourite state to perform in in Australia?
One of our favourite places to play as a headlining band was in Sydney. It is a completely different energy there. On the North Lane tour in Brisbane at The Fortitude Music Hall was actually the craziest show of the whole tour.

Do you plan on coming back to Australia soon?
Yeah, I am currently in New Zealand for a few months and I’m just focusing on writing at the moment. I’ve just come back to my hometown to spend a bit of time in nature and kind of focus on being creative. We’ve got more tours that we’ll be announcing later on in the year.

How has your journey changed since your album Future Lovers 2022 to Death 2 and then to your new EP Now?
I think trying to manage external pressures and still staying authentic to yourself is the biggest change. When you’re just writing music and there’s no one involved, it’s a lot easier. You’re trying to get people to listen to your music and you’re just putting yourself out there. Once you start to have a little bit of success, there’s finances, there’s all of these people that are involved in teams. It’s hard as the person that’s just going to sit there and write a song to not let that feel like a weight that’s sitting on top of you. I think just us coming into our own, learning how to play bigger shows, learning how to tour, learning how to live the lifestyle and manage our personal lives and everything around it – that’s probably the biggest change. The core of the band and what I truly believe and what I’ve always known about our potential, that’s still the exact same.

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DEATH 2 EP – OUT NOW
HERE

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Do you have a performance pre-ritual?
I definitely do. It does change, dependent upon if we’ve got a big green room space. We usually all huddle up and get each other hyped up. I definitely like to have a bit of time to be around everyone, there might be friends in the green room. Once it’s 30 minutes to an hour before we go on, I usually try and clear out our space if I can, and just have a moment to do a little workout, do a bit of a meditation, spend some time in my own head and drop into focus. Little bit of stretching, running around, probably do some shadow boxing, get a little sweat on, ready to go!

What piece of advice would you give to an artist starting out?
If you’re going to put yourself out there, you have to consistently ask yourself the question, do I have anything to say? What is it that I have to say? What do I want to put out there into the world? Because I feel if you don’t have anything that you genuinely want to say, then what you’re doing and the journey that you’re setting out on is really one of imitation. You need to define why am I doing this?
It is a very hard journey if you want to pursue it as a career. You have to find that resolve in yourself and always reconnect to that because I think the more successful that you get, it becomes harder and harder to connect to your voice and a lot of other voices start to influence that. Remember to have that presence of mind to anchor yourself back to who you are and what you want to say.

Some favourite questions just to finish us off!
Album: The Black Parade, My Chemical Romance
Artist: Kendrick Lamar
Movie: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Place to visit: Lake Taupo, New Zealand
Food: Ramen
Drink: Negroni
Tattoos: There’s this Studio Ghibli movie called The Cat Returns. We watched it on tour and we all got tattoos of like the secret agent cats.

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Follow BANKS ARCADE

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Press Release 2nd February 2024 (below) HERE

BANKS ARCADE
announces brand new EP
A MUSE
due out June 28

Band shares new single
HEARTSTOP

Touring Nationally
this May

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AMNPLIFY – DB