Premiere: Meet Bronte Public House, who make a ruckus with their new single, Alive

If the band name Bronte Public House isn't enough to draw you in, then chances are their ruckus-inducing, punk-spirited sound will do the trick. The Sydney-based project - led by writer and producer James Heathwood - are an adventurous new addition to the city's indie-rock space, making an entrance with their debut single Sleepyhead back in 2019 before launching into a string of singles throughout last year; each track - from Sky Blue to All A Dream - showing different flourishes of their sound and the textures and genres within it.

In 2021, the group have been busy working towards their debut EP expected sometime later this year, and today, we have the first teaser of what we can expect from that EP, with Alive premiering on Pilerats today ahead of its official release tomorrow, April 16th. It's a vicious and unadulterated display of Bronte Public House's energetic charm, capturing this rough-around-the-edges punk spirit that has really grown and evolved over the last two years - something brilliantly shown on Alive.

It's a single inspired by acts including King Gizz and The Presets simultaneously, despute the two acts each showing their punk spirit in very different ways. Bronte Public House bring them together on Alive, welcoming the energy and fun of The Presets with the DIY, psychedelic-edge King Gizzard bring through their own music, while acts like Kirin J Callinan and Bag Raiders sneak into the single in a more physical/instrumental form, as Heathwood explains.

"Alive was written on a high energy day in a small studio in Tamarama. At the time lots of Bag Raiders gear had been left there, so it would be rude to not go a little crazy. I started with the live drums and had a few ideas, but it wasn’t until I picked up a guitar that had been left there by Kirin J Callanan that I started to really find the song. I played his crazy non branded little pink guitar through a screaming chimp amp and, without any pedals, it sounded like the most distorted weird piece of goodness I’ve ever played," he says on the single and its creation.

"A week later, I learned it was actually a $30 guitar Kirin bought online because you can connect it via Bluetooth! No wonder it sounded so distorted and crappy - I fully placebo-ed myself into thinking it was more like a special edition Kirin J custom model with inbuilt distortion."

Placebo or not, Alive is a whole lot of fun and a perfect introductory moment to Bronte Public House if you're yet to be acquainted, and with a debut EP and plenty more incoming, it feels like no better time to do. So, do it below, as we premiere Alive ahead of its release tomorrow:

Tell us about yourself?

Hey what's up. I’m Jimmy. I'm pretty cruisy but obsessive-compulsive when it comes to music - If my girlfriend hears my newest song one more time I will have an ex. She has this small little Toyota Yaris but the speakers are actually so good so I sound test everything in the Yaris.

What’s your music like? What does it sound like? What kind of themes does it usually cover? 

My music is pretty random! I basically like anything that feels good, with big energy. So I go more with that when I’m writing than planning a structure. I do have pretty particular taste though and lean on the psych / indie rock side so everything starts there for sure. Bands like Pink Floyd, King Gizz, Tame Impala and Gorillaz are at the top of my influence list.

I want to make music that people can go absolutely nuts to. Real whacky energy. I hope that BPH is known as the wild and fun set at a festival.

What are your production and writing processes usually like?

I grew up as that classic attempted singer songwriter with an acoustic guitar and lyric book full of deep moments that will make people feel So Beautiful feat. Pete Murray. My old band Hiaground even got to that point and supported Pete Murray. It was really fun. I remember arguing with my old bandmate Kyle to the point of tears over some cheesy ass lyrics about a breakup.

ANYWAYS. I eventually decided that acoustic guitars and sad memories won’t bring that big festival energy that I love when I’m attending live music gigs and festivals, and I also watched way too much JOSE GONZALES live and felt scared to ever attempt being a singer-songwriter again. So I took the deep dive into the world of music production, making a bigger sound that I love. I’m very fortunate to have some amazing friends around me who world already deep into their music production and helped guide me. Oscar from Mel Blue and Pat from Beso Palma really inspire me to keep learning and experimenting with the sound.

I can safely say I am fairly lost though. I don’t really have any idea what I'm doing but I think that helps me make things that are random and feel original. I love starting with a bit of a vibe over a beat and a bass line. If Sam who plays bass live is around the process is usually way quicker as he is the one take wonder kid, and I am the all day to make 10 seconds kid. Pretty soon after drum and bass usually comes lots of tambourine and cowbell, and we will carefully place the tambourine throughout to make sure the song rises and falls. 

Can you tell us a bit about your new single, Alive?

Alive is nuts. I can honestly say that I wanted to make something that sounded like King Gizzard,  that wild psych-rock energy and trippy harmonicas. I played everything on Alive except for the Harmonicas, that was my Girlfriends dad - Andrew. He came to the studio after work and we put his harmonica through a space echo delay and distorted guitar amp.I Love it! Budo came along to engineer the Harmonica with me. Lyrically - the song is kind of about my dissatisfaction of seeing Karl Stefanovic on the TV every time I woke up at my mum's house. Waking up with Today drove me to the point of insanity which created ALIVE. It is truly the channel 9 Musical Frankenstein.

What do you have planned for 2021?

2021 started pretty silly because I abandoned post and moved onto a property up the coast, leaving behind the studio I had been working out of and most of my friends and music network. HOWEVER, I have been spending lots of my time on recording new music. The most recent BPH recording sessions have been pretty wild and I have never been so excited by my own music. It will probably be the death of all the people around me though. I listen to it constantly.

We’ll see how the release of Alive goes and hopefully get a few more tunes out too :). Perhaps we’re working toward something bigger! I'm very excited to get on the gig circuit too. We have a fun show planned with cool visuals by Olly Kamp.

What do you want people to take away from your work? 

I want people to feel something. I want their emotions to be triggered and for energy and excitement to ooze into their body. I want people to create their own meanings via the lyrics and feel the same love that I get when writing and creating the tunes. 

Where can we find more of your music?

Spotify and Youtube etc! For sneak peaks of newer stuff, ya gotta come see BPH live!

Follow Bronte Public House: FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM