BUMBLEBEEZ [05:09:07] FREAK YA Some bands love to tour. They love the thrill of getting out on the road, on the stage, doing what they do best in front of a huge, pulsing crowd, letting rip with all the musical madness they have to offer. The Bumblebeez aren't one of those bands. "Some people live to tour, but I don't really like it that much," mix master Chris Colonna says honestly. "I find it quite hard to re-interpret what we do live - from day one we've always had a lot of people on our backs about that - some people love us, and others just get there and really hate it, but that's just the way it is." The Bumblebeez are a hard band to categorise. A brother and sister duo from the small New South Wales town of Braidwood, their music is part reggae, part hip hop, part electro and part punk mixed with a whole lot of random samples. A hyperactive mix of pretty much every style you can get your hands on, the band have recently released their debut album 'Prince Umberto and the Sister of Ill', which Colonna describes as simply a reflection of life. "The music comes from daily influences, not other people's sounds," he begins. "I like all types of music, but when it comes down to it, we're much more influenced by things we see and read about and research." And considering the lives Colonna and sister/band mate Pia have lead over the past few years, it's understandable that their music should take cues from here, there and everywhere. "I lived in New York after school, then moved back to Braidwood, and I moved to Sydney just a few weeks ago," Colonna explains. "Pia lives in Canberra and is pregnant; due to have her first kid any day now, and then she'll probably move back to Braidwood after it's born, to be closer to mum." Excited at the prospect of becoming an uncle for the first time, Colonna understands that the band will probably undergo some major changes in the coming months. "She's still been doing interviews and we had done the majority of the album before she got pregnant, but we'll have to do things differently in the next six months," he says. Until then, fans will be able to immerse themselves in 'Prince Umberto and the Sister of Ill', an album with more diversity and colour than a bag of mixed m&ms. Opening with a mash of sound and effects, even the track list for the record is eclectic and slightly peculiar. 'Black Dirt' is described as a paranoid and primal calling to arms, while the first single, 'Dr Love', is "a bouncy trip through bumping hip hop drums, stiff bass, a rolling piano hook and off the wall stereo sound effects that sounds like eating a rainbow and farting out gold." Alright then. But despite descriptions that might seem absurd, and music that belongs to no single category, the Bumblebeez are stoked with the result, and are excited to see their debut hit the shelves. And, despite reservations, they're excited about the prospect of finding their place on stage. "We've played with some cool people, Radiohead, Pharrell Williams, but the crowds really hated us," Colonna laughs. "Our shows are generally better because people have come out to see us, but even then sometimes they go wrong and we piss someone off anyway. We'll have to work on that." Erika Hennessy The Bumblebeez' debut album Prince Umberto & The Sister of Ill is out now. They headline Coo Coo KaChoo @ Monastery Friday September 14. back to top ^

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