Slamboree define themselves as ‘a live band with a Smörgåsbord of circus performers, daredevils and entertainers’. Musically they fuse bass-driven beats with live orchestra, guitars, percussion, loops, visuals, brass, accordian, pyrotechnics and circus.
The genres bounce around breakbeat, dubstep, drum & bass, dub, techno and electro fused with balkan, folk, and ‘gypsy’ flavours.
Despite only having been around for a few short years they have grown within the festival circuits and it was at this year’s Boomtown Fair that I had a lucky encounter with three of the band’s members Mike Freear (Production, Synths, Guitar), Robinson Boone (Bass) and Aurora Starr (Circus).
Having made their debut Boomtown performance back in 2011 they have come quite some way and are continuing to grow in popularity.
Want to hear more then read on!
V – Can you explain how the band formed and how it feels performing as such a large group?
MF – Well we’re from all over the country, Bristol, Leeds, and London. Everywhere! At the core of it though we are just a group of friends and we’ve found a way to take that friendship and perform with it. There’s so many of us as a collective and we’re quite spread out, so when we do a performance it’s really nice to just get back together. Every gig is always different, sometimes there’s that fine line between being petrified and excited but we all end up bouncing off of each other.
V – What would you say your biggest inspirations are?
MF – We’re drawing in everyone’s individual inspirations really within Slamboree. For example, Starr has got the whole circus thing nailed down and she’ll be doing shows on her own, whilst Boone and I will be doing things within the band. Also, Boone is director of a festival up in Cumbria called Kendal Calling, so we have a lot of inspiration from his side of things as well.
AS – We just aim to find that perfect mix of performance, music and rave and party and just putting it all together and enjoying it.
RB – That’s the beauty of it, we’re all connecting with each other so whilst on stage it’s like a big interactive hybrid. We as the musicians jam with the circus performers.
V – What advice would you give to student artists or bands looking to start up and succeed?
MF – Get really good at blagging on social networking! The first video we did was a big mash up of one gig, but it looked like loads of different things so we appeared quite established just from this one video. The use of interesting social media goes a long way because it is such an incredible powerful tool. For example one incredible YouTube video could make you.
RB – And I think the other advice to give is just getting out there, meeting people and playing gigs. Take every opportunity to network; it’s all about networking, being polite and easy to work with.
V – As a band, what are your aspirations and where do you see yourselves in 10 years time from now?
MF – Aspirations, hhhmm, same thing we plan to do every night Pinky, try to take over the world. Haha. We kind of want to keep it very real and on our terms. We don’t necessarily want this massive exposure. The intimate gigs are our favourite gigs. The one’s where you’re playing to a sweaty tent where you can go up and interact with people.
AS – Rather than having it grand scale we enjoy them when they’re a little bit more personal, I love it when you can make eye contact with your crowd.
V – How did it feel to play at Glastonbury this year?
MF – It was great. We kept it fun and interactive. Immersive theatre is a big thing for us and we really want to see how far we can take that as a group. Even getting people out in the crowd to join in with us or for us to join the crowd, it’s a great way to really immerse them.
V – What would you say is your favourite festival that you’ve ever played?
MF – Boone will say Kendal Calling… oooooh. But no it’s got to be Boomtown really. But Beat-Herder as well, we absolutely loved it.
AS – There was just too many to really pin down a favourite, it really does depend on what you’re into.
RB – It’s great though because there’s a really good circuit of alternative festivals in the UK, they’ve really grown over the past few years
If this interview has wet your musical appetite then check out the latest release – Death of a Festival (feat Beans on Toast) and of course keep your eyes peeled for them at next year’s festivals!
