The Embers Bright

The Embers Bright

The debut offering from Tasmanian indie five-piece The Embers is an eclectic musical journey through the roots spectrum. The impressive 12-track release seamlessly melds elements of reggae, blues, rock and funk to create a long-player that is jam-packed with catchy songwriting, deft instrumentation and an almost tangible live sensibility. Aptly titled Bright, the album is a brilliant beacon of fresh new music and a heady sound that will no doubt cement The Embers as a band to watch.

Featuring Michael Attard (guitar | lead vocals), Katy Humphries (sax | violin), Jai Larkman (drums | percussion), Kilty Salter (bass) and Miles Bender (keys), The Embers first burst into the spotlight winning the National Campus Band Competition in 2006, joining an alumnae which featured the likes of Eskimo Joe and Jebediah to name a few. They were quickly recognised in their home town with a win at the Amplified Tasmanian Music Awards in 2008.

They spent the next few years earning their stripes, cutting their teeth on the live music scene and honing their sound until The Embers were a formidable force to reckon with. Recording their original material for prosperity seemed like a natural progression. When it came to heading into the studio, they wanted to give the music the reverence it deserved, knowing that there is only one chance to capture their sound right. With this in mind, they chose revered musician and producer Nicky Bomba and engineer Robin Mai to bring their dream to fruition, a fitting partnership indeed and one that has resulted in a stellar finished product. After months of pre-production, the band headed into Nicky's studio – Freeburgh Station – and laid down the tracks over 12-days. The final mixing was completed via correspondence and the album was mastered at Melbourne's Sing Sing Studios.

For The Embers, Bright embodies the exact sound they envisioned. 'Recording your first album as a band is just a dream come true and a real validation of all the good times and hard work that we have shared," says Michael. 'We are very much a live band and get a lot of our gigs based on having a good reputation live, so we really wanted to make sure that this shone through on the album by not compressing the hell out of it and keeping the dynamic. I really love the live drum sound that we were able to achieve on the album. The songs carry the ideas as far as the themes of positivity, connection and the love of playing music."

When it came to handpicking the tracks to appear on the album, the band had an extensive collection to draw from. They picked tracks they'd penned over the past few years and ones that were always warmly embraced in their live sets. For Michael, he feels the album represents the band perfectly, portraying their different backgrounds and musical influences. 'We are the sum of our parts and backgrounds coming together and forging something musically that is us," he says. 'We love playing different genres, it keeps us fresh and excited approaching a song in a different way. Some people might say it's confusing as a band to play many styles, as far as your band's identity, but we find it works on many levels, especially in a live situation as there is something for everyone to identify with – whether they're into folk, reggae, rock, pop, hip hop, dance, calypso, blues or anything else that evolves out of a moment of creative inspiration."

The Embers debut album is passionately independent. They won a grant from Arts Tasmania to record the album, and the physical pressing of the album was paid for thanks to the support the band generated through a crowd-funding Pozible campaign. Michael says they couldn't have reached the point of releasing the long-player if not for the incredible support of hometown fans. 'I think any band's hometown support is the best and most cherished a band ever finds," he says. 'It's the same with us. We have so many hometown friends and supporters who have been there the whole time giving us the drive, energy, feedback and advice to keep at it and not give up. We couldn't have done this album without the support of family, friends, fans, festivals, venues and Arts Tasmania. We exceeded all our initial expectations of the support we received locally."

Bright is out now via CD Baby http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/theembers32
For more info, please visit www.facebook.com/embermembers | https://soundcloud.com/mbrs-1