Nick (The Prophet) Colbey of Borneo
Hi and thanks for taking the time out to speak with us at Musicology.
Firstly congratulations on the EP Rebel Mindtricks. The lead single Jesse is a barnstorming piece, a cacophony of harmonica, big bass sounds, choral and organs. Did this have single written all over it when you were fleshing it out?
G'day Musicology thanks for having us, we actually wrote this one about 5 years ago now so it didn't exactly get first dibs for being a single for a while. But we feel that it represents Borneo and the live show in an accurate way so we are very relieved to give it wings.
There is a Roxy Music flavour to your EP, a real confluence of styles and delivered with a high energy enthusiasm. Who have been some of your musical inspirations and for what reasons?
Thanks for the kind words! We all have different tastes but I think bands like Devo, Midnight Oil and Talking Heads are some of my inspirations, especially watching them live or footage of them live, they really bring the heat so to speak. Our lead guitarist brings a rock element to it all too.
In terms of the writing and lyrical content, was there an overarching narrative tying the EP together or an assortment of topics and inspirations that zig zag throughout the five tracks?
More of an assortment, a lot of Timmy’s songs on this EP have stories - some of innocence and hope, others of separation. Then there's tales of travel and seizing the moment; even the fable of The Great Miso King.
What were some of the challenges in putting this EP together and conversely what were some of the greatest surprises you experienced through the writing / recording process for Rebel Mindtricks?
We are a democratic kind of band and that is the biggest challenge in itself - getting songs out the door and everyone being happy with them. I pushed for two drum kits being recorded for Jesse and that was cool to see Tim and Jack banging along together in the studio. Every time we step into the recording process we are learning about how each other wants to go about recording and it’s both a challenge and a great way to understand each other.
You have some really quirky artwork for the Jesse and the EP itself. Was this your own creation or did you have a few concepts in mind that made their way back to you in the form that we see on the single and EP?
Henry Stentiford is the artist and a good friend of Jacks (the drummer). It was basically free reign for him to do what he wanted. Most of it we loved and some was pretty tweaked. The Jesse artwork just ended up being a sketch of me and my brother (Jesse). It was drawn from a photo taken of us out in a plain in the middle of Australia, from our band excursion last year to go see Midnight Oil in Alice Springs. I really like the character he drew of a little man in a window in a big body. I see it as the inner child having a better view of the world. Go check out Henrys art, it’s an Australiana-desert-melt-rave!
You will be giving the EP a shake down as you embark on a tour this March. What can punters expect to see when you guys take to the stage?
A high octane shaka/shakra re-alignment of the senses if we, Borneo and you, said punters, come together.
