“Those types of festivals, the ones that are organised locally, tend to have a really good and strong vibe because people actually go to see the music,” he says. “Whereas other festivals that are bigger, people seem to go to have a party and the music is more of a background thing. With the smaller ones, there’s always lots of local bands, and then maybe just one or two bigger headlines bands. People just seem to care a little bit more.”
Beginning life back in 2010 as more of a straight-up dance band, The Belligerents have expanded their sound over the years, bringing in new styles and textures across a series of singles and EP releases. However, the band’s music continues to get punters moving.
“It’s still a little bit dance-y,” says Kersting. “It was a lot more dance-y back in the day. That was how we started out, that was the kind of music we wanted to make. Now we’re pushing ourselves towards [being] a bit rockier in our sound. A bit more organic, and not as straightforward dance.
“Plus we’ve been playing around and experimenting with more psychedelic sounds, that’s what we’ve been trying to do in the last couple of years.”
Evidence of this stylistic update can be found on the band’s new EP Outside:Inside. The Victorian dates kick off a massive nationwide tour in support of the release.
“Melbourne is the first leg of the tour,” says Kersting. “Then we’re doing Perth; then we’re doing a festival up near Brisbane, called Jungle Love Festival; then we’re doing an actual Brisbane show; a Sunshine Coast show; then two Sydney shows and a Port Macquarie show – that’s a festival called Festival of the Sun. I think it’s ten dates on this tour, and that will be it for touring for this year.”
This won’t be the first time the band have played in Victoria, but Kersting promises a showcase of the different musical strings the band has recently added to their bow.
“It will be completely different from the last time we were down there,” he says. “I think there’s only one song that we play from the old set, maybe two. So it’s a totally different set, totally different music, totally different vibe. It’s a lot more fast-paced, a lot more energetic. It’s supposed to take you to a different place, but people will still be able to have a good time. There’s a lot of psychedelic textures, a lot of more jammy parts, so it should be a whole lot of fun.”
Panacea Festival boasts a diverse lineup, but the entire bill is characterised by an uptempo, fun vibe. “Delta Riggs will be great,” says Kersting. “The Drunk Mums boys will be playing, and they’re really, really funny dudes, so it should be a really fun day.”
While this tour will bring The Belligerents’ 2015 to a close, there’s big things on the horizon for 2016. “We’re bunking down and finishing writing our debut album. We’re going away to record that early next year, and it’ll be out sometime next year.”
BY ROD WHITFIELD
