Album Focus: The Bean Project

Answered by: Ben Langdon

Album title? Naked Trees

Where did the title of your new album come from? Every year a tree lets down its guard of dazzling colour and beauty to reveal its true self. That metaphor is true for relationships, friends and music too. We wanted to record our true selves.

How many releases do you have now? This is our first full-length album but it's preceded by two EPs, one as a duo and one live.

How long did it take to write/record? The songs on the album sum up our last three years - some songs helped birth this band, others were written only last year. Recording only took two weeks, but we'd worked hard to get it right.

Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? We wanted to keep everything simple. No going nuts with effects, not adjusting every little thing we could. We just wanted to play really well and capture an authentic representation of our sound and environment.

What's your favourite song on it? Old Man Jack. Such a fun song to play and Isaac's bass solo is delicious.

Will you do anything differently next time? The only thing would be to take more time, not that I feel we rushed this one. It's nice to take a second to breathe and try out different ideas.

When and where is your launch/next gigs? 21 Jul, Wesley Anne. It's our Melbourne launch, supported by folk songstress Mel Taylor and jazz quintet Carbo Carter Gunnoo. What a party!

Website link for more info? facebook.com/thebeanproject/