LP Walkthrough: CARAVÃNA SUN

Hailing from Sydney/ Byron Bay comes four-piece collective CARAVÃNA SUN, a group that have gained international success with dynamic live performances delighting festivals, shows and open airs around Europe and the UK. Signing with Berlin label Embassy Music (Björk, Moby, Ball Park Music), and having their hypnotic tune Whale Song featured in Netflix’s documentary Seaspiracy, the group are gearing up for a huge year ahead with national tour dates around Australia - including a slot at Byron Bay Bluesfest, accompanying their long awaited third studio album Burning Palms.

Out today, the ten-track release has been two years in the making, written whilst on tour in Munich and Lisbon, recorded in a secluded space deep in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, produced by the band itself, mixed by Boorloo/ Perth’s own Andy Lawson (Death By Denim, Eskimo Jo, End of Fashion, Little Birdy) at Debaser Studio’s, with additional mixing and engineering credited to Ian Pritchett at Laketree Mountain Studios.

The album features previous singles Charlie, Stella, Afterlife - a tune which we premiered last year, and their latest single and opening track Leave It Behind which features a clip filmed pre-performance whilst on the Sunshine Coast - the outfit explaining “We shot the video in the back streets of Maroochydore, Sunshine Coast, right before our show with The Cat Empire. We wanted to capture that pre-show energy. The way anticipation and excitement can evoke a sense of excitement and gratitude for what we do. With over 6000 people in the crowd, we knew we would capture something special.”

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Returning to their roots and finding a deep connection to nature, Burning Palms is rich in indie-pop sounds that capture CARAVÃNA SUN’s dynamic range as musicians. With a range of higher-energy rock groovers, to more laid back pop ballads, the collective craft a soundscape of intricate beats, moving bass lines, grounding keys, airey synths, and epic guitars to back catchy vocal hooks with comforting harmonies.

On the release, the band shares “With many different influences, we ended up with a collection of songs that was truly necessary for us to write, given the pandemic. It was a truly cathartic and important record for us and saw the four of us as artists grow and redefine the creative cogs that turn Caravãna Sun behind the scenes. All of these songs were driven in such a way that meant we could play them live. For Caravãna Sun, the live connection has always been at the core of what we do and were super proud to be bringing these songs to the global stage”

Excited to be back on the road, with a stack of dates from April to August (listed below) be sure to catch CARAVÃNA SUN live in a city near you. But for now soak in the impeccable vibes the group has crafted in Burning Palms below as they walk us through the release track by track.

Leave it Behind

Our song 'Leave It Behind’ was written in Munich, 2019. It’s a song about trust and courage in the face of adversity. At the time, we had no idea we were on the eve of a global pandemic. It became our anthem to keep traversing this deep fracture in the arts community and hold true to our connection to music and the profound impact it’s had on our lives.

Charlie

Charlie was written around RU OK Day. It’s about the experience of going through hard times yet normalising and pretending that it’s really not that bad. When it usually totally is! It’s about reaching out to your friends when you see that vail pull over their eyes.

Stella

Stella was written for a close friend about their miscarriage. Watching such a profound transformation in our friends about to become parents, then to have their world shattered. This song was written to remind them that even though they didn’t get to meet their little girl, she already had such a huge impact on them in the most beautiful way.

Honesty

Honesty is about having a very frank conversation with someone. Breaking down all the noise inside your head to arrive on an honest page. It’s about waking up to the sobering truth of situations and asking the necessary questions

Firebreak

Firebreak was written about the measures we take in our lives to protect the things we love. No matter how hard we try, sometimes the wildfire is bound to jump the line. ‘Firebreak’ is about that melancholic beauty and the mesmerising grace of a dancing flame in the night sky.

Pressure

Pressure was written during a time of uncertainty and repetition. We felt like we were living within a bubble during 2020 & couldn’t see a way out.

Golden Hour

With Golden Hour, we wanted to focus on making a fat groove tune, and create a song that encapsulates the feeling of summer.

Afterlife

This song is about the unknown and asking the deeper questions in life.

Queen of the Midnight Sea

This is one of the oldest songs within the batch. Queen continued to resurface throughout the writing process and held a number of identities before finding its place as a dark love song with an indie dance edge.

Burning Palms

Burning Palms is a reflective journey song. About longing for old memories and echo’s of people in our life. It’s about surrender.

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