Paper Kites Burning The Candle At Both Ends

By Marcus Braid on November 19, 2015 in

Having recently released their critically acclaimed sophomore album ‘twelvefour’, Melbourne indie folk quintet The Paper Kites are about to embark on a national tour to spread their dreamy sounds. In anticipation of their November 6 gig at the Metro, The Beast fired a few questions at drummer Josh Bentley…

My earliest music memory is… singing lead vocals and banging on my tin drum at weekly family concerts in the dining room at home.

The idea for the name The Paper Kites came from… our guitarist Dave’s childhood obsession with flying kites (long story).

We’d like to think that our music is… going to connect with and have an impact on those who listen; hopefully that’s for the best.

Our new album, twelvefour, could be described as… a little darker than previous recordings, yet it has an optimistic sense of confidence and light.

We wrote the whole album between the hours of midnight and 4am because… we wanted to explore a different way of writing music and our singer Sam heard a theory that an artist’s creative peak is between the hours of midnight and 4am.

The most exciting thing about the local music scene in Australia is… that it’s so vibrant and it’s going places. Heaps of Aussie acts have really been flying the flag internationally lately, like Meg Mac and Holy Holy.

My biggest fan has got to be… my dad. He has collected all our merch, CDs, and newspaper and magazine clippings, and he comes to all our Melbourne shows. He’s either proud or just has a sick obsession.

If we could have written any song, it would have been… ‘Hallelujah’ by Leonard Cohen. It’s such an amazing song; I love Cohen’s deep low range tones and the Jeff Buckley version ain’t too bad either.

One person we’d really like to record with is… Jack White. I really dig all that Jack White does, from his days in The White Stripes to his solo stuff. I love his quirky nature and I reckon he’d be a cool guy to meet in the flesh.

If you come and see us at the Metro on November 6, you can expect… a splendid evening full of musical moments, some onstage banter thanks to Sam and Christina, and some sweet new neon lights we have purchased just for this tour.

We never want to get to the point where… we are rock stars who refuse to wipe our own arses.

Our dream gig would be… a sold out headline show at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. I’m dreaming big, ha ha!

The Paper Kites’ new album ‘twelvefour’ is available now online and at all good record stores. For more information, visit www.thepaperkites.com.au.