Genre: Funk, Soul

Now into their 23rd year, The Bamboos have maintained their worldwide reputation as trailblazers of Funk & Soul. Their 11th studio album This Is How You Do It signals yet another stage in their continual evolution. Kicking off with the effortless Boogie drenched first single “Ex-Files” the album explores new ground yet remains unmistakably the trademark combination of Lance Ferguson’s Soul powered production style, their effortless groove powered by a nine piece band and Kylie Auldist’s incredible voice.

Upon forming in 2000 The Bamboos they held their own against the overwhelming tide of rock music on Australian stages and became a foundation of the now world famous “Melbourne Soul Scene”. The Deep Funk of their initial singles and albums caused ripples worldwide, becoming the first Australian band with that sound to be signed to international labels and tour Europe and the UK. Kylie Auldist joined the band in 2007 and in a short space of time they became one of the first local Funk & Soul live drawcards, establishing a reputation as one of the best live bands in the country, regardless of genre. They soon evolved from that sound, incorporating a more complex blend of modern songwriting with classic soul arrangements, appealing to both purist fans of the genre as much as casual music fans by focusing on what’s important: songwriting, groove and powerful vocals.

Along the way they have been nominated for six ARIA Awards, five APRA Songwriting Awards. They’ve blown away audiences at festivals and venues everywhere from London to Tokyo to playing in front of 15,000 people at Womadelaide. The list of international and local guest vocalists that they have collaborated with is testament to the respect they garner, and include the likes of Aloe Blacc, Durand Jones, Megan Washington, Tim Rogers, Daniel Merriweather, Dan Sultan, Urthboy, Alice Russell and Joey Dosik. In 2023 they were invited to play Jam Cruise, the long running floating music festival on the Caribbean, where they joined artists such as George Porter Jr. (bass player for The Meters), Butcher Brown, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio and the legendary UK ‘70s Funk act Cymande.

Their previous studio album, 2021’s Hard Up was the best received of their career to date with an ARIA nomination and radio support across Europe, UK and the US. On top of that there were songs taken from it that were used in the feature film 80 For Brady, NBC TV show Kenan and an international ad campaign for Old El Paso. In late 2022 they also released Live At Hamer Hall, the live recording of their shows with the fifty piece Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performed during a break in lockdowns the previous year. They have released albums on such labels as Ubiquity, Tru Thoughts, Atlantic, Sony, Nettwerk and, since 2018, on Ferguson’s own Pacific Theatre Records.

Ferguson own listening habits and inspiration have always been far reaching so it’s no surprise that his own music will end up exploring new paths on this latest album. “It’s 2023, so let’s not get caught up with things like musical convention, because everything is wide open now”, says Ferguson. “By definition nothing that we release can ever possibly be outside the sphere of “our sound”, because that sphere is continually expanding, changing and redefining itself as we create the music”.

“I wanted to make this album the definitive recorded representation of the band”, Ferguson says when reflecting on how he made This Is How You Do It. As with all of his previous projects, production duties were shared longtime collaborator John Castle (Cub Sport, Hatchie, Angie McMahon) and Ferguson spent an intense period mixing the album. “I always care about any music I’m making, but with this album it became pretty obsessive, I spent months pouring over and fine-tuning every minute detail.”

This Is How You Do It contains a few more surprise turns from the band and features guest MCs from the US and New Zealand as well as Melbourne vocalist Reginald AK, who just happens to be the son of Kylie Auldist. No matter how anyone might end up trying to categorise it, “Ex-Files”, along with the forthcoming album, is ultimately the sound of The Bamboos sounding truly comfortable in our own skin and ready to keep exploring the possibilities of what their music can be.

The winning combination of Lance Ferguson and Kylie Auldist topped charts worldwide in 2016 with the then 18 year old French producer Kungs’ remix of “This Girl” by Cookin’ On 3 Burners. That same chemistry is set to happen all over again with 15 year Scottish producer Jimmy Dogood recently officially releasing his remix of The Bamboos 2010 classic “Keep Me In Mind” with Positiva / EMI which had been causing a buzz on Soundcloud since early in 2023.