December is here! As most of the population put up their Christmas trees, have a few too many drinks at the work Christmas party and jam to Mariah on repeat, music enthusiasts are celebrating the start of a different season. That’s right, music festival season is upon us and spirits are high as our favourite NYE festivals step up to the next level with the most enticing of line-ups.
Celebrating its fifth year, Beyond The Valley have truly stepped up their game securing none other than the bright and shiny lads from the UK, The Kooks, along with Joey Badass, Tash Sultana, Duke Dumont, PNAU, Fisher, Alex Lahey, Client Liaison, and DZ Deathrays to name a few.
But the real ‘stars’ of this festival will be Canberra boys, Safia. 2018 has seen the trio release two singles, ‘Freakin Out’ and ‘Starlight’, playing “less shows but bigger shows” on their Eastern Australia tour, taking on China and appearing on just about every festival line up including a Splendour in the Grass set which received huge praise for its massive production and engaging performance. So what better way to cap off the year than with BTV?
The boys are going even bigger and better for BTV with the trio expanding on the production and theatrics of the live show.
“We didn’t do the screens for the Starlight shows and it actually worked really well so I think we might start doing that everywhere else. It kind of plays into the shows theatrics and dynamics, and really used the idea of darkness and simplicity a lot more as well,” vocalist Ben Woolner says. “It’s easy to kind of get carried away and do all of these show effects and all of these crazy lights, screens, visuals, everything going at once but I think now we’re kind of looking at incorporating that simplicity into the set where it all goes to black or we just use the spotlight effectively at the right moment, make it almost more like a theatre piece now which is what we are aiming to get to.”
Expect the integration of technology as well, an avenue the boys have been exploring this past year through augmented reality in their album artwork and Virtual reality gaming for the ‘Starlight’ premiere.
“We’ve been playing around with a lot of different technologies and trying to work out different and interesting ways to roll out the single and then make the art either side of it engaging,” Woolner says. “For us music is very visual. We write with a strong visual in mind and even more so with new music. It’s more about vibe and building rather than big hook moments and elements like that. I think particularly because there is such a strong visual element, even more so with music right now, that’s why we’ve looking at different avenues to bring that to life.”
It’s anticipated the crowd will come to life as well during the highly spun new single, ‘Starlight’, with phone torches held high and Instagram stories in the making, adding a bit of magic to the moment. So make sure you head down to Electric City before their set to recharge!
“I’ve never seen so many phones up during a song at those shows which is ironic as it’s a song about being present [laughs]. I was like ‘okay, cool. This song must be connecting with a few people’. It’s very hard to gage in this day and age when there’s so much music it’s almost paralysing but it seems like people are enjoying it.
“I feel like it has the summer festival potential!” Woolner continues. “We’re playing a few shows over summer and the end of the year. It should be interesting to see how it goes. I think last time we played [BTV] it was a lot of fun and I think The Jungle Giants are playing either before or after us so it’s going to be good!”
It’s only up from here for Safia in 2019, with a new album on the horizon and international ventures in sight.
“Hopefully next year is album time and kind of bringing this new show to fruition and getting to as much of this country as we can at some stage, and try to take it overseas as well. Hopefully it’s going to be pretty busy. We’ve got a few shows in January to get it off to a good start but I’m just keen to get this new music out there.”
The same sentiment goes for Beyond The Valley as they set their sights on an even bigger line up and event. While this year’s festival is sold out [in record time I might add] there may still be tickets on their official resale site Tixel. Get on it now and make sure your prepared for 2019!
Beyond The Valley takes place from the 28th of December 2018, through to the very early hours of January 1st 2019 at Lardner Park, Lardner – just 90 mins drive outside Melbourne.
Written by Tammy Walters
