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Family in Sydney ... Dan Smith is bringing Bastille to Field Day on New Year’s Day. Source: Supplied
CHRIS Martin on his left, Seal on his right. The man of the moment Sam Smith and his golden tonsils quietly being revered by everyone. Everywhere he looked, there was someone famous. First-name only famous. Bastille frontman Dan Smith was frankly terrified.
He may be the frontman of one of the breakthrough bands of the year but finding himself invited to sing on the Do They Know It’s Christmas reboot to highlight the worsening ebola crisis in Africa was surreal and daunting.
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Chart slayers ... Bastille have joined the vanguard of the next wave of the British pop invasion. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied
The fast-talking and endlessly enthusiastic Smith, whose hit Pompeii reached the top 10 worldwide, said the enormity of the cause won out over his nerves.
“It was quite nerve-racking when you have to sing after Seal and before Sam Smith, but this is so much bigger and more important than any of us involved,†he says.
“So I sucked it up and got on with it.
“And it was an opportunity to see people we are close mates with anyway, to see Ed (Sheeran) and Ellie (Goulding).â€
Smith has made a lot of musical mates since the British band he formed in 2010 released its debut record Bad Blood last year.
It has sold more than three million copies, with another 500,000 singles downloaded in Australia alone.
The band has been chasing its success around the globe since it dropped more than 18 months ago, quickly being snapped up for festival sets, support slots and then sold-out headlining jaunts to Australia and the US.
A compulsive composer, Smith has somehow managed to slam recording sessions into his heavy duty tour schedule and keep the band in the charts with EP releases.
And now they see out the year with a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist and the third mixtape of their career, VS. (Other People’s Heartache pt. III).
It features a dizzying and intriguing mishmash of guests including Californian indie rockers Haim, American rapper and singer Angel Haze, London producer Grades, Grammy nominated singer, songwriter and producer MNEK and British rockers Skunk Anansie.
Mixtape mates ... The Haim sisters feature on the new Bastille album Vs. (Other People’s Heartache pt. III). Picture: Andrew Tauber Source: News Corp Australia
Even Smith is surprised the album got made, let alone released last week.
“Tell me about it!†he says.
“I want to make a real big effort to record on the road. I love recording, so we got the producer we work with out on tour with us to kickstart it.
“We thought it would be fun to do a whole lot of collaborations with friends of ours, the people we bump into on the festival circuit.â€
The postmodern mixtape may be the recording equivalent of arranging to meet your mates down the pub but it also offers songwriters like Smith an opportunity to flex their musical muscles without worrying about whether radio is going to play the songs or the fans will buy them in the same volume as Bad Blood.
Bastille were issuing these kind of compilations before they cracked the charts and plan to keep doing so. Their previous efforts have included covers and mash-ups including the chart hit Of the Night but the new release is all original songs.
Grammy nod ... Bastille will contest the Best new Talent award at the 2015 Grammys. Picture: Supplied. Source: Supplied
“We can literally do whatever the f!@# we want to with these; it’s music for music’s sake,’ Smith says.
“I have always wanted to put them out for free but when you are signed to a record label, it isn’t easy to do that sort of thing and I get it.
“These songs are made for fun, in the spirit of messing around and trying new things.
“It is pretty mad and some fans will love some of the songs. And some will hate them.â€
The band will farewell a crazy year of success — which now includes a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist — and welcome in 2015 with a performance at Field Day in Sydney.
“I’ve got family in Sydney so I get to spend New Year’s with them which will be fun. And I’m a music geek so will spend New Year’s Day watching other bands play,†he says.
HEAR: Vs. (Other People’s Heartache pt. III) is out now.
SEE: Bastille perform at Field Day, The Domain, New Year’s Day, from noon,