Jade Jungwirth
Melbourne five-piece folk/rock band The Paper Kites is releasing The Sweet Sound Of You – the first single from their Roadhouse project in Campbells Creek.
In the winter of 2022, the band performed an unannounced month-long residency in Campbells Creek, utilising the onsite facilities of Sound Recordings at the Diggers Store, transforming the space into a pop-up dive venue while working on their sixth record.
There was no advertising or ticketing at the venue, with the band choosing to keep a low profile to try to get back to the essence of their music and create moments of connection between the band and the audience.
But word spread among local residents and soon the popular band was playing to a full house and having to turn people away.
Lead singer Sam Bentley said their month performing and recording in Campbells Creek was one of the most enjoyable times they’d experienced as a band.
“We had talked about doing this for years. We wanted to get back to the heart of getting up there and playing to people who didn’t know us, or our music,” Sam said.
“So we created the ultimate dive bar, a local watering hole where we could put on shows every Friday and Saturday night. It felt like it did in the beginning when we had nothing except our songs to win people over.”
Sam told the Express they were currently working on a film from The Roadhouse and when he watched the footage back it felt like a dream.
“We have such a love for the area, there’s a weird barrier just before Castlemaine, especially in winter – when you pass through, you enter into the wintry dream world,” Sam said.
The Sweet Sound Of You is the first taste of what’s to come from the Aria-nominated band’s highly anticipated sixth album. The song talks of changing of the seasons, the passing of time and the memories that linger in between.
Sam Bentley croons lyrics of carefully crafted imagery alongside Christina Lacy’s lilting piano and the band at their tender best.
Expanding their lineup, the five members of The Paper Kites recruited three extra musicians to make up their roadhouse band, including multi-instrumentalist Matt Dixon – whose weeping pedal steel features on the track – as well as Hannah Cameron and Chris Panousakis.
Performances from The Roadhouse were filmed by cinematographer Keiren Watson-Bonnice and are set to be released with upcoming singles.
The band is planning on touring later in the year and Sam is hopeful they will return to Castlemaine, bringing the music back to where it started.
