Music / Features
Track by Track:
First Beige - Mirrors
First Beige - Mirrors
To cap off a huge 2019, we caught up with Brisbane party-starters First Beige to delve into the disco-tinged psychedelia that makes up their latest EP Mirrors.
First Beige are strong contenders for Brisbane’s hottest live act. Since forming a few years back, they’ve scored spots at BIGSOUND, Gizzfest and Jungle Love Festival, supported fellow jazz-dance heavyweights Harvey Sutherland, Mildlife and Demon Days, and sold-out a string of their own shows. A strong resumé.
Yet more impressive is their reputation - from day one, the six-piece set out to get crowds off their feet and onto the dancefloor - and they’ve more than succeeded. It’s a safe bet that punters and festival-goers across the country won’t be forgetting any wild nights with First Beige anytime soon.
The band has already shown an equally impressive prowess in the studio, and November’s EP Mirrors is no exception. Five eclectic tracks overflowing with all the good bits of dance, pop and jazz. The production bursts like electronica, yet ebbs and flows like a live show, seeming to put you in the room with the group - an achievement that is not only difficult but extremely vital for band like First Beige.
Sometimes funk, sometimes tropicalia and sometimes synth-pop, it’s easy to be hooked by Mirrors’ shape-shifting fluidity, all while an incessant overtone of rhythmic housey-jazz (or is it jazzy-house?) bubbles underneath. The EP’s flagship single ‘Desire’ is a particular highlight - both laid-back and infectiously groovy, it’s a track that would be as comfortable in the background of a barbecue as a late-night DJ set (it’s true, I’ve tried both). In and out of its genre, Mirrors is a strong contender for one of the best releases of the past year.
To celebrate a wonderful EP and a wonderful 2019, First Beige frontman and mastermind David Versace has been kind enough to give TJ an inside look into each track on Mirrors.
Yet more impressive is their reputation - from day one, the six-piece set out to get crowds off their feet and onto the dancefloor - and they’ve more than succeeded. It’s a safe bet that punters and festival-goers across the country won’t be forgetting any wild nights with First Beige anytime soon.
The band has already shown an equally impressive prowess in the studio, and November’s EP Mirrors is no exception. Five eclectic tracks overflowing with all the good bits of dance, pop and jazz. The production bursts like electronica, yet ebbs and flows like a live show, seeming to put you in the room with the group - an achievement that is not only difficult but extremely vital for band like First Beige.
Sometimes funk, sometimes tropicalia and sometimes synth-pop, it’s easy to be hooked by Mirrors’ shape-shifting fluidity, all while an incessant overtone of rhythmic housey-jazz (or is it jazzy-house?) bubbles underneath. The EP’s flagship single ‘Desire’ is a particular highlight - both laid-back and infectiously groovy, it’s a track that would be as comfortable in the background of a barbecue as a late-night DJ set (it’s true, I’ve tried both). In and out of its genre, Mirrors is a strong contender for one of the best releases of the past year.
To celebrate a wonderful EP and a wonderful 2019, First Beige frontman and mastermind David Versace has been kind enough to give TJ an inside look into each track on Mirrors.
Attitude
This was the last song I wrote for the EP, we had another track that didn't end up making the cut and I just had this song sitting on my computer so we decided to use it. The song is about having a positive attitude to things in life, I feel like its easy to jump to conclusions these days and not want to do certain things because we thing think about the whole situation at once, this song is about just saying hey! everything in life can be achievable if you just have a good attitude about!
Joie De Vivre
'Joie De Vivre' was originally called 'This Good' for the entirety of recording, rehearsing and performing it until one day Sampology, Julia, Troy and I were doing some final touch ups with recording and we thought it would be cool to have an interesting phrase that really summarized the whole song, we sat around for what felt like an hour until Troy found a French Phrase 'Joie De Vivre' meaning Joy of Living.
How Do You Unlove Someone
I wrote and recorded this song in under an hour at 2am one winter night. I was trying to stop thinking about this girl but my brain could only focus in on her, so i thought the best way to get some peace of mind was to just get up and let the emotion out musically. I put it up on my personal Soundcloud and went to bed and didn't really think much of it. About a month later my percussionist/flautist (Troy) heard it and said I should release it so I followed his wise words and thought it could work well to give the EP a little dynamic.
Desire
Desire is probably our favorite song to play live, probably because of how many versions it went through till I was happy with the final demo hahahaha. This song means so much to me It's everything I wanted in a song harmonically and sonically, it's a bit of a weird concept but it is about noticing that feeling of desire for someone and making sure you recognize it as a feeling and not something that will control you.
This was the last song I wrote for the EP, we had another track that didn't end up making the cut and I just had this song sitting on my computer so we decided to use it. The song is about having a positive attitude to things in life, I feel like its easy to jump to conclusions these days and not want to do certain things because we thing think about the whole situation at once, this song is about just saying hey! everything in life can be achievable if you just have a good attitude about!
Joie De Vivre
'Joie De Vivre' was originally called 'This Good' for the entirety of recording, rehearsing and performing it until one day Sampology, Julia, Troy and I were doing some final touch ups with recording and we thought it would be cool to have an interesting phrase that really summarized the whole song, we sat around for what felt like an hour until Troy found a French Phrase 'Joie De Vivre' meaning Joy of Living.
How Do You Unlove Someone
I wrote and recorded this song in under an hour at 2am one winter night. I was trying to stop thinking about this girl but my brain could only focus in on her, so i thought the best way to get some peace of mind was to just get up and let the emotion out musically. I put it up on my personal Soundcloud and went to bed and didn't really think much of it. About a month later my percussionist/flautist (Troy) heard it and said I should release it so I followed his wise words and thought it could work well to give the EP a little dynamic.
Desire
Desire is probably our favorite song to play live, probably because of how many versions it went through till I was happy with the final demo hahahaha. This song means so much to me It's everything I wanted in a song harmonically and sonically, it's a bit of a weird concept but it is about noticing that feeling of desire for someone and making sure you recognize it as a feeling and not something that will control you.
Oscars Car
Our synthesizer extraordinaire Oscar wrote and recorded pretty much all of this song! We have actually been playing this song for years so I'm so stoked to finally be releasing it. It has been really cool seeing this song turn from what it was 2 years ago to now and how far the band has come since we first learnt the song, what a way to finish off the EP!
Our synthesizer extraordinaire Oscar wrote and recorded pretty much all of this song! We have actually been playing this song for years so I'm so stoked to finally be releasing it. It has been really cool seeing this song turn from what it was 2 years ago to now and how far the band has come since we first learnt the song, what a way to finish off the EP!
Get your groove on to Mirrors, and Queenslanders can catch First Beige on Saturday, January 4th, with Demon Days at Sol Bar.
