Caravãna Sun Beauty and The Pain Interview

Celebrating the Good and the Bad

Raucous indie surf rockers Caravãna Sun have announced their infectious new single Beauty and The Pain, written to celebrate the good and the bad times within a relationship. The group have also announced a video to accompany the track, directed by Jay Wennington at Bad Seed, the vid documents the creative process behind Beauty and The Pain and gives fans special insight into its conception.

Produced by the legendary Steven Schram (The Cat Empire, San Cisco, Paul Kelly), Beauty and The Pain is a hook-driven romp; undeniably modern, with a tight, interesting arrangement and a vocal melody that worms itself into your head and refuses the leave. Existing fans of Caravãna Sun will not be disappointed by this new offering, as it shines a light on their lovable knack for catchy indie-rock, however new and old fans alike will be impressed by their ability to evolve as songwriters with each new release. Speaking on the inspiration behind the song, Caravãna Sun's Ant Beard says, "(Beauty and The Pain is about) knowing that in the shit times, there's always a splitting ray of beauty, like the fierce glow of your angry lover. It's the cheeky smile you can't help but let out, it's the knowing that where there's pain, there's beauty."

The clip for Beauty and The Pain is a homemade gift – it's always interesting for listeners to watch how their favourite songs have come together, and this video provides just that. It's heartwarming and fun; Caravãna Sun are clearly not just a band, but a bunch of close friends as well, and it's a pleasure to watch them work together. Speaking on the clip, Ant says, "Beauty and the Pain has been written out of a completely new approach to creating music in Caravãna Sun. What better way to capture great footage than film people completely out of their comfort zone! We brought a camera along to document this song's journey and most of all, see the band transform into this new sound."

Caravãna Sun have hit venues across the country, playing their sun-soaked rock to Aussie audiences throughout winter this and are now moving on to a fully loaded six week EU/UK tour. Pumped to hit the road (and the surf), Ant enthuses, "Our touring schedule over the years has been highly dependent on the surf locations and whether we'd have time to get in the ocean between soundcheck and gig… At this point in our career, we've realised that we and our fans like music that moves both inside and out. Whether that's full power hip thrusting or held suspense between moments of bliss, we're always on the search to break the barrier between artist and audience."

Caravãna Sun is Luke Carra (guitars, vocals), Ant Beard (bass, vocals), Alex Dumbrell (drums, percussion), and Ken Allars (trumpet, keys).

Stream Single: Beauty And The Pain
Watch: Beauty And The Pain

Interview with Caravãna Sun

Question: What inspired the new song, Beauty and the Pain?

Caravãna Sun: Beauty and the Pain was born out of a three-hour long jam; breathing through music has always been the natural progression of writing songs in the band.

The lyrics were developed around the quality of life: the black and white, the knowing where there's beauty, there's pain. Through this acceptance comes a deep gratitude and love for both.


Question: Can you tell us about filming the video clip for Beauty and the Pain?

Caravãna Sun: Throughout this creative process, we've been consistently pushed to out if of comfort zones. When it came to filming the clip, we wanted to capture the exact moment this song was coming together without any bells and whistles. It's just raw footage of us performing the song exactly how we recorded it.


Question: Which is your favourite song to perform live and why?

Caravãna Sun: I've always loved performing open up. We wrote the song up on Bardi Jawi Country, the top end of the Kimberley, Western Australia. Certain songs have the ability to transport you to another universe. For us, those song lines that run up the Dampier Peninsula have represented something so deep in culture and continue to form a huge amount of inspiration.


Question: What should we expect from the upcoming shows?

Caravãna Sun: We treat the live set like one big song; there's ups and downs and overall a huge amount of energy thrown down on the stage.


Question: If you could have anyone, in the world, attend a show, who would it be?

Caravãna Sun: Mick Fanning - absolute frother!


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Caravãna Sun: Each have their special moments. I love live because you only get one chance to do each song justice. It forces you to be in the moment and with the audience.

Question: What is the story behind the name, Caravãna Sun?

Caravãna Sun: We needed a name and our 17 year old selves thought it sounded great!


Question: How did the band come together?

Caravãna Sun: We all met in school, music always felt better than business studies; as you get older it's actually funny how conscious we need to be about business (laugh).


Question: What motivates you most when writing music?

Caravãna Sun: Usually it's just chasing a specific emotion or feeling that's swimming somewhere inside. When you're writing with someone else, it's always essential to have a connection. The motivation is always to convey a feeling that words can't.


Question: Which music/artists are you currently listening to?

Caravãna Sun: The new Ben Howard record is blowing my mind, I've always loved him as an artist and this new record is no exception


Question: What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Caravãna Sun: I don't think it was ever a choice. I love writing songs and in order to live outside of my bedroom walls, I have to embrace the industry side. I love the sense of community that joins everybody but at times the whole money side can be toxic to art. A healthy balance is needed for sure.

Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Caravãna Sun: I'd love to collaborate with Nils Frahm; he is an incredible German composer, he's music is truly incredible and has had a profound impact on my life.


Interview by Brooke Hunter