Gideon Bensen and Isabella Manfredi on Australia Day Photo: Yves Margarita
The Preatures brought their infectious blend of Gothic soul and rock and roll to The Rocks on Australia Day for the Festival of the Voice. We caught up with Gideon Bensen and Isabella Manfredi of The Preatures side of stage.
Q. How are you enjoying Australia Day so far?
Gideon: This is probably one of the better Australia Days I’ve had in a long time. You’ve got such a beautiful backdrop with The Rocks; it’s one of the most Australian places to be.
Isabella: I got to sleep in until midday! (laughs)
Q. That’s a classic way to kick things off. What does the day mean to you as young Australians?
Isabella: Triple J Hottest 100. That’s what I grew up with. Me and my dad would listen to it every year, It’s always been a big part of my Australia Day growing up.
Q. Are there any Aussie bands that you’ve seen in the Hottest 100, or bands that you hope will make it in that you love?
Gideon: I’d hope to see some Deep Sea Arcade and one or two of their songs pop up. I think they’re down to the last 30 or so of the countdown, so it’s business time.
Isabella: It’s been incredible, there are songs that I thought would chart way higher, like ‘Warrior’, the song that Kimbra did. I love that! It came in at number 98, or something ridiculous.
Q. Your song ‘Take a Card’ has blown up on Triple J, what has that meant for the band?
Isabella: We got an email about it being the tenth most played track on Triple J this year, which was pretty incredible. It’s been a great song for us. We’ve got a manager, we’ve got a label and we went on six back-to-back tours with some fantastic bands, just off that song. It’s a good’n.
Gideon: But we still wake up, and wipe our own bums.
Isabella: (laughs) How Australian.
Q. 2012 saw the release of your second EP ‘Shaking Hands’, what are you working on in 2013?
Isabella: January has been our month of recording. We’ve got our own place in Hibernian House, which is like a warehouse near Central and our lead guitarist Jack is producing our new EP for us.
Gideon: You’re going to hear different stuff; you’re going to hear the band progress.
Q. What kind of sound are you moving towards?
Isabella: It’s very seventies. There’s a lot of Bee Gees disco in there. I don’t want to freak anyone out but –
Gideon: It’s very glittery.
Isabella: I think we’ve definitely gone for a more pop sensibility. We’ve really become intent on mastering some kind of pop structure and form, which has been fun. We’ve written so many songs over the past year, so we’ve just picked five or six and are bashing them out, and then looking towards an album.
Q. Are we going to see flare pants and glitter on stage?
Gideon: I hope so.
Isabella: I’m definitely rocking a glam wardrobe for this next EP.
Gideon: I might have to buy some new clothes, maybe get some platforms, or go a bit Lou Reed. I might wear a bit of mascara.
Q. What are your plans for the rest of Australia Day?
Isabella: We’ve got another gig! We’re playing at the Casino tonight, with Sparkadia and Glass Towers, which should be great fun.
www.thepreatures.com
