Belishas

Bristol art-punks Belishas have returned with a sprawling multi-part single in 'For Winter (I'll Take Heed)' - arguably their most ambitious song to date.

After unleashing their debut EP, Before The Crash, to the world late last year, the four-piece have pushed themselves further in the direction the record hinted they would take, allowing their fluid approach to songcraft to snowball and create a new track that traverses multiple styles with ease across its 5-minute runtime.

Birthed from intense improv sessions and late night jamming, the result fuses inspirations from across the musical map. Diverting from the standard songwriting dynamic within the group, the track was born out of mainly a bass and drum driven groove, with the guitars being recruited as simple ornaments to flesh out the rhythm section's driving force.

In an effort to broaden the band's sound, their combined influences that lay beyond what was heard on Before the Crash were brought further to the forefront. A heavy inspiration for the groove came from a mutual love of electronic and dance acts such as LCD Soundsystem and Air, while other influences were found in no-wave (ESG, Devo), dub-infused post-punk (The Slits, Pere Ubu), and varying indie pop touchstones (Pulp, Suede).

A newfound appreciation of African music also played a pivotal role in discovering new ways to layer rhythmic textures without overloading the original ideas, with artists such as Alogte Oho & His Sounds of Joy, Tinariwen and William Onyeabor being crucial reference points for the band throughout the writing process.

Discussing the track's themes, frontman Ewan Ferguson says that "the topics highlight a vague cognitive enlightenment and new found trust in life. Contrasting from previous moods and topics, the themes of this track are vehemently positive, self accepting and stoic.

Continuing on where his inspirations came from, he states that they were "half directly personal and half from literature and philosophy about space, time, stargazing, astrology, spiritualism, humanism and the human condition/experience", citing writers and poets such as Allen Ginsberg, Joni Mitchell and Nick Cave as being influential to his writing process.

Like the EP before it, 'Winter' was recorded in the basement of iconic Bristol venue The Louisiana alongside producer Jack Ogborne (aka Bingo Fury). To further break away from the 'now quite tiresome guitar dominance' in Belishas’ work (as the band themselves put it), new instruments were used to create new and varied tones and emotions, such as violin parts performed by Ferguson, and additional saxophone heard in the song's climax provided by Evo Ethel (Ex Agent, foot foot).

Becoming quite well-known for their high-octane live shows, Belishas have performed a number of high-profile shows since the release of their EP, such as returning to Bristol's Dot To Dot Festival, supporting Automotion at The George Tavern in London, and performing at a showcase for indie fashion label rabbit (designer for mary in the junkyard, The New Eves, The Last Dinner Party).

Belishas are Ewan Ferguson (vocals, guitar), Alex Garbutt (guitar), Isaac Green (bass) and Euan McCaughan (drums).