Get Acquainted With Baton De Cul-De-Sac + Listen To 'Something'

Baton De Cul-de-sac's excellent single 'Something' seemingly appeared out of nowhere to nab our attention via the radiowaves, and in our quest to find out more about this mysteriously monikered group we discovered that its comprised of a whole bunch of familiar faces (Lawrence Goodwin, Rachael Charlie, Reuben Winter, Hamish Kyle, et al) who are using the opportunity to do something loose and fun outside of their regular projects. 'Something' is part of a full 17-track album titled Buchanan, that the collective released on Bandcamp and dedicated to "wine, durries and friendship". To find out a bit more we dropped the band a few questions, get acquainted with Baton De Cul-de-sac below while you soak up 'Something'...

Hey! So to start off can you introduce us to Baton De Cul-de-sac? Who is involved and what’s all about?

Jacob Mcabe (co-founder): Baton De Cul-De-Sac arose as a venture into the world of commercial songwriting that came from a group of like minded, capital focused individuals in order to channel their combined psychosis into an artistically bankable enterprise.

Where did the name Baton De Cul-de-sac surface from?

Jacob Mcabe: We wanted something ambiguous but relatable. The thought of a Culdesac inspires images of lost childhood afternoons, spent fooling around till the sun set, which is contrasted by Baton, an instrument of pain, used to police officers and military alike to quell the uprising of the lower classes.

Hugh Piesse (co-founder): We took the liberty of asking some people who actually speak French to meditate on the implicit meaning behind the name to see what thoughts it invokes, what emotions are stirred, what memories are awoken by the uttering of these six syllables:

"It means nothin".

"Nah nah I'm not sure. It mean stick but also baguette. But baguette from a dead end sounds more reasonable to me. Like there's a bakery store real good and even if it's in the dead end, it's sooo delicious that a lot of people still go there to buy (baguette)."

"Did you guys just use Google translate?"

"It really sounds like someone trying to speak French for the first time."

"Could you use it in a sentence?"

"A cul-de-sac is a dead end, but baton de cul-de-sac? Never heard that before."

"Hahah why did u choose this name?"

"Hahahahha woah, my French is not that good. Checked it up it meant baguette from a dead end?"

"Are you sure it says 'bâton de'?"

"Sounds like a dirty bar."

'Something’ has found it’s way onto the bFm Top Ten. Did that come as a surprise considering the band is something pretty loose and chill?

Hamish Kyle (Mr Amish): Not surprised man, the organic nature of the tune shines above the rest I reckon. I mean not above but you can feel the natural creation.

Rama Buisson (Surf Coach): Yes it's surprising but its a great song so I guess it makes sense too.

The track is part of the Buchanan album you just put out, which has definitely got a lo-fi vibe. How did the recording for that happen?

Lawrence Goodwin (Engineer): The album is recorded exclusively on a 'Tascam Portastudio 414mkII 4-Track Cassette Recorder', only using a computer to record the songs into a digital format and also to capture a live dub mix from the machine. There's something really quite special with this approach to recording sound, I think. It can feel more real and alive then clicking away at your mouse pad and there is a certain pureness with recording in such a destructive manner. I also feel as though it gives the music a feeling that defies mortality. Most of the tracking is live and then maybe 1 or 2 overdubs.

Can you tell us a little bit about the artwork?? It’s fantastic!

Rachael Charlie (Art Director): The cover is; A passive experiment in visually representing the subconscious monsters we carry as humans. Flapping through life, consuming everything and nothing at once. Ignoring the expressions of the impossible monsters that nap in the squishiest corners of our minds, sucking on our inside eyes.

A discussion of systemic repression, beautiful impossibility, absurdism, collaboration, passive discourse, subconscious musings, spontaneity, diminishing returns. And almost nothing at all.

Any plans floating around for the future?

Lawrence Goodwin:

This is the Baton De Cul-De-Sac 5 year strategic plan:
1. Develop markets
2. Revitalise culture
3. Penetrate markets
4. Contain competitors
5. Manage competency
6. Encourage communication
7. Manage risks and finances

Head over here to soak up the full Baton de Cul-de-Sac experience via their Bandcamp page