Sunshine Coast band Ampersand has unveiled the release date for their ‘sarcastic’ Originality, the lead single from their upcoming debut EP, streaming on all platforms on Thursday 25 January 2024.
The free launch event is set for Solbar on Sunday 28 January 2024, with their debut single release following two years of non-stop successes for the fully independent nu-funk/soul/retro pop fusion band.
Ampersand keyboard player, band manager, and Hastings Street Busking coordinator Jarrod Tutbury said the push for the new single came together off the back of performances at Caloundra Music Festival and Noosa Alive.
“We wanted to play at Caloundra Music Festival and in order to apply to play at a festival like that, you need original music,” Jarrod said.
“The music came together very quickly as we knew each other inside and out.”
Built from scratch with nothing but the team’s varied skill sets and their unshakeable support of each other through thick and thin, this band’s spark has come from only ever having the humble goal of learning from their journey.
“It was amazing to be able to perform at a music festival and meet other professional artists and talk to them,” Jarrod said.
“Just being able to play on a big stage like that gives us the exposure that we don’t normally get at our smaller gigs around town.”
Ampersand is an entertaining, energetic and ever evolving group featuring two spectacular lead vocalists backed by a tight, innovative trio of keys, bass and drums.
The Noosa and Sunshine Coast locals have become their own second family in over two years of gigging, as they effortlessly improvise and converse musically, creating their own unique sound.
“It was a bit of a mixed match with us all coming together,” Jarrod said.
“Someone of us met through school, or at the Eumundi School of Rock, and we all came together for end of year performances and noticed how we all jammed together on the same songs. When some gigs came up back in 2020, we decided to put the band together and have carried on since.”
Some of their influences include the likes of Ocean Alley, Thirsty Merc, Amy Winehouse, and Elton John.
“All of us in the band have different influences and come together to create our own unique sound,” Jarrod said.
Confident, outspoken and unapologetically direct, Originality is an ode to originality.
Inspired by experience with copycats, the song calls out those individuals who can’t seem to find that self-motivation and inspiration within themselves without resorting to imitating others.
“The lyrics in our upcoming debut EP are kind of sarcastic. The sound is up-beat and a little bit edgy,” Jarrod said.
Co-written and arranged by the entire Ampersand team, Originality features vocals, lyrics and melody by Katie Brown and Isi Semmler, keyboards and chords by Jarrod Tutbury, bass by Jed Green, drums and percussion by Orlando Hamilton-Craig and guitar by featured guest artist Doc Hamilton.
Recorded, engineered and produced by Scott Mathison and Justin Tresidder at Yama Nui Studios and mastered by Paul Blakey, this single’s creation was made possible by the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund, provided through Regional Arts Australia, administered in Queensland by Flying Arts Alliance.
Upcoming free shows to see Ampersand perform include the Peregian Beach Carols on 20 December and a New Years Eve show at Marcoola Surf Club.
Reserve your ticket to Ampersand’s free single launch event at Solbar on Sunday 28 January 2024 online at Humanitix: shorturl.at/eqsAP
Pre-save their debut single at: gyro.to/Originality
