New Joburg-based Indie-pop band Colour Faction recently released their debut, a self-titled EP. It’s fresh, bright, melodic, and remarkably visually inspiring. We got the chance to ask Joshua G. Ackerman a few questions about the fascinating release.
1. Your EP reminds me of everything from The New Pornographers to Lunatic Wolf to Cat Stevens. Are your musical influences that diverse?
The artists you mentioned prize melody above all else, as we do. In fact, two of the members of Lunatic Wolf produced the EP.
2. If you had to describe the sound of your EP, what would you say?
We make smart, melodic indie pop/rock with intricate boy/girl harmonies – our signature sound.
3. The EP sounds like Indie Pop with some rock elements. Did the sound come naturally to the group, or what was the process to get to the final sonic palette?
As a songwriter, I wear my influences proudly on my sleeve. I was fortunate enough to grow up with a father who owned an indie record store. As you can imagine, I had a thorough musical education from the get-go. From a production standpoint, Jacques and Adrian at High Seas did a fantastic job of helping us carefully craft the ‘Colour Faction’ sound described above.
4. Your songs are very visual, and Marco Polo literally references a bunch of movies. What’s your process or approach to making things image-inspiring?
I like to tell stories. A good story makes you lean in a little closer, and a good song takes you on a journey. We want these songs to feel sensual, immersive, almost tactile, like you’re there in the room watching Mata Hari dance, or swimming the swell with Marco Polo.
5. Who’s the cinephile in the group and how big of a movie fan is he/she?
That would be me). Music and movies – to quote Sterling Hayden in ‘Johnny Guitar’, what more does a man need?
6. I love the EP’s cover image. Can you tell us how that came about? What is a big, conceptual process? Or more of a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing?
That’s bassist Peach on the cover. We shot at the Pretville movie set with photographer Chris Saunders. There was an old car in the street outside the diner, and Chris composed the shot on the fly. The image really encapsulates the themes of the EP – story, travel, dreams, history.
7. What’s on the calendar? When can we experience Colour Faction first-hand and live?
We’re working on it!
Colour Faction is a Joburg-based Indie-pop band without a genre listed on their Facebook page. Also find them on Twitter, or wherever digital music is sold or streamed.
