Buchanan (band)

Buchanan
Background information
OriginMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
GenresAlternative rock, indie rock
Years active2009–2019
LabelsIndependent, Inertia
Past membersJosh Simons
Websitewww.buchananband.com

Buchanan were an Australian indie rock band formed in late 2009, the project of Josh Simons in collaboration with friends, including core member Jon Bara. Having risen to fame in 2010 after being featured on Triple J Unearthed, Buchanan spent periods in Melbourne, London, and Los Angeles, before retiring in 2019, on its tenth anniversary. They released two studio albums: Human Spring (2013) and Pressure in an Empty Space (2016), as well as three EPs. Simons went on to forge a career in business, founding the musician networking platform Vampr.

Career

2009–2012: Early years and No Photo - EP

Cover art of Buchanan's No Photo - EP

Buchanan was founded in Melbourne, Australia, by vocalist Josh Simons.[1] Jon Bara was a core member in the early years.[2]

They recorded their debut record The Safety Beach E.P. in April 2010. Featuring production by Tim Cross (former Mike Oldfield collaborator) the collection of demos was released on iTunes in May 2010.[3] The band were shortly after invited to showcase for several record labels. Deciding to steel themselves and avoid hasty commitment, the band headed back to the studio to develop more material and record the follow-up.[4]

Triple J debuted "Mr Keeperman" on Australian national radio on 19 September 2010.[5] The band would go on to be featured on the Triple J Unearthed page and podcast.[6]

In November 2010, the band released a single called "Teachers" independently via TuneCore. The single was added to high rotation on Triple J[7] and gained a five out of five star rating from Richard Kingsmill[8] and multiple additions to The Hype Machine.

In early 2011, the band played their first full electric shows in Sydney and Melbourne, performing alongside Gypsy and the Cat, Kimbra, Georgia Fair and Alpine.[9] In February 2011 the band won the Triple J Unearthed competition and were invited to play the Laneway Festival in Melbourne, playing alongside Foals, Two Door Cinema Club, Cut Copy, and Gotye.[10]

On 29 April 2011, the band released their first mass-produced physical record, No Photo - EP. Distributed via Inertia Records,[11] Zoo Weekly gave the release four stars, comparing the songs to "Phoenix, with the emotional gravitas of Mumford & Sons and the instrumental dexterity of Sigur Rós."[12] MX newspaper gave the release three and a half stars describing the music as "considered indie pop."[13] The band held residency throughout the month of release at Northcote Social Club as well as supporting Tim & Jean to promote the release.[11][14][15]

In June 2011, Buchanan embarked on their first national tour in support of second single "Mr Keeperman", playing shows in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne including supports with Jinja Safari, Trial Kennedy and Papa Vs Pretty.[16][17] To promote the tour, the band appeared live on Triple J, Sea FM, Star FM, Joy FM, Channel 31 and on BalconyTV to perform acoustically.[18][19][20] On 23 August 2011 the band's single "Mr Keeperman" debuted at number six on the Australian AMRAP community radio charts after being released to air as a single.[21]

2012–2014: Human Spring

Cover art of Buchanan's debut album, Human Spring.
Cover art of Buchanan's debut album, Human Spring

In March 2012, the band released single "Run Faster" ahead of their debut album.[22] In May 2012, the song was added to rotation on Austereo's Radar Radio.[23] In July 2012, Buchanan won Austereo's Radar Unsigned Find[24] competition, marking the band as the first to be recognised nationally in unsigned competitions from both Triple J and Austereo. In August 2012, the song was added to high rotation on Triple J.[25] The song spent nine consecutive weeks in the AIR Charts, reaching number 3 on the 100% Independent Radio Charts and number 12 on the Independent Label Radio Charts.[26] The song was the 99th most played song on Triple J in 2012.[27]

In October 2012, the band announced on their social media pages that they were embarking on a national tour of Australia throughout November and December. To coincide with the tour, the band offered a free download of a new B-side from their forthcoming debut album. The track, "When the Sun Comes Round Again", was made available for free from the band's official site.[28]

In April 2013, the band announced their debut studio album, Human Spring, would go on sale in Australia and New Zealand on 10 May 2013. The album, released under Simons' own label Raw Imagination People Expect,[29] received positive reviews.[30] Tone Deaf gave the album 9/10 calling it a "tremendous debut" while Zoo Weekly gave the album an 8/10.[31] The album was produced by Catherine Marks with additional production by frequent collaborator Tim Cross.[32] It was recorded at various studios in Australia and the UK over the past 18 months.[33] Andy Baldwin was hired to mix the record with the band choosing to master the album at Abbey Road with Geoff Pesche.[34] The band released the title track, "Human Spring", on 12 April as the second single off the album. Triple J added the single to high rotation immediately. The song reached number 10 on the AIR 100% Independent Radio Charts where it spent three weeks.[35]

In June 2013, the band performed live on Triple J for Like a Version, performing a cover of Frank Ocean's "Thinkin Bout You".[36] In July, the band released a new single from the album, "Par Avion", to coincide with a national headline tour of Australia.[37] The band was also announced as part of the BIGSOUND Festival lineup for September 2013.[38] The music video for "Par Avion" premiered on Yahoo! Music following the band's set at BIGSOUND.[39]

In August 2013, both the band's single and album of the same name, "Human Spring", debuted at number 10 on the FMQB Sub-modern radio charts in North America, peaking at number 8.[40] In April 2014 the band announced the release of the album worldwide, putting out a single from the album every three weeks in the lead up to its release.[41] "Temperamentally" hit number 30 on the iTunes US Alternative charts following the release of the single's lyric video online.[42] The album was made available for purchase worldwide on 9 July 2014.[43]

2014–2016: Pressure in an Empty Space

Cover art of Buchanan's sophomore album, Pressure in an Empty Space

The band relocated to London to commence work on their second studio album with producer Simon Duffy.[44] They released a video on social media for a new single called "Coming Down" on 21 July 2014. The track received radio and club airplay in the United Kingdom and Ibiza, debuting at No. 29 on the Music Week Commercial Pop Charts.[45] The song was also nominated as a semi-finalist in the 2014 International Songwriting Competition.

On 26 September 2015 the band headlined the TEDx Macquarie University conference, which was streamed live worldwide, debuting several tracks from the new album.[46] On 27 October, Simons' birthday, the band put up a post on social media revealing the album would be called Pressure in an Empty Space.[47]

On 16 November 2015 the band released an EP, Living a Lie, which was a precursor to the then upcoming second studio album.[48] A national tour of Australia in support of the release was also announced for February 2016. Apple Music promoted several promotional videos from the EP on the homepage of its service worldwide.

Following the tour, the band released two further singles from the album, title track "Pressure in an Empty Space" and "Learn to Love Again", hinting at an April release date during an appearance on SYN FM.[49] The release date was later confirmed to be 29 April.[50] The title track was later shortlisted in the Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition.[51]

On the week of the album release FasterLouder premiered a videoclip for the song "Stop!"[52] The album debuted at 42 on the iTunes Australia charts and has taken the band past the million units streamed worldwide milestone.[53] The album was mastered at Metropolis Studios in West London by John Davis and received favourable reviews from music publications.[54][55] The album follows Simons during the compounding experiences of the breakdown of a committed relationship whilst dealing with an obscure form of cancer in 2014, which Tone Deaf described as "a stunning and incredibly moving piece of work."[56]

The band premiered the video for the title track "Pressure in an Empty Space" on a new social-professional network for musicians called Vampr. Simons developed the app in collaboration with Hunters & Collectors' guitarist Barry Palmer, and was released in May 2016.[53]

Buchanan performing at Rod Laver Arena in 2016.
Buchanan (Joshua Simons) performing at Rod Laver Arena in 2016

In July 2016, Buchanan were announced as an opening act for the Australian leg of Keith Urban's ripCORD World Tour, alongside Carrie Underwood.[57][58]

In 2016, Simons co-wrote The Voice Australia winner Alfie Arcuri's song "Careless Game" with Troye Sivan.[59] The song appeared on Arcuri's album Zenith, which reached number five on the ARIA Albums Chart.[60]

On 28 October 2016 the band released their first live album, Alive, exclusively on Apple Music.[61] The album includes 13 tracks recorded during their Living a Lie tour.

2016–2019: The Crayon Collection and other musical work

Cover art of Buchanan's final release, The Crayon Collection mixtape

Simons began working on new material in Los Angeles with producer Anthony Kilhoffer.[62] The first track from these sessions, "The Beep Test", was released on 25 November 2016.[63] Its music video, filmed during the ripCORD World Tour, premiered on theMusic.com.au in February 2017.[64]

On 14 December 2016, Buchanan became the first band to perform at the International Convention Centre Sydney as part of the tour.[65]

During this period, Simons also worked as a songwriter and producer for other artists. He co-wrote and co-produced "I'm Fine", featuring Travis Scott, from Cyhi the Prynce's 2017 album No Dope on Sundays.[66] The album reached number 65 on the Billboard 200 and number 30 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[67][68]

In 2018, Simons co-produced and mixed Tre Capital's single "Blue Eyes White Dragon Flow", which premiered through Complex.[69] He also received songwriting credits on releases by Allan Kingdom and Cobi.[70][71]

Buchanan released its first single in two years, "Breathe", on 23 November 2018. The song featured guest vocals by Tre Capital and Georgia Mae.[72][73]

On 11 January 2019, the band announced its retirement and the release of a final mixtape, The Crayon Collection, on 25 January 2019.[74][1] The release included material recorded during different periods of the band's career. The announcement was accompanied by the single "An Uncommon Experience" and a retrospective video.[1] The mixtape reached number 79 on the Australian iTunes chart.[75]

Later in 2019, Simons received a songwriting credit on Jenny Queen's album Baby It Was Real and We Were the Best and composed the score for the documentary Latter Day Jew.[76][77]

After Buchanan's retirement, Simons continued to work as a songwriter, producer and musician, including co-producing Emmanuel Kelly's 2024 single "My Sky", executive-producing Kelly's No Zodiac EP and performing as a guest guitarist during the Australian leg of Coldplay's Music of the Spheres World Tour.[78][79]

Discography

Studio albums

  1. Act Natural
  2. Par Avion
  3. The Punch
  4. Temptation
  5. For Tonight We Rest (Leaves)
  6. Run Faster
  7. Human Spring
  8. Temperamentally
  9. Sit It Out
  10. The Few
  11. An All Clear?
  • Pressure in an Empty Space (2016)[54]
  1. Only Us
  2. Learn to Love Again
  3. Coming Down
  4. Stop!
  5. Pressure in an Empty Space
  6. I Don't Want to Die
  7. All That Remains
  8. Pleasure
  9. Uncuff Me

Mixtapes

  • The Crayon Collection (2019)[74]
  1. Breathe
  2. Hold Off
  3. An Uncommon Experience
  4. The Beep Test

Live albums

  1. Only Us (Live)
  2. Learn to Love Again (Live)
  3. Run Faster (Live)
  4. Temperamentally/Teachers (Live)
  5. Mr Keeperman (Live)
  6. Aisles (Live)
  7. Safety Beach (Live)
  8. When the Sun Comes Round Again (Live)
  9. Pressure in an Empty Space (Live)
  10. Human Spring (Live)
  11. Living a Lie (Live)
  12. All That Remains (Live)
  13. Coming Down (Live)

EPs

  • The Safety Beach E.P. (2010)
  1. Mr Keeperman
  2. Waiting
  3. Safety Beach
  4. Son
  • No Photo - EP (2011)[11]
  1. Moon
  2. Mr Keeperman
  3. Waiting
  4. Teachers
  5. Aisles
  6. Waiting on a Sound (Bonus Track)
  • Living a Lie (2015)[48]
  1. Living a Lie
  2. Galileo
  3. Coming Down (Acoustic)

Singles

Title Year Album
"Teachers" 2010 No Photo - EP
"Mr Keeperman" 2011
"Run Faster"[23] 2012 Human Spring
"When the Sun Comes Round Again"[28] Non-album single
"Human Spring"[34] 2013 Human Spring
"Par Avion"[39]
"Temperamentally"[41] 2014
"Coming Down"[44] Pressure in an Empty Space
"Living a Lie"[48] 2015 Living a Lie (EP)
"Pressure in an Empty Space" 2016 Pressure in an Empty Space
"Learn to Love Again"[50]
"Stop!"[52]
"The Beep Test"[63] The Crayon Collection (Mixtape)
"Breathe"[73] 2018
"An Uncommon Experience"[1] 2019

Awards and nominations

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2011[10] "Teachers" Triple J Unearthed Competition Won
2012[24] "Run Faster" Austereo's Radar Unsigned Find Competition Won
2014 "Coming Down" International Songwriting Competition Nominated
2016[51] "Pressure in an Empty Space" Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition Nominated

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Buchanan Call It A Day With Final Release", Art News Portal. 11 January 2019, accessed 11 January 2019.
  2. ↑ "Buchanan". Beat Magazine. 4 February 2011. Archived from the original on 30 July 2026. Retrieved 6 August 2026.
  3. ↑ "Buchanan". Beat Magazine. 29 April 2011. Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  4. ↑ Nicoli, James (2 February 2011). "Buchanan". Beat Magazine. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
  5. ↑ "Mr Keeperman by Buchanan @ J Play", J Play, 20 September 2010, accessed 12 March 2011.
  6. ↑ "triple j unearthed podcast mp3 downloads". Triple J. 16 September 2010. Archived from the original on 6 April 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  7. ↑ "Teachers by Buchanan @ J Play". 2 February 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  8. ↑ Kingsmill, Richard (2 December 2010). "Triple J Unearthed". Archived from the original on 23 December 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  9. ↑ "Alpine - Corner Hotel, The". The Dwarf. 25 February 2011. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  10. 1 2 Thorose, Corina "New Acts and Tickets For Laneway Festival" Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Beat Magazine, 10 January 2011, accessed 12 March 2011.
  11. 1 2 3 "New Signing: Buchanan" Archived 21 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Inertia Music 5 April 2011, accessed 6 April 2011.
  12. ↑ "Music Reviews", Zoo Weekly (Australian Edition), 27 April 2011
  13. ↑ Beattie, Andrea (5 May 2011), "Album Reviews", MX Newspaper
  14. ↑ "Buchanan - Northcote Social Club" Archived 8 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, The Dwarf. 4 April 2011, accessed 6 April 2011.
  15. ↑ "Buchanan to support Tim & Jean" Archived 19 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Beat Magazine. 13 April 2011, accessed 13 April 2011.
  16. ↑ "Freshly Squeezed! Buchanan", theorangepress.net. 20 July 2011, accessed 27 July 2011.
  17. ↑ "Papa Vs Pretty - ABC Melbourne Events" Archived 22 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, ABC Online, 25 June 2011, accessed 27 July 2011.
  18. ↑ "Joy 94.9", Twitter. 19 July 2011, accessed 27 July 2011.
  19. ↑ "SYN 1700", Twitter. 20 July 2011, accessed 27 July 2011.
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  21. ↑ "Amrap's AirIT :: Charts", AMRAP. 23 August 2011, accessed 27 August 2011.
  22. ↑ "Buchanan Reviews", Triple J Unearthed 2 March 2012, accessed 26 May 2014.
  23. 1 2 "Playlist Adds May 10" Archived 20 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Radar Radio 10 May 2012, accessed 11 May 2012.
  24. 1 2 "Radar Unsigned Find Winner Buchanan"[link removed], Austereo. 11 October 2012, accessed 13 October 2012.
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  27. ↑ "100 Most Played Tracks Of 2012" Archived 23 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine, J Play. 1 January 2013, accessed 8 February 2013.
  28. 1 2 "Buchanan Offer Single As Free Download", theMusic.com.au. 26 October 2012, accessed 26 October 2012.
  29. 1 2 "Human Spring by Buchanan", iTunes Store. 10 May 2013, accessed 7 May 2017.
  30. ↑ "Human Spring Reviews", Facebook. 3 July 2013, accessed 9 August 2016.
  31. ↑ "Human Spring on Tone Deaf"[link removed], Tone Deaf. 12 June 2013, accessed 20 July 2013.
  32. ↑ Watt, Dan (8 May 2013). "Buchanan's Human Spring is released today". Beat Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  33. ↑ Hayden, Chris (8 May 2013). "Spring Break". Inpress. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  34. 1 2 3 Precel, Nicole (10 May 2013). "Buchanan's Human Spring is released today". Bayside Leader. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  35. ↑ "20130617 AIR Charts", Australian Independent Record Labels Association. 17 June 2013, accessed 20 June 2013.
  36. ↑ "Like A Version: Buchanan - Thinkin' Bout You" Archived 17 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine, ABC. 7 June 2013, accessed 20 July 2013.
  37. ↑ "Buchanan set for east coast tour in June and July!", the AU review. 5 June 2013, accessed 20 July 2013.
  38. ↑ "BIGSOUND 2013 - Artists" Archived 12 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine, QMusic. 2 July 2013, accessed 20 July 2013.
  39. 1 2 "Exclusive! Australian Indie Rockers Buchanan Premiere Video for ‘Par Avion’", Yahoo!. 24 September 2013, accessed 31 January 2015.
  40. ↑ "FMQB: Radio Industry News" Archived 27 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, FMQB. 28 August 2013, accessed 30 August 2013.
  41. 1 2 "Buchanan Join 123 Agency Roster" Archived 23 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Tone Deaf. 23 April 2014, accessed 24 April 2014.
  42. ↑ "OurSpeakers" Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, TEDxMacquarieUniversity. 18 August 2015, accessed 30 October 2015.
  43. ↑ "Human Spring by Buchanan", iTunes. 9 July 2014, accessed 15 July 2014.
  44. 1 2 "Buchanan - Coming Down - Raw Imagination People Expect", Kings of Spins. 18 July 2014, accessed 21 July 2014.
  45. ↑ "Chart Pack" Archived 17 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Music Week. 10 October 2014, accessed 12 October 2014.
  46. ↑ "Get Psyched For All The Ideas At Macquarie University's Fifth TEDx Talk", Pedestrian TV. 24 September 2015, accessed 7 October 2015.
  47. ↑ "Buchanan", Facebook. 27 October 2015, accessed 30 October 2015.
  48. 1 2 3 "Premiere: Buchanan Drops Sparkling Alt-Pop Gem Living A Lie", Tone Deaf. 16 November 2015, accessed 16 November 2015.
  49. ↑ "THE HOIST: Buchanan IV with Abbey + Becs" Archived 18 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine, SYN. 15 March 2016, accessed 7 April 2016.
  50. 1 2 "Buchanan Release “Learn to Love again” Single Ahead of Album Launch", Sounds of Oz. 30 March 2016, accessed 7 April 2016.
  51. 1 2 "A bunch of awesome Aussies among finalists for $50,000 songwriting competition", Triple J. 3 October 2016, accessed 22 April 2023.
  52. 1 2 "Video premiere: Buchanan - 'Stop!'", FasterLouder. 27 April 2016, accessed 29 April 2016.
  53. 1 2 "Vampr app aims to become the musicians' equivalent to Tinder", The Age. 19 May 2016, accessed 22 May 2016.
  54. 1 2 "Pressure in an Empty Space by Buchanan", iTunes Store. 29 April 2016, accessed 22 May 2016.
  55. ↑ "Pressure in an Empty Space Reviews", Facebook. 9 June 2016, accessed 9 August 2016.
  56. ↑ "Track By Track: Get Inside Buchanan's Stunning New Album", Tone Deaf. 29 April 2016, accessed 13 July 2016.
  57. ↑ "Keith Urban Confirms 'Buchanan' As Opening Act For The 'ripCORD World Tour Australia 2016' With Carrie Underwood", Australian Musician Network. 14 July 2016, accessed 14 July 2016.
  58. ↑ "See Keith Urban and 'Whiplash' Star Miles Teller Duet on 'My Girl'", Rolling Stone. 25 July 2016, accessed 9 August 2016.
  59. ↑ "Alfie Arcuri Releases New Album 'Zenith'", Australian Musician Network. 31 July 2016, accessed 2 August 2016.
  60. ↑ "Alfie Arcuri - Zenith", australian-charts. 14 August 2016, accessed 21 February 2022.
  61. 1 2 "Buchanan - The Beep Test", Play MPE. 20 November 2016, accessed 25 November 2016.
  62. ↑ "For Former Busker Ed Sheeran and for Other Undiscovered/Unsigned Musicians Today, It’s Still About Social Networking & Connecting", The Huffington Post. 3 May 2017, accessed 7 May 2017.
  63. 1 2 "Premiere: Buchanan Dish Out Bouncing Synth Pop With 'The Beep Test'" Archived 24 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Beat Magazine. 23 November 2016, accessed 25 November 2016.
  64. ↑ "PREMIERE: Buchanan - The Beep Test", theMusic.com.au. 8 February 2017, accessed 8 February 2017.
  65. ↑ "Live Review: Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Buchanan", theMusic.com.au. 15 December 2016, accessed 31 January 2024.
  66. ↑ "Cyhi the Prynce - I'm Fine Lyrics", Genius. 17 November 2017, accessed 17 November 2017.
  67. ↑ "Top 200 Albums", Billboard. 9 December 2017, accessed 16 December 2017.
  68. ↑ "R&B/Hip-Hop Albums", Billboard. 9 December 2017, accessed 13 December 2017.
  69. ↑ "Premiere: Tre Capital Shares Video for New Single 'Blue Eyes White Dragon Flow'", Complex. 25 January 2018, accessed 12 June 2018.
  70. ↑ "Allan Kingdom's 'All Night' Might Be His Next Major Hit", Hypebeast. 19 May 2018, accessed 12 June 2018.
  71. ↑ "Cobi Expands Sound", Billboard. 20 September 2018, accessed 21 September 2018.
  72. ↑ "Buchanan Return", Art News Portal. 23 November 2018, accessed 23 November 2018.
  73. 1 2 "Buchanan return after two-year hiatus with new single featuring Tre Capital", Amnplify. 23 November 2018, accessed 23 November 2018.
  74. 1 2 "PREMIERE: Buchanan – The Crayon Collection", theMusic.com.au. 20 January 2019, accessed 20 January 2019.
  75. ↑ "Buchanan – Home", Facebook. 24 January 2019, accessed 24 January 2019.
  76. ↑ "Baby It Was Real and We Were the Best - Jenny Queen", AllMusic. 22 March 2019, accessed 12 January 2021.
  77. ↑ "News", Latter Day Jew. 26 February 2020, accessed 16 January 2021.
  78. ↑ Brandle, Lars (19 January 2024). "Coldplay Protégé Emmanuel Kelly, Vampr Launch Groundbreaking Campaign". The Music Network. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  79. ↑ McCabe, Kathy (26 October 2024). "Coldplay's Aussie friend to debut special song". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Retrieved 14 November 2024.
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