'Midnight' tour kicks off at the Enmore

Ahead of their Midnight tour kicking off at The Enmore on Thursday 23 June, Josh Bentley from The Paper Kites took the time to sit down with OutInSydney to chat about music, video and their upcoming tour.


How did The Paper Kites start out, and how have you guys grown?

The band started about six years ago now.  We all knew each other through friends and some of us had played in bands together prior to us forming The Paper Kites.  We initially got together to play as a band for a random music festival in QLD over the Easter weekend because Sam and Christina thought it would be good to have a band accompany them as a duo at the festival.

Those shows went really well and we decided to keep playing shows together.  I think our biggest growth we’ve had as a band has been our musicianship. We have all come from really different music backgrounds (Punk rock, school bands, recorder ensembles) and to come together and create some really great music that people are listening to and enjoying has been really pleasing.

Tell us about the inspiration surrounding Renegade and its video clip?

The Renegade video clip was probably the ‘funnest’ concept we’ve come up with for a while. I think it was Sam who suggested we do a clip that followed these cool kids around late at night. We came up with the concept and story board and sent it on to Dan Huiting in the US, who has done videos for us before. He loved the idea and shot it for us in Minneapolis.

How do music and video overlap for you?

We’ve made it really intentional that our videos become a visual extension of our songs. We’ve worked really hard, especially with the latest videos, to create a midnight vibe for the latest singles from our twelvefour album. 
For me videos add context and a visual accompaniment to songs that I enjoy. It also gives an insight into what the artist wants the listener to be seeing and feeling during their song.
 

What makes your Midnight tour so theatrical?

For the upcoming Midnight tour we have decided to include a visual aspect to our show. We’re going to re-create a ‘New York’ style apartment block on stage and the audience will get a glimpse of a narrative played out through the windows of the apartment. We decided to add this element to the set to keep the audience interested and to bring them into the Midnight vibe. The show itself will still have all the elements of a typical Paper Kites show, but with the added visuals. We’re really looking forward to how it will all come together.

What are you looking forward to most about your Sydney gig?

Playing at the Enmore! This will be the biggest show of the tour and the first show as well so excitement levels will be high.

Where is your favourite place to perform and why?

Nothing against Sydney, but my favourite place to play would be Melbourne. We’re all from Melbourne and there’s something about playing in your hometown in front of familiar faces that makes for a special show.

What are your favourite bands to listen to?

Top three at the moment:

  • The Barr Brothers
  • Jarryd James
  • #1 Dads

What’s next for The Paper Kites?

After the Midnight tour in Aus we will be heading straight over the US and Canada for a month to play festivals and our own run of headline shows. Then after that we will head back over to Europe in September for a headline tour.


Click here to get your tickets to The Paper Kites Midnight tour.