Nominated for three WAM Awards, Coin Banks, aka Daniel Bankowski, releases his second EP, Tails, this week. BOB GORDON has a chat with him in the lead-up to his appearance at the Beaufort Street Festival.
Describe the last 12 months of your music career. Has shit become real?
It’s been crazy surreal. I mean, I’ve been doing music for a while now, first as a member of The Stoops and then a couple collab projects, but it wasn’t really until December last year when I dropped my first single, Hatches, with Ta-Ku that things started to change for me. I have played some great shows, including my first ever national tour and Bigsound, had my songs added to rotation at triple J and to a bunch of my favourite community stations around the country, had record labels approach me, artists wanting to collab with me and critics praise my work. It’s been an amazing year, to say the least. I am really happy where I’m at, but I still have a lot of work to do, so I’m constantly working towards my next projects.
What was your musical upbringing like? What got you started?
My parents are both Polish; so there was a lot of Polish music in my household, especially Polish jazz. So from a young age I developed a taste for jazz, which later grew more towards soul/R&B. As for hip hop, my big bro gave me Naughty By Nature, Cypress Hill and Beastie Boys CDs when I was in primary school and introduced me to real hip hop culture. I am still so thankful to him for passing that on to me.
I first started to freestyle when I was in high school with some homies I used to paint with, but I never actually wanted to be an MC; I wanted to be a DJ but I couldn’t afford turntables. It wasn’t until I heard Reap What You Sow by Downsyde that I actually thought about writing rap songs. So if it wasn’t for Downsyde, I may have never started making music.
Your new EP, Tails, is out this week. What does it tell of you?
That is a hard question, I think it musically shows my versatility, and my ability to adapt to different styles. Content wise, I guess it is a continuation of what I was talking about on the Heads EP, ranging from love, to social commentary to self-doubt. I want to connect with the listener and remind them that we all go through similar day-to-day struggles and triumphs.
How’s it feel to be nominated for three WAM Awards?
Amazing! I honestly was not expecting it at all, and to receive that email made my year. It was a humongous honour to be nominated for one WAM Award let alone three of them. I can’t start to imagine how I will feel if I am lucky enough to win one of them. Fingers crossed.
Are you looking forward to the Beaufort Street Festival? What will your set be like given it’s a pretty unique kind of festival experience?
Really amped for it! I love the Beaufort Street Festival; it’s a great day out with amazing local music, local art, food and good times. If you have never been, do not miss out this year!! I usually only play with a DJ, but for the Beaufort Street Festival I will be rocking out with an incredible eight-piece band made up of some of the most talented local musicians.
What are your plans for 2015?
I am currently working on my debut album, which we plan to release next year. So 2015 is going to be heads down, recording and preparing the album along with a busy tour schedule. Also, for Record Store Day 2015, we will have a nice little surprise – I am really looking forward to it.
Pic: Rachael Barrett
