Openfire.

One of Adelaide’s most exciting emerging bands Openfire. have released their explosive new single Wonderland, out now. Wonderland is a fascinating track – within it, a question is posed to the listener: if you knew you could have it all, but that it would truly cost everything, would you still pay that price? The new single marks an exciting new era for the band, off the back of their brilliant 2019 album Reverie. The band talk in greater detail about the single.

How has the build-up been leading up to the release of the single WONDERLAND?
Honestly it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions! We finished the track at the start of the year and knew immediately that it was going to be really significant, so we wanted to do something really special for it. We were really excited to play a lot of shows… and then the world sort of collapsed?! And all of the impact of that aside, it meant that we were really able to prepare and be ready for the release in the end. It’s really special for it to finally be out in the world!

Was the process of making your single as challenging as you thought?
This single had its own set of challenges actually! With all of our song writing we never really have any issues, we compromise really well. The only issue we had was whether we wanted this song to be a really slow ballad or the beat that it is now. We had to flesh out two versions of the song before we ended up committing to the song it is now. But it all did pay off, and even so, the song still came together really quickly!

Sonically, how would you describe your music?
We love a really big sound. Whether that means something atmospheric or something to dance to, we want to flood your senses with the story we’re trying to tell, so that’s big guitars, hundreds of layers of vocals and experimenting with a bunch of sound design to bring things to life.

Who would you consider to be the biggest influence on your music and why?
The four of us have very different musical backgrounds and they all come together in a really interesting way each song that we make. But if the four of us gave an answer it would be Prince, Led Zeppelin, Hillsong and Lady Gaga. Obviously we grew up on a bunch on different artists but as a reflection of our song writing ability these are the artists that confidently come to mind.

Best piece of advice you have been given?
There is no finish line, there is no set list of things that you’ll tick off and then you’ll feel fulfilled, because the people who tick all the boxes get there and are left empty and distracted from their own sense of identity. You know what, the fact that you woke up this morning and chose you, chose your dream, even if it means your budget is a little tight this week, means you won. Even if you were to die right this moment at least you died your own.

How did the band get together?
Sounds cliché but what’s really cool is we all ended up at uni studying business degrees. Most of us actually came to find ourselves and ended up in each other’s lap which is hilarious! We were hanging out pretty consistently and sometimes I (Luka) would bring my guitar to uni and we’d jam and talk about music and one day it clicked that we all played the right instruments to do something really cool.

Are you looking to tour more broadly?
Absolutely, we’re all really big dreamers, so if you’re asking about interstate then that goes without saying! Now, if you’re asking about an international tour … Well that also goes without saying haha! We’ll take this as far as it’ll go and then some.

What’s next for OPENFIRE.?
Lots and lots of really cool stuff is coming! Lets just say all this time to ourselves has allowed the creative juices to flow and we’ve got a lot of awesome projects on the go! At the moment Wonderland is where our attention and our heart is at so we’re gonna be here for a while but do watch this space for sure!

Which local bands/artists would you like to tour with and why?
The first two people who come to mind would be Pinkish Blu or Ollie English, firstly because we are all really big fans of their sound but as people who really care about the show, we think our musical styles would complement each other really well and result in a solid vibe.

Interview By Rob Lyon

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