Originally formed in 2012 by four friends just looking to hang out and make music together, BESTiE has come a long way. The Vancouver-based indie band first started gaining momentum with the release of their first single, “Pineapple,” in 2013. That same year, they went on to win The Peak Performance Project and played coveted slots on many North American music festival stages including SXSW, Sled Island Festival, and Rifflandia. The following year saw the release of their first LP, No Bad Days, and put the band on a national tour across the country.
In advance of their next EP set to come out later this year, the band just released their newest single, “Bae,” which can be purchased now on iTunes. Below we had a chance to chat with BESTiE’s lead singer Tristan Orchard about the evolution of the band, their new single, and what they’re working on next.
Please introduce yourself
Hey I’m Tristan and I sing in BESTiE.
What brought you guys together as a band in the first place?
We just started out as a group of friends who were working on separate projects. I was running a jam space at the time and just had us all in there playing together one day. We really liked the sound of what we were creating and the combination of our influences; it really just grew organically from there.
The band has been actively touring and releasing music for the past four years. How do you think the band’s sound has evolved over that time?
I think that we’ve always pushed ourselves to be better musicians and better songwriters. We actually had a bit more of a post punk sound originally with a strong influence of African music from our previous guitar player. We’ve always been pretty consistent with our “tropical sound,” however, by incorporating elements from Caribbean, calypso, reggae, champeta, and pop music.
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What is one of your strongest memories from the past four years?
A personal favourite moment was in 2013 the year that Sled Island Festival flooded and all the roads in to Calgary were closed. We took a long detour route into the city and were driving way too fast just to make it to our show right as the band before us finished at a make shift venue because the previous one was flooded.
Performing on a bar table for an audience that was really excited we were there minutes before the whole festival was canceled had a crazy feeling to it. Calgarians are are pretty great people too.
Tell us about your new single “Bae.” What is it about?
It’s about the uncertain beginning of a summer fling. That person is sort of like this catchy song that immediately gets stuck in your head. You immediately feel it and know what it’s trying to say even before you know what the actual words to the song are.
Any specific meaning/reference for the title?
The title is an acronym for “before anyone else”. It’s a silly sort of slang term of affection.
What are you guys working on next?
We’re happy to announce that we have a video for the song coming out on Tuesday, April 5 with synchronized swimmers, sun, and roller skating. We hope it conveys all the best feelings of summer and you should definately check it out. We also just announced the song will be part of our new EP coming out May 13 that we can’t wait to share.
BESTiE is: Daniel Ruiz (drums), Tristan Orchard (vocals), Rob Cameron (bass), and Graham Madden (guitar).
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