In September, Purple Glow Mag had the pleasure of interviewing Busty and the Bass. Whether you're jamming out to their music live, or listening to their songs at home, this 9-piece band is sure you blow you away! (and get the good vibes going) Read on below to find out about Busty and the Bass, and their new album "Uncommon Good".

1. Hey there! Tell us about the band and how Busty and the Bass came to be.

We met at school and ended up jamming at a house party our guitar player threw in first year. We played mostly instrumental covers at house parties and bars for the first couple years, but eventually Nick started singing, Evan started rapping, and we began writing our own music and lyrics. In 2014 we signed to the Montreal label Indica Records, released our first EP “GLAM” in 2015, and did our first serious touring around then. Since then, we've released another EP, toured even more, and just released our first full-length album!

2. Where’d the name come from?

Busty was our guitar player’s nickname when we first met, and the name is more or less a joke that stuck. Most of our fans just call us “Busty” – we like it because it’s quirky.

3. You guys have a very soulful, funky sound. Who/what inspires you?

We’re from all over Canada and the US, and our influences are as varied as our backgrounds. It’s tough to put our music in a box because it blends soul, hip-hop, and jazz in different measures. We love bands like Outkast and Earth Wind & Fire, as well as more modern artists like Kendrick Lamar and Anderson.Paak.

4. When putting Busty and the Bass together did you have this particular sound direction in mind or did it just happen naturally?

Our sound is honestly more a function of who was at that house party in first year than any conscious decision on our part. We write our music collaboratively, so there’s no one person making decisions about how things should sound. I think a lot of our sound came from figuring out how to engage an audience when performing live. Translating what works live into the studio was one of the biggest challenges we faced with our full-length album.

5. For those who don’t know, Busty and the Bass is a full house, 9-piece band that includes a wind section! How does this dynamic arrangement affect your sound?

Whether they’re playing melodic lines or supporting one of the vocalists, our horn section is a huge part of our sound. At our live shows they give us a huge boost in volume and energy that makes our shows really special.

6. We understand that you played at the Karoondinha festival in Philadelphia this summer. What was it like playing alongside major headliners like Chance the Rapper and John Legend?

Kind of a burn here: Karoondinha got cancelled at the last minute because of financial issues. We had a chance to play some other really cool festivals this summer though, like opening for Anderson.Paak at the Montreal Jazz Fest. That was probably the biggest crowd we’ve ever played for, and getting to open for one of our idols was an incredible experience.

7. And now, onto what we’re most excited about: your first full-length album “Uncommon Good” is coming out in just a couple of weeks! Tell us a bit about it.

We’re excited about it too! The process for the album, from writing to recording to release, was about two years, so it feels really nice to finally get to share our work with the world. We had the opportunity to work with producer/mixer Neal Pogue on this album. He’s worked with some of our heroes, including Outkast and Earth Wind & Fire, and he was a huge help when it came to navigating the studio process. This September has been a big month for us, with release shows for Uncommon Good in New York, Montreal, and LA.

8. What does the album’s title refer to?

The name “Uncommon Good” is a reflection of our relationship with our audience and with each other. Music has a beautiful ability to bring people together and raise their spirits regardless of what else is going on either with them personally or in the world.

9. We noticed your Spotify inspiration playlist for the album includes a varying array of artists across all genres, from rock to rap. What does this reveal to us about “Uncommon Good”?

Our album draws inspiration from all sorts of genres! We love incorporating many different sounds and styles into our music.

10. Once “Uncommon Good” is out, what’s the plan? And what do you hope for Busty and the Bass moving forward?

We’ve got a lot of touring coming up – we’ll be heading back to Europe for the fourth time in October, and over the next several months we’ll be working our way through Canada and the US. It’s really exciting to get to play our new music for new people, and we feel very lucky to get to do what we do.

Keep up with Busty and the Bass on Facebook.

Busty and the Bass plays here in Toronto at The Danforth Music Hall on November 22nd, at 7pm. Click here for tickets.

An Interview with Busty and the Bass About Their New Album "Uncommon Good"