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We chat to Bombay Bicycle Club ahead of Synergy Live!

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Bombay Bicycle Club
Bombay Bicycle Club
Cape Town – Synergy Live is just over a month away and we can’t wait!

To make things more exciting, rock indie band Bombay Bicycle Club is set to be the main stage headliner of the three day festival!

We caught up with the band's guitarist, Jamie MacColl, about visiting South Africa, funny tour stories and who their ideal collaboration would be with!

Channel24

Have you ever been to South Africa, what are you looking forward to most when you come in November?

Jamie

I have family in South Africa – my grandparents on my mother’s side – so I have been a few times. Some of my earliest memories are from visiting South Africa as a child; locked gates, swimming pools, BBQS and baboons have stayed with me for the last twenty years.

Although it is a very different kind of place to where I grew up, I still get a sensation of going home whenever I’ve been back there.

I’m looking forward to seeing family that still lives in SA and also going back to one of my favourite cities in the world: Cape Town.  I’m also very intrigued to check out some South African music properly, as I always get told that the scene there is really exciting.

Channel24

What has your most interesting meal, while on tour, been so far?

Jamie

We had something called Balut in Manila in the Philippines. Despite being one of the worst things we’ve ever eaten, it was certainly interesting.

It’s a duck egg that’s been fertilised and then boiled – you end up eating a half-grown duckling, feathers and all. It’s not an experience that I’d like to repeat, though we remain open to trying anything!

Bombay
(Photo supplied) 

Channel24

What does the band do to keep busy on the bus or plane while travelling?

Jamie

We get through a lot of TV series and films that’s for sure!

In the past I’ve found constantly travelling  frustrating because we have a lot of free time but it’s difficult to use it constructively. To counter that I’ve been doing a university degree that you do online and via correspondence – I now annoy everyone else by trying to get them to discuss politics and history.

I think being on tour turns everyone into a contrarian; we have a lot of discussions that turn into arguments.

Channel24

What is your craziest tour story?

Jamie

I’d rather let people’s imaginations run wild and let them think we are actually crazy than tell them about the reality of our rather restrained tours.

Channel24

If you could choose anyone to collaborate with, who would it be and why?

Jamie

I’d love to work with Kanye West – he’s an insane genius and I think it would be both entertaining and enlightening. Plus everything he touches seems to turn to gold, so that would be nice…



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