Band Meeting: Fantastic Stranger
Hello there, how about you introduce the band?
We have Dave Colebourn on Tenor sax and Zach Bartlett on bass guitar. I’m Ollie Grant; I play drums and with the help of these excellent musicians, I get to exorcise these wonky ideas out my head and into real life!
Is there a story behind your band name other than arguing about it in the pub?
I hate naming bands, but luckily this one was given to me. During lockdown I’d made some basic demos to pass the time and had shared them with close friends. When things opened up a bit my friend Gareth and I were sat in St. Andrews Park in Bristol, watching an outdoor jam a few musicians set up; using a couple of car batteries to power the PA and backline amps. Very Bristol! Anyway, while listening to the jams and chatting, a kid was running around the park, passing us occasionally. This kid would look at one of us on each passing and say some words; completely indistinguishable, but on the final run around, this kid looked directly at me and in a thick Bristolian accent said, “Fantastic Stranger”. I jokingly said to Gareth, “That’s a band name” to which he responded, “You need a band name!”
I see you hail from Bristol the home of Trip-Hop. Is Nu Jazz the next big thing?
Bristol has such a vibrant and eclectic scene. I think Nu Jazz might be in the jam scene a fair bit, but the main thing that drew me in to Bristol was its open minded audiences. I could go to a bar on any given night and there could be some sort of instrumental gnarliness (is that a word?) happening and people were up for listening to it! Notably, Waldo’s Gift at The Gallimaufry every Wednesday. A guitar trio like no other, improvising each week with loops and distortion and loud drums and ear stretching harmonic ideas. But it was packed with all sorts of people engaging in it. You can try stuff out in Bristol and the community will give it a go.
What is Nu Jazz anyway?
I didn’t know what post-rock was until I was told we were it. Upon googling the definition I realised it described us pretty well. I think of Nu Jazz having a more modern aesthetic and very groove based, a bit like how Neo Soul and Soul are related. Nu Jazz takes from Neo Soul a lot too I think. It’s all a big melting pot and we’re in there somewhere.
How long have you been working together?
We recently celebrated the three year anniversary of our first gig together which was at Crofters Rights, September 2022. It was part of a night called Improvs Greatest Hits led by Bristol improvisor Harry Furniss.
I see from your socials that you pressed a fancy bright red vinyl EP – any more recordings coming out?
Yes, it was our debut single Rockfall, with a sneaky little B Side on a super limited edition vinyl run put out by Skew Note. We’ll do another one soon! The way those releases work is, each 7” is cut directly to lathe one at a time and there is only a week long window to order through their bandcamp. After that deadline, that’s how many are made! It’s an exclusive club that I’m proud to be a part of! The digital single is up on our own bandcamp and we’ll shout about the next release on our socials and mailing list!
Any influences you’re willing to share with us?
Someone recently told me Rockfall reminded them of Acoustic Ladyland’s album, Living With A Tiger which was so on point! We actually teamed up with Bristol trio King Heron for some monster 6 piece covers a while back which included the track Gratitude from that album as well as tunes by Theon Cross, Nate Smith and Melt Yourself Down. Dave loves Shabaka’s playing and to represent some Bristol heads with similar aesthetic, The Evil Usses and Get The Blessing.
I see you’re coming to Things Happen Here directly after playing 12 Bar in Exeter – are these new to you?
I first heard of 12 Bar in Exeter when I saw that a rowdy band from Leeds, Vipertime, had played it. Dave and I experienced 12 Bar together as part of a jazz quartet, Nowhere Ensemble, and Dave returned as soon as he could with his solo ambient project 30 Circles. I’m just looking for excellent people who really care and who are curating something special in their community and I didn’t have to look very hard! I get that impression from Things Happen Here and Falmouth has an exciting scene so thought we’d make a road trip of it! We cannot wait to play these places! Someone online assured me they and all the other weirdos will come out to see us! Perfect!
There’s a lot of hair, any recommendations for products to manage static on stage?
When my hair’s been properly long, it’s been clamped between my hi-hats but having it up just doesn’t feel right. So I’d just say we accept that messy, hazardous hair comes with the territory!
Any future projects or plans?
Rockfall has a music video in the works. We are plotting and scheming behind the scenes with future releases, both physical and digital as well as lining up some exciting gigs next year. I’d love to collaborate more and share some bills with similar artists and bands. We’ve had some great pairings in Bristol with The Brackish and 137 but now it’s time to take this show on the road, either just us, or with some pals! But first, let’s see how we’re received on this stint!
We can’t wait
Fantastic Stranger are playing 12 Bar Exeter on Thursday 16th – Tickets available here
And they are at Things Happen Here with support from Looping Jazz/Rock Duo Jazzient on Saturday 18th – Tickets here
The Bandcamp page is here