A frenetic fusion of gypsy ska and surf rock – possibly the most succinct and precise way of summing up what it is about Australian band Caravãna Sun that has effectively connected with so many different audiences at home and indeed around Europe.

As integral as this melée of sounds is to the band’s en-compassing appeal, there is a bigger, stronger factor that has helped endear them to every audience they’ve had the pleasure to entertain.

This is to be found in their energetic, heartfelt performances, the collective aim of which is all about making everybody feel better.

Further to his previous visits to Malta years ago, the band’s frontman Luke Carra, who also happens to have Maltese roots, spoke about Caravãna Sun’s growing popularity, what the band is about and why Malta will always be special to him.

The integral element at the heart of Caravãna Sun is honesty

What has the band been up to prior to getting ready for Malta?

Well, we only got back from a long run of shows in Western Australia a couple of weeks ago, which went really well. And here we are getting ready to kick off our third tour in Europe with shows in Malta. Other than that, I’ve been hanging out in my pad in Cronulla, which is a surf spot just outside Sydney.

What brought about the switch from solo artist to having a band with a fuller, bigger sound?

The progression from solo to a band was a natural evolution. I was doing these solo tours and thought of having a percussionist, which is when I teamed up with Alex Dumbrell, who is Caravãna Sun’s drummer now.

We toured together for a month, and the band started from our collaboration.

Bassist Ant Beard, who also sings in the band, was opening our shows each night as a solo support artist.

On one tour I had brought a bass along and asked him if he’d like to join us on a song, and we haven’t looked back since, although at the time we were still performing as Carra.

Later we brought in a trumpet player who was replaced by Eamon Dilworth two years ago.

Eamon (aka Dilla) brought a lot of life to our dynamic set-up and the bar has been raised since, with two tours around Europe under our belt and a third just days away, so everything’s been going really well.

A bit of gypsy ska, punk and rock… how has this eclectic mix helped your sound in finding its audience?

Our sound is a mix of the backgrounds each of us comes from, and when we get together, all those elements just come out naturally in what we’re doing. Our sound has been greatly influenced from touring over the past few years and the fact we road-test new material rather than develop songs in the studio.

At the core, we all love playing music together; the integral element at the heart of Caravãna Sun is honesty.

With the albums Rising Falling and AYA in mind, how much you feel you’ve achieved as a band?

Well technically, Rising Falling wasn’t really our first album because when we made it, we hadn’t even decided to call ourselves Caravãna Sun. That’s how early on it was. It was while making that album that we discovered what we like about playing music together. The result was evident in the way our live shows changed from then on, as did the new songs we wrote. Rising Falling helped us discover ourselves.

As for AYA, I feel we totally achieved what we set out to do for that album. We had, by then, realised our audience enjoyed the raw energy and honesty we projected onstage and we wanted AYA to capture that same energy, which I feel it does.

How does it feel, having done Europe twice already, to finally come to Malta with the band?

I’ve wanted to come back ever since we started touring Europe as Caravãna Sun, but the whole arrangement and flights didn’t tie in, so when we were approached to perform at Earch Garden we naturally seized the opportunity. In fact, this year we’ve started our tour of Europe earlier specifically so we could perform in Malta.

We’re obviously looking forward to bringing AYA to Maltese audiences and also to catch up with some friends, see the sights and probably get some new press shots and video footage done too. Malta and the Mediterranean has been a big inspiration to me ever since I came over the first time, so I can’t wait to be back.

Caravãna Sun will be performing at Earth Garden, Ta’ Qali. on Friday and Sunday.

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