Banji

Name, where are you from?
I’m Morris from the band Banji, we’re from The Netherlands, specifically Utrecht.

Describe your style in three words?
Comfortable, colourful and fun.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
In 2019 we all went to Lowlands, and Tame Impala was the headliner. I don’t think I ever saw a performance so staggering in my life, it completely blew me away at that time. Also in terms of production and visuals. At one point A$AP Rocky joined, and I was shaken up for about a week. 

If you could be on the line up with any two artists in history?
From a nostalgia perspective, I would probably pick Arctic Monkeys and The Wombats. When I was younger they were the only artists I listened to, so their musical DNA was kind of ingrained in me. 

Which subcultures have influenced you? 
Growing up I used to skate a lot, so I was definitely influenced by everything that existed around skating. There was a lot of freedom and creativity involved, and at that time I didn’t really worry about the risk of it all. It gave me a chance to develop my own style and figure out what I liked, and what I didn’t. I used to love finding new spots to skate with friends, learning new tricks, meeting new people. At one point I had to slow it down so I could dive deeper into making music. Which I did for a number of years. But lately, I’ve been skating more and more, haven’t broken anything yet so that’s a good sign.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
I’ve always been really interested in Kanye West, which is not surprising because I feel like he is one of the most interesting artists in history (besides Michael Jackson of course). I would actually love to talk about music and artistry with both of them and dive deeper into their musical minds. 

Of all the venues you’ve been to or played, which is your favourite?
I feel like we’re gonna see more interesting venues in the future, with covid we couldn’t really play venues a whole lot, so there’s a bit less to choose from. Our European tour with De Staat got moved to later this year, so I think we’ll discover a lot of cool, unusual places around that time. But for now... I really enjoyed the venues we played in Paris. Supersonic, and Nouveau Casino.

Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
I always go for Darwin Deez with a question like this. I feel like he has such a unique sound that is really true to himself. His creativity in terms of lyrics, production and arrangements really fueled my own interest in music from a young age. He does alright for himself, but I feel like he doesn’t get enough recognition for his inspired songwriting. 

Banji recently released their new single 'Cornflakes'. Listen, purchase or stream it via banji.lnk.to/Crnflks.

Banji will also release their debut album 'Freshcakes' on October 14th via [PIAS] Recordings.

For everything else, including details on their upcoming UK tour, visit banji.nl.