What’s My Scene: Colourblind are writing the songs they want to hear
In our regular Q&A column What’s My Scene, InReview speaks to emerging and established local artists to get their take on the South Australian creative scene and their place within it. This week, Colourblind share their post-hardcore influences and abiding love for the Crown and Anchor Hotel.
Where was your first gig, and how did it go?
Our first show was way back in winter of 2017, and it was actually a little house show we put on at our drummer Ben’s parents’ house – it was a way less daunting way to launch the band and give it all a test run. Our first official show was a month or so later at the Crown and Anchor, I think on a Thursday night, with Draining and Towns. We had just put a three-track demo out, which did its job in getting us our first show.
What is your artist origin story?
We formed in April 2017 as a group of high school-era friends who had bonded over a shared appreciation for a fairly specific group of 2010s post-hardcore and rock bands. Our first practice space was in a spare room at our singer/guitarist Finn’s family home, where we would jam and write on Friday afternoons. It was a pretty fun time.
What was your impression of the local scene when you first started, and how has that changed?
We were stoked. We were so lucky to play shows what felt like almost every fortnight in the first couple of years, and we were very lucky to have very supportive friends who always came to see us. Making friends with other local bands that we’d always looked up to like Horror My Friend and Sleep Talk was also pretty surreal at the time. It was a really welcoming and fun scene to be in.
I think that younger/newer bands in Adelaide are still having that super fun and social experience, so in that sense I don’t really think it’s changed much. Venues have come and gone but people still love playing and getting out to see bands and the rooms are as packed out as ever.
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How has Colourblind evolved since you first started?
Apart from one member change, it’s actually been a fairly consistent experience for us in the almost nine years we’ve been a band. Finn’s lyrics have definitely become more mature, and I think we’re a bit more subtle and varied in our influences, but we’ve always just wanted to write songs that we ourselves would want to listen to.
Our main objective at this stage of the project is to just keep writing what feels good. We try not to ruminate for too long during the songwriting process and like to lock down ideas promptly without too much picking apart. I feel like this keeps it all fresh, and allows us to perform with more conviction both live and in the studio – we’re all still feeling that buzz of writing a really good part by the time we get to record.
What is it about your next release/project that you’re most excited/nervous to share with the world?
Our new EP Tie Yourself in Knots came out last week. We wanted to follow up on our 2024 self-titled album without too much delay, because that itself was a fairly drawn-out process. We recorded the six songs in January last year with Lachy Pitcher, and wrangled the art and vinyl sleeve together with help from some great friends and collaborators, Nick Astanei and Jordan Maywald.
The main nervousness for me actually came with our tenure – it’s easy to second guess if people will still care about your new music when you’ve been around for so long. But that all goes away on release day when friends and family and fans reach out and share it around. We’re very lucky to still have heaps of support.
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Who are the artists around you that inspire or challenge you?
We took Ethanol Blend on tour with us in 2022, having never met them before, but that is a relationship that has been huge for us. We’ve been welcomed into the mid-coast scene with open arms and have had so many great experiences as a result. They’re a group of people who do everything for the right reasons.
Favourite venue to play?
The Crown and Anchor will always have a special place in our heart – we played more Cranker Wednesdays than I could ever recall. Ideal capacity in the band room, and the sound and lights were always set up so perfectly. You could always be confident that you would be able to put on a great performance at that venue. It’s always pretty special getting on the big stage at Lion Arts Factory as well, especially as we’d all seen some of our favourite bands at the old Fowlers Live.
Dream act to open for?
Title Fight – they’re the main band we all bonded over at the start of the project, made all the more desirable in that it’s completely unattainable due to their now 10-year hiatus. Locally, I think we all would have loved to have played with the now-defunct World View – they released some great music.
Favourite act to have open for you?
We’ve loved playing with Kurralta Park over the last couple of years. They just bring such a great energy to every event and are so hardworking.
Where is your next gig, and how do you hope it will go?
We’re launching the Tie Yourself in Knots EP at the Ed Castle with Kurralta Park and Somewhere. We only played a handful of shows through 2025, so we’re really keen to get 2026 started with a bang.
Colourblind perform at the Ed Castle on Friday January 23. Listen to their EP, Tie Yourself in Knots, here.
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