Bonfire Nights

Bonfire Nights

Bonfire Nights is a psychedelic group from Brisbane and London that forms in Australia in 2010 and remains active. The band is founded by Steve Foster and Ruth Nitkiewicz. Their sound is described as drawing on psychedelic, space rock, ambient, rock and indie elements, with a strong shoegaze and neo-psych character.

History

The group relocates to London in 2011 and begins touring in the UK, including support dates for Sons & Daughters. The following year they travel to the United States for showcase appearances at SXSW and in New York City, with additional college house shows.

Back in the UK, Bonfire Nights records with Olly Betts of The Duke Spirit, beginning work on the track “Ego Death”, which appears as a split 7-inch release with Tripwires on Bad Vibrations Records. Sessions from the same period also produce “Low”, which is mixed by Ian Davenport, known for work with Band of Skulls and Supergrass, and included on a limited-edition compilation cassette from Fluffer Records.

The band later plays extensive live dates with acts including Pond, The KVB, Lola Colt, The Drones, DZ Deathrays, Holydrug Couple and The Underground Youth. It then adds James Boyd on guitar, Suzie Creevey on keys and Leon Ferbrache on bass, further shaping its psych sound.

Debut album

In 2015 Bonfire Nights records its debut album, Entopica Phenomica, again with Olly Betts. The album uses layers of guitar noise, chiming distortion and synthesizers, and presents a more exploratory version of the band’s psychedelic style.