Often, it’s the little details that matter – Speak Easy Circus knows it well, on a mission to investigate the small print around bananas. Yeah, you read that right, bananas. Not many peeps know this, but the banana industry is plagued by a series of rather obscure dealings. That’s what hooked the Glasgow group, sparking a deep dive into the history of the beloved yellow fruit. Since they are musicians at heart, they have now packed such investigative flair into a stunning and eclectic offering, ‘Gros Michel’.
You see, Speak Easy Circus are not your average band – rather they are a collective of talented musicians, exploring the entirety of popular music. Pairing a classic rock outfit with a horns section, the group manage to offer material that feels fresh, exciting and memorable. ‘Gros Michel’ is the perfect evidence of that. Built on a mellow funk-rock formula, the track incorporates ska-style horns in its chorus, providing the perfect settings for Speak Easy Circus’s charismatic and evocative lead vocals.
Explaining the reasoning behind such quirky yet meaningful lyricism, head honcho Jack Avison explains: “I wrote ‘Gros Michel’ because, over a period of a few weeks last year, I became weirdly obsessed with bananas and watched as many videos and documentaries about them as I could. I was amazed and shocked that something people loved – bananas – could be sold by companies that were so evil – La Chiquita. Some of their transgressions (read crimes), include poisoning communities, causing birth defects in children, funding terrorism, and massacring workers.”
Recommended! Discover ‘Gros Michel’ on Spotify:
