Catching up with the Sydney funk troubadour before he takes on World's Smallest Festival this week.
If Melbourne claims to be the soul capital of Australia, then Winston Surfshirt makes a pretty good case for himself to be the funkiest man north of the Murray. For the best part of five years, he’s been an integral part of Australia’s live circuit, treating punters to his effervescent take on West Coast funk with a ridiculously tight six-piece band in tow.
With two albums, an ARIA-certified Gold record and a co-sign from Sir Elton John under his belt, there’s no denying Surfshirt’s status as a hip-shaking local star, which makes his return to the stage for Bacardí’s World’s Smallest Festival this Saturday all the more exciting.
Performing alongside the likes of B Wise and Flex Mami in the idyllic surrounds of Cattai, the show promises to be one of the band’s first non-seated performances since the onset of the pandemic, meaning there’s a lot for audiences to look forward to when it all goes down.
To drum up the hype, we asked Winston Surfshirt to take us on a tour of his home studio for a behind-the-scenes glimpse at where all the magic happens before the band take to the stage in Cattai tomorrow.
Good Microphone
I use a Neumann TLM 103, it’s a slightly more affordable microphone based off the U87.
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Good Headphones
Mine broke recently which I’d owned forever, so I wanted something similar. I’m currently using Sennheiser HD650s at the moment. I’ll use them for mixing, and then the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro ‘closed’ headphones for when I’m recording vocals.
Good Interface
I have a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 which has 18 inputs, so I can have everything plugged in and ready to go at the same time.
Guitars that work and don’t work
I have four guitars and one bass… One guitar works, and the bass has just started playing up. Need to get ’em fixed up stat!
Keyboards & MIDI Keyboards
I got a Korg SV1 and she is the best! Then any old MIDI keyboard should do the job for me.
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Phone Chargers
Chargers for days!
Stand up desk
Only recently got one and it’s super dope!
Pub
There’s a pub behind me in this studio… It wins.
Pool
There’s also a pool. Win.
Plants
Lots and lots of plants, Jumanji style!
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Keep up to date with all things Winston Surfshirt here.