Bonjah nominated for APRA award, release live CD/DVD

Posted: 26 May, 2010

UPDATE 08/06: Bonjah have just released this epic 10-minute take of My Patience from the DVD. Watch it, then pick yourself up a copy. 

Gaga is stoked to announce that rising Melbourne blues and roots act Bonjah have had not one but two of their tracks nominated for an APRA award. Their tracks Bring Back The Fire and Fly, both from their much loved debut album Until Dawn, have been nominated for Blues and Roots Work of The Year.

The nominations cap off a remarkable year of hard work for the band. In early 2009, the group released the hotly anticipated Until Dawn, which was loved by fans and critics alike.

'Bonjah have become something of a sensation on the streets of their adopted home...' Rolling Stone wrote in their review. 'Their debut is a hot blend of the organic, spontaneous spirit of their live shows and the song writing chops that elevate them above many jam bands.'

Beat Magazine called the record 'brilliant' and 'beautiful.' Until Dawn went on to be nominated for Best Independent Blues & Roots Album at the 2009 AIR Awards, and kicked off a major period of touring for a band who are no strangers to travel. 

The Bonjah story began in New Zealand, where South African native Glenn Mossop settled with his parents in the mid 90s after a two-year round-the-world sailing adventure. There he met locals Regan Lethbridge and David Morgan. Together, the trio spent the next 10 years refining their unique blues, soul and roots infused sound, adding member Dan Chisholm in the process, before taking it across the Tasman, in 2006, to their new home: Melbourne.

Arriving without a dime, the band soon got a busking permit and hit the streets. Four years later, and with another percussionist added to the line-up, Bonjah have toured both coasts of Australia, and shared the stage with the likes of The Who, The Counting Crowsand G Love & Special Sauce & The Wailers.

With their bright, edgy tunes and funky, soulful grooves, the band have become an accomplished and sought after live band. By recent estimates, the band has played more than 500 shows and covered over 150,000 kms in the last three years, garnering themselves a solid and passionate fanbase in both Australia and overseas in the process.

Late last year, Bonjah returned to Melbourne to play packed out shows at The Corner Hotel and the Prince of Wales. One of these shows, at the Prince of Wales, was recorded and will now be released on June 4 as a CD/DVD package. The new release documents a live band at the height of their powers, playing to an adoring local crowd. Check out the trailer below.

Bonjah just returned from their first tour of Japan, where they played to a whole new audience at the Greenroom Festival and had 'the time of their lives.' The band are now busily writing material for their second record, which is due in early 2011. Copies of the the Prince of Wales CD/DVD can be ordered at Bonjah's site.

Pete : 26 May, 2010

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