New Zealand is a country with a rich history of folk music, so it’s little wonder that Scottish folk rockstars Talisk are one of the most highly anticipated acts at this year’s Auckland Arts Festival.
Formed in Glasgow (a city where you can’t walk down the street without hearing the sound of a fiddle or guitar or accordion wafting out of a pub) in 2015, Talisk have spent the past decade building their reputation as one of the UK’s most exciting live acts.
It might just be Mohsen Amani, Benedict Morris, and Charlie Galloway on stage with their acoustic instruments, but their raucous energy has cemented them as cult favourites back home.
To celebrate their 10th anniversary, Talisk embarked on their first-ever tour of Australia and New Zealand, which next heads to Auckland Arts Festival tonight (March 18th).
Judging by the band’s social media, their debut trip Down Under has gone very well indeed. Scottish expats, proudly wearing their kilts, packed out Northcote Social Club in Melbourne, while massive crowds turned out to see them at WOMAD Aotearoa and more festivals.
Everyone wants a taste of Talisk (this will make sense after you read their interview below), clearly, and now it’s Auckland’s turn.
Rolling Stone AU/NZ caught up with the band to discuss their Australian shows, 10th anniversary, plans for the rest of the year, and more.
Ticket information for Talisk’s Auckland Arts Festival show can be found here. Check out the band’s upcoming tour dates here.
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Rolling Stone AU/NZ: Firstly, are you looking forward to playing the Auckland Arts Festival?
Talisk: Obviously we can’t wait. It’s our first tour of New Zealand and if the crowds are anything like what we had in Australia it could just about make it to our favourite places in the world.
Are there any other acts playing the festival you’re keen to see?
We’re just looking forward to cutting about and checking out artists we’ve never had the chance to see and seeing some new music we haven’t experienced before. We’ve only got one day off before the show so unfortunately we won’t see much, but that’s all the more reason for us to come back!
Have you been to New Zealand before, either to perform or just visit?
The majority of us have never been. Our guitarist Charlie has toured before but this is the first time Talisk has, so we are going in blind and looking forward to seeing everything that makes New Zealand so special.
How did your Australian shows go?
We literally don’t have words to describe it. We’re halfway around the world in a place we’ve never toured and wow, everyone turned out in force. As if it’s taken us 10 years to tour here.
Describe the Talisk sound to an unfamiliar Rolling Stone reader in three words.
Absolutely f***ing banging.
What’s a typical Talisk set like?
We are pretty heavy hitting. It’s folk, electronic, euphoric, and just a class night out. We’ve a light show that rocks, music that gets everyone hyped from start to finish, and you’ll probably leave covered in sweat from dancing.
What’s the story behind your band name?
I wish it was a better story but we quite literally knocked a few letters off a bottle of whiskey from back home and made “Talisk”, which is awesome because there’s is now nothing called “Talisk” in the world bar us.
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How does it feel to be celebrating your 10th anniversary? You must be so proud!
Can’t believe we made it ha! We’re buzzing to start the celebrations in Oz and NZ firstly, but it feels like the first in a line of many milestones. We have no intentions of stopping as it’s just starting to get good, and don’t get me wrong it has been flipping class from day one!!
Where are you all from in Glasgow? Where did you all meet?
We’ve had a load of different members through the years but we originally all met in Glasgow playing tunes in pubs for a bit of a laugh. The lineup now is hilarious, completely different, but we all still spend most of our time together in Glasgow, drinking, playing music, and just getting up to all sorts of nonsense.
What else have you got coming up this year? Lots more touring?
We’re touring throughout the year in the UK and US with some epic festivals that are yet to be announced. We’ve also made a show with The Gardiner Brothers that we are taking round the US. Big Irish dancing Talisk show called “Unleashed”, which is going to be out of this world.
