Winston Surfshirt
Introducing Winston Surfshirt, the Sydney-based six-piece quickly winning over fans and industry alike with their unique blend of funk, soul and hip-hop - the auditory equivalent of A Tribe Called Quest splitting spliffs with your parent’s favourite band.
Having developed a cult following off the back of their raucous live shows, the band originated as the solo project of singer/rapper/producer Winston Surfshirt before sequentially adopting other local artists and producers to form what is now a musical collective.
With a lauded and unique versatility in their sound, Winston Surfshirt’s past performances range from sold out headline shows across national Australian tours, to festival billing at Splendour In The Grass, Spilt Milk, This That and Yours & Owls, support slots for Midnight Oil's comeback tour, underground warehouse gigs and block parties.
The past five years have seen the group gradually evolve into their current and static six-piece lineup; a uniting of similar musical influences and different instruments.
Leading 2017 the band released their debut single, ’Be About You’ (#1 on Australian Spotify Viral Charts), followed by ‘Ali D’ and ’Same Same’, all of which earned full rotation on triple j, as well as nods and airtime from international tastemakers in the US and UK including Jason Bentley (KCRW), Huw Stephens & Phil Taggart (BBC Radio 1), Lauren Laverne (BBC Radio 6), and Beats 1 host Zane Lowe, who labelled the group ‘one of his breaking acts for 2017’. Sir Elton John has also professed his continual support for the group, airing all their singles on his Beats 1 program, Rocket Hour, as well as publicly labelling them his 'favourite band of the moment'.
In July 2017 Winston Surfshirt played triple j's Like A Version, slowing down and adding a chorus of vocals to 50 Cent's '21 Questions'. September saw the group release their debut album, Sponge Cake - a 16-track melange of summer sounds blurring the lines between funk and hip-hop, bound together with airy vocals and bold brass. Sponge Cake premiered as feature album on triple j and debuted at #1 on the iTunes R&B/Soul Charts, #2 on Apple Music Best Of The Week and #6 on the iTunes Album Charts. Since release Sponge Cake has had lauded reviews from Australia’s own The Music, (4/5 stars), and German music site Beatblogger, (4/5 stars), among a troop of others singing equal praise. Wrapping up their national Sponge Cake tour in November, selling out all 10 shows across the country, Winston Surfshirt will signed off 2017 with slots at Falls Festival and Field Day, marking them as one of Australia’s most prolific upcoming acts.
The breakout act have come full speed into 2019 with new music, including the buttery smooth 'For the Record' and disco-fuelled 'Make A Move'. Whilst showcasing an ever-expanding sound, this year has seen the band embark on their biggest Australian and EU/UK tours to date - stopping over at (and selling out) iconic venues like The Enmore in Sydney, and the Forum in Melbourne - and they show no signs of stopping there.
If you know, you know.