SATIN SOUL

Writer: Joseph Maranta

Day one of the road trip is approaching its end. As their station wagon reaches the shoreline of Storm King Dam, they embrace the crisp Granite Belt air and begin their preparations for the night. Tents are pitched, mattresses are blown up and a rudimentary campfire is made. The firewood’s crackling provides the only stimulation on ground level, the perfect ambience for the real show - the expansive night sky in its new moon glory. 

Deep in big sky country, no anthropogenic light pollution and no moonlight brings the beauty of the galaxy to the fore. Gazing unto God's canvas, the milky way acts as the centrepiece of his artwork while the southern cross and our solar neighbours play an auxiliary role in crafting a truly breathtaking sight. 

Akin to how each glimmer of light comes together in creating a beautiful night sky, the music of Satin Soul follows a similar ethos. The Meanjin trio aren’t bound by a predetermined sound, their penchants span retro psychedelia, jazz, indie and everything in between. 

Featuring Bryn Ballantine on guitar and vocals, Jada Barnes on Bass and Patrick Collins on Drums, the music of Satin Soul enjoys the journey, regardless of the destination. 

JOE: Thanks for coming for a yarn guys! So Satin Soul, how did you become a band?

BRYN: Pat and I played together in high school bands, and I met Jada just through mutual friends. 

JADA: I wasn't keen on it at the start, I didn’t think I’d join the band. 

BRYN: We had a lot of people coming and going when we first started. Honestly even getting Pat to join was a bit of a reach. We were mates at the time, but it had been a couple months since we’d graduated so I was nervous to ask him. But he was on board straight away. We were not ready at all for our first gig though, only a month or two after starting the band we had three gigs booked in the same week. 

JADA: He just sent out so many emails. He’d tell us we have a gig and I’d be like “no, I don’t want to play, we aren't ready” and then he'd tell us we were booked for another show. 

JOE: So what was your first show like?

BRYN: That first show at Tomcat, we were fucked. We were freaking out, Jada was literally sweating in the green room. For some reason we were the headliner, but our only fans were our friends and family. We genuinely didn’t say a word to each other before going on. 

JADA: I was saying ‘fuck you’ to Bryn. Afterwards though, I was so glad we did it. 

BRYN: I probably haven’t felt that feeling of euphoria since. 

JOE: So after playing a few shows now, have you settled on a favourite venue?

SATIN SOUL: The Bearded Lady is our favourite. 

BRYN: The owner, Jamie, is especially so lovely. He doesn’t see you as someone who’s bringing money to the venue, or a name, he introduces himself to you and he makes you feel so welcomed. We definitely prefer playing in West End generally though. A lot of the times when we played in the valley, the opening bands had a heavy, sorta punk sound - and our set list just clashed with that. 

JADA: Our mixed bag. 

PAT: Yeah our intermission music. 

JOE: So your upcoming single, Sandy Toes, how did that come to be?

BRYN: Sandy Toes to me, is our simplest song, it’s only four chords. It’s such a fun little melodic track. 

JADA: The first time we played it, it meshed really well with us. It’s so fun to play. 

PAT: We did a Bossa Nova version of it too. We also have a reggae version of our next single, but that’s because I messed up the drums once and it worked. 

BRYN: With our other songs like The Jazz Song, it’s very technical and you can’t be as present when you’re performing it. But with Sandy Toes I can muck around with the crowd as I’m playing it. It was actually going to be our first ever release, but our ego at the time prevented that. We didn’t want people to think we were bad, and all we could make was a four chord song. We didn’t think anyone would take us seriously, but we’re literally an amateur band - we don't need anyone to take us seriously. 

JOE: Your next single after Sandy Toes has a heavier sound, how does your penchant for switching genres affect your setlist?

JADA: It’s hard to read the audience sometimes. 

BRYN: We try to start with a more explosive opening before dying down towards the middle, then bringing the tempo back up to finish. There’s been times where we’ve gone mellow before building it up, but that doesn’t really rock with the crowd. 

JOE: So you’re still a relatively new band, how have you found the Brisbane music community?

BRYN: It’s definitely saturated here, which is a double edged sword. There’s a lot of support but not a lot of people. It’s hard to get ahead in a way. 

PAT: Brisbane is just small. Say we play a gig with Wayward Way for example, their fans would also be our fans. 

BRYN: I was talking to Zac from Special Features, and he’s on the same page. They’re trying to branch out - going to different suburbs and cities, exposing themselves to places where they haven’t built up a name yet. The fans that come out, they’re ride or dies, and really supportive, but it’s hard to find fans that aren’t just mates of different bands you’re friends with. 

JOE: So after these new tracks come out, what else do you want out of 2025?

BRYN: Leaving Brisbane I’d say. We’ll try to hit the coastlines and just continue working on the band. We’ll look for a fourth member this year, and it’ll be exciting seeing how our music changes after that. We were lucky enough to play with Fraser Bell down in Byron Bay, and that’s probably our band’s favourite ever show - it was just so cool going somewhere different for a show. So more of that would be awesome. 

SATIN SOUL SINGLE LAUNCH FEB 28TH | INSTAGRAM | SPOTIFY