David Thompson, lead singer of Adelaide folk band Bromham, chats about their live performances, emphasizing community and collaboration. Their upcoming EP, Adulthood, is inspired by personal challenges, including infertility and property issues. The song “Friends” reflects the support from diverse friends, while another track honours Hannah’s sister. The EP features local Adelaide artist Max Ballard’s artwork. The band is excited about upcoming performances at WOMADelaide and Woodford Folk Festival, with a release show on October 26 at Jive.
Hi David, I see that you did a gig recently in the city.
We played at The Giant Yellow Swing, for mental health awareness – just inviting everybody to come in. It’s free, and you can have a go in this giant swing. We were just playing alone and entertaining with the with the people working on the swing and stuff. It was sweet and really fun.
I feel that a sense of community helps that whole concept of mental health. I think that loneliness and lack of community is a big contributor to that.
Yeah, definitely. Having a free event where anyone can come, come together, and you’re right, yes. So yeah, it was good.
Let’s start right at the beginning. How did Bromham get together? It’s quite a big group you have there.
We started quite a while ago now, maybe 2016 or 2015. It started with five or six of us who were just friends from around Blackwood. It was never like, oh, we need to make a big band. We just kept meeting people who were lovely people who we got on with, playing interesting instruments and loving what we were doing. When we met those people, it was like you should come and jam with us.
I saw you play at Thebartonia at The Wheaty recently, and people were wondering how you managed to squeeze the band on stage.
With the live show, we’re singing songs about community, and you see us on stage, we are a community. We love playing live, we feel like it’s the best way for people to get who we are. Yeah, we love it. That’s fun.
You have a quotation on your Instagram page that it takes a village. It feels like that’s your reason for being.
That band ethos bleeds into the songwriting and stuff too. I write most of the lyrics, but with the actual music, usually I’ll come to the band with just a few chords or just the skeleton of something, and the rest of the crew just bring it to life. I think that’s where that kind of it takes a village thing as well. If I tried to write all the different parts myself and tell everyone what to play, the music would be nowhere near as good. When everyone brings their own influences, backgrounds and skills, and everyone puts that onto a track. Yeah, it sums it up well.
Your EP Adulthood has just been released. Where did the inspiration for those songs come from?
In 2022, my wife Hannah and I found out that we wouldn’t be able to have kids biologically. Around the same time, we were trying to buy a house, and stuff was just going crazy. All these avenues that we were trying, just weren’t working. We were feeling a little bit directionless. One day I was playing the piano, just mucking around, and I started singing this line, we’ve got friends in all the right places. My wife came in, and she was like, oh, I heard you were singing about friends. It’s funny, because I’ve been journaling all morning about how thankful I am that through this time, we’ve really good friends and people who are really supportive. So, for Hannah, it helped us to not feel so much outside, like as an outsider. From that moment, it was like, that’s what that line means.
Then there’s a little piano song second that reflects a bit more of the emotional side of that journey. It finishes with this big choir sound that Katie, one of our members who runs community choirs, drew us together us as a choir. It finishes on this sort of feeling of togetherness.
The last track is actually about my sister. It’s a song that we wrote for her because a few years ago her husband left. She has two kids, so she’s been a single mum for the last few years. For us, it was just a song of encouragement for her and how she keeps dreaming of the future. I think that’s a really beautiful thing. We think she’s doing an amazing job as a person and as a mom.
Can you tell me about the cover imagery?
It’s a beautiful painting by local Adelaide oil painter, Max Ballard. He’s someone we’ve known for years. A few of the band members actually grew up with him around Blackwood, and we used to go skateboarding and things together. We didn’t see him for a few years, and then all of a sudden, he kind of popped up. He’d moved to the city, and he was just doing these beautiful oil paintings. And so, yeah, we’re really excited to be able to be able to work with him.
I see that you have a nomination in the SA Music Awards for best folk artist.
Yeah, it’s exciting. I’ve been to the music awards a few times. It’s always great night. Everyone getting together, all these categories and venues and people doing festivals.
Speaking of festivals, was WOMADelaide the biggest festival that you’ve played at?
Growing up in Adelaide, we’ve all wanted to play Womad, it’s a really big one, yeah. We’ve also played the National Folk Festival in Canberra, and other big folk festivals. And this year we’ve been invited to Woodford festival as well.
Listen to Adulthood via this link
Catch Bromham at one of their upcoming shows:
26/10 – EP launch at Jive with Wake in Fright and Effie Isobel
16/11 – Ninch Nights Indie-Folk Fiesta – Rye Civic Hall, Mornington Peninsula VIC
14/12 – Jauma Fest – at Jauma Wines, Adelaide Hills
30/12 – Woodford Folk Fest
31/12 – NYE at Coondoo Mountain, Sunshine Coast QLD
