Night Tales Producer Bannie Distinguishes Himself With Solo Project

In the electronic dance music world, sound is branding. In turn, you’ll see artists start releasing music under a different name to explore a new direction, or duos dabbling in an entirely new vibe through solo projects.

Best known as one-half of Night Tales, L.A.-based producer Bannie opted to make such a move as of recent.

While Night Tales has turned into a festival staple and have accumulated over 30 million streams through their music, Bannie marks his solo debut with “I’ve Got The Feeling,” released through House Nation on April 7.

“I’ve Got The Feeling” represents a more uplifting, euphoric direction for the producer born Aaron Bannie.

After being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2009, he immersed himself in music and found himself living in Sydney, Australia, where he curated tracks for some of the city’s most prominent venues.

Contrasting against Night Tales’ darker, electronica-based style, Bannie seeks to distinguish himself with a more pop-based, rhythmic sound intended to connect with a broader spectrum of listeners.

How did you get started as a producer?

I’ve always been into music, and I was able to put a vinyl record on at about 2 years of age. I bought my first pair of Technics 1210s (vinyl decks) at 16, and DJed in my bedroom for years.

When I moved from the U.K. to Australia, I really dove into the music industry by DJing, curating music across multiple venues, and booking international acts for festivals and marquee events.

I started fully producing around 2015 with a previous faceless project called Third Floor. Then, in 2017, the birth of my supergroup Night Tales, of which I am one half, came about.

Listeners and audiences know you as part of Night Tales. How do you plan to separate your solo work from producing as a duo?

Great question. The biggest difference between my new solo project, Bannie, and Night Tales is that the Bannie project is really upbeat and feel-good.

It’s more music and hook-driven, whereas Night Tales is more singer-songwriter style, with verses, pre-hooks, and so on.

Plus, Night Tales is more deep and emotional; we really delve deep into human emotions, usually pulled together by our experiences.

For me, Bannie is a great departure from Night Tales, which allows me to express a less serious but fun vibe through feel-good dance music.

What influenced your decision to start releasing music as a solo artist?

I’ve been a DJ for over 20 years now, so production was the next logical step for me.

However, the catalyst for me really diving into full-time music production was when one of my favorite acts, Prodigy, came to Australia. I was in the middle of the mosh, and I had this epiphany moment where I was like, “I want to do this – make music and perform.”

Tell us about “I’ve Got This Feeling”: What was your inspiration for this track?

Yeah, going back to the whole departure from the really emotional style of writing and production I do with Night Tales, Bannie is just feel-good vibes.

It’s apt that the song is called “I’ve Got This Feeling.” For me, it presents the yearning/feeling desire for me to release a solo, more uplifting dance project.

I really wanted this song to inspire people to seize the day, chase their dreams, and just send positive vibes into the listener’s life.

It could be dancing in the morning while making coffee, giving you motivation in the gym, asking out that person you’ve got a crush on, or being the song you play with friends before you go out.

You’ve mentioned that you intend this project to be more fun and uplifting. How does this influence how you put together songs?

For me, I really have fun making the Bannie music. As I mentioned before, Night Tales is emotional, with lyrics that are driven by emotion. Bannie is more focused on instrumentation, with pianos, bass lines, catchy melodies, and lyrical hooks.

The more music I release, the more noticeable the difference in sounds and songs. This project is influenced by my idols MK, shades of Calvin Harris, Diplo, but with my own unique twist on it.

You also had an emo project called Third Floor. How does this work influence or factor into your sound as a solo artist?

The body of work I made with Third Floor was representative of my mental and production skill level at the time. I still really love my music, tracks like “Can’t Do This Alone,” “Oceans,” and “Move On.”

Again, Third Floor was heavily influenced by past traumas and experiences. The Bannie project is almost like the sky’s the limit in terms of what I can write about.

I don’t really need to go into the painful archives to write this music; I can be inspired by everyday beauty in life – my friends, my life here in L.A., and how lucky I am to have music as a career. It’s exciting.

What other plans do you have for your solo project?

I really want to release music regularly with Bannie. The plan is to release every six to eight weeks so that listeners will get a clear understanding of the direction this project is going in.

Hopefully, people will really vibe with it. It’s just press play and vibe music, and that’s my intention with this project – press play and vibe.

Especially with the summer season coming up, what plans do you have for performing and new music? Will you be doing shows as a solo artist and via Night Tales?

Right now, Night Tales has got real momentum. This is why we moved to L.A. from Australia – to really put gas on the fire of this momentum.

We have some major festivals this year, including Okeechookee, Breakaway, Hang Out, Bonnaroo, Northern Nights, and Life is Beautiful festivals, plus shows in Mexico City, Chicago, and NY.

With the Bannie project, as I mentioned before, I just want to release music regularly, build fans and listeners, and I feel the opportunity to perform under Bannie will present itself organically.