Hip hop is not often associated with an eight-piece brass ensemble.

But Brisbane group, Bullhorn, are challenging people’s perceptions of brass music and hip hop. In less than two years, they’ve not only established a unique sound combining brass, jazz and contemporary dance music, but have also toured and released their debut self-titled album.

“It’s all happened really quick,” says Steven Buchanan, the group’s sousaphone player. “But we've been amazed at the response from it so far. In just a year we've been able to pull some really good gigs and tour, and some great opportunities have come our way.

“We've done a lot of shows at The Joynt and that's a classic example of our shows. It's always packed and [we have] a lot of people dancing.”
But according to Buchanan, live crowds are sometimes unsure of how to digest Bullhorn's musical offering.

“Sometimes people are a bit stand-off-ish ... when we first get up [because] they don't know how to take it. You'll see people for the first one or two tunes maybe clap lightly, sort of treating it like a concert, but they always change their minds by the end of the set,” he says.

And Bullhorn's self-confessed “party-vibe” will no doubt benefit the group when they play Island Vibe Festival in October. “Island Vibe is a great festival. A lot of the guys in the band have played it in other bands before but Bullhorn has never played it. It's always such a great energy at that festival and has a great party vibe as well.

“There's always a Brisbane crew at Island Vibe and I reckon even if I wasn't playing I'd be there just attending to check it out. It's an awesome festival.”

Bullhorn play Island Vibe Festival, which takes place at Pt. Lookout, North Stradbroke Island, October 26-28.