Formula Indie Sessions – Interview with The Vultures
Interview answered by Liam Bowditch (The Vultures)
The Vultures formed on the Gold Coast in 2013, born from a lifelong friendship and a shared love of indie and alternative rock. Liam Bowditch and Joe Bon MacPhail began writing and performing together as teenagers, gradually shaping a sound built on raw emotion, sharp lyricism, and an unapologetic approach to songwriting. More than a decade on, their creative partnership continues to evolve.
Entering 2026, the band is stepping into a new era with sophomore album Chaos Reflections. The record is a darker and more introspective body of work, exploring themes of existentialism, heartbreak, and the search for meaning in a chaotic world. Building on the foundation laid by their debut album Escobar, this new chapter dives deeper into an evolving sound that is cinematic yet grounded, blending grit with melody and philosophical depth with rock and roll instinct.
With years of touring, studio experience, and a rapidly growing online presence behind them, The Vultures continue to carve out their place as a band driven by honesty and intensity. Their focus remains the same as it was at the beginning: to confront the noise, sit with the chaos, and create music that feels real.
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
My earliest memory of music would be either watching Bruce Springsteen performing Born In The USA or Status Quo performing Caroline on a VHS tape. My Dad always encouraged music around me when I was little. He made sure I could name every Beatle (The Beatles) the moment I could talk.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
My passion for creating music began in Australia when my Dad bought a guitar someday. At around 11 years old I started learning chords. I loved music and found myself incredibly curious of anything music related. The more I could play the guitar, the more creative I could become. Not long after I met Joe when I was around 12 and then we started jamming together. The rest is history.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
Joe and I met at the end of primary school. I was the new kid in school and we quickly became friends discovering that we both played guitar and loved the same music. Both of our Dad’s encouraged us growing up to learn guitar and introduced us to a lot of music. So by the time we met, we both had a decent foundation to actually jam together. We entered a school talent competition shredding electric guitars. That became the catalyst and we found ourselves playing music together every day after school. Joe has a drum kit at home and within a few months we found ourselves riffing out and writing songs. We then started recording and filming ourselves playing. In many ways not much has changed since those days!
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
I’d say our music has a diverse range of influences but sits under the umbrella of alternative rock.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
I think we’ve always had a good instinct for staying true to our ideas. One thing that’s become more apparent over time is the confidence to trust our instincts and allow ourselves to have full creative freedom. We have always self-produced our music which has taught us countless things about the craft over the years. It’s natural when you’re younger to think that you need a particular studio or producer to make a great record but when you realise that you can become that yourself and gather everything you’ve learned along the way, it changes how you make music.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
We love our Schecter guitars because we’ve played them since we were early teens. We both use Logic to demo out our ideas, but then mostly ProTools when it comes to recording/mixing. We still have the first microphone we bought which we occasionally use as a trash mic. We love finding layers for the gear we’ve had for a while in our music. There’s something special about the familiarity and history behind different equipment.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
Julia Jacklin, Holy Holy, Total Tommy, Balu Brigada are some of the indie artists we are spinning from this side of the world.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
Everything in our lives shapes our music and artistic vision. It’s an expression of ourselves and we spend time distilling our ideas into these pieces of music.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
We hope people take all kinds of messages and emotions from our work. There’s many interpretations and everyone’s different.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
Patience and integrity. It takes time. It’s important to show up and allow things to grow naturally. Stay true to your ideas and don’t force anything. Always stay true to the ideas and to yourself.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
Many dream venues around the world, but a recent one would have to be The Sphere in Las Vegas. What an impressive venue.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
We’d love to collaborate with Biffy Clyro. We love their philosophy and incredible body of work. They are also the coolest dudes. We hope someday we can make a belter together.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)
We are on all major platforms and streaming services!
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
For us, playing overseas is the next dream on the horizon. We’ve love to take our show to new countries around the globe. Europe will be next we think… so might be seeing you soon!
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
That we really care, love challenging ourselves and always do our best to lift the bar each time.
