Wille and the Bandits have released “Reina Del Mar,” the latest single from their album ‘Salt Roots’, out now. Following “Trouble Round the Bend” and “Wheal Jane,” which won Classic Rock’s Track of the Week, the new single takes the band somewhere distinctly different. Latin-rock influenced and steeped in coastal atmosphere, the track was shaped by time on Spain’s Atlantic coast and a riff Wille first sketched a decade ago while travelling Cuba and absorbing the sounds of Buena Vista Social Club musicians still playing in Havana. Harry Mackaill’s double bass anchors the track with real depth, Stevie’s piano brings rich Latin texture, and Wille’s slide guitar does what it always does, which is hold the whole thing together with unmistakable authority.
Wille traces the song’s origin directly: “It wasn’t until I was on tour with a few days off in Galicia, Spain, knocking around and waiting for some surf to appear, that the idea of Maria came about. With its strong association with the sea, and Reina del Mar meaning ‘queen of the sea’ in Spanish, the song started to develop.” That connection to the ocean runs through ‘Salt Roots’ as a whole, and has led the band to partner with Surfers Against Sewage, putting their music behind a cause that matters to them personally. Produced by Wille alongside long-time collaborator Josiah Manning, the ten-track album moves confidently across styles without losing the thread of strong songs and sharp musicianship. The UK tour is underway now.
‘Salt Roots’ UK Tour Dates:
March 28 – Carnglaze Caverns, Liskeard (w/ Martin Harley, True Strays, Echo Town, James Dixon)
April 29 – Half Moon Putney, London