The brainchild of Echo Park-based singer-songwriter Sharaya Mikael, BANTA is a four-piece indie rock band that has gained a lot of ground since their 2013 inception. Packing the Satellite to full-capacity, Mikael landed a record deal with eOne Music and the rest is history. They’ve since performed along the likes of bands like French Style Furs and the Mynabirds, gaining a good amount of repute throughout 2015 leading into the release of their upcoming debut album, Dark Charms. In an exclusive to PopMatters, the band are premiering Dark Charms in all of its bittersweet grit ahead of its release on June 3.
About the album, Mikael tells PopMatters: “I can’t believe this album is actually finished. It was such a long process. It feels like going on a really long hike and looking back down on the whole valley that you just climbed up. I have that standing on the mountain top experience.”
“The lyric in the song ‘Dark Charms’ refers to a woman who is manipulative and has an underlying agenda. Kind of creepy actually. It’s my favorite track on the record, so that was kind of a title track. But in the wider context I felt like the album ended up having a very melancholy vibe to it so I liked the imagery of dark yet sweet, it felt fitting.”