The Technician‘s Yamil Camacho chatted with Bryan Rahija of Bombadil as the band returned from the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion on Sunday.

While on a study abroad trip to Bolivia, Rahija and Daniel Michalak began to record music using Bolivian instruments and their own influences. Stuart Robinson and eventually James Phillips rounded out the quartet. Now, Bombadil is a growing force in the festival circuit.

Bombadil’s blend of international folk music is unique, and it utilizes the traditional guitars, bass, piano and drums with the addition of instruments such as the harmonica, xylophone, saxophone, trumpet, charango, glockenspiel, accordion and others. The band is signed to Ramseur Records, home also to The Avett Brothers.

Technician: Tell me about the process of making your debut album, A Buzz, A Buzz.

Rahija: Some of [the songs] are really new and some of them are really old. There’s one song, “One, Two, Three” that Daniel wrote. We all liked the song and we put it in there. In total, we actually recorded 17 songs at the studio and we sort of went with the ones that we thought we did the best on tape. We did it with a guy in Durham. His name is Chris Rossi [at Space Lab Studios]. We were in kind of a time crunch, because he was leaving on a personal vacation to Italy. We ended up not meeting the deadline and we finished out the record with Jerry Kee.

Technician: What does the name mean, A Buzz, A Buzz?

Rahija: The title was taken from the song [on the album]. We liked this idea that each song was teeming with life. On the cover [of the album], there’s a halo of bugs swarming this tree. Even on the cover of the disc, there’s a ring of bugs. We like the idea of a massive swarm of instruments, ideas or different styles of songs and they all turn themselves into this buzzing formation in the form of a CD.

Technician: How did you guys get involved in the festival circuit?

Rahija: We’ve done a lot of festivals. We did Bonnaroo this summer. We did a really awesome one in Oregon called Pickathon. We just found a nice home at those places. Our manager is really helpful and really good at getting us in to those places.

Everybody’s having a really good time and people are just more open minded and more in tune. They take a lot of chances at festivals when they are walking around, maybe not as much as they would just on a random Thursday night. We appeal to the curiosity that people have and those people that take chances.

Technician: What artists have you seen at these festivals?

Rahija: We saw a lot of awesome performances this weekend at Bristol. It’s something we’re trying to do more, you know, support the bands that we like. Paleface, we always try to see him. We went on tour with them during all of August. He’s just a really down-to-earth dude. He writes some really awesome songs. The Everybodyfields, our label mates, we always enjoy them. There’s also this guy, Ian Thomas, who’s like this lone-wolf drifter. He just has this knack for writing these timeless songs. He can also play a really mean guitar. We always try to see him.

This will be a busy weekend for Bombadil. The band will be doing radio interviews with WXDU, WUNC’s The State Of Things and WKNC’s The Local Beat with DJ Stevo. Also, Bombadil will hit the stage at Cat’s Cradle this Saturday with Holy Ghost Tent Revival and the Proclivities.