Adelaide guitarist Andrew Higgs had played for several bands, both locally and internationally, before embarking on a solo career in mid 2005. Playing a huge number of gigs, Higgs' musical talents saw him named solo artist of the year, winning the SAMIA Industry award for most popular male artist in 2005. In October 2005, Higgs recruited a band - consisting of Danny Leo, Ben Shepheard and Matt Newton - to accompany him, and the Sandcastle Harum was created. After only three weeks they recorded their debut EP/album The Hispanic Love Theme in November 2005. In January '06, guitarist Nathan Hill was added to the band and the album was released independently.