Hiya AJ, thanks for joining us in the virtual RGM lounge today. Grab a brew and take a seat.
What was life like for you before you got into music?
Well, all the band members have played music here and there in various bands, so we’ve mostly been into music since our teens in some form or other. I grew up in Manchester and our singer, Charlie, also lived there before moving to NZ, so music was hard to avoid. Maybe something in the Lancashire water makes music part of the DNA. Impossible to imagine a world without Joy Division, The Smiths or The Fall. Matt and Scott are both kiwi-born, where there’s also a history of amazing Dunedin sound bands and Flying Nun, so we’re all kind of music obsessives, really.
What’s the live music scene like in Auckland right now? Anyone we should be looking out for (bar you, of course)?
The New Zealand indie scene in general is thriving. Many NZ artists like Aldous Harding have broken new ground, but there are many emerging bands at the moment doing inspiring stuff. Going to see a duo called Elliot and Vincent, fronted by Tim Finn’s daughter. They’re writing awesome, interesting stuff at the moment.
It seems like being a social media curator has become added to the many jobs of a musician, how do you feel about this?
Yeah. I guess it’s just an integral part of it now, but it can be a distraction from writing and making music. It’s a great way to connect with people who are interested, though, and we’ve also met some cool bands from other parts of NZ and elsewhere.
How do you manage engagement on your socials?
We do it ourselves. If you’re going to connect online, may as well be authentic.
What’s your view on the Music industry today?
It sucks. Streaming has been a great avenue for some very talented artists to break through by sheer talent get around the majors in true indie fashion, but it feels like the old days of labels like Creation and that punk ethos driven simply by passion for music has almost disappeared. It’s much more of a business mindset for the most part.
Where do you feel you currently sit within the music industry?
Well, we’re just finding our way. These days, you have to build a following organically before you can really get interest, which takes persistence, but I guess if you focus on making music you enjoy, the hope is people will find it over time.
What’s the biggest thing you have learned recently as you progress with your music?
Don’t try to be anyone else. Be inspired, but be yourself.
What was your best experience on stage?
At our last gig, watching our bass player struggle with a 4 string when his 5 string broke just before the show mixed things up. He was having to work out how to play the songs minus one string as we played, which was funnier for us to watch than it was for him to play. He’s a bit paranoid at the best of times.
What was your worst experience on stage?
Playing at a remote kiwi pub and wondering if we were going to survive the night staying over. It was a kind of a hostel for lost souls, and some very strange locals came out at night.
Tell us something about you / each member that you think people would be surprised about.
Our singer Charlie is actually originally a jazz singer….Scott once nearly died from drinking bottles of cider we taped to his hands…Matt is a golf obsessive. As for me, I’m one of those people who turned vegetarian the first time I heard ‘Meat Is Murder’ by The Smiths. I haven’t touched meat since.
I hear you have new music. What can you tell us about it?
Our eponymous debut album is just coming out! I think it fuses a lot of influences into something kind of nostalgic but also very much our own. It’s quite diverse, really, and kind of documents us finding and exploring our sound, so it’s pretty special to us.
What was the recording process like?
We recorded it all live to tape at what I think is the only analogue studio left in NZ, and all on vintage gear. There’s definitely a warmth in the sound I think you can notice. No pro-tools or overdubs, so kind of a purist approach. It put a bit of pressure on to capture the performance we wanted.
What was the biggest learning curve in writing the new tunes?
I think realising that the stuff that kind of writes itself to some extent is usually the good material. If you have to agonize over it, it’s probably better to move on.
Would you change anything now it’s finished?
We definitely learned from the recording and have clearer ideas of how to get the sound we want. I think if there’s anything we’d change, it would be timing on a couple of tracks maybe, particularly those we considered as singles. We didn’t even think about radio and how to package tracks in that respect.
Is there anything else you would like to share with the world?
Pineapple lumps. I think you can only get them in NZ. They’re pretty disgusting sweets that taste like an industrial by-product, but they’re ours. We shouldn’t be the only ones who have to eat them.
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