07 Jun 2009 // An interview by Shade
Thanks to Belinda for answering these questions:

What is the best gig you have ever performed at, and why?

Wish I could conjure up something really obscure for this... and if I could classify some of our late night Waiata as gigs then they’d have to win… but I would have to award this to our 'Rest Room' Album Release Show. It was a bit scary to pull off turning the foyer of the St James Theatre (chosen cause we shot the album cover art in the toilets there) into a full show set up. It was the culmination of all the work & energy we’d put into the writing & recording of the record and I remember arriving back at the venue after a long afternoon of setting up to all these people filing into the foyer for our show… it was a cool night for sure and it felt like we’d climbed a mountain & stuck a little flag at the top of it.

What is your favourite NZ venue?

Ummm all the ones we haven’t played yet & would really love too

What NZ musicians or bands would you like to see more of, and why?

Kerretta… cause they make music like a storm… one minute its so loud it hurts, but it still makes sense, and the next minute you’re in the eye & the calm is beautiful. It’s sweet & mean all at the same time… they aren’t scared to wear emotion on their sleeves, which is pretty impressive for a bunch of scruffy boys

What is your most embarrassing on tour/gig moment?

I laugh in the face of embarrassment… and the whisky consumption on stage dulls any inkling of fool making on my part, but wonderful for the voice… you’d have to ask one of the other Selon Recliners… I’m sure there’s been many.

How did you come up with the Selon Recliner and what was the reason behind the name change?

This is the result of one of our better Skype meetings… more effective than our in the flesh meetings where we get easily distracted. We decided to make this change after battling Real Estate Wars with a number of Recliners around the globe… we’d all get lumped together in digital music stores with our albums as one big mash-up… so we found an appendage. Michael (drummer) speaks French fluently and suggested the French word Selon meaning the thoughts of or according to. Which fits us perfectly… our music is what’s according to us… personal but made to be shared.

How do you describe your music?

That is the stinkiest question any musician has to answer… my feeble attempt is that it is cinematic, always strong on melody & mood… some of it is more hidden under layers of news wrap… while other songs are more transparent. We’ve tried hard with our new album to let things sit longer & strip things down a bit and then let it slam you unexpectedly. We create songs that keep us interested and hopefully in turn will keep you interested too… we don’t write for commercial success but we do write for listeners.

What can we expect to see from Selon Recliner over the next year?

Our 2nd Album 'The Orchid Door' is out April 27. We are about to shoot a vid for track 1 'Swan' next week. Our release show is at The New Orient in Auckland on May 16. This is a Buffet & Show where you get a free Orchid Door cocktail with your buffet/show ticket, get to throw chopsticks, eat as much as you want, open fortune cookies & spin round on the lazy Susan as the band plays. We’ll do more shows… get played on the radio, & maybe get mobbed at the mall… we may even organize a nationwide Chinese Restaurant Tour… that idea is copyrighted… so no stealing!

What advice would you like to give to other aspiring musicians?

Get going… keep your standards high… keep the music the priority… explore and be original… be an artist… choose the voices you listen to carefully… engage your brain… love doing it!

Building on the low-lit interior sounds of their critically acclaimed 2006 debut 'Rest Room', Selon Recliner have completed their second album, 'The Orchid Door', due for release in early 2009. Working with Producer Dave Holmes (Gramsci, Jakob) the band has explored a steeper landscape, exiting the 'Rest Room' & soaring across a more varied terrain.

Selon Recliner's music has been described as having a dark, hypnotic beauty that breezes along on mellow atmospheric guitars, poignant keys and gentle beats. Their Dark Pop label will be furthered by their new work, while showcasing a richer pallet of mood and atmosphere.

“If Rest Room was our interior album then this is definitely about exteriors”, says vocalist and co-songwriter Belinda Bradley.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Selon Recliner

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