Alt-rock four-piece powerhouse Coridian are known for their hard-hitting, grooving rock vibe and powerful performances. Their latest single, Better Off, produced by Zorran Mendonsa (Blacklistt/City of Souls), has clocked tens of thousands of streams on Spotify and signals a new chapter for the band, as they gear up to release their debut album later this year. We spoke to them about their name, style of music and their favourite places to play:
How did you originally form as a band? Where are you guys from originally?
Coridian officially began January 2015 but we have all played in bands together on and off for years and used to be instrumental trio Chuck Norris before Dity joined on vocals. The Raven bros hail from the North Shore of Auckland whilst Dity is originally from Fiji but has been in Auckland’s North Shore for years as well.
How long has your band been together? How did you come up with the name Coridian?
4 years now, which has gone super quick.
We did the names in a hat and then picked out the top 3 out of like 30. It seemed like a cool name with a super rad meaning-
A Coridian is an ancient vessel that was used to hold and house a particular soil. This soil was believed to be the ashes from souls with certain powers, strengths and magical abilities that had passed into another world. It was fused with the roots and dirt from ruins and previous battlegrounds. The Mayans believed that this soil when mixed with herbs and a special water found within a cave that they could attain the powers and abilities, and some believe that this was the birth and uprising of the vampire.
Which artists have been your most influence to you as a band? And how did you come up with your style of music?
Artists that have directly influenced our music would be Arcane Roots (RIP), Incubus, Karnivool & Tool. Our style was born out of being an instrumental progressive rock band and we still carry that influence, but we have definitely found our sound and style on our 2nd release Caldera which is a blend of Alternative rock and metal.
What are your favourite venues and cities to play on tour? What’s the weirdest experience you've had on tour?
Our favourite venue would be Auckland’s Powerstation or Kings Arms (RIP). We love playing at the Mount, the Cabana in Napier, Valhalla in Welly. Really just love touring everywhere we can.
Where can people find your music?
Pretty much all the social medias, Spotify, iTunes, Bandcamp. Anywhere we can get it on it's gonna be there. And if not, hit us up and we will get you some music!
What's coming up music wise in the near future for Coridian? What inspires the music you make?
We are gonna start recording our next release which is always exciting, dates tbc, but expect a new single, video and then a bunch of new songs this year. And we will follow with more and awesome shows.
Are you looking forward to the tour with Skinny Hobos and Dead Favours?
Absolutely, we always love playing and hanging with those dudes, we have
been mates since both our bands started up, playing shows at Ding Dong together.
They have always been so good to us and we loved touring with them in 2018 and
again soon!
Where are you playing? We are playing in Invercargill, Dunedin and Christchurch at GrooveFest. These are our first ever South Island shows, and we are incredibly grateful to Skinnies & Tim from Tombstone for having us on board!
What is it like touring with other bands?
It’s always good times, most of the time haha. We have been lucky to tour with some incredible bands, learning new things, making friends and travelling all around.
What advice would you give new musicians starting in the music industry?
It’s a hard industry, be prepared to play in front of no one, be good to your fans, respect people, make good connections with venue owners, promoters etc, have as much fun as possible and look after yourself and your band mates.
Coridian is an alternative/progressive rock group from Auckland, New Zealand.
Formed in 2015, the band consists of brothers Mike Raven (Guitars/Keys), Kris Raven (Drums/Percussion), Nick Raven (Bass) & Dity Maharaj (Vocals/Artwork)
They’ve been described as, “Raven brothers (Mike, Kris and Nick respectively) work as a well-oiled machine; the gear box of which is Maharaj, his vocals taking the band from a hum to a scream within seconds” (Ambient Light)