Welcome to July everyone!

Can you believe we're now halfway through another year already? Not long ago, we were celebrating NZMM and it seems like a distant memory now, but don't let that stop you from discovering new Kiwi music.

Hopefully you're still getting out there and catching as much live music as you would in warmer months. I know winter makes it harder to get out, but remember, good music is all year round!

As always, we have a great newsletter for this month. We've spoken with Wellington Rock band Curlys Jewels about their recent mini-tour and new EP, and we also got to chat with Auckland supergroup Dead Favours about their upcoming tour with Decades, Bakers Eddy and Skinny Hobos as well as the Auckland City Rockfest for our Inside the Music video interview series.

We also check out some new music from multi-sound genre artist, Rei, alt-country singer/song writer, Stretch, and the unique flavour of 60's pop/rock, Santa Barbara.

Further down, we find out who Infinity is and why you should put them on your bands to check out list, and we finish up with all the latest music news, to keep you in the loop

If you're a first time subscriber, be sure to keep an eye on our website for the latest reviews, interviews, gig guide and much more. Whatever your genre, we cover it all, local and abroad, so don't miss out!

Kerry and the Muzic.net.nz team

Alex Moulton and Chris Morgan sat down with Curlys Jewels to discuss their mini-tour and new EP The Skin We Shed and dive in for a look Inside The Music.

You can watch the video over on YouTube or read the interview below:

Alex (Interviewer): Today we have Curlys Jewels. Thanks for chatting with us today. Why don’t you tell us about yourself?

Aaron (Guitarist): We are a rock band from Wellington, and we’ve been together for around 5 years now. We play original music, and are currently touring.

Alex: What instruments do we have in the band?

Andy (Bassist): Pretty stock standard; guitars, bass, drums, and vocals. Janelle will pick up the guitar every now and again.

Alex: How would you describe your music?

Janelle: That is always a difficult one. Banshee-esque grungy hard rock

Aaron: We’re basically a rock band.

Alex: What are your musical influences?

Aaron: *reads Andy’s shirt* Smashing Pumpkins?

Andy: All sorts really. Everyone has random and varied influences. Rock, 90’s grunge, metal, hip hop here and there

Aaron: The variety is what makes our sound interesting. Janelle has that Banshee style.

Janelle: I was taught by Tina Turner, from a jukebox at the age of 3.

Aaron: Most of us come from a grunge background, Pearl Jam, Nirvana.

Alex: From a vocal standpoint, do you get your influence from any specific male or female vocalists? You mentioned Tina Turner.

Janelle: Inspiration is a hard thing to encapsulate. Stuff that you like that encourages you to sing. I was brought up in a pub, so the jukebox was always cranking Tina Turner, or Shirley Bassey, or Madonna’s The Immaculate Collection. Otherwise we get influenced by the bands that we jam with, and New Zealand is full of talented people.

Alex: Favourite local acts?

Janelle: Lots. We are currently on tour with Armed in Advance and Coridian, and they have to be two faves. They are awesome, and we get excited to watch them. We are very lucky in New Zealand, it’s a shame that we can’t get more people to come along to watch them. There is so much talent, particularly in rock.

Alex: Being a female-led rock band, have you had any difficulties in New Zealand? Gender equality in the music scene is the new hot topic. Have you had any issues with it?

Janelle: Havent come across anything. There are connotations around what rock is; sex, drugs, and rock and roll. But it’s really just full of GC’s that want to play good music. That’s who we’ve met, so that makes it easy. When you are surrounded by people that are like-minded and just want to have a good time, it’s easy. We’ve been pretty lucky. I’ve been pretty lucky, being surrounded by nice lads.

Andy: We don’t really think of ourselves primarily as a female vocal band. We’re just a band. We’re just a bunch of mates that had the good fortune to fall into each other, and write music we all enjoy and meet other bands that are up our alley.

Alex: It has to be asked, how did the name Curlys Jewels come about?

Janelle: We started out about 6 years ago. Aaron and I wanted to play some music, do some acoustic rock covers, so we had to make a Facebook page, and needed a name, so I just said "What about Curlys Jewels?". It’s ridiculous and stupid, and we got stuck with it.

Andy: There are a lot of completely unintentional connotations. It’s always interesting when someone asks what your band is called. Curlys Jewels doesn’t actually mean anything

Janelle: We’ve spent the last 6 years with all the incorrect spellings of the name.

Alex: Is that why you had the album called No Apostrophe?

Janelle: Exactly. It was Corey’s idea, but even at our own album release it was spelled wrong. Still with an apostrophe in there.

Alex: You’ve finally made it up to Auckland for the last date in your EP tour. What has taken you so long to perform here?

Andy: Money. It’s expensive. We’ve been wanting to come up for ages. The furthest north we’ve been was Napier, and the lower North Island. Time to try our luck in the big smoke and see how we shape up.

Janelle: It’s been a long time coming, and we’ve been getting stick from all the Auckland bands. It better go well!

Aaron: We’ve done a lot of shows with Auckland bands. The majority of bands that we gig with are from Auckland. They are always coming down, so finally we’re up here.

Alex: How has the tour been so far?

Janelle: Good. We had so much fun in Napier. There's a backpackers right next to the venue, The Cabana. Tours aren’t like they used to be, where you all get in a big van and go day after day. We have day jobs, so we have to do it weekend to weekend. There’s not often a chance to hang out with the bands outside of soundcheck, so it was nice to all be staying at the backpackers next door on the rooftop, screaming until 3 in the morning. That’s part of the enjoyment that we love, we love playing, but also hanging with the other bands and the people that come to see us play.

Aaron: Yeah it was cool; a couple acoustic guitars and all the bands jamming together. It must have sounded horrific.

Janelle: It’s a mini tour, so we just did a gig in Wellington at Lovelands, which is our beautiful underground venue (if anyone wants to know about it, talk to us on the Curlys Jewels Facebook page), but it’s a place where people love the music and always get up and dance. It’s really supportive and fun so we love it there as well.

Alex: You mentioned day jobs. What do you do outside of the band?

Aaron: I wear a suit.

Andy: Boring random stuff.

Janelle: We have all kinds of things going on. I flang around in mouth holes all day. I work with an oral surgeon. Playing around with saliva and blood. But we all have our own things going on.

Alex: Any hobbies that feed into your music creatively?

Aaron: Music is our hobby, if you can call it a hobby. Music is our other life.

Andy: It would be nice to switch them around and have work as a hobby. It’d never happen. It’d be a sh*t hobby anyway.

Janelle: I do a lot of theatre stuff, which feeds into it a lot; hanging out with creative folk. It would be nice to get some theatrical singing into rock, but I can’t figure it out yet. Working on it.

Corey (Drummer): Checking out the local acts, and heading out the see some gigs as we are more influenced by people we are immediately around. It’s cool to see people doing things and trying things, and gives us ideas of things to walk away and try ourselves. That’s the thing with NZ music; it’s on par with any other music around the world, we just don’t get the exposure because we are so far away. So many bands that could be nailing it around the world, but just don’t get the opportunity. That’s why you have to treat it like a hobby; it’s a passion, but you have to treat it like a hobby and put all your money into it. We’re all getting older now, and have bills to pay, so disposable income is short.

Janelle: And that’s the way for all musicians in NZ. Ain’t no money coming out of anything. It all comes out of our back pockets.

Aaron: We try to get to most local gigs. At least one of us will be at a gig. If not all of us, at least some of us will be there.

Corey: We’ve been to so many that were all friends anyway, so we want to catch up with our friends, and we meet other bands through that too. It’s amazing the people you find are musicians

Alex: How has the response been to the The Skin We Shed EP?

Corey: Really Good. Pretty positive.

Andy: Its been a long time from recording to releasing it. We’ve been sitting on it, pretty anxious to see how people react to it. It’s been pretty good. People seem to dig it.

Aaron: We’ve had some good support from the BayRock radio station; they have two of our songs on rotation. So that’s been really helpful, as well as a lot of independent radio stations as well. That is the other side of the music; you have the bands, but a lot of other people that bring the music, like radio stations.

Janelle: Our first single from the EP, Bastard Fate got on the charts, and we just about fell out of our seats.

Aaron: Janelle wrote that song long before Curly Jewels, years and years ago, and it happened to be our first single.

Janelle: The first track to make some headway. That happens with so many musicians. You write stuff that is years old. You forget that nobody else has heard that, but to you it’s millions of years old. Happy as Larry that something had gone that way and is getting played, it’s fabulous.

Alex: Do you have any favourite equipment to use when you are recording or live?

Aaron: I play pretty minimal with guitars, Les Paul's and Marshall's and a couple of modulator pedals. I try to keep it real stripped back. I’m not a gear freak or anything. Some of our friends have pedal-boards the size of this room.

Janelle: And they have to do a jig to change their settings

Aaron: and it sounds cool. But we don’t need that; we have that 90's grunge rock sound, so it doesn’t need to sound flashy.

Andy: I keep it simple because I have a notorious reputation for something to go wrong with one part of my gear every time. I try to keep it to guitar, pedal, and amp.

Aaron: Every time. 9 times out of 10 he hasn’t plugged in the speaker cable

Andy: Yeah, I should have a checklist. It usually works fine during soundcheck then craps out during the gig, but we make do.

Janelle: We’ve got a pretty good “She’ll be right” attitude to this stuff. We don’t have fancy in-ears. We’re pretty gumboot-y. It means less gear in the car. I can’t handle more than two pedals; just a tuner and a foot switch.

Alex: How long are you guys up in Auckland?

Andy: We rocked up yesterday and chilled out last night.

Janelle: We’re heading to Whakatane tomorrow to have a yarn and do an acoustic thing for BayRock. We’d have loved to do a Tauranga gig, but it didn’t work out this time because of the cost. I want to go to the Cat Café but I heard its far away?

Alex: I’m allergic to cats, so I wouldn’t know…

Janelle: Better not come around for a coffee after then

Alex: Who would be your ideal tour mates? Who would you love to tour with?

Janelle: Faith No More, Steel Panther…

Aaron: All of our mates bands really

Janelle: It would be great to do a festival with all our mates

Aaron: On the road with 10 bands, that would be sick as

Corey: There have never been bad times at the gigs we’ve done. They’ve all been good times

Andy: It doesn’t matter about the style either. We’ve done gigs with metal bands, rock and hip hop. If you listen to the same bands, it gets boring so it’s good to change it up with different styles and make it more interesting.

Janelle: We’re lucky with the boys we’re touring with now. They are legitimately good guys. You can give them a bit of shit and they don’t mind. They give it back to you. We’ve been lucky with everyone that we’ve toured with so far, so it would be hard to pick anyone. Internationally there might be a few, but…dreams.

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Alex Moulton and Chris Morgan sat down with Charlie Smith and Ross Larsen of Dead Favours to discuss their debut single, Dig, and upcoming shows, taking a look Inside The Music.

You can watch the video over on YouTube or read the interview below:

Alex (Interviewer); Welcome to Inside the Music. Today we have Charlie and Ross from Dead Favours. Thank you for speaking with us. You guys are a newly formed Auckland supergroup?

Charlie (Drummer): Supergroup? Yeah, we’ve all been in bands before. We’ve been in Dead Favours since the beginning of last year. We’ve just started really hitting it hard. We’ve just released our first single, which is tracking really well. We have our next single ready to go, but we’ve been putting off releasing it because this first track is doing so well. We have a tour coming up with Decades. Things are going well.

Alex: Dead Favours has members from such bands as Fire at Will, Steriogram, Bloodnut, and The Wreckage. How do you decide on what direction you want to take the music in?

Ross (Bassist): It’s all evolving as we go along.

Charlie: We don’t decide

Ross: Basically, we all come up with ideas, and put it all together. Everyone is writing their own stuff, coming up with bits, and everything seems to gel as if there is a common thread between us that makes it work. We’re not thinking about it too much.

Charlie: When we first got together the first idea was to be real bluesy, and it progressed from there. It’s still in the back of our minds as a part of our sound, but we’ve gotten more modern, away from the bluesy feel. It was a really good starting point for a band, to have that idea and let it take its natural course. If someone comes up with a riff and we like it, then we’ll play it.

Alex: You say that you all contribute to the songwriting process, but some of you play multiple instruments. Your vocalist Jared, was the drummer in Steriogram. Does he contribute to the drumming in Dead Favours?

Charlie: He tries not to. We try to let each other do our own thing, but we all give feedback. If we’re having trouble, then he might say “I’ve got this idea. When I wrote the riff I had this in mind”, and jump on the kit. But it’s been quite rare to have him get behind the drums. That being said, I’m totally down for some dual drum solos. Get us a stage big enough and we’ll get two drum kits out, for sure.

Alex: You’re debut single Dig is doing well. Tom Larkin from Shihad worked together with you to record the track. What was it like to work with him?

Ross: It was really good. How the song changed from when we got there to how it turned out, was really great. He managed to give us all a kick in the right direction, and it’s worked really well obviously; so full props to Tom. The next single coming out was recorded at the same time.

Charlie: The new one, it’s probably our favourite of the songs we recorded with him. It’s a bit different, a bit sexier, a bit groovier. You’ll have to wait to hear it.

Alex: The music video for Dig is a sort of mannequin challenge and multiple performances all done in one shot. Whose idea was that? And how difficult was it to shoot?

Charlie: I came up with the basis of it. We were throwing around a lot of ideas, and had a Facebook thread going on throwing ideas at each other. It was a combination of a few videos that I’ve seen before, and the mannequin challenge was a big thing at the time so we threw it in for effect, and it worked really well. When we were planning to film it, I was preparing, trying to figure out how we were going to pull it off, because it felt ridiculous. But when we did it, it turned out way easier than we had anticipated. We recorded it at my house, and plotted it out, doing a rough run figuring out how long it would take to get around the house to get to the right room at the right time in the song. And of course, us, the band, had to run around the back of the camera to reach the next room before it got there. We did about four or five runs, practising before the cameras and extras on the video turned up. We did maybe another four or five takes, and we used the last one.

Ross: Time-wise, it was really quick to do because it was all one shot. Not setting up different things here and there. Doing just one continuous shot, just required a few takes, and it came together really well. Everybody did a good job, so thanks to all the people that were involved.

Charlie: Full props to the director, Adam, who just owned it. We’re doing our next video with him, so we’re planning it at the moment.

Alex: Will it be the same kind of thing?

Charlie: It keeps changing, and we’re not filming until August now, so it could change again. You’ll have to wait and see. We’ve got ideas.

Alex: I recognised a few faces in the music video. How many musicians, artists, and people in the scene were involved?

Charlie: Only half the ones that we actually invited. There were probably forty odd people that came, maybe 10 or so bands. It was all friends, people that we play with, people that we know, flat mates, work mates. When we started to invite people, we realised that the majority of people we know are muso’s, so we tried to get as many faces as we could in there. We were super stoked with how it turned out.

Alex: You guys are going on tour with some other kiwi acts soon?

Ross: Yeah, Decades from Christchurch are the headliners, Skinny Hobos are Auckland based, and Bakers Eddy are from Wellington. So it’s a country-wide coming together of rock forces. We’re really looking forward to it.

Charlie: Our first proper national tour as Dead Favours, so we’ll be playing everywhere for the first time.

Alex: You have obviously toured the country before with previous bands. Where are you looking forward to playing again?

Ross: Looking forward to getting back to Dunedin, because I’ve only been there once, and that was a good time. Although I was there in November, so I’m a little bit worried about the cold. That’s the Aucklander coming out of me. That should be fun, it’s the last gig of the tour as well.

Charlie: South Island crowds get way into it, so that’s what I’m looking forward to definitely.

Ross: Wellington. I haven’t been there in 10-12 years. I’m just looking forward to the whole tour.

Alex: Dead Favours are also performing at the Auckland Rockfest. Are you looking forward to that?

Charlie: Yeah, it’s well overdue that someone did that. It’s a shame that it isn’t going to be able to be an annual Kings Arms thing, since they’re closing down in the new year. But I reckon the Rockfest is going to be awesome. The scene has changed in the last five or so years, in a good way, from bands competing for space, to bands supporting each other, coordinating in a positive sense.

Alex: Did they used to compete for a few venues?

Charlie: Yeah, or for airtime and attention. It’s been coming together for the last few years for sure. But yeah, the Kings Arms is everyone’s favourite venue to play for a crowd that size. You don’t necessarily need to soundcheck; you can trust in the venue and trust in the sound guy, and trust it will be a good gig.

Alex: The first two batches of tickets to the Auckland Rockfest have sold out already, with one last batch remaining. What are the people who haven’t bought their tickets missing out on?

Charlie: Rock and Roll!

Ross: It’s going to be a big party

Charlie: We’re going to do a three-hour super set of Prince covers. Nah, we’ll have our new single out by then, so you’ll be able to experience that live. Who else is on the bill? Ekko Park is headlining, Setting Fire to Stacey, Dead Beat Boys, Armed in Advance, Skinny Hobos, Written by Wolves (we played with them not long ago, they do a really good gig), Quinn the Human as well.

Ross: It’s going to be a really good day. Lots of people coming together. It’ll be good meeting the fans.

Charlie: I’m hoping we’re playing early so we can get drunk sooner. That’s the benefit of not being a headline band.

Alex: That would stop you if you were to headline?

Charlie: Somewhat.

Ross: We’re a sensible band. We try to be. That’s what we are trying to get across.

Alex: So, no huge touring stories to come out of this one?

Charlie: Oh, definitely will be!

Alex: Just only after the gig has happened.

Charlie: Probably just after, but we are playing second so that’s sweet. I’m pretty happy with that

Alex: Your next tour dates are supporting Decades upcoming debut album All Our Truths. Where and when will you be playing?

Charlie: Here’s a handy leaflet we found at the café just before:

14^th July – Hamilton – Gravity Bar

15^th July – Auckland – Galatos

22^nd July – Wellington – Meow  

28^th July – Christchurch – Blue Smoke

29^th July – Dunedin – Refuel

Alex: And after that the Auckland Rockfest?

Charlie: Kings Arms 19^th of August

Alex: Time for one final question. If you had to pick a fellow bandmate to be stuck on a deserted island with. Who would you pick and why?

Ross: Kyle, because I’d just eat him. Straight away.

Charlie: Maybe Jared. He’s quite cosy. He’d be good for a cuddle

Chris (photographer): When do you reckon the EP will be coming out?

Charlie: I don’t know. We have three tracks but they are all singles. One’s out, and the next will be released soon, so it makes no sense to release the EP when all the songs are out there. We need more to add to it. So we are looking at adding an acoustic track, or doing a live recording. Once the tour is over, we’ll have the time to look at what we are doing.

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If Rei is an example of upcoming Kiwi artists, the future looks bright. From creating music the last 10 years to present his multi genre sound, Rei is on the cutting edge and is influenced by our amazing global music community. Mostly by Hip hop from major US rappers but with dashes of Dancehall, UK Grime, Future Bass and Reggae. Rei answered the following questions for muzic.net.nz:

How did you become involved in music?

My parents are both pretty musical. My dad is a mean guitar player and taught me my first chords. My mum also sung a lot of waiata around me when I was growing up also. When I was 13 I started writing songs with the few chords I knew and recorded an EP for a whānau Christmas present. Soon after, I downloaded some beat making software on my Mum’s computer and I’ve been producing and writing songs ever since!

Which one of your songs are you most proud of, and why?

Right now I’m most proud of Mix, an acoustic track from my new album.

It’s one of my most honest tracks yet, and I still feel kinda vulnerable playing it to people. I like that feeling though, it just means that the track is special to me. I even played guitar on that song. I had to edit it pretty hard to get it fully in time but still, not many rappers play the guitar as well!

Where do you get your inspiration to create music from?

I get my inspiration from heaps of different sources. A lot of inspiration for song concepts comes from conversations with my girlfriend, friends and whānau. I record heaps of ideas for melodies and flows on my phone whenever I think of them. I’ve got a ton of recordings on my phone of my singing into my phone over loud as music in clubs. I also get my girlfriend to write things down for me if we’re driving somewhere and I come up with an idea.

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

Don’t pigeonhole yourself into one area of the music industry. If you need beats, learn how to produce. If you need promotion, learn how to do promotion. If you need videos edited, learn how to edit. That being said, when it comes to audio engineering and mastering, you should know when it’s time to pay for someone else’s expertise rather than rely on your own. Especially when it comes to mastering.

 

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Alt-country singer/songwriter Stretch has an intensity in his performance that burns up on any given night, throwing down songs with a battle scarred guitar. It’s a heavy folk/kiwi alt-country landscape that hints at Neil Young and Neil Finn hauling up for an almighty after-hours session, and he answered the following questions for muzic.net.nz:

How did you become involved in music?

It was inevitable. I was babysat by the stereo and a pair of headphones and held spellbound by my families record collection.

If you could perform with anyone in the world, who would it be and why?

Jeff Tweedy. Because I named my cat after him. 

Which one of your songs are you most proud of, and why?

Less Rock More Roll. Because that's the single I'm promoting. 

How would you describe your music to someone who hasn't heard it before?

Springsteen imitating Elvis after a few too many. With Moe Tucker on drums.

What can we expect to see from you in the next year?

You'll see a video featuring a female motorbike gang. That's a focus right now. I also want to draw a really good logo for my record label - Boxcat Records. 

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

Looking forward to The Bads new album. And anything mostly out of Ben Edwards studio's. Which leads to your next question...

What local albums have you been enjoying recently?

Preservation. Heard that in a friend's lounge recently and the production/sound on that is gorgeous. 

What is your favourite NZ venue, and why?

Common Room - Hastings. It's run by beautiful welcoming people, they made the bar themselves, the room sounds great to play in and it has a fire pit (outside).

Have you got any tips for dealing with nerves before a gig?

You aren't a brain surgeon, no one's going to actually die if you play a C instead of a D. 

How do you balance your music with other obligations; family, job etc?

I don't, it's a mad chaos of extremes that I'm forever on the receiving end of.

Where do you get your inspiration to create music from?

From a need to communicate. If it wasn't music I'd communicate it all via some other medium. Painting, dancing, war correspondent...

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

You're already a musician, not 'aspiring' to be one, so get musicianing.

Stretch's tour starts in July - 22 July @ Freida Margolis, Auckland - 29 July @ Third Eye, Wellington and 5 August @ The Old Mill, Napier.

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How did you become involved in music?

I've been singing and playing guitar since I was 7 years old. I was heavily into songwriting right through to my early 20's then took a break to pursue acting. I moved to Los Angeles in 2014 and realised I hated everything about the acting biz so I went back to my roots, I picked up a guitar and started a band here with Nick Gaffaney (Cairo Knife Fight) and Geoff Maddock (Goldenhorse). We live our good friend Neil Baldock who is an incredible sound engineer who helped us record some early demos as well as our EP's and that's pretty much how Santa Barbara came about.

If you could perform with anyone in the world, who would it be and why?

Lucinda Williams - she's been my hero since I can remember. Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast would be up there too. I love them both so much.

Which one of your songs are you most proud of, and why?

I'm really proud of all our songs. I think our new single Reptile Lover is fun to play live. I've only started playing electric guitar in the last couple of years so it's a total buzz to rock out at shows.

How would you describe your music to someone who hasn't heard it before?

I'd say it's alternative rock with a 50's/60's aesthetic. Catchy chords with sophisticated arrangements and lots of guy/girl harmonies.

What can we expect to see from you in the next year?

New Songs! We will be releasing new singles throughout the rest of the year. We are also planning a west coast US tour later this year too if anyone is going to be over in California and wants to catch a show.

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

Delaney Davidson is amazing and his live show is killer! I'd love so much for Santa Barbara to come to NZ and do a tour with him. Bic Runga is amazing and would love to hear another album from her. 

What local albums have you been enjoying recently?

Cairo Knife Fight's new album Seven is SO GOOD. It hasn't been released yet, but when it is you'll see why!!

What is your favourite NZ venue, and why?

I've seen so many good shows at The Powerstation and The Kings Arms in Auckland.

Have you got any tips for dealing with nerves before a gig?

I don't recommend caffeine but then I always go against my own advice and usually smash a Red Bull before a gig.

How do you balance your music with other obligations; family, job etc?

I'm constantly thinking about music even when I'm at work, at home. Since I'm basically managing the band there's always so many things I'm trying to juggle at once. I know I can get a little obsessive which drives my husband a little nuts (since he's in the band too! haha) but he's incredibly supportive and vital role model to me. He works so hard and I strive to be as dedicated and passionate as he is. 

Where do you get your inspiration to create music from?

I am really inspired by other musicians and artists. I sometimes hear a song that I like and I try and create my own version of it which usually sounds completely different. I sometimes use songs like a springboard for ideas. Our new single Reptile Lover was inspired from an LA band I like called Dengue Fever. Their song Cement Slippers is a killer surf/rock jam that sounds nothing like Reptile Lover but it's what inspired the riff.

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

Surround yourself with good people and always trust your instincts.

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Infinity are attracting positive comments and media reviews pre their album release on July 1^st 2017. Given that we deliberately chose to create an instrumental album for our own musical therapy we have been delighted that many are getting our sound. We endeavour in the next year to promote our work and build a profile as vigorously as we can and to continue this creative journey which we feel brings something positive to the world of music.

Pat Hura is now focused with the creating of new works. Infinity will soon return to Hastings' Newsong Studio with Aaron Cash to begin recording not only these new works  but also pre-existing works which were not attempted for the first album. These unrecorded tunes have been successfully performed in live shows and will be a natural progression on our second album allowing a broadening of the artistic canvas.

Cameron Budge is currently kicking serious butt with his teaching programme with Chamber music success and Pipe band drumming in the mix. The first album was largely about making space in the drum parts – that's the nature of that beautiful body of work. The next album is heading in another direction; more contrapuntal, more edgey, a greater degree of dissonant qualities and strangely more quiet at times as well. Very exciting stuff to be collaborating with Pat on.

The Infinity album journeys through a multitude of styles yet remains a cohesive body of work deserving an uninterrupted listening.

 

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2017 Jazz Award Winners Announced

The Recorded Music NZ Best Jazz Album and APRA Best Jazz Composition for 2017 were awarded as part of the Wellington Jazz Festival tonight and recognised the work of two Kiwi jazz greats.

After learning to play the piano at three years old, Jonathan Crayford pursued a career as a jazz musician and continues to score films, craft compositions and release pieces of work like East West Moon.

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Reactivate - A Radio Active Fundraiser

40-year old Wellington alternative radio station Radio Active 88.6FM has been given a new lease of life with the formation of a charitable trust to rescue the iconic station from imminent closure. A loud and proud supporter of local music and creative communities for four decades, Radio Active now calls upon its listeners and the wider Wellington community to donate in support of the station as it works back to financial stability.

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Music Therapy Week 2017: Finding Your Voice

Music Therapy New Zealand is shining a light on the life-changing impact of music therapy during our second annual Music Therapy Week, running from 1-9 July. As well as celebrating the work of our therapists around the country, we invite people to consider music therapy as a career.

“We work with some clients to help them regain the use of their voice, particularly when it has been affected by a neurological condition such as aphasia, Parkinson’s Disease or dementia. We also work with clients with speech and expressive language development delays to help them express themselves and communicate through music.

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VNZMA Nominations Open, Categories Change

The 2017 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards are five months away, but nominations officially open today (21 June).

Replacing Best Male Solo Artist and Best Female Solo Artist will be the new category of ‘Best Solo Artist’. The award for Best Urban/Hip Hop Album has been split into two new categories – ‘Best Hip Hop Artist’ and ‘Best Soul/RnB Artist’.

This means all nominees can now be put forward if they have released an album OR a minimum of five single tracks, as long as they have not previously appeared on an album, and were released within the eligibility period (1 August 2016 - 31 July 2017)

Music Planet Launches New Superstore in Palmerston North

Music Planet New Zealand is excited to announce the grand opening of its new Palmerston North Super Store This Weekend.

Starting with a blank canvas the Music Planet team have been working on this new project for the past two months and have put together one of the most impressive music stores in the country.

The store will be home to the biggest piano selection in the Manawatu, taking the number one spot in the Piano Show room is a Schimmel I188 Grand Piano From Germany, along with Handmade German Bechstein Pianos,Korean Made Kohler & Campbell + Japanese Yamaha & Kawai Imports.

With guitars from the Fender Custom Shop, Gretsch, Rickenbacker, Larrivee, Martin USA and many more Music Planet Palmerston will be stocked with the best available guitars in New Zealand.

With a stage built into the store there will be regular performances and in store clinics.

Northern Bass First Line-up Announcement

After last year’s wildly successful festival, promoters Fuzen have raised the stakes, announcing a lineup loaded with some of the worlds most in demand performers.
 
The 13 international plus 13 local acts that make up the first announcement, are part of a final lineup of over 60 artists who together will provide the perfect soundtrack to celebrate the old, and ring in the New Year.
 
Festival director Gareth Popham says; “We work hard every year to bring our audience the best possible Northern Bass experience. We are constantly striving to book the best lineup, improve our facilities and make sure we create the best onsite vibe. Hands down we think this is our best lineup yet. Northern Bass 17/18 is going to be epic”.
 
With more artist announcements still to come, who can argue! Tickets will sell fast!

New Releases

July 2017 Gigs & Tours

(in no particular order) 

Local

New Artists

• 1
  Head Like A Hole
• 2
  Fraser Ross
• 3
  Horror Story
• 4
  Fur Patrol
• 5
  Michelle Rounds
• 6
  L.A.B.
• 7
  Devilskin
• 8
  Coridian
• 9
  The Boondocks
• 10
  Late to Chelsea

• 
  Goodshirt @ Festival of Lights - Pukekura Park, New Plymouth - 21/12/2024
• 
  The Slacks @ Festival of Lights - Pukekura Park, New Plymouth - 21/12/2024
• 
  LOST BiRD @ Space Academy, Christchurch - 15/12/2024
• 
  Just Janie @ Space Academy, Christchurch - 15/12/2024

• 1
  APT.
  ROSÉ And Bruno Mars
• 2
  DIE WITH A SMILE
  Lady Gaga And Bruno Mars
• 3
  BIRDS OF A FEATHER
  Billie Eilish
• 4
  TASTE
  Sabrina Carpenter
• 5
  I LOVE YOU, I'M SORRY
  Gracie Abrams
• 6
  ESPRESSO
  Sabrina Carpenter
• 7
  SAILOR SONG
  Gigi Perez
• 8
  LOSE CONTROL
  Teddy Swims
• 9
  A BAR SONG (TIPSY)
  Shaboozey
• 10
  GOOD LUCK, BABE!
  Chappell Roan

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