12 January 2023 - 0 Comments

Idiosyncratic experimental musician/poet Anamnesis from Aotearoa New Zealand has collaborated with Independent music purveyors DateMonthYear to create a new work called Travelogue.

Anamnesis is the assumed name of an artist who has set out to make music that's ‘wilfully obscure and difficult’, The debut release Coms was the first step of a path less traveled in this regard.

DateMonthYear is a cinematic, indie rock band from Hamilton, New Zealand. DateMonthYear have forged an independent music path for many years, releasing five albums (so far) and licensing music to television, movies, and advertising worldwide. Last two singles, March and Numbers have been played on hundreds of Independent radio stations worldwide, and the last major release was the Exodus Suite, an eclectic and eccentric take on movie soundtrack music described in Muzic.net.nz as “twists and shape-shifts with an informed sense of musical invention.”

The starting point for Travelogue was a poem by Anamnesis that was created while walking around their hometown. A series of observations and images evolved into an examination of post colonial pakeha culture, and references (both cryptic, and otherwise) abound through the text. Examples include the ‘six o’clock swill, poet James K.Baxter, 19th century adventurer Major Gus Von Tempsky and others. Anamnesis says “ It's a troubled and unsettled culture, often disconnected from its roots and coming to terms with the notion of its own identity- that's what I was looking at really”

Travelogue then went to DateMonthYear arranger and producer Trevor Faville who worked on a musical setting starting with ‘found’ percussion, bass and piano. On top of that Faville scored strings and solo oboe then added a distorted doom laden spoken word vocal.

“My start point was the trip hop styles of Massive Attack, and I wanted that kind of latin- eque groove added to an orchestral score. Having a pro like Matty Thomas Taylor on hand to play the piano part with his own particular panache really helped bring the tune to life.”

Travelogue went up to Auckland to be mixed by JP Carroll, whose work to date has included Swerve City and Arrays.

Travelogue is out on all streaming Platforms from the 27th of January 2023. It is a part of a series of collaborative releases planned for 2023.

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