27 September 2024 - 0 Comments

Today Recitals have shared the brand new EP I Got Gold! — out now on all digital platforms. The EP is a collection of songs, old and new, set in an alternate reality, a private joke universe, translated to the best of their ability. I Got Gold! is dynamic and imaginary, a love letter to each other and Te Whanganui-A-Tara, where their friendship and project was born.

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Pre-Order I Got Gold! On Vinyl Here

Boasting five incredible tracks, I Got Gold! was recorded at The Surgery in Newtown. It was produced, engineered and mixed by James Goldsmith and mastered by Tom Healy. I Got Gold! is due for limited vinyl run due at the end of November this year, and is available via Flying Nun Records.

Dinner Song is a simple musical motif that periodically dismantles itself. Its diligent repetition is like a montage of relaxed dinners with friends. Overlaid with the casual conversation of bandmates eating kebabs, the song presents the unassuming power of friendship as a key theme of the EP.

An anxiety dream of a love song, CGI Airport showcases the band’s mastery of dynamic storytelling. A clean acoustic melody spills into the full force of a seven-piece band, each instrument driving the song forward. Despite the urgent and chaotic pace, the band doesn’t yield and the song doesn’t collapse. Instead, it ends like a deep sigh. Waves lap at the beach below the airport. In this song, the borders between sci-fi, dreams, and reality ebb and flow.

Like many Recitals songs, Sunflower is a mix of styles. Sometimes it's a regal lullaby, or a sci-fi hymn, and at other times it’s a massive ballad. The bright and sharp drum machine pierces through like a heartbeat. With sparse lyrics, the song conveys a profound yet elusive intimacy. Utilising both analogue and digital instrumentation, the song channels the uncanny dreamscape of the Recitals-verse.

The EP’s last half contains two older classics, Wellington Song and Champion Runner. Like an epic folktale, Wellington Song takes the listener on a journey into the untold mythology of the capital city. Layers of vocals conspire with the almost orchestral instrumentation to build suspense. The tension loosens and contracts like Wellington’s tectonic fault system. The song ends tenderly as a magical coda emerges like sunlight cast over the undulating hills.

Champion Runner (above) indulges in an alternative universe of sports and championship. With Sha’Carri Richardson in mind, the song plays on metaphors of winning and losing, and being an underdog in the grand race of life, informing the EP title I Got Gold!

Emotional and theatrical, the song playfully balances melancholy with lightness. Each instrument marches towards an epic ending as the band members shout with expert teamwork. The trumpet soars over the grand finale and an eerie sense of celebration hovers over the end of the EP’s journey.

Recitals emerged during 2020; seven 20-somethings attempting to find a place amidst a world seemingly turned on its head. After a string of singles released and a few live appearances in Te Whanganui-A-Tara, Recitals released their debut album Orbit I via Flying Nun Records in 2022. Recitals have been praised for their unique and genre-bending sound, with Princess Chelsea noting their music as “equal parts dreamy, dirge, chaotic, refined, heavy and soft - a glittering throwback to a bygone era”. The band have appeared at festivals such as Camp A Low Hum, Cuba Dupa and Newtown Festival, and were nominated for Te Tohu Kohinga Mariu (Favourite Album) and Te Rōpū Mariu (Favourite Group) at the Student Radio Network Awards in 2022. The members of Recitals now reside across three continents, each of them pursuing life and music, coming together for serendipitous music making and performance every blue moon.

The seven star seeds living across Aotearoa, Australia and Spain, come together annually to play music, drink beers and eat kebabs. Recitals are Tharushi, Carla, Sam, Olivia, Christian, Josh and Xanthe - the poster children for band democracy; achieved through relentless message chains and long distance calls.

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