It’s gonna be Okay: An interview with Taylah

I’ve been friends with Taylah quite a while now. She made the move down from her hometown of Kerikeri along with Dean from Adoneye, and soon enough a handful of their friends followed suit. They are all amazing musicians and we’d often have musical jams and parties at each other’s places. [If you watch her Flat Sessions videos on her YouTube channel you’ll see her old flat in Island Bay where a lot of these jams took place]

Taylah with OddJive at Valhalla, April 2019. Photo by Will Not Fade

I’d seen Taylah play in her old band OddJive, but I remember the first time I went to one of her gigs, doing her own music at Rogue & Vagabond. She was joined by her long time collaborator Sam Nakamura and I was floored. She has an incredibly powerful voice, and can transition between a wide range of styles with ease. Some of the music was super fun and upbeat (e.g. “Undies”), and other songs felt like vulnerable tearjerkers (e.g. “Coming Down”), but no matter the mood, the talent was undeniable. Taylah recruited more amazing musos to her band in time, and each gig was more impressive than the last. The aforementioned Flat Sessions are great examples of how good they are.

It’s never a bad time to listen to Taylah’s music. I’m a Kindergarten teacher and frequently have her music playing throughout the days as the tamariki and I play and learn. Not only is Taylah’s music fantastic and fun, but I also think her themes and messages are great for the children to absorb. She touches on things like whakapapa, self acceptance, identity as wahine Māori, and feels super down-to-earth and relatable in many respects. “Okay” is also one of my favourite songs and a total jam, so why not listen to it at work?

Taylah and Sam Nakamura at Rogue & Vagabond, Jan 2022. Photo by Will Not Fade

Taylah made the move up to Tamaki Mākaurau a few years ago as a step towards progressing her musical career. I miss seeing her as frequently as I did when she lived here, but have been hyped to see how Tay has been doing with each milestone she reaches. I had a trip to Auckland in December 2023 and went to visit her at Stebbings recording studios where she spends a lot of her time writing and recording. We had a nice day together and I loved hearing about how she’s been branching out. She’s been making moves into licensing, collaborating on EDM tracks, and learning how to self-produce.

Things have started to get especially exciting of late. Last year she was asked to join Fly My Pretties, a NZ supergroup featuring a revolving cast of some of the premiere musicians found in Aotearoa. And now on March 21, Taylah is releasing her debut EP, Tilt.

I reached out to Tay to see if she’d be down to do an interview to help promote the new release.

Joseph (Will Not Fade): Hi Tay, release day soon! How do you describe your music to people who haven’t heard it?

Taylah: I tell them that I write uplifting neo-soul with a flair of cynicism. You know, just to keep ‘em guessing.

You’ve released singles over the course of your career to date. What made you decide it was time to release a bigger body of work in the form of an EP?

Over 2024, I was writing so much music, and I didn’t know what to do with it. So I created this collection. That’s why the subject matter is so varied for this EP. It covers everything from love, corruption, and sex to magic. It feels like a time stamp of all the lessons I was experiencing over the course of the year.

I’m often really impressed by your lyrics. When writing, how much time do you dedicate to lyrics compared to the music and composition?

I’d say it’s 50/50. I’m still new to producing, so the music creation takes longer because I’m still learning new skills through the project. But writing lyrics is like second nature for me. I write a lot of poems and opinion pieces that never see the light of day, but they tend to pop out through my lyrics. I’m a firm believer that partaking in all art forms will better inform your chosen art form, if that makes sense? Like, doing pottery, cooking, dancing, or woodworking will help me write better lyrics at the end of the day.

Which of your songs are you most proud of?

From this EP, my favourite is ‘Glow’. It’s euphoric, and its message is really beautiful. But from my entire catalogue, my favourite is ‘Today is Hard’. Its lyrical flow is just so pleasing to me.

Last year, you were invited to join Fly My Pretties to co-write their new album Elemental. Tell me about that.

It was the biggest project I’ve ever been a part of. I was flown down to Pōneke for a few songwriting sessions in the beautiful Massey studios to co-write with Laughton Kora (Kora), Barnaby Weir (Black Seeds), Louis TM, and Tawaz. It was such a surreal experience to be creating music with musicians that I’ve listened to since I was a kid. The album we created is incredible, and the live show is even better! The concept surrounds Te Ao Māori and the natural elements. We’ve got another round of shows in Auckland and Christchurch coming up in May/June.

You have Casual Healing doing a guest verse on “Okay”, and you’ve been a featured vocalist on a few EDM tracks. How did that compare to your usual process?

I put on another persona when writing vocals for EDM. I’m more sultry and direct. And the vocals are much more ‘feel’ oriented, so I use a lot of imagery to evoke movement, since dancing is usually the main objective of EDM. It’s been really fun!

You’ve lent your voice to Dera Meelan for previous releases like “After Dark”, what was it like having one of your original tracks remixed by Dera?

It was really cool to see how differently our ears work. When you get a track secured in its pocket, it’s hard to hear it any other way. So a house mix of ‘Sundown’ was really refreshing to hear. Dera has this crazy ability to make sounds that shouldn’t work, musical. It shows in his work with ‘Church & AP’ which I think is vital to their unique sound.

Which musicians have you got on your radar that you’d like to collaborate with?

I would like to write with more Māori artists. I’m on my reo Māori journey, and my dream is to eventually write waiata Māori. So collaborating with artists who are already doing it would be amazing, like MĀ, Lee Stuart, or Jordyn with a Why.

A lot of your early work was produced by Tiny Triumphs, and he has mixed your new EP, but I know you’ve self-produced all your latest releases. How have you found that transition?

Hard. Toby made it look so easy! In all seriousness, though, I have found it both challenging and validating. A big lesson that helped my progress is: writing to my own taste. Instead of trying to sound like someone else, or write ‘radio’ bangers, I’ve learned that if I can listen to it and enjoy it, that’s the tahi. Basically, don’t listen to anyone else’s advice. Keep going.

I really love the covers you do. “Broke” by Samm Henshaw is obviously one that stands out. How do you settle on which songs to cover?

I can feel it in my body. I like to perform songs that feel good to sing, vibrationally. I’ve also really taken to the music coming out of London at the moment, there’s something brewing over there that’s making truly electric music.

You’ve made the shift from your home of Kerikeri to Wellington, and then to Auckland, where you’re currently based. How have things changed for you with each move?

Kerikeri was where I discovered my love of music. Wellington is where I explored different styles, and Auckland is where I’m choosing to launch my career. And I’ve fallen in love with each place. Each step has been vital to my progress as a musician, and I’ve met so many truly inspiring and supportive people throughout.

What do you think success looks like, as a musician?

Well, I used to think it was when lots of other people validated your art. But now, I think it’s the fact that I’m still creating. I still have the itch to write, perform, create, and collaborate. I still feel inspired by other musicians and I still crave connection. THAT is success to me.

Tilt is a big milestone, being your first EP. Where to next?

Well, I’m about to embark on my first headline tour, which feels like such a leap. And once the dust settles for this EP, I’d really like to write a full-length album and maybe get some of those collabs going I was talking about.

Thanks for your time. Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Support local artists! You’ve always offered your help to promote my music, Joe, and that is the mahi that truly supports us small artists. So I appreciate your time and energy to uplift the arts in Aotearoa 🙂

Tilt will be released on March 21 2025, with Taylah doing a three date tour in support of Tilt in March/April.

Tickets can be found via https://linktr.ee/taylahmusic

Taylah links:
https://www.facebook.com/taylahmusic/
https://www.instagram.com/taylahmusicnz/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2Fu39RmIeY5HD1DGJS4Xk7?si=8A6XkpTSRXabPAU4BrYCRA
https://www.youtube.com/@taylahmusic2897

Taylah at San Fran, July 2023. Photo by Will Not Fade

Live Review: distance and Myriad Drone at Valhalla, Wellington

distance (NZ) and Myriad Drone (Au)
w/ Spiral & Their Eyes Were Flowers
Valhalla, Wellington
Friday 21 February 2025

Call me hipster, but I’ve been a big fan of distance since before their first release. I remember listening to an advanced copy of their debut EP, over time that Sam Butler sent me and being highly impressed how great he’d managed to make it sound, especially considering how it was essentially a lockdown bedroom album. But then again, I wasn’t surprised. Sam is well known within the music scene. His touches can be widely seen – mixing and recording music, designing posters and album art, filling in on bass and guitar. distance was a project that highlighted just how talented he was.

Since then, Sam has recruited a band of fantastic musicians, released a few albums, and played a bunch of shows. I’ve followed the band with great interest and was delighted when I saw this tour announced.

Myriad Drone have come over from Australia for the tour. They graced our shores last year, coming over as support for Russian Circles. There are a few cool connections between Myriad Drone and distance. Shane from Myriad Drone is from Nelson, as are the members of distance, although none of them live in Nelson these days. Shane used to be in a metal band called Zerstiren, who had a reunion tour late last year. Levi Sheehan – best known for drumming in Organectomy – filled in for Zerstiren for the reunion. And Levi also drums in distance. Levi and Shane got chatting about how they were both in post-rock bands, and next thing you know, they’ve planned a cool tour.

Spiral kicked the night off. They switched between mellow and intense frequently, but keeping the energy high. A lot of midwest emo and post-hardcore influences shone through, and I especially liked the spoken word sections that remind me of La Dispute.

Next up were Their Eyes Were Flowers. They introduced their music as “pretty little songs” before launching into harsh, chaotic music. The songs had structure, but they seemed messy and partially free flow. I’m not sure about the tunings, but the guitars sounded discordant with jagged riffs. It was a challenging listen. I could see that they were trying to make some kind of artistic statement, but I didn’t like it.

Myriad Drone were up next. I’d bumped into them and had a chat with them on Cuba St shortly before the gig, and they faintly remembered me from having yarns at the Russian Circles show last year. They seemed happy to see me, and were super friendly. And their music was great. They’re about to release a new album, A World Without Us, on March 8th, and we were fortunate enough to get a taste of the new songs. They sounded fantastic.

I thought it was funny that Shane and Simon wore Russian Circles and Botch t-shirts, respectively – both bands featuring the same bassist, Brian Cook. I thought Hayley was wearing a Nine Inch Nails top at first glance, but upon inspection it turned out to be a NIN x Monty Python parody referencing the Knights who say Ni!

You know that the band should be bringing the goods when they’ve all got in ear monitors and backing tracks, so it was no surprise that Myriad Drone had a full, vibrant sound. I was surprised how transcendent some of the songs sounded, even while Hayley was going nuts on the blastbeats. I loved seeing how Shane and Jacob added their vocals to the mix to create more subtle textures in the music as well. Their set was a real treat to behold.

distance have been around for a few years now, but it feels like they’ve ascended rapidly, garnering international recognition for their quality recordings, and great slots supporting overseas touring artists and NZ festivals. Earlier this month they’d joined God Is An Astronaut on the two NZ legs of their international tour.

distance have freshly been reduced to a core trio, but the three of them collectively create such a lush, dense sound that you’d have no idea that they’re a man down. You can just tell that they know what they’re doing. Toby Leman (best known for his band Hummicide, amongst many others) came on for a guest appearance for roughly half the set, adding his sweet saxophone to the mix. He stood there statuesque, wearing sunglasses and adding a his element aspect to fantastic music. It sounded good, and was somewhat novel because I haven’t come across the use of brass instruments in post-rock music much (The Dark Third, and this Caspian video come to mind, but not much else).

The lights were fairly dim and subdued, and although distance are by no means boring, there was less of a focus on showmanship, and they let the immersive music do the talking. It was primal, captivating. Like Myriad Drone, they still had metal elements like blastbeats and tremolo riffing at times, but it never felt jarring. There’s not much that I find more thrilling than beholding exceptional musicians, masterfully commanding their instruments onstage like this.

Looking around the venue, Valhalla was reasonably full. Everyone else stood entranced. I bet they were all thankful that they’d chosen to spend their Friday night like this.

Tomorrow distance and Myriad Drone play the Paisley Stage in Napier, along with FVKVSHIMA. They’ll then head to the South Island for shows in Christchurch and Nelson next week.

distance and Myriad Drone are playing the following dates:

Friday 21 February – Valhalla, Wellington w/ Their Eyes Were Flowers + Spiral

Saturday 22 February – Paisley Stage, Napier w/ FVKVSHIMA

Friday 28 February – Wunderbar Lyttelton, Christchurch w/ Necropolis + Ragweed

Saturday 1 March – Coastal Carnage Festival

Tickets from UnderTheRadar: https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/news/21973/Distance–Myriad-Drone-AUS-Aotearoa-Tour-2025-Announced.utr

Links:

distance: https://lnk.bio/distancenz

Myriad Drone: https://myriaddrone.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/myriaddrone/

Words and photos by Joseph James

Live Review: Shihad at Trafalgar Centre, Nelson

Shihad

LOUD FOREVER final tour

w/ Con Carne, Mim Jensen

Trafalgar Centre, Nelson

Friday 7 February 2025

I still remember the first time I saw Shihad play.

I’d missed out a few times when I was younger, because the venues were R18. I recall Shihad and The Datsuns played a double bill at Riwaka Hotel, just out of Nelson. My dad went with his mate Mo, but I couldn’t go because I was underage. The injustice!

So I jumped at the chance when Shihad played the inaugural Homegrown festival in Wellington. Many Wellingtonians I’ve spoken to lamented this new festival, saying it replaced the vastly superior X*Air, but I was hyped. There were a bunch of bands that I wanted to see, and under 18s could go. From memory, the ticket price was roughly $60. A small group of us – four schoolfriends – took the ferry across to Wellington for the weekend.

Shihad were the headliners for the rock stage. They had just released their album Beautiful Machine. I had preordered it and been sent a comically oversized XL t-shirt with the album that looked like a tent on my runty teenage frame. But I wore it with great excitement, and finally I managed to see Shihad for the first time. They made a hell of an impression.

I made a point of seeing Shihad every time I could from then on. I moved to Wellington after highschool, which made this easier. A handful of times at Homegrown – the lineup never appeared to change much. I managed to see them twice at Riwaka during Christmas breaks – which made me feel redeemed somehow, seeing how I missed opportunities to see bands play there when I was younger. I even wrote a review that Rip It Up Magazine posted on their website, which was a big deal for me. I saw them open for AC/DC. I even saw them play at their old highschool.

The gigs that felt most special are when they played their albums Killjoy and The General Electric in full at San Francisco Bathhouse. I also saw them play TGE the following year at Big Day Out festival (probably my highlight of the day – I was pretty soggy and exhausted by the time Tool came on), and they played their debut album Churn at the Auckland Town Hall in 2023. I think I’d seen them play 20 times before tonight. The only bands I’ve seen play more times are ones I’ve toured with.

I’ve always featured them pretty prominently on this site. The first album reviews I wrote when I started Will Not Fade were of a maybeshewill record and Shihad’s FVEY. I also reviewed their most recent, Old Gods, and have written about gigs I’ve seen them play a handful of times.

Late last year Shihad announced their final tour. Touring requires a lot of time away from their families and priorities had shifted over the years. They’d barely played in support of their latest album and had decided to call it a day, rather than half-arsing it. I had noted that they’d slowed down and weren’t playing as frequently, but that was a reality for many bands because of the pandemic, so the news came as a shock.

Money has been tight recently, but I’ll be damned if I’m missing their final tour. I decided the Wellington show was not the appropriate send off. Homegrown is sponsored by alcohol companies and it’s always plagued by annoying drunks who are legless not long after midday. There are annoying drunks at most gigs, but when an event like a festival lasts longer than a standard gig, things can get a lot messier. Outdoor stages can be fickle in terms of acoustics. It seemed like a disservice to their hometown fans, choosing to end things at a festival. I want to see the band do their own thing, unconstrained by festival slots. And I think most people would agree. Festivals are cool for seeing a variety of acts and can be good value in that sense, but if you care about a band, you’d prefer to see them play a stand-alone show.

Napier was an attractive option – with one of my favourite bands Jakob opening. But I opted for Nelson. This way I could make the most of Waitangi Day and spend some time with my family.

I probably hadn’t been in the Trafalgar Centre for close on 15 years, but upon entering I was taken back to Smokefree Rockquest. I remember playing on that same stage with my friends in sixth form, and how it was such an amazing experience playing to so many people in a huge space with a big PA. The space felt pretty amazing tonight too. They’d installed temporary carpeting and curtains and brought some bleachers in at the rear. The sound was better than I’d anticipated (Dad had told me that last time Shihad played Trafalgar Centre they’d played the Victory Room because it offered better acoustics than the main hall), and the lighting was fantastic. The room felt full but not too cramped.

In the past, Shihad have often had Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” play just before coming onstage. I was surprised that this wasn’t the case tonight, with some kind of fanfare playing instead. They gave a wave before launching into the blistering “Tear Down Those Names”, from their latest album Old Gods.

This is the final tour, so the band knew they had to cover the bases. They worked through their catalogue in reverse order, playing at least a few songs from every album. They’ve been doing this for years now so I’ve come to expect it and it made the setlist somewhat predictable, but there were some treats thrown in there.

Shihad are rooted in metal and rock, so we could rely on them to deliver some songs with mean riffs. From “You Again” to “Empty Shell”, they always bring the energy. “Alive” felt a bit messy but they kept it together.

I wasn’t in the best frame of mind when I reviewed Old Gods, and probably came across jaded and defeatist when looking at the state of affairs they were tackling in the subject matter. But somehow things just feel more and more dire with time, and I appreciate seeing that these men in their 50’s are still using their platform to unify their fans and stand up against injustices. They still have that fire in their bellies and brought the ferocity with songs such as “My Mind’s Sedate” and “Think You’re So Free”. It was weird seeing a National Party MP standing in front of me singing the lyrics ‘when do you think we’ll wake up?’ to a song that was written about how his government was selling our country down the river.

But they’ve written a lot of songs in an array of styles over their 36 year career, so it wasn’t all piss and vinegar. We had some some tender moments, like “Pacifier” and “Feel The Fire”, and some fun pop numbers like “One Will Hear The Other”. I’d never previously noticed guitarist Phil Knight playing synth on songs like “Ignite” and “Deb’s Night Out”.

I remember that Beautiful Machine era, the band went through a image rebrand of sorts, getting haircuts, wearing button-up black shirts and looking more clean cut than in the past. They’ve stuck to this look for the most part, but bassist Karl Kippenberger and frontman Jon Toogood both had long hair and facial hair again. Toogood laughed about how surprising it was that he could still grow long hair like that, at 53 years old.

One of the things that make Shihad stand out as a live band is that they’ve written songs specifically to be played live. They worked out the tempos that people want to move to, the choruses that people want to sing to. I highly recommend the Studio Stories podcast, especially the two episodes that explore Shihad’s process of writing and recording The General Electric. (There’s also an episode about Killjoy). They would have written the “Sleepeater” bassline for people to bounce along to, and “Pacifier” would have been written to entice people to hold lighters in the air for the ballad (or phone lights, in this modern era).

They played a few tracks from the Pacifier record. It was maligned at the time because of its commercial nature and because Shihad had changed their name to appeal to the American market. But I always loves the album and those songs stand strong. Toogood noted that “Everything” sounded fantastic. His comment sounded tinged with regret that they’d never given that song the attention it deserved, and the realisation that they won’t have the opportunity to remedy that now that the band is coming to an end. Toogood also revealed that drummer Tom Larkin had written the riff to “Semi-Normal”, from the same album.

I mentioned that Shihad sets have become a bit predictable. They’ll almost always play the expected hits. But now and again they’ll throw in a deeper cut to keep the diehards happy, like the aformentioned “Everything”. Shihad fans can be extremely loyal and I expect many will be travelling to multiple final gigs, so the band have tried to mix up the sets somewhat. Toogood mentioned that they’d played eight songs in Nelson that they hadn’t played elsewhere on the farewell tour.

“Ghost from the Past” sounded fantastic – a song I hadn’t heard them play much. I could see that some people were fizzing about “Empty Shell” as well.

They finished their set with a blistering version of “Screwtop” from their first album, Churn, and then we were left wondering what would come next. A cut from Devolve, their first EP? “Home Again” was a given. “Run” was likely. I expected “Cheap As” – Toogood always mentioned how it was his favourite Shihad riff when they played it.

As expected, for the encore they came back with the anthemic “Run”. It sounded huge. This was followed by an even bigger singalong: a cover of Split Enz’s “I Got You”. I hadn’t actually thought of that one because it’s not on a Shihad album. They played another Churn track, “Derail” before ending with the obligatory “Home Again”. There was no other way to end it. It’s the alternative national anthem, alongside Dobbyn’s “Loyal”. Shihad have many, many jewels in their repertoire, but “Home Again” is the defining Shihad song.

I’m sad that Shihad are calling it a day. There’s a reason I’ve made a point of seeing them play so many times over the years: because they’re bloody good. And even though I’ve come to know what to expect for the most part, their shows always feel vital. Every time I hear them sing ‘Doesn’t it feel good just to be alive?’ from their song “The General Electric” I have to appreciate how true that line feels in the moment. They’ve chosen to end on a high, and I respect their decision. They did a damn fine job of summing up their career tonight, and I’m glad that I was there to help say farewell.

Joseph James

Vorn profile on Audioculture

Michael Hollywood, who runs the excellent blog everythingsgonegreen, has written a great article on Audioculture about the one and only Vorn Colgan.

https://www.audioculture.co.nz/profile/vorn

Vorn is one of my favourite musicians, playing in numerous amazing Wellington bands such as Vorn, The Wellington Sea Shanty Society, Crash Bandihoot and many more. I contributed some photos to the article so thought I should share.

I have also reviewed the past two albums from Vorn’s eponymous band, The Late Album (2023) and The Winter Sessions (2017), if you would like to read some more about his works on Will Not Fade.

Premiere: FVKVSHIMA – KUATO

FVKVSHIMA are a new metal band based in Wellington, New Zealand. I am very excited to premiere their debut single, “Kuato”, and have interviewed vocalist Mark Mundell so that you can learn a bit about the band.

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A post shared by FVKVSHIMɅ (@fvkvshima_band)

Will Not Fade: How are you?
Mark Mundell: I’m staying frosty, mon frére. Simply splendid. Top of the world. 2024 is shaping up to be a far better year than the ones we’ve had recently.

How did FVKVSHIMA come to exist?
The band had been around as a three-piece for several years – it’s only in the last year or so that the band has numbered five. The guitarist, the bassist and the drummer all knew each other of old – Nathan and Greg were formerly members of Backyard Burial, while Peter was the drummer for Shakahn, as well as playing in a million jazz bands. Our keyboardist, Dayle (aka Jellybones) is also an extremely talented and prolific musician, having been involved with blues, honky-tonk, ska and Balkan brass.
And then you have the hanger-on that is me. I stand at the front and shout at people. I’m also in Planet of the Dead. Around eighteen months ago, Planet was on a hiatus – we were all pretty burnt out by the pandemic and sorely needed a breather – and I wanted to keep on with a musical project. Pete had put a note on Facebook that they were looking for a vocalist, and I thought I’d give it a shot. For some reason they kept me around. Dayle joined us around a year ago in April, and not long after that we performed our first shows in October.

How would you describe your sound?
A fine question, and one I struggle answering all the time. I’ve heard some people compare our sound to Meshuggah, because it’s heavy and progressive, which I am not mad at in the slightest. Personally I’d say there is a definite industrial influence, as we have sharp edges on the guitar sound and the synths. But I don’t know, I’d rather people heard our stuff and judged for themselves.

I’ve seen FVKVSHIMA play three times now, and I’ve got to say I’m a huge fan and have been telling all my friends they need to come to your shows. I’m very excited to help introduce your debut single to the world. Why did you pick “Kuato” as your lead single?
As we’ve played live shows and worked on new material, I think there has definitely been an evolution of our style – particularly when Dayle was on board. His synths have been a real game-changer for our sound, and we discussed that the first songs we would release would be taken from those we had developed together.
To be honest, it was a two-horse race between “Kuato” and “Dominator”, which isn’t far behind. I think both of these songs do a great job of personifying where we’re currently at and giving everyone an idea of the versatility of our sound. I’m super excited to find out what people think. The plan is to roll out all the songs we’re playing in our live shows, and we have lots of new songs waiting in the wings. We’ll be busy this year!

Your first single – “Kuato” – is a Total Recall reference. What is your official statement on the 2012 remake starring Colin Farrell?
If “Rekall” was actually a thing, and they could erase the part of my memory where I watched the 2012 version, that would be great. Some films just do not need a reboot.

And are you aware that a recent Rick and Morty episode revolves around Kuato as well?
Yeah, I saw that episode. I did enjoy the reverence to the movie, but I wouldn’t have needed the excuse to watch it – “Rick and Morty” has always been bloody hilarious. Now I just need a Recall-themed Futurama episode.

Tell me about the artwork.
We opted to develop artwork that was specific to the tracks we’ll be releasing initially. Our drummer has a good friend who has come up with some awesome imagery for “Kuato”, featuring the titular mutant himself – we’ve also worked that into a lyric video that will drop with the single. We want the visuals to be as striking as the music.

Tell me about the songwriting process. Do you write music with a theme in mind, or come up with lyrics to fit the music?
Nathan and Peter are the creative engine when it comes to writing the music, and when I first started writing lyrics for FVKVSHIMA, it was a challenge to make them fit. The music is quite technical and it took me a while for it to click – I spent hours listening and re-listening to practice room cuts trying to feel out where lyrics would fit. My approach to writing lyrics has typically been to write them like poetry, and then I’ll work out how to make them fit the music later with Nathan. Nathan and Peter normally have a good feel for where they want stuff to go, and we’ve always been able to land on an arrangement we all agree with.
I find I’m generally always writing lyrics. I get a spark or two every so often – it could be a passage in a book, or a particular scene in a film (the first part of “Kuato” is actually the first scene of the original “Total Recall” movie, where Quaid and Melina are walking on the surface of Mars) – and I’ll just write. It can end up a bit more abstract in some cases, but people have always managed to pick up the themes. When I joined FVKVSHIMA, the guys already had heaps of music ready to go, so I went through a process of deciding which lyrics fit which tracks – I definitely wanted the feel of the track to fit the lyrical theme. So far I think it’s turned out pretty well, but we will let you be the judge.

I’ve seen you use a vocal effects pedal during your live performances to add different sounds to your vocal delivery. How do you settle on the sounds and effects that you choose to use?
I use the TC Helicon VoiceLive, which has served me pretty well so far. When it comes to vocal effects, I’m a firm believer that “less is more”. I initially just wanted a little gain and the occasional bit of reverb, but I found some sections of the music that I felt would benefit from a little something extra, to add to the atmosphere – especially in a live show. I tried a few things at a few live shows and people seemed to dig it. As we continue to write new material, I’ll often experiment with effects in the practice room and see if I can land on something that suits the theme. I’d like to say the effects I land on where targeted, but to be honest it’s often a bit of trial-and-error. With the layers that Dayle adds on keys, vocal effects don’t feel out of place to me.

Obviously you’re a huge sci-fi fan. Please list some of your top recommendations for our readers who’d like to explore the genre.
Oosh. There are so many! People who have heard my other stuff will know I’m a massive Frank Herbert fan, but we won’t go there. I’m a fan of a lot of old school sci-fi writers – Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut – but for my money, you can’t beat Philip K Dick. It’s no surprise that several of his books were the inspiration of many great movies.
I think one of the more modern sci-fi book series I’ve read and liked is The Gap Cycle by Stephen Donaldson. It’s definitely not a space opera – it’s pretty near the knuckle at times – but I think his characters are really interesting and it’s a story that holds you until the end. The other series I’d recommend is William Gibson’s Neuromancer books, which are more cyberpunk in nature.
For graphic novels, my go-tos would be Otomo Katsuhiro’s Akira, Watchmen and V for Vendetta. I’m also a big fan of 2000AD, so I was reading stuff like Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog, Rogue Trooper and the ABC Warriors as a kid. All of the above have inspired or featured in my lyrical themes at some point or another.

What lessons did you learn from your previous bands that you brought with you to this band?
Tolerance is the main thing. Bands are really like a family and often you will disagree on things, so I’ve tried to be better at being flexible and knowing how to pick your battles. When I was younger in bands I’d argue about a lot of crap that I wouldn’t give a shit about these days. I guess another aspect is how you keep everything above the grind so the band doesn’t end up becoming a chore or like another day job. Some folks want to write, some folks like gigging, others the promotional and the socials – I guess as a band you collectively have to find what makes people tick and let them pursue their passion, and that helps keep it fresh for everyone. I think I’m lucky with Planet of the Dead and FVKVSHIMA – we’re all of a similar age, we all seem to manage to pull in the same direction, even with our various real-life commitments, and we all still find joy in what we do. I sincerely hope it stays that way for a long time.

Your other band, Planet of the Dead, had a lot of plans disrupted around the time of your last album release due to covid-related events like lockdowns and reduced capacity shows. Has this made you more cautious with making plans going forward, or do you think the major impacts of the pandemic are behind us now?
New Zealand has been slower than other countries (at least in my opinion) to come out of the covid cocoon – you only had to walk the streets of Wellington last year and the one before to see that for yourself. However, I honestly believe we’ve turned a corner and I think we’re starting to get there. There are great promoters doing righteous work and pushing hard to bring international acts to New Zealand more recently, and those shows I’ve attended have been jammed. It’s been a wicked year so far for live music. I always jinx these things though, so I’ll state my position as “cautiously optimistic” and we’ll leave it there.

I know that you’re a fan of physical media because I see how much your record collection has grown every time I come to your house. Have you got plans to release FVKVSHIMA music physically?
Digital will be the way initially, but I would love to see FVKVSHIMA’s work on a CD or a bit of wax. That’s a medium-term goal though, I think initially the priority has to be just getting our music out there in the first instance. Once we’ve got an album’s worth on Bandcamp, then we’ll maybe look at getting some vinyl pressed.

This is just the start for FVKVSHIMA. What have you got lined up for the future? Touring, releases, world domination?
More tracks, more shows. We’ve got a year of real mahi ahead, but none of us are work-shy in the slightest and we’re finally getting our sound out there for everyone to check out – we seriously hope people will dig it. We’ve had some great live shows in the last six months with some amazing NZ metal acts, and we’re generally always up for jumping on a bill with whoever. So I think our plan for the next year is to be seen and heard as much as possible. After that … world domination? Sure, why not. Can’t hurt.

Here’s your chance to say anything that we haven’t covered.
Thanks for the chance to have a chat. Music sites, blogs and fanzines are part of the lifeblood of our scene – it’s how we get heard. So we appreciate you writing about it, and we appreciate all the people who take the time to read it.
Stay frosty.

Kuato available across all platforms including:

Youtube:
https://youtube.com/@fvkvshima?si=mYNTq0k211Q14RSF

Bandcamp:
https://fvkvshima.bandcamp.com/track/kuato

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6QzpIJeK3qDYNCkKaGg0wL?si=Om8MLMQoQg2AqYQveMoSgA

Distrokid:
https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/fvkvshima/kuato-2

FVKVSHIMA links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064268550642

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fvkvshima_band/

Photos by Joseph James/Will Not Fade and Jechtography

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