New Music From Local Acts as Laneway Weekend Dawns

Laneway Festival 2017:
New Music From Local Acts as Laneway Weekend Dawns

With only days to go until St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival takes over the Albert Park precinct for a day jam-packed with music. There’s a killer line-up of New Zealand artists taking the stage and we’re excited about what they’ve got planned for Laneway and beyond.

Cut Off Your Hands agreed to release new music when being booked for Laneway, and give credit to Laneway for these “nuggets” seeing the light of day, to the joy of Cut Off Your Hands fans. The response to the first new track Hate Somebody was huge in New Zealand and across the ditch, with Mikey Cahill, Hit Journalist and Livelist Editor of Herald Sun saying "Hate Somebody is a discombobulating, disambiguating summer jam. I likey.” The Spinoff music commentator Stevie Kaye called it “An utterly unexpected delight.”

Cut Off Your Hands release pop wave single Higher Lows and Lower Highs today, following a live debut at this morning’s 95bFM Breakfast Club. The track is the second release from the band’s forthcoming EP, due out in March/April this year.

The title Higher Lows and Lower Highs refers to lyricist and frontman Nick Johnston’s recent diagnosis of a form of bipolar disorder. The lyrics speak in stream of consciousness manner of the negotiations of life compartmentalised into daily routine that such a disorder can be managed with.

“There’s only dancing – and small computers – there’s only concrete slabs – ”

This speaks of a way of breaking down the complexities and greyness of life into black and white – concrete categories of understanding and negotiating life. But the song also speaks of the layering added to such arbitrary realities – ie there is colour and emotion and searching for love and for meaning.

“There’s waiting for commencement, waiting for the message, waiting for the love of your life to walk into your world and tell you that you’ve made it – that it’s all worthwhile – ”

“You’re only just holding on to your head”

Higher Lows and Lower Highs features a solid live sampled repetitive rhythm section, the structural composition takes cues from Remain in Light era Talking Heads as well as early New York house production. This leaves room for the vocals and lyrics to do the work in differentiating chorus/verse/bridge etc. The rhythm provided in the sampled/looped repetition is augmented by layers of percussion thanks to Jeremy Toy’s production.

Credits:

Written by Nick Johnston and Cut Off Your Hands

Performed by:

Nick Johnston - Vocals, Guitar

Philip Hadfield - Bass

Jonathan Lee - Guitar

Brent Harris - Drums, BVs

Jeremy Toy - Synth, Percussion

Recorded by Jeremy Toy in his Spare Room Studios at the LAB

Mixed by Jeremy Toy and Cut Off Your Hands

Mastered by Dave Cooley (JDilla, M83, Animal Collective, Blood Orange, Lee Hazlewood)

Original guitarist Michael Ramirez makes a special return for Laneway, taking the stage for tracks from the band’s 2008 debut album You & I and Toy will join Cut Off Your Hands on stage at Laneway to perform synths and percussion on the new singles. It will be a performance unlike any other from the band, for example, there's a triangle on Oh Girl. Asked if he would play that, Jeremy replied: "I'll go talk to some university professors about it, they offer a percussion course as part of the classical degree."

Download Higher Lows and Lower Highs and new images.

See Cut Off Your Hands at 4:15pm at the Thunderdome at Laneway Festival.

For more information and interview requests, contact Josie Campbell - josie@greatthings.co.nz

________________________________________

Otherworldly pair Purple Pilgrims invite you Drink the Juice with the new track now available and a stunning video filmed in the Coromandel about to drop.

Credits:

Music written, recorded and produced by Purple Pilgrims
Percussion by Nick Malkin
Mixed by Jorge Elbrecht

Download Drink the Juice and images

Purple Pilgrims set is a solid reason to get to Laneway early - they play the Fountain Stage at 12:50pm.

For label queries, contact Britt Brown at britt@notnotfun.com

________________________________________

The Veils frontman Finn Andrews has been spending a little time back in New Zealand this month, and dropped into RNZ for for a live solo session that included the new track Swimming with Crocodiles. Watch the live performance, or listen to the album version.

Catch The Veils on the Fountain Stage at 6:45pm at Laneway.

The track is available for radio - for interviews and information on the release, contact Jeane Mowatt at jeane@bangthedrum.co.nz

________________________________________

Fazerdaze releases new track Lucky Girl and announces debut LP Morningside

Last year, New Zealand's Fazerdaze (aka Amelia Murray) independently put out Little Uneasy and promised herself to release her debut LP in 2017, and now the details are here. The debut LP Morningside will be available via esteemed label Flying Nun Records on 5 May, with a very limited clear vinyl LP available for Record Store Day. The new single Lucky Girl was written and recorded by Murray herself in her living room and is the most complete document of her intricate songwriting to date.

Murray explains; "I wrote and recorded this track while I was living in a room that had no windows - except for a skylight which I eventually had to block out to stop my room from overheating. It was so dark in there and I slowly began to feel sad, like the walls were enclosing on me - that’s how I got the idea for the first lyric".

Fazerdaze has been praised by NME, played with Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Connan Mockasin, and was invited to join the Red Bull Music Academy in Montreal in 2016. In May, Murray will take her band to the UK to play The Great Escape Festival.

Fazerdaze opens Princes Street Stage at 12:25pm.

Please contact Anthony Metcalf with any Fazerdaze media queries at 100percentgoodakl@gmail.com

________________________________________

Overachieving youths Yukon Era dropped surprise track Tongue this morning. Listen on Bandcamp.

Yukon Era take the 1pm slot at the Thunderdome.

Contact Pennie Black for the single and more information at pennieblackartistservices@gmail.com

________________________________________

Also playing Laneway 2017 - Dunedin legends The Chills, Australian-base Kiwi duo Fortunes, talented performing artist Nikolai and Wellington producer k2k.

Get the playing times, maps, artist images and more in the media kit.

ST. JEROME’S LANEWAY FESTIVAL 2017
Presented by 95bFM and Coup De Main
Monday 30 January - AUCKLAND - ALBERT PARK PRECINCT

AURORA - Bob Moses - Car Seat Headrest - Clams Casino -

Cut Off Your Hands - DMA'S - Fazerdaze - Flight Facilities -

Floating Points (Live) - Fortunes - Glass Animals - Julia Jacklin - k2k -

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Mick Jenkins - Mr. Carmack -

NAO - Nick Murphy (Chet Faker) - Nikolai - Purple Pilgrims -

Refused - Tame Impala - The Chills - The Veils - Tourist -

Tycho - What So Not - White Lung - Whitney - Yukon Era

TICKETS ON SALE
Book now at lanewayfestival.co.nz

ends

© Scoop Media