A Mixture of Opposites - MISS TREE & THE OBVIOUS at Caroline, July 8th
Electronic songs, heartfelt vocals and twisting harmonies feature in the sound of Miss Tree and the Obvious (www.facebook.com/misstreeandtheobvious) playing at Caroline on July 8th, with DJs Feedback, Alion and Helix. The event is ‘pre-release celebration’ for their
forthcoming EP, Uncharted Territory.
“The title refers to some obvious nautical themes in many of the songs,” explains Amy, one half of the fantastical music
duo that is Amy Soulfire and Liv Scott.
“Love is the key, the most important theme that runs through it all – not so much in a girl/boy romantic sense, more of
a genuine, True way,” adds Liv. “Our songs are also about transformation, evolving, moving forward into uncharted
territory.”
“It’s like a mixture of opposites,” Amy continues. “Contrast and juxtaposition; merging different things together like
analogue and digital; the roughness of punk with distorted guitars and hard-hitting snare; mixed with the lush yumminess
of full sub bass and layers of synthy electronica stuff. The vocals span the spectrum too; from grungey yelling to
spoken word to sweet, catchy pop to ethereal faery choir”
“We’re not afraid to jump into any genre and experiment with new sounds,” says Liv. “Music is really what drives us, to
keep song-writing and creating something original, different, out of the box.”
Most of their lyrics are nature-based: “Liv is quite the eco warrior”, says Amy. “Or about self-awareness; expressing
feelings, and taking a positive stance. We do write songs about things that make us feel bad sometimes but we’ve tried
to keep these off the EP and our life performance because that’s not really an energy we want to share with the world.”
Liv brings a Celtic influence to the table with lush, haunting vocal melodies, especially apparent on her original
version of Bold Adventurers Across the Great Sea. The words were written by Liv for her husband, Graeme, on their wedding day, and are sung to the tune of the Celtic
classic She Moved Through The Fair. “It starts out minimal with a bit of live flute, the harmony-laden vocal and just a single drum beating along slowly,
progressing into drum n bass with amen break, wave sounds as drum samples and a jungle bassline.”
“We’re thrilled with our support acts,” says Amy. “Helix www.facebook.com/djxhile/ discovered the joys of DJing in the early 90s and started producing his own music in 2003. He is now part of the
Housing Project on Radio Active, and is a regular on the Friday Drive show. Helix is best known for playing bass-driven
house, but he blends music from many genres into his sets and will be playing a mix of old school hip hop, trap hop, and
warm glitchyness.”
In a small town at the top of New Zealand's South Island lives a drum and bass artist and enthusiast that some people
still call Alion. Once half of NZ dnb outfit Organikismness and now responsible for NZ underground digital label Totally
Roasted, she used to play records every weekend at the club downtown but now she just does whatever she likes. https://soundcloud.com/alion; https://soundcloud.com/totallyroasted
FEEDBACK is one half of Wellington grimy techno enthusiasts "Duo Alias" who have recently released an album on Ireland’s
‘Variance’ industrial techno label. Here he returns briefly to his solo moniker, to drop some funked out glitch and
electrosoul vibes. www.soundcloud.com/feedback-nz
If you like the sound of Miss Tree and The Obvious – you better catch them this time ‘round: “We can’t tour after this because I’m having a baby at the end of August,”
says Amy. “I’ll be out of action for gigs for at least 3 months. But I’ll still be writing more fresh material for our
next album and late summer tour dates!” she reckons.