The Star: March 04, 2021

The Star Thursday March 4 2021
12
NEWS
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Mousey big cheese in music scene
Music constantly changes over the
decades. Reporter Matt Slaughter looks at
what is happening in Christchurch in 2021
AS MOUSEY takes the stage
at St Asaph St venue Space
Academy on a Saturday night,
she holds the crowd in the palm
of her hand.
She captivates the audience
with every note she sings, showcasing
heartfelt, folk songwriting
with a danceable, indie-pop
twist.
Mousey’s stage name was
inspired by the words of David
Bowie’s song Life On Mars.
The 25-year-old who lives
in New Brighton has wowed
Christchurch and New Zealand
crowds since the release of her
debut album Lemon Law in 2019.
The single from the album, the
first song Mousey ever released,
Extreme Highs, was nominated
for the APRA Silver Scroll
Award, New Zealand’s most
prestigious songwriting award,
in 2019.
The award was ultimately
won by fellow Christchurch
songwriter Aldous Harding,
but Mousey told The Star the
nomination was the confidence
boost she needed.
She tried recording Lemon
Law three times, with three
different backing bands,
before settling on a finished
product, produced by
Christchurch-based Ryan
Fisherman.
“It [the Silver Scroll nomination]
was a huge confidence
boost because I was really
thinking of quitting before we
recorded with Ryan. I was just
so over it, you know.”
Fisherman made her
vision come to life
and she has
become
one of
the
Mousey
city’s most celebrated upcoming
artists since Lemon Law’s release.
She is now recording her
second album with her backing
band, consisting of some of
her favourite local musicians,
including Emily Browning.
She is inspired by many other
musicians, including her close
friend, Pickle Darling (Lukas
Mayo), a critically acclaimed
songwriter in his own right.
Head just across the road from
Space Academy to the Darkroom
and you might find Brian
Feary keeping Christchurch’s
proud history of bands and
labels producing music on small
budgets alive.
Feary’s mother had no idea
who British pop star Bryan Ferry
was when she named her son.
But, coincidentally, he grew up
to be musical, and is one of the
main drivers of Christchurch’s
alternative band scene.
As well as playing in a long
list of Christchurch indie rock
bands, including Wurld Series,
Salad Boys, Kool Aid and The
Dance Asthmatics, Feary is a
co-founder and producer for
Woolston music label Melted Ice
Cream. He is also involved with
Christchurch punk label Dust
Up.
Feary said one thing that sets
Melted Ice Cream apart from
other music labels, is it has
brought back cassettes as a platform
to release music on.
“I ended up buying a cassette
duplicator from a church studio
that was closing down. It cost me
$27, and from there, I realised
that I could make cassettes and
I found a supplier and away we
went,” he said.
About 30 bands from
Christchurch and other parts of
New Zealand are on Melted Ice
Cream’s label. Feary said it embodies
the do it yourself mentality
of older Christchurch labels
like Flying Nun Records.
Said Feary: “The lack
of the big New Zealand
music industry [in
Christchurch] means
that the ambitions
aren’t commercial,
really. The sort of
bands that we get here
are DIY bands who are
in it for having a good
time and making the best
music that they can.
“I think there’s
also quite a
big history in
Christchurch
of this sort of
band. I would
categorise The
Bats as having
the same sort
of attitude,
a DIY,
unpretentious
attitude.”
It’s not
just bands
Brian Feary
shaping Christchurch’s musical
landscape.
Scribe brought Christchurch
hip hop to the world in the early
2000s, and And$um could
be the next rapper to bring it to
international audiences.
The 24-year-old Lyttelton resident
openly admits when he first
started rapping, the art did not
come naturally to him.
He describes his sound as
“alternative hip hop,” and only
started making music about four
years ago while he was a student
at Canterbury University.
Since then, he has found his
voice and his music has been
listened to about 450,000 times
online by listeners all over the
world.
This is a long way from when
he first started and would be
“stoked to get 100 plays on a
track.”
He has a mix of albums and
EPs under his belt and said he
has played “most of the spots” in
Christchurch.
The album he released last
year, And$um, Vol. 1, included
his most listened to song to
date, Dreaming, which is fast
approaching 85,000 listens on
Spotify.
And$um said what separates
Christchurch’s music scene from
others is its supportive nature.
Groups like The Caffeinated
Collective, who he went to
Shirley Boys’ High School with,
inspired him to start rapping,
and now he is offering advice to
others starting out.
“I’ve had people message me
and say, hey, this is my first ever
track, what do you think?”
Corban Tupou is involved in
another growing Christchurch
musical movement.
He is part of DJ collectives and
party curators Sounds of the
Local and Two Minds, whose
main focus is making people
dance.
You might find Tupou DJing
himself, or filming sets at night
clubs like Flux Bar or Hide.
He wants to spread his love for
a diverse range of electronic music
genres, including drum and
bass and house, and get people
dancing.
Both Sounds of the Local
and Two Minds, include DJs
who developed their skills at
Christchurch’s student flat
parties.
Tupou felt the energy of the
music being played at these
parties was too good not to show
off to wider audiences. He and
his friends started throwing
parties at nightclubs and posting
some of their live DJ sets online
to reach even more listeners.
“We’re just big fans of thumping,
high energy, electronic
music,” he said.
Tupou said DJing has taken off
in Christchurch in the last few
years because of how accessible
and affordable basic equipment
has become.
“It [DJing] is easy to pick up
now more than ever. The barrier
to entry is quite low, but the
ceiling is quite high,” said
Tupou.
Both Sounds of the Local and
Two Minds are now followed by
thousands of people across social
media, after forming in 2019 and
2020 respectively.
Both projects are getting
noticed by New Zealand festival
organisers too, with Sounds
of the Local DJs performing at
festivals including Tora Bombora
on the Wairarapa coast in
January.
Christchurch
Wed, 10 Mar, 7.30pm
Christchurch Town Hall
TOWN
s
COUNTRY
James Judd Conductor
From Lilburn to Bernstein, enjoy an enthralling celebration of music inspired
by the splendour of the countryside and the energy of cities and towns.
PRINCIPAL PARTNERS
Tickets $40
Students $20
nzso.co.nz