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Christchurch's Pumpkinhead came roaring out of the mainland in the early 90's. The band's 1995 album Sloth was recorded at Phil (AC/DC) Rudd’s rural Mountain Studio, near Tauranga with the band's live engineer David Wernham co-producing with the band. Wernham was also the guitarist/vocalist in the band 147Swordfish. The album yielded hits "I Like", "Third Eye" and the first single "Water".

After playing on the Sloth recording sessions, guitarist Jason Harmon left the band in December 1994. When the band played Strawberry Fields Festival in Raglan, February 1995, Dave Hunt proved to be a more than capable replacement on guitar. Pumpkinhead were an absolute force of nature on the live stage with Rip It Up magazine's John Russell wrote of their Strawberry Fields performance: “Every element gelled, all stops were pulled, and the result was the most supreme live performance. Just when you think they are peaking, Brent begins swigging kerosene and blows a series of enormous fireballs that tips the performance over the edge into the realm of something other worldly.”

The band imploded in November of 1996, but at the time of this writing are set for a series of reunion shows to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sloth as well as a remastered vinyl reissue, now expanded with two bonus tracks. Originally recorded at AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd’s Mountain Studio and released in 1995, Sloth climbed the NZ charts and gave us the single 'I Like' earning critical acclaim as one of the wildest debuts of the era. - Flying Out

Our Guests

Aaron Hogg

Brent Milligan

Jason Peters

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Head Like A Hole's 3rd album marked a turning point for the band. With the addition of 2nd guitarist Tom Watson, the direction veered away from the noisy chaotic sound of previous albums towards a more bluesy, song-focused approach. Recorded in Melbourne in 1995 at the legendary Sing Sing Studios under the watchful eye of Producer Robbie Rowlands, the band was to face the uphill struggle of bettering the set of demos they created for the record - dubbed "The Stench Electric" and the quick changing musical environment that was the mid-nineties.

**Former bassist Andrew Durno declined our invitation to appear on the podcast and former drummer Mark Hamill was approached, but did not return contact in time to be interviewed.

Our Guests

Booga Beazley

Nigel Regan

Tom Watson

Robbie Rowlands

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Soulstice  - the third album from NZ drum and bass icons Shapeshifter was released in 2006, reaching No. 4 on the New Zealand Album Chart.

It's production marked a distinct change in creative direction by the band, as well as being the first record to feature former part-time contributor Paora 'P Digsss' Apera as a permanent feature in the group's line up. As a result - 'Soulstice' features a far heavier vocal focus compared to Shapeshifter's earlier, more traditional work with additional vocal contributions by long time collaborator Ladi 6.

in 2005, relocating back home to NZ from Melbourne, the band set about creating a more organic approach to production - seeking out a back to basics 'bach' (a New Zealand holiday home) in the heart of Kaikoura to convert into a studio. The result is a record that showcases their versatility, seamlessly blending elements of soul, drum and bass, funk, reggae and rock, tied together with incredible work from Mix Engineer Evan Short and long time live sound engineer and producer Tiki Taane.

Soulstice achieved Gold sales status in New Zealand in just 3 weeks and has since achieved Platinum sales and spawned some of the group's most popular songs, such as fan favourites "Electric Dream", and "Bring Change", "New Day Come" and "One". “Bring Change” received the Tui Award for Best Electronic Release.

Our Guests

P Digsss

Sam Trevethick

Nick Robinson

Evan Short

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WE’RE COMING BACK FOR SEASON 5! New episodes coming soon.

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*Season Finale

With "On The Sun", Wellington's The Black Seeds circa 2004 found themselves on the cusp of change. Not only were the band embracing a more funk approach with this record, but post release, would see founding members depart with their blessing for the band to continue.

The album spawned several huge hits, "So True", "Fire" and "Turn It Around" and It reached number 3 on the New Zealand albums chart.

The Black Seeds, of course, have gone on to huge success, and it really began with this - their 3 x Platinum second album, recorded with Lee Prebble at The Surgery Studios in Wellington.

THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF ON THE SUN

To celebrate 20 years since The Black Seeds released their sophomore album “On The Sun”, they have FINALLY pressed it to vinyl for the very first time.

All 11 original Songs have been carefully remastered for this format by Mike Gibson from the original masters by Don Bartley at 301 Sydney way back in 2004, and this delicious NZ made package comes on two 180gm black vinyl with printed inner sleeves.

They have included two bonus tracks in this release with the 2023 Waiata Anthems Te Reo version of So True “Koia Ko Koe”, and a previously unreleased track Rogan Josh, which was favourite live tune The Black Seeds would sometimes jam for 8-9 minutes.

Limited to 1000 copies world-wide. 

Includes digital pre-order of On The Sun (20th Anniversary Edition). You get 2 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.

Our Guests

Barnaby Weir

Lee Prebble

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Special thanks to Carl Thompson for helping make this episode possible.

The story of Villainy's debut album Mode. Set. Clear, is the story of a young band, who find the right producer, and set about becoming the band they always wanted to be. The high School band that was "Inverse Order" had to undergo a reset in order to achieve their dreams - and they did just that with Mode. Set. Clear.

Mode. Set. Clear was recorded and produced predominantly in Melbourne under the watchful eye of Shihad's Tom Larkin and engineer Ben Ehrenberg.

Villainy is Neill Fraser, Thomas Watts, James Dylan and Dave Johnston.

Villainy's official website:

villainymusic.com

Some of the enormous guitar and bass tones on Mode. Set. Clear were created with New Zealand made effect pedals from Red Witch Pedals and Crowther Audio's Prunes and Custard pedal.

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Troy Kingi's second album Shake That Skinny Ass All The Way To Zygertron solidified his ambitious plan to record 10 albums in 10 genres over 10 years.

The album, recorded at Red Room Studios in Helensville [now rebranded as The Chapel Studio in Puhoi] was Troy at his creative best, weaving an inter-dimensional sci-fi concept into a soul-funk stew, thick with vibe and character.

The band features producer Mara TK on vocals, guitar and backing vocals, Trey Liu on Drums, and J Colbert on bass along with Ed Zuccollo on keys.

Our Guests

Troy Kingi

Ed Zuccollo

Matt TeMatera Smith

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Studio Stories is coming back for season 4! Follow on Instagram for the latest updates: instagram.com/studiostoriespodcast 

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Stellar* is Boh Runga, Andrew Maclaren, Chris Van de Geer and Kurt Shanks.

Stellar* set out to create a statement with their debut album, and they did just that. The making of the acclaimed 5 x platinum album Mix is the story of 6 people - all on the same wavelength, collectively pushing the limits of technology to make an album that in 1999 sounded ahead of its time... and today - sounds like it was recorded yesterday.

Released by Sony BMG on 29 July 1999. The album debuted at No. 2 on the RIANZ albums chart, and after seven weeks within the top ten, reached number one. The album was certified 5× platinum, after selling over 75,000 copies in New Zealand.

Mix would go on to win Album of The Year at the 2000 NZ Music Awards.

Our Guests

Andrew Maclaren

Chris Van de Geer

Tom Bailey

Luke Tomes

Special thanks to Audioculture.co.nz

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Opshop in 2005 found themselves in a bit of a flux. "You Are Here" was their platinum selling debut, but line up changes meant the band were feeling the pressure to find their new sound and then, follow up such a successful first outing.

But as you'll hear, pressure creates diamonds. In this episode, Vocalist Jason Kerrison and drummer Bobby Kennedy talk through the band's internal struggles with uncertainty around the albums direction, through to it's ultimate success, and production team Greg Haver and Clint Murphy dive into the detail around crafting the album's sound. Plus special guest - film maker Adam Jones details how he caught the whole thing on film for "Second Hand Planet - The Documentary".

Watch the Documentary Here

Second Hand Planet would go on to win big at the 2008 NZ Music Awards, winning Single of the Year (for "One Day") Highest Selling NZ Album and Highest Selling NZ Single (for "One Day")

Our Guests

Jason Kerrison

Instagram

Bobby Kennedy

Check out Bobby's Podcast "Don't Give Up" with Danny McCrum

Greg Haver

Greg Haver is a decorated producer with a diverse background in engineering, programming, and drumming. His illustrious career is marked by collaborations with renowned artists such as the Manic Street Preachers, Melanie C, INME, Opshop, John Cale, Catatonia, Super Furry Animals, and Bullet for my Valentine. His reputation is built on innovative arrangements and versatile production skills.

https://www.record-producers.com/roster/greg-haver/

Clint Murphy

Clint Murphy is a multi-platinum, award-winning producer, engineer, mixer, songwriter and musician. He has worked on records as diverse as Manic Street Preachers, Enter Shikari, RØMANS and 50 Cent, racking up hits both in the UK and internationally.

http://www.clintmurphyproductions.com/biography

Adam Jones

Adam is an Auckland based Film Maker.

http://www.adammjones.com

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Special Thanks to Adam Jones for the use of select clips from Second Hand Planet - The Documentary.

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In Part 2 of the Season 3 premiere of Studio Stories, Bassist Karl Kippenberger, Producer Gggarth Richardson and special guests talk us though the making of Shihad's "The General Electric."

Shihad, in mid 1999 were deep into the sessions for what would become The General Electric at the legendary Factory Studios in Vancouver. In this episode you'll hear about the tracking of the guitars, bass and vocals, the surprising cameo who, thanks to an abscessed tooth had to cancel their participation in the record, The General Electric's greatest unsung hero, working UNDER AC/DC and more.

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Special thanks to Karl Kippenberger, Garth Richardson, Fu and Brad King for their contributions to this episode.

www.shihad.com

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In this - the Season Premiere of Studio Stories, Bassist Karl Kippenberger, Producer Gggarth Richardson and special guests talk us though the making of Shihad's "The General Electric."

Shihad, at the end of the nineties were about to break out of the York Street bubble to record their first full length album outside of New Zealand.

Factory Studios in Vancouver - formerly known as Little Mountain Studios was one of the most revered studios in the world, and Gggarth Richardson - the man who produced THAT Rage Against The Machine album, was the man behind the desk who would help Shihad to carve out their biggest record ever.

Buy or Stream The General Electric

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Special thanks to Karl Kippenberger, Garth Richardson, Fu and Brad King for their contributions to this episode.

www.shihad.com

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