BARB
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About BARB from Auckland
BARB is a proper band! In a time where every rock star and their dog are
joining forces - forming mildly celebrated, yet seemingly boring and
predictable super-groups - comes the unique sound of BARB. With an
Antipodean darling line-up of Liam Finn, Lawrence Arabia, Connan
Mockasin, Eliza-Jane and Seamus Ebbs, BARB aren't just counting on their
individual indie laurels to get noticed in this dog-eat-dog existence.
It
was a mutual respect, awe and enjoyment of each other's company that
fueled this project. With Liam Finn and live cohort Eliza-Jane's
constant touring (since the release of Finn's solo debut I'll Be
Lightning and successive co-release Champagne in Seashells), Lawrence
Arabia's busy schedule after the critical success of Chant Darling
(subsequently leading to NZ's highest songwriting honour with the Silver
Scroll Award), Connan Mockasin's ever morphing musical exoskeleton -
which, at last count had taken him back and forth from NZ to the UK 16
times in the last year alone, and resulted in the wondrous Please Turn
Me Into The Snat - and the enigma that is Seamus Ebbs, BARB's drummer
who hadn't been seen by anyone for 3 years, and was said to be living in
a part of NZ considered by most to be mythical - it's no wonder that
wrangling these 5 intriguing individuals together was the trickiest part
of making this record
Seeding the first thoughts of BARB while
all living in London, it took 3 years of fantasising, cross-pollinating
and some humorous e-mail chains before these 5 friends found themselves
back in NZ at Roundhead Studios, on the grim slopes of Newton, Auckland.
"It seemed only natural" muses Liam. "We have been involved in each
others music for so long... getting up to play at each others shows...
touring together when possible, we knew starting a band together would
be fun... but we had no idea what it would sound like."
BARB's
sound however, can only be described as 'different'. Different from what
the band expected, different from the crap you hear when you turn on
the radio, different from the latest Danger Mouse production, probably
different from what this bio will lead you to imagine. Lush reverbs lure
you into an organic, yet sexy world, where you can't tell if you've
gone 40 years back in time, or 40 years into the future. Psychedelic
songs about lesbian lovers, boat trips up the Nile, and even a 4 year
old's obsession with teen heart-throb Leonardo DiCaprio leave you
imagining what BARB really got up to during those 4 weeks of writing and
recording. When the 5 sing together it is glorious, and makes you feel
like an excited child again, rollicking fun and mischief, with darker
touches of the absurd and the sick, each element sounding as sincere as
the other.
If the name BARB brings Pamela Anderson to mind - or
possibly even the cruel design of a cats penis - you're really in for a
pleasant suprise. If BARB conjures up images of your bogan Auntie
smoking a fag out on your Nana's porch Fantastic! They only hope they
will find a way into your accepting heart and contribute something
exciting and new to this already evocative word. BARB!
With all 5
members off again on their individual pursuits, one ponders how they
can possibly nurture this ethereal musical baby, but the Universe works
in wondrous ways, and like the making of this record, the life of BARB
will be fated yet spontaneous. To be released worldwide in August don't
miss your chance to get involved and personal with this not so famous,
dare we say SUPER-GROUP, called: BARB.
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