Workhorse and Danika are crossing the Tasman for their respective Aotearoa debuts along with performances at Camp A Low Hum. Performing alongside them is Ōhinehou/Ōtautahi's own Ben Woods, with his group.
Press Releases:
WORKHORSE
Workhorse is the western-tinged, dream-pop project of Australian Kaurna land/Adelaide singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Harriet Fraser-Barbour. Influenced by vast Australian landscapes and apocalyptic dreams, Workhorse create cinematic sonic landscapes evoking road trips across dusty plains.
DANIKA
Naarm/Melbourne-based singer/songwriter Danika is known for her eclectic folk music, merging atmospheric dream pop with gothic country. Danika’s live set features her cyclical fingerpicking style and angelic vocals, creating an immersive and rich sound.
Working alongside Grammy-nominated producer Nick Herrera and co-writing with Paul Bender on bass (Hiatus Kaiyote), Danika released her debut single ‘Suit of Armour’ in 2019, receiving keen support from the music community and a premiere with Gilles Peterson from BBC6. She has since released two EP’s ‘When Love Comes’ (2021) and ‘Down Love’ (2023), accompanied by Australian and European tours.
BEN WOODS
Ben Woods, hailing from Lyttelton, New Zealand, first gained local recognition as a member of indie outfits Wurld Series and Salad Boys, before making his solo debut with PUT in 2019.
PUT’s warbled and romantic songs, laced with shards of emotionally wrought noise were met with a level of local admiration not often mustered in New Zealand. The ensuing years saw him repurposing his narcotic bruisers for the live setting, playing alongside such diverse and celebrated acts as Kurt Vile, Aldous Harding, Julia Jacklin, No Age and Steve Gunn.
In 2022 Woods released his expansive sophomore LP, Dispeller, through Melted Ice Cream (NZ), Shrimper Records (USA), and Meritorio Records (EU).
Dispeller was recorded throughout a year in Woods’ hometown, Lyttelton, with Ben Edwards (Aldous Harding, Marlon Williams, Julia Jacklin) at the helm of the mixing console and co-producing. Utterings, footsteps, and the rattles of the room linger beneath the album’s dense instrumentation, alluding to the familiar space the songs were captured in. Here, Woods’ songs breathe and flourish into their own worlds. “I found my voice in trying to make atonality croon,” he says. “With Dispeller it was less about harmony — the blend was capturing the songs very honestly in the room, and still making each of them to transport you somewhere different.” The record boasted a diverse cast of Antipodean talent with features from Marlon Williams, Womb, Alastair Galbraith, and Lucy Hunter of Opposite Sex. The record was widely acclaimed, and saw Woods premiering a short accompanying film with New York magazine The Fader, a feature with Rolling Stone, and a nomination for best alternative album in the AMA’s.
The Quietus described Dispeller as “a weirdly accessible, creaky-yet-meticulous marvel that just might remind you of why you loved indie rock in the first place”.
Woods is currently living between Melbourne and his hometown, Lyttelton, as he works towards his third LP with producer Tom Healy (Julia Jacklin, Marlon Williams, The Veils).
