Asta Rangu + Males Split Single Release Tour Announced

Back in Aotearoa from the UK, Ōtepoti's Richard Ley-Hamilton is launching a split single from two of his projects — Asta Rangu and Males — plus a celebratory tour starring both groups, travelling from their hometown to Whanganui's Welcome To Nowhere festival and back again in February 2021. With an attention-grabbing "fidget pop" plasticine EP released via trace/untrace in 2017 and high profile support slots for The Beths, Marlins Dreaming and Ha the Unclear tucked under their belts, Asta Rangu's band membership currently includes Josh Nicholls (Koizilla / Space Bats Attack) on drums, trace/untrace co-founder Julie Dunn (Bathysphere, Mary Berry) on keys and Angus McBryde (The Broken Heartbreakers) on bass. Also led by Ley-Hamilton, garage poppers Males are reemerging for a send-off run of shows, picking up an unfinished thread following the extended dormant period immediately after their 2016 album None the Wiser dropped. Both projects' 'I DREAM / CLEAR LAKE' double A-side will be out on 29th January, here are the tour details...

UPDATE 1/03/21: Due to Covid-19 alert level changes, Asta Rangu & Males' Invercargill date has been cancelled. Refunds will be processed automatically back to ticket holders — please note it can take up to 7 working days to appear in their account.

Asta Rangu & Males Split Single Release Tour

Waitangi Weekend - Welcome To Nowhere Festival, Whanganui (undisclosed location)
Wednesday 10th February - The Stomach, Palmerston North*
Thursday 11th February - San Fran, Wellington*
Friday 12th February - East Street Cafe, Nelson*
Saturday 13th February - darkroom, Christchurch*
Saturday 20th February - Dive, Dunedin*
Saturday 27th February - Wine Cellar, Auckland*
Saturday 6th March - Tuatara, Invercargill* (cancelled)

Tickets available HERE via UTR*

Listen to the title track to Asta Rangu's 2017 plasticine EP..

Check out the zippy 'Two Moons' from Males' 2016 album None the Wiser...

Press release:

Dunedin indie rock bands Asta Rangu and Males are teaming up for a five date tour across Aotearoa in early February 2021, to celebrate the release of their split single I DREAM / CLEAR LAKE, released on the 29th of January 2021.

Asta Rangu, led by Dunedin musician Richard Ley-Hamilton, will headline the tour.

Asta Rangu came to life with the release of the 2017 EP Plasticine (recorded by Tex Houston in Dunedin), an early release on Dunedin independent label trace/untrace records. The EP is both melodic and angular, with hook-laden wordplay set against swirling arrangements. Bandcamp called it an excellent debut ... a fluid rock ‘n roll record full of tightly wound guitars and soaring vocal melodies, while Elsewhere magazine concluded plasticine ignited something in me that cannot be explained through mere description, and must be experienced first-hand.

Recently returning from the UK, Ley-Hamilton has recruited long time collaborator Josh Nicholls (Koizilla/Space Bats Attack) on drums, trace/untrace co-founder Julie Dunn (Bathysphere, Mary Berry) on keys and treasured running mate Angus McBryde (The Broken Heartbreakers) on bass. With newfound energy and confidence, Asta Rangu have burst onto the scene with a debut run of sell out shows in support of Marlins Dreaming, Ha the Unclear and The Beths.

Ley-Hamilton likewise leads Males, who charmed the indie scene in New Zealand from 2012 to 2015 with their hyper-melodic, adrenaline infused, garage pop nuggets, with big hooks and bigger choruses. (When You Motor Away, 2013)

Breaking an extended hiatus, announced shortly after the release of their debut album None the Wiser, Males will play for a final time - call it unfinished business.