It’s been about a week now since Auckland-based outfit Mudshark dropped their latest EP, S01 EP02, and for that entire time, we haven’t stopped listening.
So fresh off the EP’s release, we caught up with the band themselves to chat all about, their wild song titles, and what the future holds.
With an epic new EP fresh under their belts, we caught up with Auckland-based outfit Mudshark to chat all about it.
HAPPY: Hey, how’s it going? What are you up to at the moment?
MUDSHARK: At the moment what we’ve been up to as a band has been preparing for our EP release which was on the 18th of May. It ended up being a huge night. Ding Dong Lounge was packed out. Everyone had a good night and it was kinda cool to see people wearing our t-shirts all around the bar.
HAPPY: We’re loving the new EP! How does it feel having it out there in the world?
MUDSHARK: We’ve been chipping away at recording this EP over the last few months at NDC productions, which is run by our keyboardist, Nate. We’re stoked to have it out there and we are enjoying the feedback we’ve been getting. Hopefully, people enjoy our strange cacophony. We do.
HAPPY: The song titles on this thing are pretty wild. Is that a consideration for you when you’re writing?
MUDSHARK: 90% of our songs are named after our bassist, Ben. More commonly known as Neb. It’s an unspoken thing that a song title will emerge from us talking our general bollocks and combining it with Neb’s weird name. When it happens we all just know. Mudshark has its own language. The more shows people come to, the more they understand.
HAPPY: Nebgetables was a stand-out track for us! Could you tell us a bit about that song?
MUDSHARK: Nebgtables, as with all our songs, starts with Mort writing a riff or a part of a song and the rest of us trying to do it justice. We came up with Nebgatables quickly but as with all our songs, we are always fine-tuning it. Parsa adding his style, Nate with a bit of wisdom guiding the structures, neb playing bass. Lyrically speaking, the song is about having so many stresses going on at once. The feel of the song was that point where you can’t make heads or tails on what to do. The chorus is also a nod to a simple adage coined by the Goons “It’s all in the mind, you know” which I put in for my dad who introduced me to theirs and much more weirdness.
HAPPY: Are there any particular songs on the EP that you particularly love?
MUDSHARK: They are all pretty weird so it depends what weird mood we are in.
HAPPY: Are there any artists/bands you’re currently all loving?
MUDSHARK: As individuals, we all listen to different bands but circle similar genres. Collectively though we are all really enjoying our local scene and all the E.P’s coming out. Favs would be Animalhead, Fallstate, Crooked Royals, Fuego. We’re also looking forward to hearing Judge Fudge and the Scatter Brains new tracks of old school ska and punk. We are kinda lucky to be in a resurgence of live music in Auckland. Internationally, we must say we all love Maximum the Hormone. There’s no other band like them and they are beyond good.
HAPPY: What’s next for Mudshark? Any other exciting plans in the works?
MUDSHARK: Now we are gigging all around and supporting a few bands and their music releases. We have also got a third EP to record, which completes our theme of three episodes per season to our music. If all goes well, we will be renewed for season 2. Check out EP 1 & 2 on Spotify and stay tuned for EP 3, our stunning conclusion to Season 1 of Mudshark!
HAPPY: Cheers for the chat!
MUDSHARK: Cheers!
S01 EP02 is available now. Listen above.
