Cats and dogs. Mario and Bowser. Australia and New Zealand. We share a longstanding rivalry with our nearest neighbours to the east, a rivalry whose seriousness is, more often than not, undermined by a friendly sense of companionship.
We’ve always love a little bit of friendly competition with the Kiwis. However where music is concerned, you shouldn’t worry too much about where a band is from: if they sound good, they sound good. Clap Clap Riot are an Auckland indie group who sound pretty damn great, and today they’re helping the lot of us deepen our understanding of their country’s rich music scene.
Get some Kiwi loving with the help of Clap Clap Riot, who are proving that not everything that comes out of New Zealand needs to be made fun of.
Jump on down below to hear the five tracks Clap Clap Riot have picked out to boast to us about the sick scene they’re running, just a short swim away.
Merk – Manchuria
Mark is a good friend of ours and has played keys/guitar for us on numerous occasions. He’s been working really hard over the last couple of years and it’s really starting to pay off – he’s off at Red Bull Academy in Montreal as I write this. The new project Merk is awesome, and the band is so fun to watch live.
Tom Lark – Never Be Your Man
This song is a bloody bangah m8. We’ve heard a sneak peak of some of Shannon’s new material and it’s really great. He has a great pop ear on him as well as the ability to pull quirky sounds out of thin air. He’s also a fantastic shredder. Looking forward to it’s release.
Tiny Ruins – Dream Wave
Love this new song by the band, Hollie put this track together with David Lynch for a spot on the Lorde curated Hunger Games soundtrack. It didn’t fit the soundtrack but fortunately for us it saw a release a couple of months ago. We can’t wait to hear the new record. The producer of our new record, Tom, is working on the new album at the moment and it sounds like it’s fiyahhhh.
Voom – B Your Boy
Fuzz pop heroes. We put out a song at the end of last year with Buzz (their principal songwriter). The track came out really well and we toured with him following the release, joining him on stage to work through a handful of Voom numbers. The great thing about being involved within the NZ music scene is that you have the privilege of working with some of your favourite songwriters from time to time.
Fazerdaze – Treading Lighlty
Amelia has gone from strength to strength since she started, she joined us on her first NZ tour a year and half ago (the one with Buzz) and has already jumped up to worldwide shows. We’re really proud of her. Sh’s actually over at Red Bull with Mark as well at the mo.
