He's been releasing an album a year for the past couple of years through Auckland's Powertool Records, so it seems only fitting that Powertool head spanner Andrew Maitai is helping out on drums for the new album, Chrysanthemum Storm.
The album is being released this month, bringing The Bilders to the South this week.
The band's southern excursion begins in Wanaka at Cinema Paradiso on Thursday before hitting Chicks in Port Chalmers on Friday.
The Bilders farewell Otago with a show in Oamaru next Saturday.
Direen has been living in Dunedin for a couple of years, recently releasing a book and organising readings with fellow writers David Karena-Holmes and David Eggleton.
Direen and this version of The Bilders recorded Chrysanthemum Storm in West Auckland.
The rhythm tracks were laid down live, resulting in an album with a great live feeling.
The current Bilders line-up is Brett Cross (manager of Titus Books, a small independent publishing company based in Waitakere), bass; Andrew McCully (Auckland University music graduate), keyboard; and Andrew Maitai on drums.
An interview with Direen will air on National Radio this Saturday on Trevor Reekie's show.
• Chris Reed (aka Plastician) is one of the UK's leading underground DJs, hailing from Croydon, famous for it's shopping centre and one of the homes of Dubstep.
Reed is a resident DJ on the UK's Rinse FM and can be heard every Tuesday from 2pm to 4pm (NZ time) via the interweb at www.rinse.fm or live and direct in Dunedin at Sammys this coming Friday.
