How would you describe your music?
IMMI: We've always described our music as ‘‘progressive folk'' - as in folk that has progressed or moved away from the acoustic guitar and long, flowing dresses look, to something a bit more modern. But we could also be described as ‘‘indie-pop'' or even ‘‘alt country'' with the way that our band is sounding at the moment. We often get likened to Belle and Sebastian, or Jefferson Airplane - though I'm not sure if I hear that!
NEIL: I would take the progressive folk label from a different angle. We play progressive music with a strong folk influence.
Your debut album, City, has garnered some good reviews since its release last year. Describe the process by which it was made. Did you collaborate on the initial arrangements or were they done individually then brought ‘‘to the table''?
IMMI: First, we picked the 12 songs we wanted to record (we have many songs). They weren't necessarily our best or favourite, but they were ones we had a vision for, and knew we could record them from home (some songs we knew needed a band and would never work on City). Then we sat down and tried to visualise the music and arrangement. This was a joint effort - sometimes it involved some heavy disagreement - but in the end we had the same idea in our heads, of how we wanted the song to sound.
How often do you play live? Do you have to fit touring, such as your current schedule, around other aspects of your life?
IMMI: We play in Auckland roughly once a month, and try to tour twice a year. Touring is easy to fit in when you are self-employed or you are a student, because you just tell your students not to come that week, and you make up your homework later. But our drummer, Rich, works full-time as a gardener, so we try to work around that as much as possible. Our bassist, Panduka, is a student, studying jazz, so he's pretty flexible as well. The only real hassle we have is our dog! (And trying to find babysitters for her when we are away).
The title of your band utilises the names of Auckland and Dunedin's main streets. Do you also derive musical inspiration from each city?
IMMI: Neil and I are certainly influenced by the ‘‘Dunedin sound''. We both grew up hearing it, and playing our own variation of it. As students in Dunedin it is the most natural music to hear when you go out for the night. It was actually strange coming to Auckland and not hearing bands play that way anymore.
But more inspirational was probably the amount of musicians and bands in Dunedin. Because Dunedin is cheaper, and therefore people seem to have more time and less worry, people have time to be in more than one band, and dedicate themselves to their music.
In Auckland it is harder to do that, and we dedicated musicians are harder to find (although are still there, mostly lurking around on K Road!)
But we found something in Auckland that Dunedin doesn't have (or we didn't know about), which is the improvised music scene, Vitamin S. We are both members of Vitamin S and participate most weeks. This is by far the most inspirational aspect of Auckland, for us.
It is a style of ‘‘free improvisation'' where nearly anything goes, and I've found that it hasn't only broadened my concept of what music is, but has definitely given me more confidence as a performer (by constantly putting me outside of my comfort zone, playing different instruments with different people).
NEIL: Improvised music also pushes you to the limit of your playing, you are constantly trying to get new sounds out of your instrument (if it is your usual instrument) and that really identifies the weaknesses in your technique. There are some amazingly good musicians who participate in Vitamin S, whereas Dunedin has a lot of jamming happening (more conventional musically), which is a different feel and something I miss.
With the cost of practice rooms in Auckland it is a bit exorbitant just to hire one so you can have a jam with three friends. And, also, there is no musicians club up here, which is a great place to jam in Dunedin.
I understand you met at Otago University while doing the contemporary music degree. Which came first, love or music?
IMMI: Music came first. We were put in the same band in first year, which we called Dr Zaius, and continued to be in bands together from that point on. Any sort of love interest didn't come until 18 months later (and two months after that we were engaged - which shocked people greatly - considering I was only 19 at the time).
How easy/difficult is it to play music with your spouse? How has the musical dynamic changed as your relationship has grown?
IMMI: It is as easy as playing music with anyone else. We don't sit around playing music at home - we are quite separate in that way. We play together in band practices and gigs, like everyone else in the band. When we are with the band, we aren't a couple. We are two musicians. When we tour, we sleep on the bunk beds like everyone else. It's how we feel most comfortable, and that way there are no divisions in the band either.
Given you live in Grafton, central Auckland, what do you do to make ends meet? Or is music a full-time occupation for both of you?
IMMI: Up until this year we were both music teachers (both taught two days at schools and a bunch of private students from our Grafton home). In that respect you could say that music was a full-time occupation, but it's not the music occupation we would hope for!
This year (and the two years following) Neil is actually getting a scholarship to do his PhD, plus still teaches one day at a school. I have also gone back to uni, but this time to study philosophy (which I hope will help me creatively). I'm teaching a bit from home, but have cut back most of my teaching time, which is great.
Are you looking forward to playing in Dunedin? Is it also a chance to catch up with some old faces?
IMMI: We are both really looking forward to Dunedin. My brother and dad live there still, and Neil's mum, sister and grandparents. So it will be a bit of a family reunion.
I always love coming back to Dunedin. In fact, I plan to go back for a holiday in my mid-semester break. There is something beautiful about the city - the crisp coldness, the pure blue skies. We haven't been to the Backstage before, either, and I've heard good things. So it'll be nice to check that out.
What great musical plans are you hatching? Are more songs being written for a new album?
IMMI: We are recording our second album, The Wind is Up. This time we are doing it fully in the studio, with Dave Holmes producing. Instead of it being just Neil and I on the recordings (like with City), the whole band is playing on it. So it is a better representation of what our band has actually become.
I am really looking forward to it being finished. The tracks we have done sound fantastic (or so I think). It is much more raw and real sounding. After the tour we will be recording the last tracks and we hope to release it in mid-September. We will tour again to promote it
