The year 12 Waitaki Girls’ High School students won a recording session prize at the Otiake-based studios at the talent show this year and Winnie was also awarded a second studio session after taking second place in the Play It Strange 2025 Peace Song Competition for the song One Sided Love Getaway.
The 16-year-olds are ‘‘great friends’’ who have been singing together for six years and were the Smokefree Rockquest duo winners last year.
The duo’s fathers Craig Conlan, an engineer, and Jay Morriss, school community officer for police in Oamaru, are both established musicians who play guitar and bass respectively in the band The Reveal, along with drummer Dean Criddle. They played as backup musicians for the girls’ first recording session of four of their original songs.
Sublime Studios owner and music producer Steve Harrop said it was great generational musicians from Oamaru were recording locally.
‘‘It’s awesome to see their talent recognised by such a prestigious national music competition for high school students such as Play it Strange.
‘‘All the songs were originals and written by the two girls who sing, play and harmonise beautifully,’’ Mr Harrop said.
Tom Havard was the sound engineer on both recording sessions, he said.
Play It Strange is an organisation that supports young New Zealand songwriters to write, record and perform their own songs.
Mr Morriss said Mr Harrop was a ‘‘staunch advocate’’ for music and arts in the Waitaki and the group of musicians felt ‘‘very welcomed’’ in the recording sessions.
‘‘It was amazing. The girls put in a fairly late night and it was quite intense and focused work.
‘‘Tom’s a fantastic engineer and Steve’s a great producer.
‘‘I guess it’s easy to forget how talented and accomplished your children are, so it was great to see them flourish in that environment and have it exist beyond the moment,’’ he said.
The next steps for Winnie and Olivia are the mix and master of their recording. They will also play a gig at the Penguin Club in Oamaru on September 20.
