Feed the System, consisting of senior students Tommy Cotter (guitar), Toby Mills (vocals), Harrison Eastwood (drums) and Archie Bruce (bass), is winding up after four years together and are going out on a high note.
The young musicians raised funds to record an EP of their original songs in 2024.
They then worked with the Mount Aspiring College Events and Entertainment Technologies class to complete a music video for their song Please You.
As the pressures of crowded timetables and commitments took their toll, the band decided to part ways — but not before sticking to their goal of recording their first (and now only) EP to immortalise all the good times.
Recorded over three days at South Link Productions in Dunedin and produced by Nick Roughan (who has worked with a number of artists including Shihad and Head Like a Hole), their Hello + Goodbye EP includes five of their top tracks from over the last four years.
“From straight down the line hard rock to softer ballads, this release has something for everybody, whether you’re an old metalhead from back in the day or you would rather enjoy it at home with a cup of tea,” vocalist Mills said.
‘‘We’ve broken up due to crowded schedules and other commitments, and at this point we’re all still in year 12 and 13 at MAC.
‘‘I think most of us would like to try to pursue a career in music once we leave school, but at this point the goal is to have fun and play music.
‘‘We all still are hugely involved in the Wānaka music scene and play at lots of gigs in and around here,’’ he said.
Feed the System is just one of many bands from Mount Aspiring College that has benefited hugely from the new music department and music teacher Mathew Doyle.
This access to state-of-the-art facilities has enabled many young musicians to pursue their goals and get themselves into the local music scene, the band said.
In 2023, Feed the System was selected as one of the 10 semifinalists in the Thrashmore competition run by AJ Hackett.
They competed in Rockquest three times and performed alongside many other acts from around Central Otago.
The band also had the opportunity to record their song Unicorn with Lee Prebble at the YAMI Sounz Summit, a song about which Trinity Roots and Little Bushman frontman Warren Maxwell said, “Great vocal delivery as well ... Joy Division meets Rage Against the Machine, but your own unique sound”.
Hello + Goodbye is available now on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music.
— Wanaka Sun
