Fresh Talent: Die!Die!Die!
Author: Kiran Dass
When punk gasped its last breath in late '70s Britain Joy Division rose from the ashes, as the movement gave way to a darker, sparser kind of music. And hot on the heels of the fading garage rock revival in New Zealand comes the appropriately named Die!D
While rawk 'n rollers reckon they're into Deep Purple and other rock dinosaurs, Die!Die!Die! say their influences juxtapose local treasures the Skeptics, Dead C and The Gordons with international bands Joy Division, Minor Threat and Black Flag. And there's no denying touches of Steve Albini (Rapeman, Big Black, Shellac) either.
"We're all into different stuff but we find common ground," says drummer Michael Prain, who is joined in the band by Andrew Wilson (guitars/vocals) and Kane Goulter (bass/vocals).
Formed in September 2003, around the core of Wilson and Prain, the band have performed under the guises of Carriage H ("embarrassing") and Rawer ("loud and obnoxious") " says Wilson. With a move from Dunedin to Auckland, the name change to Die!Die!Die! and the addition of Goulter (ex-Xanadu) has come a new direction.
They've been busy taking their abrasive brand of angular rock on tour, playing shows with Batrider, Sleepers Union, the Mint Chicks and HDU - with whom Die!Die!Die! will shortly be touring Australia.
Known for their high-energy shows, Wilson is clear this is what drives him to be in a band.
"You're in a band to play live, not to record."
However, the band are recording an EP with ex-Skeptic now engineer Nick Roughan, who according to Prain, has an unconventional approach to recording.
"Nick doesn't come to it in a conservative way. Recording is more technical than playing but we'd like to create the same energy as our live shows," he says.
"I like the idea of recording a bit differently in the studio to playing live. They're like two different mediums."
"Recording is just a menu for the live show," adds Wilson, who favours the Fugazi 'DIY or else' approach to recording.
Blixa Bargeld of noise band Einsturzende Neubauten once said that when it comes to making music in a band "democracy is slow", but Die!Die!Die! write all their material collectively. "We've all got strong opinions rather than it being one person's vision," says Prain.
With the EP due for release late March, the band want to concentrate on perfroming as much as possible. While eventually they aim to head to the UK and US, they say they love Auckland and can't believe how much support they have gotten.
"People like Simon MacLaren, HDU and Nick Roughan have helped us heaps," says Wilson. "It really restores your faith in people."
