Once In A Golden Moon

Geoff Maddock is tired and a little deflated. The hugely talented guitarist, keyboardist and arranger seems to be going through a kind of post-natal depression, having just signed off the last details of the new Goldenhorse album 'Out of the Moon'. For the past several weeks he has been a man in his element, a pig in muck so to speak, fully immersed in the quest for pop perfection that bears little resemblance to real life as most of us know it.

"At this point - after finishing a record - I often get quite depressed," he says. "I get kind of, I don't know - it's such a big effort and it's hard to tie up, and I know I won't be in the studio again for quite a while. You put a lot into it and it becomes this way of life for a limited amount of time, not that long, but you know, it's hard to give up."

Goldenhorse occupy a fairly enviable position in the New Zealand music scene in that they seem to be immune to the normal age/taste delineations which will usually limit an artist's appeal to one audience demographic. Critics appear unified in their praise of the Auckland 5-piece's beguiling brand of art-folk-pop, and you're just as likely to hear a Goldenhorse track on the b-Net alternative stations as you are on easy-listening or adult-contemporary formats. Don't be disappointed if your mum likes them too!

I ask Maddock if this wide appeal is something the band consciously seek, or whether it came as something of a revelation.

"Yeah, it's quite strange. Quite frankly it's not something I strive to do at all. I am quite surprised and sometimes I'm a little disconcerted!"

That wide audience probably owes a lot to their music containing enough elements of chordal and melodic complexity and originality to satisfy sophisticated tastes, while also bristling with enough classic pop hooks to engage listeners on a less cerebral level.

Previously two thirds of pop quirksters Bressa Creeting Cake, Maddock and drummer Joel Wilton linked up first with the ethereally-voiced Kirsten Morelle, then bassist Ben King and gutarist Andrew Clark, to give shape to their sweet pop sensibilities in 1999.

When Goldenhorse released their debut album 'Riverhead' in October 2002, sales initially sent the record on a fairly modest trajectory. It eventually clawed its way to gold status, at which point two things occurred which kicked in the afterburners, sending 'Riverhead' into platinum orbit and the band to an almost unprecedented level of popular success.

"EMI then decided to put more money into promotion", Maddock explains. "So they advertised it more and gave it a new cover, so our profile sort of came up. We also did the gig with the Auckland Philharmonia and that received quite a lot of media attention. Those two things happened about the same time, so they created something which suddenly lifted the record up further. And I think also there was the effect of people coming round to the record. People buy it and then it gets passed on, and we had good radio play with a couple of tracks, so I guess there were quite a lot of factors that gave it this kind of kick."

Goldenhorse are kicking all right, kicking butt in fact, having achieved a great deal in a relatively short time, and that popular support has been more than matched with widespread industry recognition. The band have been finalists at the APRA Silver Scroll Awards three years running, while 'Riverhead' was nominated for a flock of Tuis at the 2003 NZ Music Awards, including Best Album and Best Female Vocalist, and also took the Best Pop Release trophy at the 2003 b-Net Music Awards. Last year they played with theChristchurch Symphony Orchestra and have just performed with the NZ Symphony Orchestra at Wellington's Michael Fowler Centre.

Maddock has also been sought out by the likes of Dave Dobbyn and the Finn brothers for his deft string arranging skills. The most important reward for all the sales and accolades however is that they got to make another record, this time with funding.

"One thing I've learnt is it's better to have a budget and time limits, than no time limits and no budget!" laughs Maddock.

He's not immune to the seductions and multiple possibilities of digital recording, and being something of a perfectionist, the first album became a very drawn out affair. Being more economical with time seems to be one of the lessons learnt from that experience.