SNAILZ WAZ 'ERE
Slinkachu is that street-artist from the UK who makes teeny people and puts them places. Now he's using snails.

On the one hand, it's kind of nice to see a bit of graf that's a little less in your face. Plus they have those shells on, so no one's getting hurt. But then on the other hand, how would you like to come outside one morning and someone's sprayed shit all over your house?

Well gosh-darnit, we're not sure whose dang side we're on. But we look forward to the backlash.

Shocking Pinks Interview by Lachlan Macara

I read somewhere that NICK HARTE, the focal point of New Zealand’s SHOCKING PINKS, could play drums, guitar, bass and piano all before his eighth birthday. Turns out that’s not entirely true but still, Nick’s the type of person who makes anyone musically challenged [myself] jealous. He’s also the type of person destined to make some pretty great tunes, and he’s only a quarter of the way through a four album deal with DFA Records. The current incarnation of Shocking Pinks are touring Australia in support of Cut Copy - ‘current incarnation’ because about sixteen different people have shared a stage with Nick since the band started in 2003. I had a chat with him about (potentially) being a bit of a control freak...

So how did it all start? Was there someone pushing you to pick all these instruments up?
My parents were always really, really into music - but they never pushed it on me… And by the age of 8 is a bit of an exaggeration. There was a piano around the house I used to play when I was about 5 or 6, and I decided to start playing drums when I was 8. Then between the ages of 8 and 11 or so I picked up guitar and bass. Singing came somewhere between guitar and drums. I’ve never ever had a formal lesson for guitar or violin or anything - I’ve always just listened to music and played along with the music to teach myself. In a way that’s probably why I’m such a control freak when I record.

I was wondering about that control freak thing - you played all the instruments yourself on the last release, right?
I’ve actually recorded everything that’s been released by myself, except for the first album. The first one had Heather from The Brunettes on it. I asked her to sing on a track, and a few other people did as well… But I’ve always had this thing with recording all the albums myself. It’s because of the way I started out. I started Shocking Pinks because up until The Brunettes, I’d been writing music and performing it my entire life. Then I joined this group just playing drums and not writing anything, so I sort of needed to get all of this stuff out... There’s a lot more waiting around and a lot less to do when you’re just focussing on one instrument. But it was really fun. Lots of good times. [Laughs. Perhaps remembering the good times.]

So do you consider yourself a multi-instrumentalist?
I do. I mean I’m 28 now, and I think of it as eight when I started playing so it’s been 20 years, and I’ve picked up lots… For the track “Smokescreen”, the main instrument is just me hitting the back of a kalimba with a drumstick, and messing with the delay pedal. There are all kinds of weird instruments you can use. I’ve learnt a lot more about string instruments, and there’s quite a bit of that on recordings we’re doing. It’s still quite layered, heavy, pop-sounding music, but there’s lots of different stuff in there. I play alto sax, tenor and soprano, and clarinet as well.

So then you're cool with other people playing your songs live? You change your band quite a bit…
Yeah, there’s been lots of different line ups over the years… not due to any issues within the band, but just because peoples lives change. It’s basically because ever since I started Shocking Pinks I’ve never really wanted to play live. I just really liked recording. But since the first DFA release came out, I started playing with a new line up and decided that I really did like playing live – with this line up, particularly.

The current line up is a friend of mine Tim who’s been playing drums with me since we were both 13, so we know each other really really well. My girlfriend Emma, who did the cover art for the DFA album, plays synth in the band, and then there’s Vaughn who used to play bass in The D4. It does sound different to the recordings, but I really like it.

So you’ve been in the Brunette’s, you gig with the The D4 bassist... The NZ music scene seems pretty close knit. True?
Well the D4 and Shocking Pinks were both on the Flying Nun label, so we sort of met through that - but you just meet at parties and stuff like that as well. Yeah it is very incestuous, the NZ music scene. Especially in Auckland – there’s not a scene there compared to cities in Australia. It’s weird coming here because we played the Essential Festival -

I was there! [Swaying drunkly and staring awkwardly at the keyboardist I just found out is your girlfriend... Sorry Nick From Shocking Pinks.]
And there are just so many bands! …But I’d consider this as the definitive line up - we’ve all sort of talked about moving overseas and continuing it, and we’ve been doing it since the start of the year which is quite good for us! We’ve rehearsed far more with this lineup than any other.

You spoke before about the DFA deal. They were scouting you for a while weren’t they?
Yeah. That first album with the label PinaColada - Pitchfork reviewed it with like eight and a half! I was really surprised… but they made some comparison to DFA-sounds in there, and then went further saying they liked it more than that. So I think someone at DFA ordered a copy of the album, and then I got a phone call... It’s worked out really good - there are another three albums to go with DFA.

What about the future - you said you might be heading overseas?
Well after this tour we’re heading back to Auckland and I’ll be finishing up the mastering for the next DFA album which is called Affection. We might be doing some last minute recording of some new tracks that I’ve written, to see if they will fit on the album. Then after that we’re heading back to the States in October for the CMJ Festival in New York… We’re planning sort of a one-way ticket deal. It’s just a lot easier being in the same city as your label.