Featured on the cover of NZ Musician magazine back in 2010, Die! Die! Die! still rate as one of the country’s favourite, and by now surely our longest-standing, indie rock act. In mid-February, they released their seventh album, perhaps provocatively named ‘This Is Not An Island Anymore’. It’s as delightfully raucous as you’d expect it to be – a stark contrast to most other releases this musically tame summer. Frontman Andrew Wilson answered NZM’s questions on behalf of the trio. Made with the support of NZ On Air Music.

Can you maybe give us a bit of a rundown of what you’ve been up to collectively?

Kia ora, NZ Musician! Collectively we have all become dads within the last 12 months which has changed the way we operate! However, musically everything was focused on releasing and finishing this album!

What does the album title mean?

The album title is tied to the first song on the album, This Is Not An Island Anymore, which is about being aware of the consequences of our actions – times change, people get older and need to change, and realising how interconnected, we are. You can only operate entirely in self-interest for a finite amount of time before it comes back and you need help.

Lachlan Anderson left the band in 2011 to move to Melbourne. How did it come about that he returned to the band?

We were asked to play Laneway in Auckland at the beginning of 2018 and we had just finished touring ‘Charm Offensive’ in Europe. We had been seeing Lachlan every time we went to the UK (where he was living) and it just felt right to ask him to rejoin the band when the ‘Charm Offensive’ stuff was all over. I had a lot of regrets about how the band splintered back in 2011, and it’s a really good feeling to tie up the loose ends.

When did you start to record ‘This Is Not An Island Anymore’?

We recorded the album in Tāmaki at Roundhead, end of 2020, and at Earwig Studios in Birkenhead at the beginning of 2021. We worked on it with Steven Marr.

In the initial discussions before going into the studio, what did you want to achieve with the sound on this one?

We wanted this to be a really honest reflection of the band. No guitar overdubs etc and a very live-sounding record. So recording to tape was essential for this.

What’s your own personal favourite song on the album?

Is it okay to say I don’t have a favourite? I am really happy with the song choices Lachlan chose to put on this record.

As an established act with a relatively big and stable fan base, what help do you rely on outside of the band?

We are pretty self-sufficient these days, but we have a community of friends around the world who help us stay motivated. But no managers etc. My poor friend Jase in the UK from Buzzhowl Records has to deal with me asking him for help with the internet a lot though!

With technology having made some big advances over the years, when you look back at your set-up as a young student band back in the day, versus today, how have you upgraded your gear over the years?

We still use our Hotcakes which have appeared on all DDD albums, and Lachlan uses his Prunes & Custard. I couldn’t imagine this album sounding the way it does without my TTTides guitar.

Die! Die! Die! have had just about 20 years as a creative entity, what advice can you give  in regards to being able to keep working together? How did you get to album #7?

Cherish your friendships. Respect people who want to work with you.

Given all the industry changes in that time, how do you feel about suggested ways of making money as a band in the times of Covid, streaming and things like NFTs?

Bandcamp Friday has been amazing. I don’t want to comment on NFTs, haha.

You got the new album printed in various formats, as a cassette, CD, vinyl. Is that not a risk in this day and age? 

Call me old-fashioned but I need a physical object to appreciate music. We only thought about how we would like to appreciate our records as a music fan.

How does being a part of the band look like for you in 2022, in a financial sense?

Yeah, we don’t live off DDD anymore… haha. But I still feel pretty lucky with where we are as a band in 2022.

And what’s next for you Die Die! Die! dads?

Hopefully, we can tour this album sometime in the future! There is other music to release as well, but we will see.