Celebrating the release of Auckland pop darlings Alae ’s brand new single, Said Too Much, and the release of its video (posted below for your enjoyment), NZM invited frontman Alex Farrell-Davey to curate a mixtape of some of his favourite tunes. The result is about 90 mins of banger-after-banger, a fantastic mainly Kiwi listen which he has enhanced by kindly sharing his personal thoughts and stories to a few of the tracks. Being a humble vocalist, he didn’t talk about Said Too Much, but we can confirm that it’s a super catchy bop considering its surprising lyrical depth.
I’ve always had a real special place in my heart for this song. You know the songs that just pop up when you’re having lunch, or at the bar? The ones that are accompanied by an audible “YES!” And the urge to tell the people near you how much you love it.
This is one of those for me. It always finds me when I’m way too ready for it. I recently wrote a demo with Julia Deans for a solo project I’m working on. I found myself holding back the urge to fanboy and tell her how much I love it. Eventually, I caved… it’s a jam.
Jol Mulholland co-produced Alae’s debut album ‘Henry St’. He also played the majority of the electric gat you hear throughout. Initially, I listened to Jol’s music so I could get an idea of what he’s into and how that might influence our sound. As soon as I heard Stop & Start Again I was so happy he wanted to be involved in our album. Stop & Start Again talked to me, I felt a lot of what he was saying. I was in awe of how the music catered to the lyrics. For me, it was reminiscent of the empathetic, musical relationship between Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and Nels Cline. That kind of fluent, emotional musicality.
New Gum Sarn were one of the first live bands I went to in Auckland. The gig was at the Wine Cellar. The venue was far too edgy and way too stressful for a dude from Blenheim with spectral chats and a lot of pent up anxiety. Everyone had Docs and dressed like shadows. I went with an old mate who knew a couple of the members. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have gone – thanks Cri x. Oscar Dowling‘s voice immediately reminded me of Thom Yorke, and they had that cool looseness that either works or doesn’t. But it did. I’ve listened to their album and felt nostalgic of so many times. Cool band.
Nadia Reid is the best thing! She’s got this Karen Carpenter / Joni Mitchell kind of thing going on, but with a delivery and tone similar to Sun Kil Moon / Red House Painters vocalist – Mark Kozelek; kind of OK-ness with it all. She’s Switzerland. It’s awesome.
This is one of the smoothest tunes in existence. Marika Hodgson, the creator of Sorrento is one of the most talented musicians I know. The combination of her musicality and Noah Slee’s vocal is next level. The womp of that Moog and the beat that just grooves. Marika has been playing bass for people and bands such as Kora, Nathan Haines, Hollie Smith, Troy Kingi, Teeks and, lucky for us, Alae, too. You can rest assured, if Marika’s involved, it’s got legs.
This song is rad, Annabel [Liddell] is rad! As soon as I heard Bad Luck Party I could feel her energy trying to rip its way out of my headphones and in to my brain. She’s got this punk attitude that’s infectious. Annabel was a co-writer on our song Hit Me Where It Hurts. This was one of my first experiences with co-writing, and it’s the one that made me love the process. She was full of ideas and so easy to work with. Big ups to NZ On Air for funding SongHubs! They’re constantly bringing NZ artists together and turning our scene into a community.
Listened to the new single Said Too Much on the streaming platform of your choice.
