Wellington-native Amelia Murray is the dark horse behind the dream pop, shoe-gazer outfit Fazerdaze. Based now in Auckland, her debut singles Reel and Tired of Waiting have both featured regularly on Kiwi FM, bFM, Radio Active and Dunedin’s Radio One rotations in recent months, as well as interviews on National Radio and for The Audience, surprising Murray herself with the stir. 

Suddenly in hot demand as a support act, she has played a handful of gigs around Auckland, including most recently, opening sets for Beach Pigs’ CD release party as well as Golden Curtain’s Auckland launch.

This mysterious young dame has been captivating audiences, one by one, with her enigmatic sound and mystique. Her dreamy morning-after vocal melodies backed by fx-ed guitar lines, minimalist instrumentation, swirling vocal harmonies creates indie pop with a raw post-punk edge.

“I love surf guitar. Dick Dale is amazing with his tremolo picking. I also love The Cure and their clean guitar melodies… and Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine for more fuzzy and washy sounds.”

She has been on the rise since moving from Wellington to Auckland in 2012, where she is now in her final year of a Bachelor of Music at the University of Auckland. Her determinedly DIY ethic and approach makes her all the more endearing.

“Fazerdaze is about doing all I can with all I’ve got,” she explains. “I started with the intention that it would be totally self-sufficient and that I wouldn’t be leaning on anyone but myself to make things happen. It’s like I had this fixed mentality that I needed a band, a studio, a producer, money etc., but what I realised was that needing all those things just made me feel insecure in myself as a musician.”

Fazerdaze is a body of sound created freshly from Murray’s bedroom, where she writes, records and lays everything down on the table.

“Recording from home has been great in so many ways because I have the time to explore creative ideas without feeling anxious about time or money. But at the same time, you can get really lost in it… I end up getting really distracted and writing lots of new material – but I guess that’s not a bad thing.”

She is currently adding the finishing touches to her debut Fazerdaze EP, planned to be ready for release in September. Expect a noticeably expanded sonic palette.

“I’ve been playing a lot with synthesisers and drum machines, which has been really interesting.””

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