The self-proclaimed ‘robe music’ trio Day Spa is one of those acts featured on NZOA Music’s NewTracks compilation this month that you may not have heard of before under this particular project name – but individually all three members have long been active locally and internationally. Matt Bidois is the lead singer of alt/indie group The Leers, Adam Fuhr has swapped playing keys for Tahuna Breaks for playing with Kings, and Scott Tindale is half of producer duo Stack & Piece. The languorous electronic soul-pop offering Goodbye is their second single, sonically the perfect follow up to their similarly chilled out debut Belong.

What’s the background story of how you became Day Spa? 

Matt: Scott and I lived together for around two years. I featured on a song Scott had produced for his Stack & Piece project called Want To Fall and we just really enjoyed the process of collaborating, plus it was super easy seeing as we lived in the same house. We had the luxury of living with our landlord and he let us build our own studios / rehearsal spaces in our room so it was a super creative space. We were already good friends with Adam and we both knew he could bring the perfect jazzy / hip hop instrumentation we both enjoyed but could never pull off properly. We invited him round for a session and it was absolute magic. We’ve never looked back!

Scott: Also we all have a profound fondness for pad see ew, so I feel like the universe always wanted to bring us together to share that.

Does the band name have a particular meaning?  It’s hard to google you!

Matt: Haha, I can imagine. It’s pretty funny to think people are out there googling us as a band – well I hope they are anyway – and they end up sifting through relaxation package deals. The name sprung up from the idea of wanting to wear robes to our writing session. Plus it just seemed to suit the relaxed style of music we were writing as well. 

Scott: I wanted to call it Hinges, which probably would have been just as hard to google, haha!

What makes Goodbye stand out for you as a single?

Matt: I think the song starts in a real direct way. It establishes the feeling, tone and pace that it’s going to maintain throughout and doesn’t waste your time in letting you know straight away what you’re in for. And if you so happen to be ensnared in the first 10 seconds it has some flourishes and interesting bits to keep you engaged.

What’s the story behind Goodbye?

Matt: Boy meets girl, girl gets sick of boy, girl leaves boy. A classic scenario I’m sure a lot of people can relate to…

What’s your favourite moment, musical or lyrical, in the single?

Matt: I think my favourite is just after the drum break at around 30 seconds where Adam comes back in with high, descending keystrokes. Gets me every time. 

Scott: Two things stand out for me; Adam’s keyboard solo and Matt’s final vocal when he just really opens up – swoon!

Did you write or produce the song with anyone else? 

Matt: We all just sat in Scott’s makeshift studio – which is pretty small – and wrote, recorded and produced the songs together. I feel like we got the first four songs written really quickly. I think the biggest threat to the productivity of our writing was keeping Scott off Facebook during our sessions, haha.

Scott: Funny story… the original project name for this track was Rabbit Shit Fight as Matt’s newly acquired rabbit had been shitting little rabbit pellets all over the place, as they do. The rest I’m sure you can work out for yourself!

In one sentence, what do you want listeners to take away from this song?

Matt: Letting go, relaxation and a sense of well-being.

In general, how do you work out what song would make a good single?

Matt: I’ve been lucky (and probably a little bit indulgent) in not being stuck in a ‘make a single’ mind frame in any group or songwriting platform. Even in Day Spa it’s never felt like we’ve ever said: “Okay, let’s make a few singles and then we can go off the rails and do whatever we want.” It’s always about crafting the initial idea and then pursuing it in a way that makes it shine, gives it flow and keeps it interesting.

Scott: I feel like especially in the current climate of music consumption anything can be a ‘single’. For us with this track, in particular, we wanted to release and push a track that maybe encourages the listener to pay attention from start to finish to really get that pay off at the end, rather than just tuning in for the hooks.

Are there any other projects you’re working on that we should keep an eye out for?

Scott: I think the thing about the three of us is we just love music… writing, performing, listening, everything! Because of this, we all have about a billion different projects going on. I know Matt is writing an album with The Leers at the moment and when Adam isn’t busy touring with Kings he’s doing a bunch of solo production and other things. I would say keep an eye out for more Day Spa music soon though as we have some very different, weird stuff we’ll be showing soon…

Can you name three other local tunes that should be on a playlist alongside your song?

Matt: Fizzy Milk – Make Me Feel has the nicest off-kilter chorus hook paired with a fantastic bassline. Gotta be up there for me. 

Scott: Does it count if the local artist is a feature? Always been a big High Hoops fan and his latest with Moods is great – Comfortable (feat. High Hoops).

Was there any NZOA criterion you struggled with in the application? 

Matt: We’re so new! I think the tough criteria was getting the plays needed and fanbase to justify it. Cracking the 2000 play mark on Spotify with our debut Belong definitely felt good and we’re on our way to a wider audience, which is awesome. La Belle Musique, which is a massive music blog, premiered Goodbye the day before it was officially released, but all three of us know building a solid fan base of people that enjoy what you do always takes a long time which is how it should be. A promising start but we’ve thankfully got a long way to go and a lot more music to release!

How can we find you on social media?

We’re everywhere! You can find us on facebook.com/dayspamusic or instagram.com/dayspamusic