Billed as a statement on the modern struggles of the working class in a brave new, damaged era, Te Whanganui-a-Tara art rock band Sheeps released ‘Working The Machine’ in April. With their Covid-delayed debut album finally out in the world, songwriter/vocalist Dean Blackwell is rightfully pleased with the result, as he tells Silke Hartung.

Something of a Te Whanganui-a-Tara all-star band, Sheeps’ main driving force is Dean Blackwell (ex-Polter) who fronts the band, joined by his sound engineer brother Simon on guitar duties. Their fellow Sheeps members are guitarist Grace Baker (sister of Louis), Blaine Fitzpatrick (Mana Mushroom, Funkacybin) on bass and the inimitable Thomas Friggins (Sea Mouse, Brockaflower Rex) on drums.

“I just started working on some new material after like a two-year period of writer’s block,” Dean kicks off our conversation. “It kind of just clicked one day. I was like, ‘Man, Simon has all this great gear. He’s really passionate. So I just played him something…

“He immediately started playing over it, and it was just great straight away. And then we did that for about three or four months before Grace joined. That was all the way back in 2015.”

Dean and drummer Thomas had been close friends throughout high school, so he was easily roped in, joined soon by Blaine on bass – just before an end-of-year performance for Dean’s voice-focused degree in Performing Arts at Whitireia in Porirua.

“Some of the band are literally family, some my partner, and then the others are just close friends from different musical walks of my life. So that was a really cool way to bring it together. And we’ve just been vibing ever since.”

Vibing is an appropriate term. Sitting comfortably on the rock, if not prog spectrum, the band’s meandering sound is well-thought-through, influenced greatly by some of Dean’s personal favourites as a young person.

“‘Thirteenth Step’ by A Perfect Circle, which was mind-blowing to all of us, ‘De-Loused In The Comatorium’ by Mars Volta, ‘Lateralus’ by Tool, Pink Floyd. And then when I got to about 19, Radiohead hit, and you can probably hear it. ‘In Rainbows’ is my big one, but for this one it’s probably more ‘OK Computer’ era – guitar heavy. It matches the energy of what I felt at that time,” he enthuses, evidently speaking with great respect for the music.

“I wanted to make an album,” he stresses. “I didn’t want to make a collection of songs. I wanted it to be like when I was a teenager in the early 2000s, and just having my mind blown and just sitting there and going on a journey with the music.”

It’s a bit of a touchy subject, but likely relatable to many, as to why it took so long to get their debut album out. From first starting to write the songs to release took just under 10 years.

“We always felt that the music that we were making really deserved good production. It didn’t feel like it would suit a kind of rough, kind of punk bedroom recording or anything like that.”

With no outside funding budgeted, money was painstakingly set aside, not just for recording but to cover other costs beyond that, at the level the music deserves.

“Obviously, in 2020 Covid hit, that was a bit of a setback. And then it was just trying to get all the assets together. We got the album mastered in 2021, and it was like, ‘We need a music video.’ Which took us to almost three years, but we actually ended up with three music videos. If you’re not uber rich…”

The album recording started back in 2018, with production duties shared between Dean and local legend, engineer James Goldsmith. For budget reasons, guitars were recorded at their own whare.

“I had a vision for the sound for a long time – I think that was a good and a bad thing. James made some very definite contributions, and most of the tonal qualities of our guitars, you know, mine and Grace’s particularly.”

Initial attempts to record vocals in studio failed due to his overthinking of it, Dean admits. Not a quick one, but the solution was to set him up with a vocal booth at home, where he spent the next two months to ace his parts.

“I just wasn’t happy with it,” he defends himself from any accusation of being a perfectionist. “I did about 50 takes, not the whole song, but you know, like, did this section, five times. I felt like my voice was just not performing. I had to find this fire. If people want to hear your song, and they’re gonna listen to this version of your song for forever, then you want it to be pleasing for them. I think it really paid off.”

His voice soars across the non-instrumental tracks, rock being washed over gently by skilful performances from the band, both deliberately sparse and lush at once, giving each other space and allowing all instruments to shine. ‘Working The Machine’ is a multidimensional beast, swinging into art rock and post-prog; epic, spacious, melodious, floaty.

“Rock for the end times, that ties it all together, especially because the lyrics are kind of doom and gloom,” laughs Dean.

Always an avid reader, in high school an English teacher encouraged and mentored him, leading to a great love for poetry and writing. Dean shares a basic tip for any and all writers, not dumb things down for your audience.

“One of the things he used to say was, ‘Show me, don’t tell me!’ I love that, and I still use it. You know, you can say, ‘He fell to the ground.’ Or you could say, ‘The ground rose to meet his face.’ You let the person, the listener, actually be the one to make the connection.”

Now 33, Dean wrote his first song aged 13. Participating in Rockquest at school he admits his twin brother Shaun (John The Baptist, Hemi Hemingway) did better than he did.

“As identical twins, we were always in competition. He was in emo bands, screamo hardcore, whereas me and my friends, we were like trying to basically summon the spirit of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. We weren’t as good as my brother and his band, actually,” he reflects with a big smile.

Dean essentially self-manages the band, admitting with a sigh that he wishes someone else could take over. That said, he acknowledges that in spite of the band’s longevity, this is their debut album, and it’s hard to find management without much to show for it, other than great live shows, here and in the Northern Hemisphere. They’re signed locally with Triple A Records who look after distribution, plugging, and sorted out a countrywide billboard promo for the album.

“It’s pretty, pretty cool getting photo messages from people being like,’Look!'”

The joy of performing together radiates from Dean as he speaks about the dynamics within the band.

“Thomas and Blaine are working musicians, so they play with a lot of groups. I think they find Sheeps a challenge and they enjoy it. We’re also all such good friends. It’s just an opportunity to get together and have a laugh and play music together, which is something we all love to do. Simon loves it because he’s a bit of a music nerd and he gets to just play with a little gear and make his guitar sound like a synthesiser”

May sees Sheeps on a nationwide tour with musical peers like Ripship, No Broadcast, Mice On Stilts and Jakob spin-off Desbot.

“I like asking bands that I like if they want to play with us and having them say yes, so I’ve been really stoked with our tour. I’m a big fan.”

Their typical audiences are populated with fellow musicians, but Sheeps’ appeal is more broad than that.

“I think it also appeals to people that don’t know the first thing about music, but like rock – it’s just something that’s a bit fresher!”