In late November Auckland trio SoccerPractise released their second album ‘Te Pō’. Realised through NZ On Air‘s NewMusic Project funding, the bilingual album touches on a variety of electronic-centred genres fit for heavy rotation at most indie radio stations nationwide. There are music videos for each song on the album, frontwoman Geneva Alexander-Marsters pointing to Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’ as inspiration. With Geneva heading to the changing sheds Ania Glowacz kicked the question ball around.

Obvious question first: Why is soccer important?!

Soccer is irrelevant, but I find the phrasing of your question hilarious because I have a solo project called IMPORT4NT where I make dance music you can cry to.

Have you always been creative?

I believe all children are born creative and can be conditioned out of creative outlets over time. If you were to ask how I remained creative I would credit it to being encouraged and nurtured by my family and friends. It’s the best thing to encourage people when they find joy in a passion. Art saves lives.

How, why and when did you start to incorporate te reo Maori into your music?

As soon as I could? It’s a countermeasure against erasure.

Who are your heroines/inspirations?

Joan of Arc, my mother, the moon, the constant battle between my ego and self-loathing.

Is Te Reo in music overly politicised or still a sticky point in any respect? ?

Te Reo has gone from strength to strength in what we could classify as a historically white-male dominated music industry. I feel like a novelty, an exhibit. Something to prod and question – even though I don’t have all the answers. People know so little and I think it’s embarrassing.

Te Reo has always had a place in Aotearoa for over 2000 years. Te reo Māori literally means ‘The normal language’ as in meaning that English is abnormal, new, some may regard it as arrogant.
As an oral tradition, waiata is fundamental in all parts of life. Waiata was already here, it was gifted to us by birds as a tool to improve our lives since ancient times.

Whether or not it is accepted tolerated or embraced is far beyond the point that waiata goes much further back in time than anyone can lay claim to.

I love the diversity of sound on ‘Te Pō’. 

Thank you, I’m glad you love the diversity. We would talk about it. Somethings were put aside and others materialised before us.

Some of the songs seem quite personal when you listen to the lyrics…

All of them are personal. There are songs about death or jealousy. Losing loved ones and hanging on. What I like about recorded music is that as soon as it is released it no longer belongs to the individual who made it. The song has a life beyond us.

You did some programming for the song Fade – what software did you use?

Garageband!

You’re the only member without production credit on the album – how would it sound different if you had?

We’ll never know, will we?

Which song has gone through the biggest change from demo to the final result? 

All of them are different and yet they have a similar direction to the original.

Every song has a video to go with it. What briefing or guidelines did you give Erica Sklenars and Daniel Harris before they started shooting?

It was almost entirely up to them. We gave Erica and Dan a background to the songs and then they made these incredible videos from our music. I think their work really activated the whole process.

Which music video do you think hits the essence of a song best?

Kaua E Mate Wheke. I love gymnasts and admire how hard they work. Erica and Dan’s take on the song really fulfilled the feeling I get from it. The song is about having confidence in what you’re about to do and absolutely killing it.

Also Fade, I wrote that for a friend who was having a really hard time. I love the image of the pulsating couple embracing each other amid the destructive chaos around them.

In a world without music television as we used to know it, why did you decide to get videos done for every single song?

Because I’ve always wanted to ever since Beyoncé put out ‘Lemonade’. People need visual content, it’s even more accessible now than ever before. I like it that we have a selection of videos to choose from.

What advantages has being signed with Kartel in the UK had for you since?

It’s nice to be signed and I’m sure it will secure the future of SoccerPractise as it’s own entity.

Got any musical plans for summer?

I’m writing soul and funk originals with a 10-piece band called Mister Speaker. We’re working on putting something out in the near future.

As for IMPORT4NT, it’s a way for me to work on something that is 100% mine. After this album I decided that I would never perform live with SoccerPractise again, but it will live on as another iteration without me.

I don’t own it, SoccerPractise was created by Thomas Burton. It will be interesting to see what they come up with next.

Made with the support of NZ On Air.