Project Description

Interview with

LEISURE

Interviewer – Dave Bruce

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Photo – Nicole Brannen

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“The Kiwi collective hasn’t missed a step since first catching our ear” Pigeons and Planes.

“LEISURE have no bad tracks to their name, so it follows that their debut album is one of the very best this year” – HillyDilly.

Made up of five independently talented and successful members who were looking for a new creative outlet unconstrained by over-thinking, over-planning, and excessive control.; LEISURE are an anomaly in the music industry. This unusual melting-pot of contributions means LEISURE is greater than the sum of its parts, each member bringing different influences from 70s funk, to 90s rap and R&B, all the way to dance music from the early 2000s. Each member also brings a different skill set – strong pop song writing sensibilities, experimental production techniques, and the talent to mix and master their own work.

Having amassed over 50 million streams on their debut album, which entered at #2 in the NZ charts, they have built a rabid fan following that has seen their very occasional live shows sell out and become the stuff of legends – in April this year they performed their debut, backed by the 72-piece Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra, to a sold-out Auckland Town Hall.

Their music has become a staple in the sync world, they have collaborated with hip-hop star, Goldlink, and have now signed globally to US / UK record label Nettwerk for their forthcoming album.

Their self-titled debut album release was critically acclaimed andwith their sophomore album complete, fans worldwide continue to connect with their manifesto of living the good life, and their over-riding code to “keep things LEISURE”.

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Just for any new fans, how did it all begin? Where did you develop your interest in performing music to an audience?
I think for the most part, and I speak for the majority of the members – it’s really just a life of being complete music fan-boys from age 10+, being told you had to play the flute or oboe for school music class curriculum, in turn rebelling and picking up an electric guitar or bashing a drum kit to punk out from it all.
Spending our late teenage years making cereal box software beats and then finally just in time for our 21stbirthday, trying to write proper songs.
Somehow all these things have culminated in us combining our ‘superpowers’ in our 30’s as a collective man-band and having the time of our lives doing it.

What kind of music did you grow up on? Which artists inspired you?
The refreshing thing is that most of us have quite different influences, but we all share a love for groove and melody. Josh was a self-proclaimed N.E.R.D superfan in his teens, one of Jaden’s favourite records is Carole King – Tapestry, Djeisan floats between Dr.Dre, The Beach Boys and he’s constantly heard in the studio beaming ‘that’s how the Beatles did it!’. Tom is probably running on the deepest current of us all, he was swirling in the Horrors, My Bloody Valentine and CAN type stuff. I was all over the place, Saint Germain, J-Dilla, Kool & The Gang and anything Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis touched on production.

And how did the band form? Was that straightforward, or could the word “miracle” be used when describing you all coming together?
On the miracle spectrum for sure. Jaden had become sick of the status quo of music being formulaic and studio based. He’d known us each from various circles and admired our individual projects, and we knew each other but had never all been in the same room together. The message came through regarding the availability of spending a week on the coast at an airbnb with some studio gear and that was all we knew. The universe really picked up the rest of the pieces.

Your new single ‘Too Much Of A Good Thing’ has just come out. Where did it come from and how did it find its way on to the album?
It was actually written over two separate leisure camps. When it came down refining the tracks into album contenders, it was one song that wouldn’t evaporate from our minds. It was almost a lost cause, every part had been written but it had felt as if there was something missing.
We had rented an inner city condo for a week but were coming and going as we pleased and on this particularly dark and windy night it was just myself and an empty house – I was just about to head to bed until I hear the 6”7 clomps of Djeisan’s size 15’s making their way through the front door – he’s ready to work. We light incense and pour whiskeys, smoke a little something and dial this perfect talkbox wah treatment in for Djeis’ guitar that is just SPEAKING to us. Sonically, everything just glues together to compliment Tom’s opening vocal. Some songs come together unconsciously and others take some deep tissue massaging, you never forget those eureka moments when a song clicks though.

This is the final single for your album “Twister”. Can you describe its origins and evolution?
It’s truly a collection of songs we love from our time together over the past year or so and a continuation of our mantra to enjoy the creation process, and make music free of all the regular music machine pressures.
There was no way we could have or wanted to make the same record we made in 2016 so there was a conscious effort to extend our creative comfort zones.
It’s cool to know we can get in a room and start laying things down, and without saying a word to each other it sounds like Leisure. ‘Twister’ is ambiguous enough to let your own imagination take over as a listener.

What are the signature songs for you from the album, and what is your favorite track and why?
This is like choosing which child you like more, but for me personallyI dig On My Mind, Too Much Of A Good Thing and one that isn’t out yet named ‘Man’ – I can’t really describe what genre they are either, they just sound like a balanced blend of our collective strengths so we don’t think about it any more than that. We just have to love each track and enjoy the process. That’s Leisure.

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It must feel good to finish projects like this that are so subjective when there are many of you to please. Is it? And did you do anything special to celebrate wrapping it up?
We have an understanding that if all five of us unanimously dig a song then it’s really straightforward – we don’t tend to look back from that point. We’re all fairly discerning so it’s all constructive all the time. There’s always been a crazy amount of respect for each person’s ideas so it comes back to a theme of balance once again.

How do you find the Songwriting process? Is there always a big appetite to write more or do you find it’s a “right time, right place” process?
We’re always keen to write, I think one of the reasons we all still do music is that your never know how near you are to your next favourite creation. It only takes one hum or chord for the spirit to enter room and take control which I think is a big part of it for us. Our favourite songs are the ones that ‘wrote themselves’ by which I mean it feels like we weren’t conscious while writing them. There’s a song on the record called Ultra Violet Light which sounds like a ghost wrote it. We think the coastal abode we were staying at may have been built on sacred land. It’ll be interesting to see if you pick that up on that vibe on first listen.

Plus writing in a chateau in Paris must have been a real challenge. Life can be tough hey?
Yeah, it’s a really terrible life we live. We’ve been able to wrangle our time with music in a really enjoyable way. We’re not a huge touring band and find our most productive time together is going away to remote spots and making music. It’s become a really special part of our lives and every trip away shapes a new sound or idea or mood. We are living our best lives, I’m sure of it.

Being from New Zealand, and being such a proud country when it comes to things like sport, and ‘the haka’, will you have any strange feelings playing to your Aussie fans come September?
We played Melbourne and Sydney earlier this year and let me tell you, they rival our shows and energy in NZ! I think we were blown away because for people to turn up to our shows in countries other than our own and have a great time is a complete bonus and afterthought for us. We can’t wait to get back to our Aussie friends.

Should be a great tour. What are you looking forward to most? Anything special lined up for those mad Aussie fans?
We get to see a bit more of Australia this time round which we’re really excited for. Also having two full albums out gives us a full spectrum of songs to choose from in our set list. I was personally stoked to be tagged in an Instagram post from our Melbourne show as ‘Tambo Daddy’ so fans can expect more of that. It’s a nickname that’s stuck.

If you could pick absolutely anyone to bring on tour with you, whom would you pick and why? (Dead or Alive)
Morgan Freeman as our chief vibesman. Dave Chappelle as our holistic operations manager. Anthony Bourdain as our on-tour chef. Frank Sinatra, Marvin Gaye and Whitney Houston as our back-up vocalists.

What are your major goals or milestones for the future?
To be able to do what we love doing, without constraints or pressures. To create and grown in the moment, make cool tunes in cool places and release them for other people to have cool moments in cool places.

Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVORITE:
Album – The Horrors – Primary Colours (Tom)
Artist – N.E.R.D (Josh)
Movie – The Shawshank Redemption (Jaden)
Place to visit – Palm Springs, California. (Jordan)
Venue to play – Dekmantel (Jordan)
Food – Lamb on the spit (Djeisan)
Drink – Coates Du Rhone (Jordan & Jaden)
Person in History – Jeepers. Thomas Edison came through with the electricity in a big way, underrated. (Jordan)
Tattoo – (if you don’t have one, one you would get?) A glass of Coates Du Rhone over my adams apple? I don’t have any, in the fear that I’d wake up one day and hate it! (Jordan)

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TWISTER
Album Tracklist:

1. Feeling Free
2. Too Much Of A Good Thing
3. Man
4. The Hype
5. Easy Way Out
6. Falling
7. Money
8. On My Mind
9. S.L.Y
10. Ultraviolet Light
11. Tied Up
12. Running
13. Lovers Maze
14. Alone Together

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Follow LEISURE
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Spotify | Soundcloud | Website

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New Zealand’s

LEISURE

drop mouthwatering new album

“TWISTER”

Critically acclaimed collective LEISURE are officially dropping highly anticipated album ‘TWISTER’, to be released on Friday, July 26th, accompanied by super fun lead single “Man”. Bursting out into the music scene in 2015, this homegrown New Zealand group is dripping with effortless cool and intoxicating tracks. Unconstrained by overthinking, over-planning and excessive control, LEISURE breaks down the walls between electro, funk, pop and indie to create something rather special that is greater than the sum of all of its parts.

‘TWISTER’ is an amalgamation of all things LEISURE, with each song disparate from their other counterparts, yet still evocative of the group’s unwavering talent. ‘TWISTER’ offers a taste into what is still come from this uber-cool Kiwi collective.

LISTEN TO TWISTER HERE

The album’s lead single, “Man” is a tantalisingly groovy slow-jam with an addictive hook, accompanied by a unique music video.

Made up of five independently talented and successful members, LEISURE are an anomaly in the music industry. Having amassed over 50 million streams on their 2016 self-titled debut album, which entered at #2 in the NZ Charts, they have built a passionate fan following that has seen their very occasional live shows sell out and become the stuff of legends.

“It’s been something like 700 days since we released our debut album. Admittedly we had no idea what we were making, or how we were doing it, the only certainty was that the combination of the creative energies when we were all in a room was a feeling none of us had felt before. Over the past year or so we’ve been capturing new moments from new places for the next collection of LEISURE songs…” said LEISURE.

The drop of TWISTER (released independently in Australia and New Zealand) prefaces LEISURE’s much-anticipated, first ever national Australian headline tour, playing venues in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney throughout September.

TWISTER is available on all platforms now.

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AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES

Fri 13th September – Perth @ Jack Rabbit Slims (tickets here)
Sat 14th September – Adelaide @ Rocket Bar (tickets here)
Thu 19th September – Brisbane @ The Brightside (tickets here) 
Fri 20th September – Melbourne @ The Corner Hotel (tickets here) 
Sat 21th September – Sydney @ Oxford Art Factory (tickets here)

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Praise for LEISURE’s latest single “Too Much Of A Good Thing”:

“Through booming choruses and pinwheeling rhythm, ‘Too Much Of A Good Thing’ progresses from psychedelic rock to pop to our delight while poking at our hidden guilt of seeking instant gratification incessantly. ‘Too Much Of A Good Thing’ is a snapshot of our instant hedonism.” – Aupium

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AMNPLIFY – DB