How did you first get into music? When did it become a serious concern?
Mako Road was initially a uni covers band, consisting of Wardy and some older Uni mates. Us 4 became mates and came together as the other band members graduated from Uni. Individually we all got into music in different ways.
Wardy – Dads an old hand at several instruments and they were always around the house, so encouraged us kids to learn instruments. I started playing guitar when I was 8, first song I learnt was Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry. Learnt the trumpet during school, which came in handy for The Green Superintendent EP (listen – end of ‘Ride’)
Robbie – I asked my rents for some bongo lessons when I was 13 and when I walked into the teaching room there was a huge drum kit there, so I started off playing the big pots accidentally. A while after that I learnt Piano and continued to play drums for different bands of different genres. Met the boys at uni and got started writing the kind of music I always wanted to!
Connor – I picked up the gat when I was 14 and played in a high school band. I didn’t play for quite a while until I got coerced into joining the band after a big night out on the wines. It’s been an enormous part of my life these past few years and I couldn’t really see myself without the band, it got serious for me when my love affair with Rhian started.
CJ: Dad is a drummer so was always keen for me to get into music. I started on Gat when I was 10, learnt drums for a couple years, and had a crack at producing electronic music and hip hop when I first got to uni. When I started jamming guitar with mates at uni I realised everyone was better than me at guitar, and no one played bass, so I bought a bass. Not long after this I randomly met Wardy at a red card, who just so happened to be looking for a bass player, it was meant to be.
It’s all hugely concerning, mainly for our parents. We could have nice, simple, financially stable lives as young professionals with our expensive pieces of paper, but fuck that (for now at least). I guess it became a serious concern when we released our first song, and played it at a gig for the first time, and people sung along. They sung the bloody guitar solo too. That was early days but I think that’s when we all thought crikey we should maybe have a crack at this.

What kind of music did you grow up on? What artists inspired you and which do you still look to now for ideas?
We all grew up on a range of stuff. The Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Mayer, Stevie Wonder, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Pink Floyd are some of the household artists we were exposed to from a young age.

How did you come together and start making music?
It was the end of an era for Mako Road, the entire band except for Wardy was leaving uni and he was tasked with rounding up more creatures to fill in the gaps. Wardy and CJ met at a red card (a kind of themed flat party), CJ was dressed as Jesus feeding people moonshine from a soup ladel. As Wardy knelt and sipped, the Musical Gods sang and a special connection was formed. Phoebe (was on vocals and keys, miss you Pheebs x) knew Connor from school, and roped in the fresh, impressionable first year on his first week of university, poor bastard. Bob came in a couple of years later after Mark, our original drummer, left to go be an adult or something. We played covers to drunk uni students for our first year together, which was great fun but we yearned for something more. We split for the summer holidays and Wardy came back with Daiquiri and The Sun Comes Up and we starting gigging originals from there.

Your new EP ‘Local Safari’ is released Friday 30 November! What was the process of making the EP like?
All our previous music had been done in the garage – CJ half-learnt how to record and mix songs from watching a few youtube how to’s. This was our first time in the studio – it was something new and exciting and it provided us with an awesome creative space. The most important difference was having input from Thom, the audio engineer, which really opened our minds to new ideas we wouldn’t have tried otherwise. He also pointed out the odd flaw that we were completely blind to as we had played the songs that way so many times. Thom is also a legend. The recording process for us always seems a little time pressured so we put a lot more thought into our songs this time round, and it’s been a big eye opener. The writing of this EP had given us a good idea of where we are going next and left us wanting more from our music.

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Can you share the origins or inspirations for ‘Local Safari’?
It’s an encapsulation of our experiences together and with other people over the past year. It sets the tone for the summer, a time we spend together making loud noises and annoying each other. It’s kind of about making the most of your own backyard, trying to find the hidden treasures in the things that surround you. But we wanted the songs to be open to interpretation so we try to keep them kinda vague. We want to encourage people to put their own spin on the songs as well, the songs are theirs as much as ours.

Are there any songs you can share from the EP that you are especially proud of writing or keen for the world to hear?
Lady, It’s melodic and takes you on a bit of a journey to somewhere you might not expect. It came together from jams together in the garage, which is what making songs as a band is about.

For anyone who has not yet heard your music, what one song would you recommend they listened to?
Local Safari. It’s summery and fun and we like summer and fun.

You are going on tour in December. Anywhere in particular you are excited to play?
Big huge tour wow, we’ve never done anything like this before. If we had to pick a gig it would probably have to be Tora Bombora, a wee festy near Wellington, right next to the beach. Our good mate from Uni organised it on his farm and we are keen to support start-ups, particularly this one which has a big sustainable message behind it.

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