Where are you currently based?
We are based literally all over the country. Dan lives in Queenstown, Darren in Wellington, Stu in Waimana/Whakatane, Fran in Papamoa, Richie in Waihi, Marika and Karlos in Auckland.
What’s the NZ music scene like at the moment?
There is some amazing stuff coming out of NZ at the moment. The music scene is in a very healthy place but I think it’s fair to say that the live music scene is heavily saturated, especially over the summer. For a small nation there is a huge amount of music festivals, international acts, and everything else in between.
How did Kora form?
Kora first began its roots in Queenstown with original members Laughton and Dan. The group properly gained its momentum in Wellington with brothers Fran, Brad and Stu joining. In the early 2000’s Ice TV held a competition to “win” a music video. People had the chance to vote in for their fav band to win and Kora won the most votes for their song “Politician”.
That was the official kick start to band.
What’s been happening recently?
Its been a good year of planning, recording and releasing music, as well as being part of Te Reo Maori music with Waiata Anthems.
Coming up to the summer run of gigs, we’re looking forward to playing at some of the biggest music festivals including Rhythm and Alps, Splore, HomeGrown to name a few.
Your latest single ‘Gone’ will be out on the 18th of November, what influenced the sound and songwriting?
The MPC LIVE helped to influence the making of Gone. Dan and I had a writing session in Queenstown and we actually wrote Gone in one day.
Other influences such as the upbeat drive of Womack and Womacks ‘Teardrops’ and the simplicity of Fleetwood Macs ‘Dreams’
How did you go about writing Gone?
After the foundation of the beat was locked in, I lay down the bass which was recorded straight into a D.I.
We used Dans Logic Synthesizer to lay down the bell pads.
Dan had some dance samples in Ableton which we added to give it a bit of a disco dance vibes.
I had a story that I thought would be great for the song, so we quickly grabbed a couple of acoustic panels and set up Dans lounge as the recording booth. We then busted the vocals out in Dans lounge before the idea was lost.
I later added some acoustic and electric guitar and boom that was the creation of ‘Gone”
Where and when did you record/produce/master and who did you work with?
Everything apart from mastering was recorded and produced by Dan and Myself at home.
We recorded the song about a year and a half back and most of it was tracked at Dans house in Queenstown. I did the guitars in my garage in Papamoa.
We both mixed it down at home, then sent it to get stem Mastered in the states. I cant remember the name of the mastering company tho?
How did you approach the recording process?
To be honest, it was one of those songs that made itself.
Who are your favourite NZ bands at the moment?
Shapeshifter, LAB, Rob Ruha, Troy Kingi, FFD, LADI6, The list goes on.
Who are you listening to?
I listen to all music however I really love Tiny Desk Projects because there is something magical about having a stripped back performance which feels more personal and vulnerable.
Pino Palladino and Blake Mills Tiny Desk is just magic.
What do you like to do away from music?
Surfing, Eating way too much, looking after the kids, random mid week drinking with our friends, and Binge watching TV shows with my partner.
What’s planned for the remainder of 2022 going into 2023?
We are playing the countdown for New Years Rhythm and Alps in Wanaka which is a spectacular part of the world.
We’ve just come off doing a massive show with Six60 and have another show with them in March.
More gigs and festivals, More recording sessions, more releases next year.
Favourite food and place to hangout?
Food Places: BBQ Noodle house (Mt Albert Auckland), KC Cafe (Courtenay Place Wellington), Izakai (Bayfair Mt Maunganui), Family Special Korean (Hamilton), Bhan mi caphe (Hamilton), Bobby’s Seafood (Tauranga).
I don’t really hangout anywhere but on the odd occasion will have a beer at our local pubs The Flying Mullet and The Island (Papamoa).
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