Guitarist/vocalist Thom Burton and drummer Chris Varnham have been playing music together since 2009 when - as a four-piece - Wilberforces released their debut album Haunted.
When visiting Dunedin late last year, Burton said of Paradise Beach: ''It's pretty fast, and there isn't much chance to dwell. We're not trying to make a bloody rock opera. It's punk and it's rock and roll.
''It's pretty lo-fi, but it has digital nuances ... percussive weird things and subtleties. It could be a bit of a headphones album ... We even toyed with using field recordings from a Bledisloe Cup game [laughs].''
Supporting Wilberforces is Dunedin two-piece Astro Children, who this week announced they would be joining the Muzai Records roster.
The pair are currently finishing recordings with Adrian Ng (Trick Mammoth) for a forthcoming digital release through the label.
• Having shared the stage with artists such as Macklemore, The Pharcyde, and GZA (Wu Tang Clan), Auckland hip-hop collective SuperVillains perform in Dunedin tonight.
Fred Bishop (aka Fred Bish), Eden Jouavel (aka Dr Black), Manu Walters (aka Dirty Quarters) and Piata Turei (aka The Sweaty Tooth Madman) transform into their alter egos for each performance, taking the concept of a live show to the extreme.
Based on a blend of old-school rhythms, grinding loops, lyrical wizardry and frenetic on-stage antics, SuperVillians guarantees a show you will not want to miss.
SuperVillains are in town to support Australian Afro-beat/dub/house duo What So Not, a side project of hit beat producer Flume.
• The Amped Music Project is under way for 2013, and will be hosting its first gig on Friday at the Dunedin Musicians' Club.
Run by the Dunedin Fringe Arts Trust with the support of IMNZ, HPA, and Creative Communities NZ, the Amped Project is a Dunedin-based youth mentoring project, which organises a series of all-ages gigs and workshops covering a diverse range of industry subjects, such as DIY recording techniques, royalties and, of course, songwriting.
A wide range of musical styles is reflected in this year's participants, from large metal bands to alt-punk two-pieces, as well as singer-songwriters and a wunderkind hip-hop producer, but for this first event, the project is focusing on the heavier side of things, with performers including Perpetuity, Divine Perdition, Agent Ewok and Days Gone By.
Be there
Wilberforces with Astro Children and Birdation, tonight at Queens Bar, 1 Queens Gardens. Doors open 9pm, $10. The Paradise Beach 12'' will be available for purchase.
What So Not (DJ set) with support from SuperVillians RMC, tonight at Glenroy Auditorium. Tickets from Ticket Direct and the Regent Theatre.
Amped Music Project first show for 2013, with Perpetuity, Divine Perdition, Agent Ewok and Days Gone By. Friday, August 9, at the Dunedin Musicians Club (all ages). Doors open 7pm, bands from 7.30pm until 9.30pm. Koha entry.
