There were some melodies that sounded better coming from one of us specifically and that person would take the song in a different direction because of the sentiment they put into it, the little ad-libs that were created
Recording is often fraught with technical issues. Take this interview. Anika Moa, Boh Runga and Hollie Smith have been on the line a mere five seconds before they are cut off. Whoops. A problem at their end. The phone, needing to be moved closer to the trio lest their voices are lost in a wash of reverberation, has become disconnected.
Let's try again. That's better. Though these musicians profess a liking for echo effects, they sound much less distant the second time around.
The reason for the group conversation is the release of Peace Of Mind, the debut album by the New Zealand entertainers who, within this fairly recent musical framework, go by the logical-if-not-adventurous moniker Anika, Boh & Hollie, under which they will also perform during a month-long Classic Hits Winery Tour show (with Fat Freddy's Drop and The Adults).
Still, why not stick with your own names? It makes sense, given the success of their respective careers - Moa as an acoustic guitar-playing singer-songwriter, Runga with her high-energy pop-rock outfit Stellar*, and Smith plying a smouldering soul groove.
All of which begs an obvious question: did the process of collaborating to write songs mean different things to each of them?Moa: ''I think the process of writing solo is dwindling with me. The fact that I get to write with two extremely talented songwriters is good for me, because it makes me an even better songwriter. It is hard, but when you try and try it becomes easy.''
Runga: ''I really enjoy writing with others. With Stellar* I had three other people to bounce ideas off. It's fun. Women are completely different. We've gone through our lives having the same feelings - we feel differently from men and put our emotions across in a different way.''
Smith: ''I've always written by myself. It has been an organic process with the girls. I wouldn't have continued with it if it hadn't made sense. But we were able to come up with things. It all sort of fell into place. It has been an interesting transition. It has been a different way of writing lyrics, too.''
Following a wine or two early last year, the trio arrived at the idea of writing and, possibly, recording some songs. Yet (and this is speculation based on personal experience), that's unlikely to be the only time musicians have pondered getting together. The difference with this trio is they've converted ambition into a dozen or so polished songs, three of which have been released as singles. The result speaks of a mutual work ethic.
Smith: ''When people found out what we were doing, we got invited to do the Acoustic Church Tour (in October) then the Winery Tour. So we had to hit certain deadlines. We did work incredibly hard to meet those deadlines. We obviously wanted the album to be great quality so we spent a lot of time on it.''
Moa: ''Every day we got together and felt our way around it. We'd try things out. The music came. It eventually got there, once we arranged melodies, worked out who was doing what harmony, who was going to sing the lead vocal. Right now, we could probably rock up and do another album with our eyes closed.''
Arguably, the best music is the result of relationships that work on various levels. Often candidness is required among artists. That need to get to the core of an idea clearly wasn't lost on Moa, Smith and Runga.
Moa: ''We just got stuck in. When you work with people, you know what makes them tick and what makes them feel good. You don't really have to say anything. It was very unforced.''
Smith: ''I think, because of the experiences we've had, we were less precious about things. And if we received any kind of criticism it didn't bother us. We didn't take it personally.''
Runga: ''We just wanted to write good songs. And if you want to do that, then any of those feelings of rejection or sadness ... well, we don't have time for that. The majority of the time, we'd establish chords and a melody, then we'd go away and work on lyrics.''
Moa: ''The lyrics were the hardest thing to do for this album. We had to operate as this `feeling' unit.''
Runga: ''Sometimes we'd come up with something five minutes before recording.''
Smith: ''I tend to become a little less emotionally involved with my lyrics if I'm writing in a group. I'm not so much `in my head'. Little things will come to mind, but the lyrics are generally the hardest thing for me to do. It was like a jigsaw puzzle: we'd sit around and come up with the general idea then piece lines together. Some songs would be revisited several times before they were finished.''
Runga: ''I think we just channelled whatever we were feeling at the time to create a pop song. I don't think it was too hard; we knew what we wanted to achieve.''
Smith: ''We would jam on whatever instruments were at hand and that did influence the music, because we do play instruments quite differently. We all have our own styles and that generated different ideas.
There were some melodies that sounded better coming from one of us specifically and that person would take the song in a different direction because of the sentiment they put into it, the little ad-libs that were created.''
As with the trio's tour of churches in October last year, the forthcoming national trek around vineyards and other larger venues - including concerts at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium on Sunday, February 17, and Waitiri Creek, Gibbston, on Tuesday, February 19 - will feature songs both old and new.
Smith: ''It's a seven-piece band, including us.''
Moa: ''There's a sexy-as bass player who is very easy on the eye.''
Runga: ''We will do lots of old songs but we only have 50 minutes on stage, so we are just going to be ...''
Moa: ''... as rocky and entertaining as we can be.''
Smith: ''We know everyone on this tour pretty well. I think we all - and this includes the other bands (Fat Freddy's Drop and The Adults, featuring Shayne Carter, Jon Toogood and Julia Deans) - are looking forward to it. It's a really good crew of people.''
Does that mean there is the chance of a We Are The World mass chorus at the end of the night?Runga: ''Hopefully.''
Moa: ''No, everyone will be too [inebriated], mate.''
Hear them
Peace Of Mind, by Anika, Boh & Hollie, is out now.
The trio join Fat Freddy's Drop and The Adults on the Classic Hits Winery Tour, performing at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin, on Sunday, February 17, and Waitiri Creek, Gibbston, on Tuesday, February 19.
