Hurley says the recording of the songs was prompted by "a masterpiece of a poem" by his friend Ardie, who experienced the horrors of being conscripted and forced to fight in the Iran/Iraq War (1980-88) but both the poem and the album talk about the human cost of all wars and our seeming inability to live alongside our fellow humans without finding pretexts for violence.
"Where you live can mean the difference between life and death, and likewise the colour of your skin, but often the core reason for the war in the first place, was the colour of your money (or the lack of it entirely)," Hurley says.
Hurley says humans are real and machines are just machines.
"There is strong evidence the human personality can survive, long after our meat suit has rotted away.
"One of the hallmarks of a near death experience is the sense of home and peace and authenticity on the other side and according to many of those who went there, they did not want to return."
All of the songs were recorded at Jan Billie’s studio in Lyttelton and Luke is keen to do some more recording at a new studio Billie is building in Hokitika.
The song
• Before the War can be found at lukehurley.bandcamp.com/
• Video: www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=bjbcwDWW4I4
BONK: THE FIRST SINGLE BY PRETTY TRIPPY
Pretty Trippy are a newish local band made up of ex-members of The Chills and Crystal Zoom (including the writer) and current members of Robots in Love and Tahu & the Takahē. They also have a guitarist from Manchester!
The band plays what they describe as activist funk/punk. Many of their original songs relate to social issues (particularly the climate crisis) but others are more light-hearted and this first single is one of them. The band was trying to write a song in the style of American art-rockers, Devo, but it ended up sounding more like The Dead Kennedys. No prizes for guessing what it’s about. This is the first song from a forthcoming album of 10 songs the band is working on.
The single
• You can listen to Bonk at — https://soundcloud.com/pretty-trippy-674892185/bonk
VENUE: MOONS
Moons opened its doors on Princess St in The Exchange in April 2023. The two local couples who set up the venue were looking for a bigger space for their brewery, DogStar Brew Lab, but when the space in Princess St came up, it had a full kitchen so they expanded their vision of a craft brewery to include a restaurant and live music venue.
Two of the owners, Hadden and Saul, have both played in several different bands so having a place for local musicians to play was a no-brainer. Every Sunday they have Sunday Sessions 3pm-5pm in the restaurant area, where you can chill out and tap your feet to some of the best local solo artists and duos.
The main venue area is separate from the bar and restaurant and can be set-up for seated or standing gigs. Previous sell-out seated gigs have included Mat Joe Gow and Kerryn Fields (NZ/AU), The Mavericks (AU), Kylie Price (NZ/UK), Simona Smirnova (NYC) and Plaidsong (UK).
The lineup for the next few months includes; Upon the Aether, Skin Thief, Brackish, Bulletproof Convertible, Moons Buskers Day #2 and The Whirling Eddys.
Booking in
• If you want to play at Moons you will have to arrange your own amplification and lights. Anyone interested in booking a gig can contact Hadden at venue@moons.nz.
