Originally planned for September, 2021, Tonnon’s tour had to be postponed until March, and then postponed again, due to Covid restrictions.
Speaking with The Star, just before finally starting the five-date tour with a show in Christchurch tomorrow, followed by two shows at Port Chalmers Town Hall this Saturday, Tonnon was philosophical about the delays.
"Having an extra nine months to work on things for this tour has meant the show has grown into a much bigger entity," he said.
"It has been nice to come together for rehearsals, and to be working with people I have known for a long time."
The nine-month delay has also given people time to discover the album, which has been "tracking really well".
"It will be really nice to be able to play it live to people — it will kind of complete the process," he said.
After three years of immersive solo live shows, like "A Synthesized Universe" and his yearly "Rail Land" Tonnon will perform with a full band line-up for the first time since 2018.
The band features Stuart Harwood (electric/acoustic drums), David Flyger (bass/synthesised bass), Brooke Singer (synthesisers/samples) and Sam Taylor (electric guitars/percussion).
Tonnon described the show as "a meeting place between organic and synthesised sound, but it will also be a very physical show".
"All the electronic drumbeats and sampled parts will have humans playing them on stage, on large surfaces, so we’re often playing with drumsticks and whole hands, rather than just fingers."
There will also be three singers on stage, bringing new elements and harmonies to Tonnon’s songs.
"I’m enjoying having the band performing with me, after playing solo for so long, it changes things in an interesting way.
"We are getting to the exciting part now, after working on things right up to the last minute, it will be good to get out there ."
Leave Love Out Of This is the first release on Slow Time Records by an artist other than the label’s founder, Dunedin-born songwriter and performer Nadia Reid.
Tonnon recorded Leave Love Out Of This with long-time collaborator Jonathan Pearce (The Beths) between 2017 and 2020.
On Leave Love Out Of This, Tonnon and Pearce move beyond the 1970s technology that powered Tonnon's second album Successor (2015), and into electronically generated percussion and textures that blur the lines between organic and synthesised sound.
Tonnon and the band will perform two shows at Port Chalmers Town Hall on Saturday, at 5pm and 8pm. There are still tickets available for the 5pm show through www.anthonietonnon.com
