Studio Stories

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in 2014 Devilskin were riding high on the back of their highly successful debut album "We Rise". (As featured in Studio Stories Season 1)

But the pressure to follow up such a huge debut was soon to see the band again recruiting Clint Murphy to start the process of the 2nd album and the band set about writing the songs that would soon be brought to life in Modern World Studios in the village of Tetbury in the UK.

The Devils were making inroads into the UK via regular European tours. After sold-out album tour for We Rise and an eight-date 'Summer Surrender' tour in late 2014, Devilskin went offshore to play a series of promotional gigs, where they attracted the attention of international record companies and festival organisers. While in the UK, the band scheduled a pitstop at Modern World with Producer Clint Murphy to record the single Mountains. Following the supporting Mountains and the Moon tour, the band returned to Tetbury to finish fully recording Be Like the River. The album was released on 11 November 2016, and peaked at #1 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart

Be Like The River was to win Best Rock Album at the 2017 NZ Music Awards and a nomination for Best Group. Producer Clint Murphy won Best Engineer for his work on the album.

Be Like The River is the sound of a band hitting their stride, buoyed by the reception of their debut, a seemingly relentless touring schedule and the kind of magical chemistry a band bounded by family will provide. It's a phenomenally well performed and produced 2nd record, an album which solidified Devilskin as major players in the NZ music scene.

Our Guests
Jennie Skulander
Paul Martin
Nic Martin
Nail
Clint Murphy

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This is a very raw - and real look at the career of Semi Lemon Kola. In this episode we don't just focus on an album, but on the entire recording career of the band.

Semi Lemon Kola was four very different people with 4 very different musical identities, a band that was not easily categorised with an industry approved label - and, were a band that should have been one of the greatest rock acts of the nineties.

Early gig-mates of Head Like a Hole and Supergroove, the band found themselves in a makeshift studio within their first year recording what would become their first 'album' - "The Extended Pleasure of Reality". "Happy Day" was their BFM chart-topping single the following year, but it was to be the soaring "Before Heaven" single that SLK grabbed national attention.

Semi Lemon Kola's sound took a giant leap forward with The Before Heaven EP, recorded under Malcolm Smith at Revolver. Bouyed by the reception to the single and their growing reputation as a stellar live act, the next couple of years saw Semi Lemon Kola playing in front of ever larger audiences, gaining slots at the Strawberry Fields festival in 1994, Big Day Out in 1995 and Mountain Rock festival in 1995. When they returned to York Street Recording Studios in May 1995, they were at their height as a band, both in terms of songwriting and the fullness of their sound. The Malcolm Welsford produced "Otherwise" single showcased a more aggressive side along with the equally high sounding "Henry XXL'.

In 1996 the band finally headed into the studio with Nick Abbot to record their only full length album. It was during these sessions that the band would undergo a controversial name change to Propeller, with the self-titled record becoming their Swan Song.

Live, the band supported several big name international acts, including Fugazi and Tool, But due to internal struggles, they disbanded in 1998 due to "culinary differences".

Read more about the band at Audio Culture

Our Guests
Tosh Graham
Deryck Hunt
Rob Young
Gareth Price
Nick Abbot

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Villainy, hot off the heels of a stunning debut in "Mode. Set. Clear" - was to waste no time in getting back into the studio for the follow up.
But they weren't just content with recording 'the next batch of songs'. Oh no.

They were out to make a statement - with one of the most one of a kind sounding albums from a New Zealand band, possibly ever.

Dead Sight sets a new bar for intensity, with the band and production team intentionally breaking one of the cardinal sins of recording to give the record a brutal, threatening, and above all else - extremely unique sound. Now for the first time ever, the band goes on record to explain the sound of the album and talk exclusively about its creation in detail.

Villainy celebrated the 10th anniversary of Dead Sight in 2025.

Listen to the band's 'Lost EP" Dead Sides, featuring previously unreleased tracks from the Dead Sight sessions.

Our Guests
Neill Fraser
Thomas Watts
Dave Johnston

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Apple Music

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Season 6 of Studio Stories is coming May 6th for New Zealand Music Month. What album gets the Studio Stories deep dive for episode 1????

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Christchurch's Pumpkinhead came roaring out of the mainland in the early 90's. The band's 1995 album Sloth was recorded at Phil (AC/DC) Rudd’s rural Mountain Studio, near Tauranga with the band's live engineer David Wernham co-producing with the band. Wernham was also the guitarist/vocalist in the band 147Swordfish. The album yielded hits "I Like", "Third Eye" and the first single "Water".

After playing on the Sloth recording sessions, guitarist Jason Harmon left the band in December 1994. When the band played Strawberry Fields Festival in Raglan, February 1995, Dave Hunt proved to be a more than capable replacement on guitar. Pumpkinhead were an absolute force of nature on the live stage with Rip It Up magazine's John Russell wrote of their Strawberry Fields performance: “Every element gelled, all stops were pulled, and the result was the most supreme live performance. Just when you think they are peaking, Brent begins swigging kerosene and blows a series of enormous fireballs that tips the performance over the edge into the realm of something other worldly.”

The band imploded in November of 1996, but at the time of this writing are set for a series of reunion shows to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sloth as well as a remastered vinyl reissue, now expanded with two bonus tracks. Originally recorded at AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd’s Mountain Studio and released in 1995, Sloth climbed the NZ charts and gave us the single 'I Like' earning critical acclaim as one of the wildest debuts of the era. - Flying Out

Our Guests
Aaron Hogg
Brent Milligan
Jason Peters

Buy or Stream Sloth:
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Apple Music
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