Studio Stories

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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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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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Head Like A Hole's 3rd album marked a turning point for the band. With the addition of 2nd guitarist Tom Watson, the direction veered away from the noisy chaotic sound of previous albums towards a more bluesy, song-focused approach. Recorded in Melbourne in 1995 at the legendary Sing Sing Studios under the watchful eye of Producer Robbie Rowlands, the band was to face the uphill struggle of bettering the set of demos they created for the record - dubbed "The Stench Electric" and the quick changing musical environment that was the mid-nineties.

**Former bassist Andrew Durno declined our invitation to appear on the podcast and former drummer Mark Hamill was approached, but did not return contact in time to be interviewed.

Our Guests
Booga Beazley
Nigel Regan
Tom Watson
Robbie Rowlands

Buy or Stream Double Your Strength...
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Apple Music
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Soulstice - the third album from NZ drum and bass icons Shapeshifter was released in 2006, reaching No. 4 on the New Zealand Album Chart.

It's production marked a distinct change in creative direction by the band, as well as being the first record to feature former part-time contributor Paora 'P Digsss' Apera as a permanent feature in the group's line up. As a result - 'Soulstice' features a far heavier vocal focus compared to Shapeshifter's earlier, more traditional work with additional vocal contributions by long time collaborator Ladi 6.

in 2005, relocating back home to NZ from Melbourne, the band set about creating a more organic approach to production - seeking out a back to basics 'bach' (a New Zealand holiday home) in the heart of Kaikoura to convert into a studio. The result is a record that showcases their versatility, seamlessly blending elements of soul, drum and bass, funk, reggae and rock, tied together with incredible work from Mix Engineer Evan Short and long time live sound engineer and producer Tiki Taane.

Soulstice achieved Gold sales status in New Zealand in just 3 weeks and has since achieved Platinum sales and spawned some of the group's most popular songs, such as fan favourites "Electric Dream", and "Bring Change", "New Day Come" and "One". “Bring Change” received the Tui Award for Best Electronic Release.

Our Guests
P Digsss
Sam Trevethick
Nick Robinson
Evan Short

Buy or Stream Soulstice
Spotify
Apple Music
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