‘The Eighth Note’ is 8 quick Questions with Wellington Musicians.
A chance for us to catch up with people & see what they’re up to, or introduce you to a new musician/band and their music.
Today’s guest is new band/art collective Plaines.
Who are you? Tell us a bit about your music:
We are a multimedia collective from Wellington. Our music is self-described as dream rock: driving, texturally dense, eerie.
What have you been working on lately? Any new tracks or albums on the way?
We have an album coming out on August 27th, with 2 singles currently available to download from Bandcamp.
Where is the best place people can follow you & find your music?
Currently Bandcamp and Facebook are the best. We will be on Spotify when the album is ready. We also are fairly present on Instagram.
What were the 3 most influential albums to you growing up?
The single album that completely changed my world is This Will Destroy You’s self-titled album. That album got me into writing music. Another album on a similar level for me is In Rainbows by Radiohead, that was where I learned that popular music can be as intricate as any other genre. The other major influence growing up would be American Football’s self-titled. That album has the most wondrous guitar interplay and while the notion of honest lyricism is mostly shunned in Plaines, the raw emotion of those songs really gets me. An essential album for any teenager experiencing the trials of love for the first time.
Which other Wellington musician (s) would you most like to work with?
We are all big fans of The All Seeing Hand and Tuscoma. We also played with Spook The Horses in a previous iteration of this group and they ripped it. If anyone in those bands sees this hit us up, we’d love to play with you guys!
What’s your favourite Wellington venue to play in?
Valhalla without a doubt. Ben is such a lovely dude and super easy to work with. Anyone that needs a venue definitely should hit them up. Even weekdays pop there if you play your cards right.
In your songwriting or composing (or the band’s songwriting) how do the compositions and songs take shape?
All the tracks start with the song on guitar. This is then presented to the drummer and we work out a groove and maybe alter structure if that feels necessary. Guitar 2 and bass happen at a similar time, then while recording all the extra textures and drones get added. Vocals are always last.
Where/when is your next gig?
We have just announced a tour of NZ in support of our album! We are working our way up the North Island and down the South Island, bookended by shows at home in Wellington. Our next show is at San Fran on the 29th of August. From there we hit Palmy, Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, and return to play Wellington again on the 14th of September.