Wellington Music: Feature Interview - In The Shallows
The Eighth Note:
Who are you? Tell us a bit about your music:
Hello! I’m Danni (Lead singer-songwriter) from In The Shallows, a band that began its humble beginnings as a folk duo, who were lucky enough to record our debut self-titled album in lockdown feat. Andy Bain (Fur Patrol) on bass, Nick Brown on Drums (Vorn, Eb & Sparrow), Bonnie Schwarz on Cello (Good Habits, Uk) + many other wonderful musicians & friends.
Since then, the band’s grown in ways I never imagined. After a few tours and some big festival stages, our sound naturally shifted, adding more electronic textures (with the purchase of a Nord! learning new instruments, then gathering an incredible group of musicians around me. If I’m honest, having a band that feels like family was something I’d always hoped for. I never wanted to do this alone, because so much of the magic in making music comes from sharing it with other musicians.
Now, alongside me is long-time live bassist Shane Hamill, who also sings with us, our string-playing sisters Janet (cello) and Shona (violin/viola), newcomers Ben Brunskill on guitar and vocals, Arna Wnek on keys and vocals, Sam Holdom and Michael Barker on drums, and Michelle Velvin on harp.
At the heart of it all is our love for luscious, layered harmonies, something that’s always been a signature of In The Shallows. The debut album was mostly folk with hints of country and even a reggae track, but our new music takes things in a fresh direction. It’s a mix of true, harmony-drenched, heart-wrenching ballads (especially when the strings and harp come in!) and an edgier, pop-influenced sound that’s a whole new side of us…
Danni - Keyboard Live
What have you been working on lately? Any new tracks or albums on the way?
Over the last couple of years, I’ve been working on a whole new body of work, which I started releasing into the world in September last year (2024). The first single, Do You? featuring Module, marked the beginning of a new chapter and was the first track from our upcoming album, due out at the end of this year.
In October, the band also recorded a special hometown concert film for Mood.live (JuiceTV) with our string section and harp, which was such an incredible experience. From that, we released both the studio and live versions of Not The One on Valentine’s Day this year (2025).
And as I write this, we’ve just dropped our second deluxe single of the year, Remember Me. It includes a radio edit and a contrasting acoustic version. That along with the last 2 singles were probably the most vulnerable songs I’ve ever shared. For ‘Remember Me’ Acoustic, we kept a take where I was literally in tears as I sang.
I know that in a world of polished perfection and autotune this is going to freak a few people out… but both my recording engineer Andrew Downes and producer Steve Rokosh convinced me it was the right thing to do. This song is so vulnerable and intimate, and maybe what we need right now is more honesty in music, something real that reminds us of our humanness in an increasingly digital, AI-driven world.
Upon reflection, since Remember Me asks the question ‘What's the reality?’ I realise now that it did make sense to let it be as raw and real as it was in that moment and I hope it resonates with people in a way that polished perfection just can’t.
Where is the best place people can follow you & find your music?
The best way to support indie artists like us is through Bandcamp, it’s one of the only places where we actually get paid for our music, which, no matter how you approach it, costs thousands to create and release into the world.
Of course, we’re also on just about every other streaming platform known to (wo)mankind! Our full linktr.ee is here. Following us on social media on Instagram and Facebook is a great way to stay connected too. Plus, you can also sign up to our Mailing List to be the first to hear about new releases, gigs and tours etc.
Danni - Guitar Live
What were the 3 most influential albums to you growing up?
Honestly, it wasn’t so much specific albums that shaped me, but the constant presence of live music growing up in a pub in Wales, and the influence of my primary school music teacher. She had us singing competitively in the Eisteddfod and even singing at her wedding, which made those early musical experiences really special. Both my parents played music; my dad on piano and bass, and my mum on guitar and sax. It’s one of the few fond memories I have of growing up in that environment, but it definitely planted a seed for why live, honest music means so much to me now, why having a big band of talented people around me on stage and why that feels like home in a sense.
At my primary school, where the kids typically learned either harp or violin. I chose violin and spent 10 years playing, with my first full-size violin being gifted by one of the guys who jammed beneath my bedroom. That early connection to strings is why we have a harp & strings in our music now, it’s a nod to my Celtic roots and a sound that is so nostalgic to me.
I also have early memories of singing karaoke with my mum to songs like Daydream Believer by The Monkees, Sunny by Bobby Hebb, I Got You Babe by Sonny & Cher, and California Dreamin' by The Mamas and the Papas — and I reckon that might be where my love of layered harmonies might have started!
My mum also had an incredible collection of Elvis VHS tapes, probably every single one he ever made! Although she didn’t have a lot of time raising me in a pub, those moments watching those movies together were special. I also recall renting The Bodyguard with Whitney Houston on my birthday one year, another musical memory that’s stayed with me. So, for me, music isn’t just sound or songs; it holds all these fond memories of a moment in time, and moments of connection. Moments when I don’t feel so alone in the world, as I often have. Again I guess that's the theme behind my own music now too. It's a time capsule and a way of connecting.
I don’t really remember having too many records, but I do remember recording on the radio a lot with my tape player and Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill being the first album I remember thrashing and singing loudly to when I was an angsty teenage girl who had to get up early and vacuum the pub.
Which other Wellington musician (s) would you most like to work with?
Oof that’s a good Question, I have been really lucky already to work with some of the best musicians Wellington has to offer. In terms of others, I don’t think he’s in Wellington anymore but I’d be interested to hear how Jon Toogood's voice and mine would work together, he’s also a great guitarist… much better than me, though that’s not hard!
Danni - Electric Guitar Tour bus shot
What’s your favourite Wellington venue to play in?
I have to say I really miss the days of Mighty Mighty and The Matterhorn, they were great and you got paid more for an originals gig there 15 years ago than you do these days! Since that closed down I have only actually played at San Fran and although that is a great venue, I am really looking forward to our show at Meow on the 5th July with the harp and strings, as I’ve always wanted to do a show there.
In your songwriting or composing (or the band’s songwriting) how do the compositions and songs take shape?
They take shape in all sorts of ways. When Lance and I were working together, I’d often come to the table with lyrics, a melody, and a really basic guitar riff. I’d always say he was the one who made it fancy because his guitar skills were so good and our contrasting voices of what an Ambient Light reviewer described as ‘honey sweet’ vocals mixed with a raw rock n roller/Kelly Jones vibed voice blended so well together.
At times, Lance would come with a riff idea and we would build from there, or I’d be inspired by something that triggered a theme or guitar riff and we’d be building tracks out of thin air into full demos in a matter of hours or at least not more than a day or 2. Sometimes the words come first, sometimes the riff… sometimes it starts on guitar, sometimes the keyboard.
These last few singles, I’ve built most of the tracks on my own, with my recording engineer (who’s also a drummer) laying down beat ideas based on what I had in mind, and then we'd work from there. At the time we didn’t have a drummer so when all the tracks were ready we did 2 days with Michael Barker (John Butler Trio, Split Enz) adding drums after the fact, which is a pretty backwards way of doing things, but we were kind of used to having to do it that way after Lance and I recorded the album on our own in lockdown.
I wouldn’t say my instrumental skills are anything amazing, just enough to get an idea down and fill in the space. Honestly, I have to give credit to the incredibly talented musicians I’ve been lucky enough to work with who’ve helped bring my ideas and visions to life.
Where/when is your next gig?
In The Shallows - Winter 2025 Tour Dates:
13.06 RSC, RAUMATI - FREE SHOW
27.06 FIREBIRD, LEVIN - FREE SHOW
05.07 MEOW, WELLINGTON **With Strings & Harp
11.07 KINGS, OHAKUNE - FREE SHOW
25.07 ROSEMARYS BAR, TAUPO - FREE SHOW
26.07 THE TUNING FORK, AUCKLAND **With Strings & Harp
07.08 HOKOWHITU BOWLING CLUB, P.N
All Ticket links & Gig information can be found on our website here.
'Remember Me' Deluxe Single
New Single: 'Remember Me'
What is the song about lyrically?
Remember Me is about the moment you realise love isn’t always what it seems. It’s for anyone who’s held on too tightly, fighting for something that’s perhaps been slipping away for longer than it felt within reach. When actions start to betray the promises that were made and you’re left carrying the weight of heartbreak and betrayal in a deafening silence. It’s also for those that despite all that, are still hoping to be remembered, not for how it ended, but for how deeply they loved and how hard they fought to make things right.
Who produced/recorded it? Did the track come together in the studio, or at home?
The track was recorded by our long time live sound and recording engineer Andrew Downes (Fur Patrol, Don McGlashan, Estere, Flight of the Concords, NZ Film Commission). He has worked in many studios in Wellington over the years including Marmalade and The Surgery and has been a partner in studios such as Mediate and Tridant Sound Studios (with Mike Gibson). He now has a home studio and a mobile studio (Home run) which he brings to my home in Paekakariki, where all of the ‘In The Shallows’ records have been made.
As with the self-titled debut album I collaborated once again with long time friend and incredibly talented Producer Steve Rokosh (Emmylou Harris, sass jordan) over in Canada, who I worked with virtually! Which is a pretty incredible thing to be able to have the technology to do given Andrew was a recording engineer back when they were recording on tape!
Were there any gear or effects that you used in the mix to get the sound you were after?
This song actually had many forms and took on a journey that eventually came full circle! It started on piano, evolved into a dance track, was then made into a radio edit (A-Z’s worth of versions!) before the acoustic version was created, inspired by the original beginnings of it being just my voice and a piano. Though that piano piece was composed by my producer Steve Rokosh who just creates the most magical of piano pieces, I cried when I first heard it… and again when I recorded the vocals, as you can sense I think in the final recording, particularly toward the end on the lyrics ‘I’m so sorry’, it chokes me up every time in that version.
For the Radio edit; I used a Nord Stage 3 for all the keyboard tracks, which were pretty much straight out of the box. I also did a lot of vocal layering in the radio edit, using my voice at times as an instrument, and Ben played his vintage 12-string Maton which gave it a great pop feel! Even that was just 2 mics on his Amp, no EQ or compression. We used very little in the way of effects really.
As I say, the acoustic version was pretty devoid of any effects, in that we wanted to maintain the purity of that track as much as possible. I originally wrote this one on a Casio keyboard at the music shop I manage, as I usually have an hour before the shop opens to practice after dropping my daughter at school, so I could always hear that being a version that would one day need to be made if possible.
Luckily my producer embraced composing the piano piece, making it far more complex than I could ever do, which is what I recorded my vocals to. We then added the strings, double bass and harp the following week or maybe even in the days that followed!
Is this a stand-alone track or part of an upcoming album or EP?
This is part of the upcoming album ‘Not The One’ due out at the end of 2025.
Danni - Electric Guitar Tour bus shot