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, and ‘New Album’ is where a band or artist answers some questions about their latest release. Up next for a feature interview is Goodnight My Darling, the musical project of Maxine Macaulay.
Who are you? Tell us a bit about your music:
Hello I’m Goodnight My Darling, I’m a singer/songwriter & producer based in Poneke, Wellington. I make alt/indie music with some shoegaze elements.
What have you been working on lately? Any new tracks or albums on the way?
Post first album release I’m focusing on new tracks & will be releasing some new songs later this year!
Where is the best place people can follow you & find your music?
Instagram + Facebook. Music is available through all streaming services & for download through Bandcamp.
What were the 3 most influential albums to you growing up?
Spice Girls – Spice
Strokes – Is this it?
Feist – The Reminder
Which other Wellington musician (s) would you most like to work with?
Womb & Warren Maxwell.
What’s your favourite Wellington venue to play in?
I love them all for different reasons 😉
In your songwriting or composing (or the band’s songwriting) how do the compositions and songs take shape?
Generally speaking I write a lot of poems. So often lyrical content will come first. Then I play around on guitar & hum away finding sounds, progressions I like. Then I piece the two together. Producing the track comes next so I get a lot of creative control around which elements come into the song. Lastly the song gets taken to my band & evolves again for live performance.
Where/when is your next gig?
Newtown Festival! Newtown.
When/where was the new album recorded?
The album was recorded in Wellington at Tiny Triumph Recordings at the end of 2021 / start of 2022.
Who produced/engineered the album? How did the tracks come together in the studio, or at home?
Toby Lloyd of Tiny Triumph produced & mixed the album & the album was mastered in Berlin by Robin Schmidt.
How did the songwriting happen? Are there any overall themes within the songs/album?
I wrote most of the songs during a seven month lockdown in Berlin, Germany. So I guess there are some themes of going inward/processing things across the album. At the start of 2020 my Grandparents and also an Aunty passed away – we went into our first lockdown of the pandemic in Germany so it was an intense time. I was working through grief & some of the songs are also centered around that.
Were you going for a different sound/approach on this album?
Yes! I had been wanting to move away from performing solo so I have been creating songs that I believe will sound good with a ‘full band’ behind me. I also picked up guitar in the last few years so playing that instrument is new to me.
Was there any specific gear you used to capture that?
My lovely seafoam green vintage telecaster.
Is there a particular single/track that you feel captures the essence of the album?
‘Let Me Sit A While’.
Is there a physical copy available? If not, which digital platforms is it available on?
Yes there are some vinyl copies available in select stores and on Bandcamp!
Are you working on a video/videos for any of the songs? Are you doing any gigs or promotion for its release?
There was a Release Tour & a couple of videos. One for ‘Until I Return’ & one for ‘The Trees Have Eyes’. The next show I have is for Newtown festival & I’m really looking forward to it.
Photo: Sophie Dobschall