Each year we set a few goals. Here we are in 2023, and one of this years goals was to write, record and release new music.
In February we spent a month in Aotearoa / New Zealand touring the country. We took some time off in the mountainous Taranaki region on the west coast to talk, jam, explore, write and inspire new song ideas.
Under Mount Taranaki and nestled in the country side hugged by a rushing river, we set out to explore a different HPB sound. By the end of the trip we had honed in on a number of ideas that we wanted to expand on.
Once we returned to home Sydney, Australia in March, each week we would meet. We didn’t call this rehearsing because we wanted to be inspired to create during the short moments we had each week. Instead we call this weekly gathering ‘Creative’. A simple change that is designed to open the doors to new creative ideas as a team as opposed to rehearsing the music and motions we already know.
By June we had written 7 songs, each of them in a new direction but with the common goal of exploring the sonic possibilities of our line up of Horns, Drums & Vocals. We spent a week in Pre-production at our studio in Sydney recording the demos and tightening the musical bolts. As a large team of musicians, you can never be too prepared before entering a recording studio.
By early July we were ready to enter Rancom St Studios in Botany to start tracking all 7 songs. On board to engineer was Daniel Frizza and at the production helm was our own Ben Goldstein. When team HPB goes into a recording studio, all hands are on deck in order to create music that fits the vision of everyone involved. In reality, this can be a blessing & a curse. With so many amazing musical minds and just as many thoughts and opinions, it takes great amounts of patience and perseverance to work through the recording of a song. We would start our mornings early with a coffee at a local cafe to discuss the days game plan and leave the studio in the darkness of the winter evenings only to rinse and repeat each day for 9 consecutive days.
By the final day we had captured everything we wanted, plus we had time to discuss alternate edits on songs in preparation for Mixing.
What we are known for is light, happy, energetic and positive music. What we have created is a slight departure from that. We wanted to examine and explore some of the darker elements of life as well as musical and production techniques to compliment.
Currently we have no scheduled release date, however we predict at least one of the songs will be available to your ears by the end of 2023.
We’re excited to know what you think about it! Until then, we hope to see you at a show where you might get the chance to hear one of these new songs live.
Simon Ghali | Drummer & Director (on behalf of team Hot Potato Band)