New Auckland duo Onesie utilize the limitations of a two-piece and some handy technology to create a full, unique sound. UTR caught up with Catherine Cumming and Ary Jansen to find out what make the band tick and what they’re up to for 2011.
Have listen to their new EP while you read...
Are there any particular labels or descriptors you’d like to avoid?
“All female rock group”…no I don’t really care.
What about ambitions for 2011?
Just playing lots of gigs and hopefully some New Zealand tours, writing some more songs maybe making another free internet release... would be really keen to play overseas if we could afford it (if we get jobs). Oh and trying to organise playing a show in a car with Milkshake Cowboyz.
How have you gone down with audiences since you started?
Ummm pretty good people seem to like us…. At least so far people whose opinions matter to us (like us)... so yeah.
Do you prefer playing in bars or at house parties?
I like both, parties are really fun and you can get more rowdy and fuck up more and be pretty loose but they’re also unpredictable, like not having the right gear and stuff breaking or having to play when you’re really drunk and tired. I guess that can happen in bars too. I prefer not playing on a stage but I dunno, both are fun.
Who do you enjoy playing with? Who’s worth checking out?
So far we’ve played with Hissyfit, Sidewalk Meese, Rackets, Halloween and stuff. All bro bands who are really cool and worth listening to. Oh and QTPI from Dunedin on New Years! Well I only saw their first three songs before I had to go, but they are so cool! They give out these tiny cool CD’s for free and we are hoping to get to Dunedin and play with them. There’s definitely heaps of cool music happening in New Zealand at the moment – Dianna Rozz, Street Chant, Sharpie Crows, Damsels, Nevernudes, Milkshake Cowboy
Would you say you’re a more locally influenced band? Or one who takes after international bands new and old?
I don’t know, probably international? I prefer not to think about influences but I guess music you listen to will always influence your band. Probably both...
Even though you prefer not to compare yourself to others, for the sake of describing your music to readers, where do you derive elements of your sound from?
YEAH! Umm I guess like Screaming Females, Noun, Sonic Youth, Black Sabbath, Scout Niblett, Taylor Swift, Joy Division, Dinosaur Jr., ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Justin Bieber, Babes in Toyland, L7, Erase Errata, The Who, Batrider, Patti Smith, Julie Ruin, Cat Power... I don’t know, this is just bands that I like.
Is Onesie about emulating the good stuff of the past? Or is it more a push for new ideas that haven’t been touched upon before?
Definitely want to sound new, and I don’t know if we’re accomplishing that...of course there are elements of the past in our music like punk and grunge and stuff, but we definitely want to sound different, as much as I enjoy other bands I don’t see the point in sounding exactly the same. But if chillwave is the music of the present I’d much rather sound ‘retro’.
What else influences your band besides other artists?
MTV.
How do you bypass the limitations of playing with only two instruments in a band?
I have a DD7 which loops riffs so I can play over the top and have layered sound, but that can be limiting in itself and I prefer to keep it to a maximum of like 4 loops. I think a problem with bands with heaps of members is the lack of space, but it depends what you’re going for. I feel like we’re still missing bass tones, I usually tune my guitar down a step and am thinking of getting an octave pedal or a pitch shifter. But the simplicity of a 2 piece is real cooool.
What do you think of the kinds of people you see at your shows?
They are our mostly our friends. We love them.
The state of music in nz is...
Like every other place - mostly really terrible but when you dig deeper you can find some really good stuff. Also, I'm sick of NZ bands imitating other bands and being 'New Zealand's version of (enter popular american band's name here).
Michael McClelland
