Interview: Hollow Coves 'Nothing To Lose' Tour of New Zealand

Australian indie folk stars Hollow Coves, aka Ryan Henderson and Matt Carin, are finally back in Aotearoa this week after five years away, touring their new album Nothing to Lose. Playing rapidly selling-out, back-to-back headline events in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, Carin kindly squeezed in the time to answer our questions about the questing themes threading through Nothing To Lose, working in the studio with Matt Corby, his personal relationship with NZ, and more...

Hollow Coves - Nothing to Lose Tour

Thursday 24th October - The Church Pub, Christchurch (sold out)*
Friday 25th October - Hollywood Cinema, Auckland (tickets running low)
Saturday 26th October - San Fran, Wellington*

Tickets available on sale HERE via UTR
*Tickets on sale via hollowcoves.com

Samantha Cheong: G’day Hollow Coves! What have you both been appreciating in everyday life at the moment — a theme that threads through your latest album Nothing to Lose?

Matt Carin (Hollow Coves): Hey guys! To be honest we’ve had a massive year this year, but we’ve really wanted to take the time to stop and reflect on what has happened so far in our career and how grateful we are for all the opportunities we’ve had. I think this album speaks our hearts and the way we want to live. We don’t want to worry about the little issues along the way or comparing ourselves to others but say to ourselves "what do we have to lose?" We want to take a leap into the unknown and do the things that we’re passionate about.

The production choices and instrumentation of 'Harder To Fake It' felt most intriguing to me. What was it like working in the studio with Matt Corby on your new record? What do you feel he brought to your songs?

Definitely. The process of writing and recording with Matt Corby was pretty different to how we normally work when creating new music. We haven’t done much collaborating with other artists but working with Matt was super inspiring and he brought out a flavour in our music that felt really exciting for us. He’s such a talented multi-instrumentalist as well, so it was pretty cool to see him work his magic on these songs.

New Zealand is sometimes known as the land of "Milk & Honey" — your track of the same name is about "opening your eyes" and "being like a child". Have you had much time to explore Aotearoa in the past? Where in NZ might you want to visit (given the time)?

That totally makes sense. New Zealand is such an amazing country. I (Matt) have done a fair bit of travelling there; from surfing all around the North Island, to having my honeymoon in Queenstown. South Island was definitely my favourite. I’d love to do more hiking down that way.

When performing live, what are some moments or traditions you’d never want to lose?

We always want to create an atmosphere where everyone can feel like they are part of a community. Kind of like family.

With the theme of "shifting one’s perspective" on 'Nothing To Lose' and the emotional 'Photographs'. How do you think photography shifts your own perspectives on memories, or influences your feelings about what’s important to you now?

It’s crazy how a photograph can really take you back to a place. You can reflect on all of the surroundings of what it was like in that point of time. Our song 'Photographs' was a song written about my mum and how she was the real star in capturing memories from when I was young. It’s tragic that people get so caught up in creating the perfect photo now. I feel like we’ve lost a lot of the authenticity. Having a photo album from my experience is like a visual journal that holds so many amazing stories.

You’ve described this album as a "musical evolution." How do you think your musicianship and songwriting has grown since your 2019 debut album Moments?

I think working with Matt Corby has really expanded what our creative capabilities are and taking risks can be a really good thing. For some of the songs on this record we were really questioning whether it was too different from our previous music. However, after taking a step back from it all, it really put it all into perspective and made us realise how far we can expand our creativity.

What’s on the horizon for Hollow Coves? What can fans look forward to at your Auckland show?

For starters we’re bringing our main band from the UK over which makes the show something else. We’ve done so many shows with those guys and the show is definitely better for it. You’ll just have to come to the show to see what we’re talking about.

'Nothing To Lose' is out now on major streaming platforms.