Interview: Neive Strang's New Album 'Find Me In The Rabbit Hole'

Written in Ōtepoti from 2021 to 2024 and recorded in collaboration with production maestro Sean James Donnelly (SJD), Neive Strang today shares her third studio album Find Me in the Rabbit Hole. Playing at Tāmaki Makaurau's Neck of the Woods next week with Tom Lark — something of a double release gig — Strang opened up to Chris Cudby about the ideas and feelings bubbling through her new long player, and future adventures...

Tom Lark with Neive Strang
Thursday 10th April – Neck of the Woods, Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland
Tickets on sale HERE via UTR

Chris Cudby: Kia ora Neive – congratulations on your new record! When I first saw you live at Whammy Backroom a few years ago with band, your songs were raucously energised and distorted. Find Me in the Rabbit Hole signals a quieter direction — how did the sound of the album take shape with Sean James Donnelly?

Neive Strang: Hello! The sound of these songs took shape by aiming to stay true to the songs as they were originally presented while adding in Sean's producer's touch and musicianship. We were careful not to fill spaces where it wasn’t necessary and let the vocals and lyrics shine through.

What roles did you both play in creating Find Me in the Rabbit Hole?

I wrote the songs, either on guitar or piano. Sean would produce them and play bass on the tracks, then we both wrote and played other decorative piano and guitar parts throughout the songs. It was a really nice demoing process over the year or two while Sean lived down in Dunedin.

Your songs were written from '21 to '24 — how has your own life changed during the course of making Find Me in the Rabbit Hole?

I’ve experienced a big deal of change during this time. At the beginning of this time period I was coming out of a longterm relationship, which led me into the following years where most of these songs were written. Fast forward to 2024 where I was entering into a new relationship and falling in love again as you’ll hear in a few songs. I cover a fair bit of ground in these songs from past relationships, family, chronic illness, friends to new love.

"Turmoil knows my name" — are these songs directly based on your own experiences?

Not all of them, I sometimes write from a vicarious perspective. It helps me process the emotions I’m feeling for that person. Every now and then someone close to me will say something or have something going on that invokes emotion in a way that should be expressed through art.

There's a simultaneously stripped-back and ornate quality to songs like 'Time of Year' — leaving space for your voice to shine. There's often a sense of stillness and calm. Big moments have big impact when they emerge, like the singalong bounce of 'Could Be Mine', the conclusion of 'Space Invader' or the grander passages of 'Try Again' and the title track. Are there any artists (musical / visual / writing) you were thinking about when creating the record?

A few artists I was listening to fairly consistently throughout the time of writing this record were Lucinda Williams, Charlotte Cornfield, Mitski, Julia Jacklin and Waxahatchee, so I’m sure their influence is in there somewhere.

Themes of time and distance emerge throughout your new album. Have you found elements of Ōtepoti's landscape / your everyday environment to be present on Find Me in the Rabbit Hole?

Mostly all of them were written in Ōtepoti, except for a couple. I can definitely feel parts of home and my surroundings when I listen to these song but the song which most vividly takes me back to a specific place through the depictions in the lyrics is 'A Sweet Dive', which is set in the Catlins.

How has it been translating these songs to live band format for the tour?

Really fun! Naturally I find playing with a band brings more energy to the songs which is great for a live setting. I have different bands at the moment in the South and North Island which provide quite different live shows. With the South Island band — which consists of Andrew Harray (drums and backing vocals), Joel Field (lead guitar) and Seddie Hewitson (bass), the songs differ a bit more to the recorded tracks. I don’t mind this though if a bit of creative freedom among the band members still sounds good and true to the songs. The North Island band is a trio made up of Chris Michael O’Connor (drums), Sean Donnelly (bass) and myself on guitar and vocals. These members are the original players on the record, so minus the lead guitar, it wasn’t difficult converting this into a live trio.

Did you provide any direction to Nick Guilford for the painterly accompanying album (and singles) artwork?

The amount of direction I provided was that it should be inspired by the album name / title track of the album and that I’d like a little bit of warmth somewhere in the way of colours. We discussed ideas together after that, with Nick showing me drafts and getting my feedback on what to move forward with. It was a really cool process watching it come together and It embodies the album really beautifully.

Is it true you'll be heading overseas soon?

Yes, at the end of this month Nick and I are heading over to the UK and Europe for a while. I am hopeful to book some shows over there while traveling around, we will see!