A jewel of a sound
The band formed in Auckland in 2005. Reuben Bonner, band member from those early days, explains the genre clichés that so often litter music reviews,
“World music is from an exotic place. The Krautrock movement started in Germany in the 60s and 70s. It’s got a monotonous and repetitive beat with the potential for instruments to go on crazy tangents over the top. It’s very appealing to us,” he explains, “And we always liked psychedelic music; it has an imperfection about it that’s out there.”
Unusual instruments contribute to the band’s sound. The sitar comes and goes, says Bonner. There’s a Persian long-necked lute. A violin. A Darbuka – an Indian hand drum. Mix those with bass, guitar, drums, synths and electronic noises and you’ll soon get a feel for An Emerald City.
“[Band member] Ede can pick up anything and make it sound interesting. He’s good at writing pieces on bizarre instruments,” says Bonner, “Rob learnt sitar and the hand drum in India. Felix on violin is classically trained. It’s all mashed together.”
The band has released a self-titled EP and two albums, Circa Scaria and The Fourth. After they moved to Germany in 2009 the dirgy eastern guitar and violin vibe changed, with different elements of electronic and prog and kraut rock starting to appear. Each band member was influenced by a different aspect of the Berlin lifestyle, says Bonner.
“We decided we wanted to go on an adventure. Germany affected how we made music,” he says, “In Berlin there are visual and aural delights everywhere you walk. There’s a whole bunch of nationalities, all walks of life, one big party that doesn’t really stop. You can go out at any hour and find something that stimulates you.”
An Emerald City’s live show is “part subtlety, part full power noise,” says Bonner.
“There have been more and more one-off moments on stage. It’s nice that our audience will experience music that will never be played again by us.”
An Emerald City, Festival Club March 1 / St Peter’s, Paekakariki, 9pm, March 2.










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