Supermodel’s just recorded a debut album – and despite being fresh on the music scene has already hung out at London’s hottest venue and recorded with the same producer as Manic Street Preachers.

SUPERMODEL recorded in the picturesque English Cotswolds (a popular holiday destination for the royal family).
The Wellington indie-rockers also played a gig at the legendary London music venue ‘The Hundred Club’, which has hosted The Sex Pistols, Oasis and The Rolling Stones.
“It was immense, the gig sold out and people were bouncing off the walls,” says lead singer Mark Hanify.
He comes from a family of musicians - his parents played both in a band and his aunt, Dorothy Buchanan, is a composer – and reckons they’ve had a huge influence on his musical development.
“I was exposed to a lot of different styles of music growing up like Queen, The Beatles and Crowded House. This has helped me to find my sound.”
The connection isn’t just a familial one. When Hanify first met his girlfriend Janine she told him that his mum had taught her to sing years earlier.
“It was written in the stars,” he says. “My mum inspired Janine’s parents to take her music seriously. It’s awesome dating someone who’s in the industry. You can both relate to the demands it puts on you.”
When UK producer Greg Haver, known for producing Manic Street Preachers and Opshop albums, heard one of the band’s tracks he sent for the band straight away.
Janine - also keen to record an album - tagged along with her man to see how things were done.
Recording an album with a top producer was a baptism by fire. Band members only had 20 days to record and mix the album.
“Greg Haver kept saying we had to be prepared,” he says. “He’s a pro who really gets stuff done.”
Supermodel had the chance to record with a seven-piece string quartet and Hanify actually did some of the conducting. The master copy impressed him.
“It was a powerful sound. The string quartet really added a new dimension to the album.”
That master copy was sent to the same New York company that distributes The Kings of Leon albums.
The band lived just a “10 second” walk from the studios. But it wasn’t a case of sleepless nights, sex and drugs for Hanify.
“There was definitely the opportunity to get loose, but I was so focused on getting the work done that I didn’t party. The other band members partied a bit when they finished recording.”
Hanify’s hopes are for the band to tour England, being drawn to the atmosphere of London’s Lovebox “alternative hippy” music festival. And then he wants tour the kiwi summer circuit.
“Summer all year round would be perfect.”
Supermodel, with back up from Ivy Lies, Bodega, October 2, 9pm
Peter Moloney