Dictaphone Blues

Polished yet eccentric joyful pop.
Laetitia Laubscher
June 28, 2018

Overview

Dictaphone Blues is the sound of joy thrown into a blender with a bit of pop, an assortment of interesting instruments and a handful of quirk. The band consisting of Ed Castelow, Barney Chunn, Matthias Jordan and Myles Allpress are doing a tour through New Zealand this July in support of their latest EP, Elastic Meditation, on June 29.

The group first gained momentum on student radio with their 2009 debut 'On The Down And In'. By 2015, two of their songs from their album Mufti Day – 'Her Heart Breaks Like a Wave' and '365' became number one alt radio hits.

Their variety of polished yet quite eccentric, joyful pop is due in part to multi-instrumentalist Ed Castelow's talented writing ability and in part to their recording style, where they musically let themselves run free and then later carve it back. "It's a lot to think about, you kind of just go for a while. My production style was just [to] get on some vibey brain trains and just go nuts, and then reel it in tubs later on." Castelow told NZ Musician.

Support from Eden Mulholland.

Information

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