Hi friend’s.

Just because we are faced with great danger doesn’t mean we have to give in to the mourning news pumping us up with angst and despair barking out hoarding and avoiding suggestions all deigned to move products so fast the shelf stackers have trouble keeping up.

Public gatherings are being cancelled / postponed. Everything’s closing and people are getting pummelled with news. Speculation opinion. Social justice warrioring.

And fear and angst is the general mood
Or is it?

BAND CAMP IS OFFERING TO DO THEIR PART IN THIS TIME OF GREAT STRESS
THEY ARE GONNA WAIVE FEES TO ARTISTS WHO HOST THEIR ALBUMS WITH BANDCAMP

That means me

https://lukehurley.bandcamp.com/

So if you can please help out so this crumbling empire of sound can keep going and if you have an suggestions of where I can play please let me know. In these times tiny gigs might be just the thing so let’s do some house concerts and limit the numbers to within the acceptable protocols.

Fact is we gotta keep moving in these high risk times. I been predicting it for a long time and have always avoided the so called big time.

“These are the days of tiny. The little time is the new big time”.

Let’s go for the little time.
It’s less contagious.
It’s hearty.
It’s convivial.
Its human.

We don’t need to isolate we just need to scale back and adopt the agreed safety measures.

As for terms like social distancing. Well.  I prefer to call it measured sane response to danger  and just carry on but with caution and consideration for others yes?

Please send us suggestions of how to conduct micro events in a way that ticks all the virus wary boxes.

We are needed in these times to keep morale up. Music is the alchemy of the human spirit. We can be soul doctors in the turmoil

AROHA

luke

Editors Note: Photos taken in the last few weeks before latest news on pandemic.

So friends – it’s taken since the latter part of 1980s until 2019 for anyone to take the very brave step of setting up a pressing plant here and we have decided to get right behind the guys at HOLIDAY RECORDS and give them the business on my latest album entitled HAPPY ISLES.

Here is the track listing for the vinyl album which is being pressed right now. Track 3 is a version of Albatross for 2019

Side 1

1) Happy Isles
2) Colour of your Skin
3) Alba

Side 2

4) Ting Tong
5) Hamilton Dome
6) Whero
7) Green Man
8) Diamond Friday

As you can see from the playlist there’s only one song familiar. It’s the first song I ever wrote and has evolved greatly in the many years I have been playing it. Jan Bille produced it and he’s working with Ian McAllister on post production and getting it  ready for pressing.

There is a saying “the more things change the more they stay the same” never a truer word especially regarding records  – they are the ultimate archive.  Digital is by comparison way less immediate and retrievable down the line.  Historically records have increased in value.  Downloads aren’t tactile and analogue will never die folks plus you get the big picture in its big picture sleeve.

The Happy Isles album is  test press ready so this is a real thing and ready to go. Of all the songs one only is revised :Albatross.My first song! has evolved to a another level

“Colour of your Skin” deals with the fact that we are all the same colour under our various tones.  Green man is not about a trivial thing. I mean we gotta learn to face each other in real life and not once removed on a tiny “hopeless little screen” to quote Lenny.

Having Jan Bille as producer helped get me back on my horse. I had got obsessed with developing guitar styles and he reminded me to concentrate more on writing now the music is developed for the new sound. This new album involved months working on something that turns out to be a big wide sky ; the discovery of a mystical soundscape. It’s gonna be a production classic. Good songs help too! Ha ha.

There is an old saying that everybody gets out of the way if you know where you are going.

It started with Jan believing in me and putting me thru “bootcamp” and revealing to me things in my character that i needed to work on. William Blake said that “opposition is true friendship”

Jan gave me a hard time and when i fought back he congratulated me observing that my will to fight was back… a will to live and let live and the courage to take risks.

He pulled me back from the edge. I was going nowhere and I think he sensed it and did his best to wake me up. Like a passenger shaking a sleepy driver so they don’t take a detour down the mountain.

We stumbled on this big blue sky sound. Jan and Ian are truely great people and it’s a pleasure to work with them.

Auckland concert coming up at Ellen Melville Theatre on 17th of November. An early booking helps with planning. Please consider a presale deal for the record/cd and call me if you need live music at yours 021 0259 2919

Keep it simple I am happy to help you if you are happy to help me – how does that sound?

Or check the Tickets page if you want to buy more than 1 ticket online…

Many thanks to those who donated for the first progress payment which got us to first base. Lets keep going so we can have an actual record for the first time since 1986. If you would like help this album get finished and released. Pre order sales for Vinyl /CD that would be a big help.

*Vinyl $40 (NZD) Keen on new Vinyl depending on scale prices up to $50 – conditions apply. Formats are tricky and volumes are needed to make this work. You will get a download of the new album when it is ready. We think in February. We are still working out logistics but this is a limited edition pressing. Packaging and posting for a vinyl album costs from $12-20 and so we are working on ways to lower or eliminate that cost. We expect some stores in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin will also have the vinyl in stock but more news to come on that soon.

When released we will redirect to the buy button on bandcamp as we will need addresses for delivery and so on.