Orchestra of Spheres: Q&A With Wellington New Zealand's Freakiest Band of Merry Pranksters
Drawing upon numerous influences including shangaan electro, free improv, and disco, these weirdos from Wellington, New Zealand, have been thrilling people into ecstatic dance frenzies around the world since 2009. We had the pleasure of exchanging some questions with Baba Rossa, inventor of the biscuit tin guitar and occasional lead vocalist of the group, to learn more about what makes these outsider musical artists click, oink, boing, and burp.
Check out Orchestra of Spheres live as they descend on School Bar Tuesday night (Sep 29), at 9:30pm, with support from Baxian Fandian.
You guys have a unique style that fuses lots of genres and aesthetics from around the world. How does your sound compare to other things going on musically in Wellington, or other cities in New Zealand?
Wellington has its own weird little music scene going on. Wellington bands tend to be a bit more theatrical than other cities in NZ ... it probably goes right back to experimental theatre groups in 70s like Red Mole, who were working here up until the early 2000s. There's a strong free jazz/improvisation/experimental music tradition here too, which is kind of unusual for such a small place. There's a really great community of musicians in Wellington and if you're around town then you end up playing lots of different types of music. The one thing the good bands in Wellington have in common is that they all have a unique sound -- that's probably the most important thing about this place, people are always trying to make something original. We're also a long way away from the rest of the world, so even with the Internet it's pretty isolated out there. We listen to music and think, damn that's cool, and without knowing how it's made or without trying I guess certain things get sucked up into your own music.
What are you listening to right now that you find exciting? Also, what do you refuse to listen to?
Grabbed a handful of records from the floor beside the record player ... they're alll good:
Drexciya - Journey of the Deep Sea Dweller
Takamba - Takamba
Pip Proud - A Fraying Space
Dark Matter - Dark Matter
Terror of the Deep - Death of the Gideon
Aby Ngana Diop - Lital
Australian Aboriginal Songs and Dances
Niger - La Musique Des Griots
The Garbage and the Flowers - Eyes Rind as if Beggars
As for what I refuse to listen to .... well, probably my own music.
A band on the road could meet their earthly demise at any moment. How would you all most like to go?
Can't speak for all the band, but hopefully not in a plane crash ... maybe drowning in a sea of thick, warm liquid. I almost got hit on the head by a falling coconut one time -- that would be a quick and easy way to go.
How would the Orchestra of Spheres adapt to the music scene in the afterlife?
I guess we'd be able to jam with the souls of all our dead musical heroes ... that would be awesome.
What’s your process for the band when creating a song?
Jamming, jamming, and jamming. It usually starts with a rhythmic feel and goes from there. It's a very slow process of refining which hopefully doesn't become too refined.
Bands like the Ramones were known for their pizza consumption, and The Magic Band for collectively only being allowed by their Captain to eat one cup of soy beans for every meal. What would be one meal Orchestra of Spheres could eat for eternity?
Our drummer Woild Boin is an amazing pizza chef, but I reckon we'd get pretty plumpy eating that for every meal. I eat seaweed every day and never get bored of it.
