Rock singer’s sonic new studio venture
Hibiscus Coast rocker Kane Bennett has come home to get a haircut, and get a real job.
Following nearly a decade of singing for hard rock band Sonic Altar, Bennett is putting performing on the backburner to record new artists at Silverpoint Studios in Silverdale.
Having spent the last three years working with bands in Europe, Bennett decided it was time to bring his expertise home.
‘‘I kept thinking in the back of my mind, it’s not New Zealand… And I don’t know about Sweden. It’s cold,’’ he says.
Prior to his time in Europe, Bennett found some success with Sonic Altar, a band formed with friends at Orewa College.
As the band’s lead singer, Bennett enjoyed releasing two studio albums, winning the New Zealand final of the World Battle of the Bands and opening for the likes of Ozzy Osbourne and KISS.
The band were in talks to tour Japan when the 2011 earthquake and tsunami struck, destroying the promoter’s establishment, and the band’s plans with it.
Now, having experienced the highs and lows of touring, Bennett looks forward to producing for musicians, saying he enjoys it more than performing live.
But it’s still no picnic, he says. ‘‘It’s more than a 40 hour a week job. I’m always thinking or working on a new song or producing a new artist,’’ he says.
As a producer, Bennett enjoys the challenge of filling out an artist’s song with digital
‘‘It's more than a 40 hour a week job. I'm always thinking or working on a new song’’
Kane Bennett
instruments.
It’s more economical than hiring sessions musicians, and when done right is a decent and affordable band substitute, Bennett says.
‘‘[Artists] can effectively come in with songs and ideas, and come out with a good sounding EP with a band on it,’’ he says.
Artists have been coming from as far as Hamilton to record, but Bennett is keen to find local talent.
Plans are in the works to host a battle of the bands for schools in the area, with the winner scoring recording time.
Working in Silverdale also means the studio can ‘‘afford to be more affordable,’’ for artists, as the premises has lower overheads than city studios.
And for Bennett, who lives in Millwater, commuting is too easy.
‘‘I wake up, and I’m here,’’ he says.