Boys’ 24-year overnight success
Kiwi trio The Koi Boys have been on a rollercoaster ride for the past five months, recording a number one album in just 10 days, touring and adjusting to life on the road.
Now, they have been named to perform at their biggest gig yet: the Wellington Sevens.
The Koi Boys had their big break in July after appearing on Australian reality TV show The Voice.
They signed a record deal with Universal Music in August.
Band member Danny Faifai said the overnight success came after 24 years of performing in New Zealand and Australia.
The three singers, Faifai, Kevin Keepa and Ngahere ‘‘Nuz’’ Ngatai, were born in New Zealand but live on the Gold Coast in Australia. They first started performing together in 2008.
‘‘It has been a rollercoaster ride,’’ he said.
‘‘The highs are we get to play in a lot of great places, the lows are just the travel and the lack of sleep that comes with the territory.’’
The band also recorded a whole album ‘‘on the fly’’ in just 10 days, singing for 12 hours a day and performing at gigs in the evening.
‘‘You hear the stories of people being chewed up and spat out. I suppose the trick is to find the balance between capitalising on this moment and finding our lane,’’ said Faifai.
‘‘The first album was done in 10 days and it was a bit rushed and a few things are compromised, including the core of who we are and what got us here in the first place.’’
The record label chose most of the songs the group covered on the new album, although The Koi Boys initially resisted covering Lorde’s hit song Royals.
‘‘They wanted us to cover Royals and we were like: No. Well, we did cover it but it didn’t make the cut,’’ Faifai said.
‘‘I was singing on that track and thought we should just leave that to Lorde, but other people loved the track.’’
Kevin Keepa said it was hard leaving his youngest children, aged 4 and 7, at home to go on tour.
‘‘It’s tough when you have your daughter asking: When are you coming back? It’s always sad when you are asked questions like that. They get upset when they say you have to go again.
‘‘Life could be worse for us. We just have to man up and deal with it.’’