Quick five: Andre Manella
Sonic Delusion has released its fourth album, Tara Shaskey reports.
How does the band stay so creatively driven, what inspires you all? I pull my inspiration from positive everyday life experiences, like good time with friends or family. I try to write happy music that makes people feel good. We’re all good friends, and we’re lucky in that we work well together.
How would describe your sound? Too funky for folk and too folky for funk, or funky electroacoustic folk. We are somewhere between pop, folk, funk and Latin.
What’s the inspiration behind your latest album? I named it after the song ‘‘This Material World’’ which offers a positive take on the anticonsumerist diatribe. We wanted to give an alternative to that grim kind of cynicism that people get when they talk about the state of the world. You can be proactive about climate change and sustainability, but you can stay positive and cheerful about it. For the other songs, I took my inspiration from good stories, some that I’ve experienced and some that I’ve heard of.
You front Sonic Delusion and then have your own solo gigs, can you explain how you balance your time between the two? Yes, I actually started Sonic Delusion solo, and I’ve always played a lot of solo gigs over the years. Having a loop station allows me to create a ‘‘band’’ sound all by myself. Most of the touring I do on my own, but for festivals or larger gigs, like the album release, we play as a band.
Where to next for the band? After our album launch in New Plymouth we will be doing a nationwide album release tour in New Zealand through April, May and June, and then I’ll go on another solo tour to Europe in September.