Music trumps engineering
A life of mechanical engineering beckoned for Jasper Hawkins, but something was off.
He graduated from the University of Canterbury and got a job as an engineer. Was this all life had in store? Seven months in the industry was enough.
‘‘It didn’t fit with me, there was always something inside of me, this music, like a jack-in-the-box dying to get out,’’ Hawkins said.
‘‘So everything was leaning towards music, but I was trying to figure out how to make a living from it.’’
Now a full-time musician in Auckland, Hawkins released his first studio album, White Lie ,in early December. He played a headline gig at Nelson’s Theatre Royal on December 5.
Even when recorded, his sound remains true to what an audience would hear emanating from a stage.
‘‘We took a much more traditional approach, and by that I mean it was like the 60s and 70s era, where we all sat in the studio and record a live take with the band. We’d do about five or six live takes then go into the studio and pick the one we liked the most,’’ Hawkins said.
It was recorded at Neil Finn’s Roundhead Studios in Auckland. Hawkins said Finn was interested in their recording process.
‘‘We still recorded it so you could access each different instrument and mix them how you want, but it does mean you can hear the individual instruments a lot more.
‘‘It creates a sense that you’re listening to the band playing, rather than getting that much more rigid feel.’’
Hawkins said he grew up listening to The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Cream and The Eagles. He chose the songs on the album ‘‘because they stuck together best as an album’’.
‘‘A couple of songs were cowritten, which I’ve been really enjoying, that collaboration process. It’s something I’m going to be doing a lot more of in the future.
‘‘To get the band together and hear that idea, or that lyric or musical movement come to life, it’s quite magical. It’s like you’re hearing this song finally translated from your head into an actual experience.’’
One of Hawkin’s tracks, Letter to My Mother, was written in memory of his school friend Ben Rose, who died in a car crash in 2015.
‘‘I was kind of rocked by that incident, so I wrote something and that came out.’’
He sent a CD of the song to Rose’s mother, who sent the song to Radio New Zealand where it was played live on air.
‘‘I got a beautiful response from her; she was so, so thankful and it was more than I expected to be honest,’’ Hawkins said at the time.
He will join friend and fellow musician Ciaran McMeeken on tour in January and February, playing Blue Smoke in Christchurch on February 15.
He hoped to tour with his new album in March, with headline shows planned for Auckland and Wellington.
''... everything was leaning towards music.''
Jasper Hawkins