Genre mix-up in jam session
When you listen to music by Left Or Right you hear metal riffs fusing into Kiwi dub.
It should clash, as they are two styles that possibly should not go together. But it works for this southern band, who specialise in mixing genres.
Left Or Right have re-released Nuggety, their first album that came out in 2009.
To celebrate the milestone they will tour the lower South Island and play at the Southland Musicians Club on Saturday.
Invercargill-based drummer Metua Marama said the first album was a fun, collaborative jam, involving the group getting together in one big space and getting ideas down.
The band was not concerned about radio play with the first album, so the end result came naturally and included a lot of ambient tunes, he said.
Referring to the album for live shows would bring back fond memories of the gigs they used to play in bars that were no longer open, he said.
‘‘It’ll be a time to reflect on all the mischief we got up to.’’
The other two band members, guitarist Callum Hampton and bassist Steve Marshall, live in Dunedin. The members have varied tastes in music and incorporating differences was quite a process, Marama said.
Being a Southland band had helped to keep them together, as it was a small music community and they had developed a strong friendship, he said.
Southland music went through cycles and the band had witnessed a lot of Invercargill bands and venues that came and went, he said.
‘‘I think we are quite lucky in a sense that we have been able to play different styles of music, so that has opened us up to different walks of life.’’
The band also released the albums Buzzy in 2012 and Trippy in 2015.