About Me
Boh Runga (vocals, guitar)
Andrew Maclaren (drums, programming)
Chris Van de Geer (guitar)
Kurt Shanks (bass)Critical acclaim and commercial success in the rock business are seldom the cosiest of bedfellows. You more often find them glaring at each other from opposite sides of the room. If you've got one, you almost certainly wish you had the other, and to get these two seemingly mutually exclusive measures of an album's success to shake hands, let alone hop gleefully into bed together takes a rather special mix of elements.stellar* have that elusive mix, 'Mix' incidentally being the name of this multi-talented New Zealand four-piece's phenomenal debut album, released throughout Australasia back in August 1999. The frenzy of media coverage, high rotation radio, television exposure, sold out live shows and record-breaking sales that followed would have left the most rose-tinted optimist with some head-scratching to do.For the record, here's some dry facts and figures about stellar* and 'Mix', presented dryly and factually. You'll probably agree they speak volumes;- Since hitting ..1 in the New Zealand charts and charting for over six months, 'Mix' has gone five times platinum, making it the second biggest-selling New Zealand album by a local artist EVER.- Five Top Twenty singles in twelve months (What You Do (Bastard), Part of Me, Violent, Undone, Every Girl).- Three sold-out national tours.- Touring Australia and New Zealand with Alanis Morrissette and Garbage.- At the New Zealand equivalent of the Grammys - the 2000 Tui Awards, stellar* walked off with Single of the Year, Album of the Year, Producer of the Year (Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins fame and stellar*),
Songwriter of the Year (Boh Runga), Best Female Vocalist (Boh) and Best Group.That haul left rather slim pickin's for the rest of the nation's musical talent. A total rout you might say. That's all potted history however, a bit of background on which to project the news that stellar* have recently put the finishing touches on a new album to be released in New Zealand October 22. It's called 'Magic Line' and represents the latest thinking from a band who put a lot of thought (as well as soul) into their creative process.Where 'Mix', as the title suggests, was pretty wide in its stylistic sweep, 'Magic Line' is more focused and, as Boh says, a more 'played' album. As a well-honed touring band, stellar* were ready to make an album that better reflected their powerful, dynamic live sound.So, while it's not a quantum shift in stellar* reality - the synths, loops and beautifully mangled samples are still there and the production values are higher than ever - this is one album where the guitars have been let off the leash and there's no way they're coming back to heel.On the topic of production values, 80's wonderkid Tom Bailey is once again in the co-producer's chair, but in the interests of raising the sonic bar a little higher this time, five tracks ear-marked as potential singles have been mixed by Jack Joseph Puig (Natalie Merchant, Mick Jagger, No Doubt, Semisonic) at Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles, with mastering by the legendary Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering in Portland, Maine."With 'Mix' we picked the best bits, this time it's a far more played album and vocally I was probably less hung up on the way I would sing something in tune and more into the essence of the mood." That's Boh talking. Believe me, having sampled the delights of the Jack Puig-mixed tracks, the mood is very good.In retrospect 'Mix' was an incredible first salvo from a young band still shedding its first skin. What makes 'Magic Line' such an exciting prospect is that stellar* are a band driven to improving, learning, refining, and lavishing the sort of effort and love on their music that makes it the thing of beauty it truly is.
