Since forming in 2013 as a side project between Pete Harrow and Dave McDonald, Starving Millions from Wellington, New Zealand, have been through the usual line up changes and musical evolution before settling into a more definitive sound and lineup with the addition of Cam Belworthy and Sam Blyth over the past year.
In doing everything from design, recording and show booking, Starving Millions have been fearlessly DIY in their ethos of keeping everything in house as much as possible. The band is never ones to sit on idle hands and have released a slew of recordings and singles since their beginning.
As well as this, Starving Millions have made themselves no strangers to touring. Completing numerous tours up and down New Zealand, most recently with their Australian counterparts Disparo, and are set to embark on their 3rd tour of Australia to mark the release of their fifth studio recording ‘V‘ on Australian label Goodtimes Records.
The new EP showcases a more focused and progressive approach to a sound created through a love of Hardcore and Punk, taking influences from such bands as Gallows, Norma Jean and Touche Amore among others. The songs within are those of a band who have grown together as a unit and refuse to accept current local and world injustices.
At a mere 13 mins of music this EP packs in 5 tracks with a punch and showcases the direction of where the band is taking their music.
The band will be debuting the new EP live to Australian audiences through the second half of September, and then November / December in New Zealand. Australian dates below the interview. They begin this week.
To find out more about the release, the band answered our On The Record questions this week. Take a listen, and read about it below.
I wrote / demo’d the music around the same time as the last recording, so they have a similar vibe to the last release but are definitely a progression as Sam and Cam have been involved right from the get go with working on them in the rehearsal room, where as last time they had joined the band as songs were getting ready to record. I think ‘V’ is what we consider to be the best representation of the bands current lineup as well as where we are taking the direction for the next recording
Tell us about the artwork.
I did the artwork (my artist alter ego Dave Thirteen) I had been chucking around a couple of other cover ideas but none of them felt right – I was having a really bad week dealing with anxiety and depression and decided to channel it into an art peice to visually describe what it was like in my head. The result felt right for for the band, as we all suffer from various degrees of mental health issues it felt fitting
What format/s will it be released on and how will it be packaged?
It is out digitally and will be available on CD with a gatefold card case and on cool full colour cassette tape
Who will it be released through, and when?
Our good friend Tommy will be releasing it in Australia through his label Goodtimes Records – Physical copies available from 15th Sept
Tell us about the studio and why you chose to record there?
In true DIY fashion and the usual independant budget constrants, we recorded in our rehearsal room, at my house and at our friends house in his vocal booth
Tell us about the producer / engineer and why you chose to record with them?
We produced this ourselves and I again took on the engineering, mixing and mastering roles.
Did you go into the writing process with a clear direction in mind?
As with previous releases I went in just coming up with songs either from beats I wanted to try out or a riff that I was jamming at home.
Were you listening to anything in particular during the writing / recording process that influenced the songs at all?
I was definitely listening to a lot of Converge and Touche Amore at the time so I think that has definitely morphed into the vibe of the tracks
Were there any albums you were referencing in the studio to aim for a certain type of sound production wise?
Not specifically, I did chuck a couple of other bands songs in for reference to see how the different frequencies were behaving, but i cant remember what songs they were
How long did you spend in the studio recording?
I would say all up 3-4 days at most – it was mostly done after work a couple of hours at a time
Tell us a little about the recording process the band used?
I tracked the drums live with pete playing guide guitar at the same time, and then we laid the rest over that
Was this any different to previous processes you have used?
Yeah previous recordings I have done to a click for ease of editing, but I wanted to capture a more live vibe for this recording. So the drums were done as one takes and there was no editing on the timing which I think has paid off translating the songs to being recorded
When it comes do naming the tracks, is there any particular approach or process to it all?
I think Pete usually just names them with reference to a lyric in the song
Any memorable studio moments?
Haha Sam got locked in the vocal booth for a while and the door handle came off and he had to pry his way out.
What track/s are you most looking forward to playing live?
Definitely Us and Them – I think this show cases a good mix of our previous sound as well as where we are going with the next one
How would you compare the final product to previous releases?
I would say this is the best final product to date – we have a great band line up at the moment and everyone’s vibe is pretty similar. I am also self taught in the whole audio engineering field so I definitely feel this is another step up in my progression in that regard
Anything else you want to say or about the release?
Thanks for your time, the Ep is out now on Bandcamp and all the usual online web streaming sites.
STARVING MILLIONS
SEPTEMBER
14th – Hamilton Station Hotel, Newcastle [18+]
15th – Coronation Hotel, Ipswich [18+]
16th – Fat Louie’s, Brisbane [18+]
17th – Venue TBC, Lismore
19th – Born 2 Rock Studios, Gosford [AA]
20th – The Valve Bar, Sydney [18+]
21st – Skumfest, Launceston [AA]
22nd – Brisbane Hotel, Hobart [18+]
23rd – The Brunswick Hotel, Melbourne [18+]
—> Tickets available at the door.
—> For more information, visit [Here].
1. These Times Pt I 01:31
2. Fear and Hate 02:22
3. Us and Them 02:23
4. Self Important Fool 03:11
5. These Times Pt II 02:10
Want more news? The Round-up is our daily news wrap which is posted at 4:30pm each weekday with a summary of the day’s news, gig, ticket, release reminders, as well as additional shorter news pieces. Check it out [Here].
Want the news delivered to your inbox instead? Sign up for our free weekly e-mail newsletter. You’ll get a wrap of the weeks news, heaps of additional news that we can’t fit on site, reminders of tours and releases coming up, exclusive subscriber competitions and more delivered to your inbox on a Friday morning. Simply head [Here] to sign up / view a sample newsletter.