Three years ago, Hopetoun Brown started out playing on the streets, and now on March 16th, New Zealand’s favourite hard-parping duo will release their third studio album Don’t Let Them Lock You Up as they play WOMAD Festival 2018. Today they share their new single ‘Put It Down’.
WATCH / LISTEN TO ‘PUT IT DOWN’
The nine-track magic of Don’t Let Them Lock You Up came to life inside Jol Mulholland‘s studio The Oven – a mysterious mezzanine cosseted away atop a narrow staircase in Mt Eden’s The Lab.
While Stewart and Atkinson baked the musical cake, special musical guests Steve Abel, Sophie Burbery, Isaac Chadderton (Weird Together, Lord Echo), Callum Passells (Aldous Harding, The Babyshakes), Nomad, and Hopetoun Brown’s righthand man Finn Scholes (Carnivorous Plant Society, Neil Finn) added their own sweet flavours.
Having been friends since the age of 8, Hopetoun Brown’s Tim Stewart and Nick Atkinson have experienced a great deal of life together – from forming a blues band at age 13 that would become the much-loved kiwi supergroup Supergroove, before hitting the road as a horn-heavy two piece and making a name for themselves amongst the critic’s of Aotearoa.
“It’s the pervading sense of fun together with a respect for antique jazz, blues, plantation work songs, doo-wop and funk that gives Hopetoun Brown their edge.”
– Metro Magazine (Look So Good)
“Unique, assured and uplifting”
4½ Stars – Otago Daily Times (Burning Fuse)
“a seriously good album from a seriously talented duo. Unique in many ways.”
5 Stars – NZ Herald (Burning Fuse)
“From mind-bending horn solos, to phenomenal keys and organs to the raw energy of bass clarinet and stomp, it has it all… one of my favourite albums of the year.”
– Second Hand News (Looks So Good)
In 2015, Stewart and Atkinson recorded their debut album Burning Fuse with celebrated Lyttelton engineer, Ben Edwards in Lyttelton and Oliver Harmer in Mt Eden. It was released to critic’s acclaim, helping them secure a revered supporting spot for Violent Femmes the following year, where the pair joined the Femmes on stage for part of their set.
From that point onwards, momentum began to build around the humble two-piece as they worked on their second record Look So Good (released in October 2016) which was recorded again with Ben Edwards at The Sitting Room, and Oliver Harmer at The Lab. Backed by a stellar cast of musicians including Tami Neilson, Marlon Williams, Finn Scholes and drummers Joe McCallum & Alistair Deverick (Boycrush, Lawrence Arabia). The record attracted even more love from the NZ music community becoming one of seven Taite Prize finalists.
Over summer, Hopetoun Brown set sail for their pioneering Round The Horn Tour… with the genius of Finn Scholes! The three adventurous musicians set sail aboard a mystery ketch packed full of trumpets, tubas, keytars, clarinets and tambourines taking in several of the Hauraki Gulf’s remoter Islands.
This year Hopetoun Brown (with Finn Scholes) bring their honk magic to WOMAD Festival NZ (March 16-18th). Hear tunes off the new record and dance with three of New Zealand’s finest horn players. Find more details here.
LISTEN / STREAM ‘Put It Down’
SPOTIFY / ITUNES / YOUTUBE
Hopetoun Brown online:
facebook.com/hopetounbrown
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