Photo credit: Ebru Yildiz
SULFATE
Peter Ruddell is 1/3 of New Zealand’s most well known “guitarless guitar band,” noise-rock trio Wax Chattels. Today, he debuts his solo project SULFATE with the cathartic single, ‘Speaking For Others’.
A departure of frantic and frenetic nature of Wax Chattels, ‘Speaking For Others’ is doomy, but with strong harmonies supported by its minimal instrumentation. Heavy drums and a distorted electric piano wash through the track while Peter’s ambient baritone sits low in the mix, complemented by sparse female vocal harmonies.
Sonically, it takes influence from the slow-core bands of the 90s such as Codeine and Low, along with doom bands like Earth.
“This song has a long history. I wrote a demo of it while I was living in Japan in about 2014, which I rediscovered late 2018 and reworked for this project. It’s about being at the mercy of others, having to relinquish control and give in to external powers. I wanted it to try and capture the battle of trying to explain things in a language that is not your own, in a country that you are new to, and in a culture that you’re unfamiliar with. How you always feel like you’re being misunderstood, or saying the wrong thing – how it’s a trudge just to transfer meaning.”
SULFATE will make their first live appearance at Auckland City’s underground bar and music venue The Wine Cellar Friday, July 26th with support from Louisa Nicklin and band. A North Island tour is set to follow.
Tickets are on sale now from www.undertheradar.co.nz
SULFATE
‘Speaking For Others’
North Island tour dates:
Friday, 26th July – Auckland – Wine Cellar
Thursday, 8th August – Wellington – Moon
Friday, 9th August – Palmerston North – The Stomach
Saturday, 10th August – Whanganui – Lucky Bar
Tickets on sale now from undertheradar.co.nz
