KORA release new single L-OVER
Listen/Purchase here
‘L-over’ is a heavy funk-rock track, with a message about leaving a toxic relationship and getting your power back. “Take the ‘L’ out of ‘Lover’ to find out what is left” is a line that anyone that has experienced a situation like this will connect with and understand. Always crossing the boundaries of genre, Kora’s ‘L-over’ is a song that has power, groove and melody with fresh lil quirks to keep people guessing.
The creation of this track harks back to the roots of Kora’s sound with their first EP, remembering songs such as ‘See Me’, and ‘Crazy Things’ and the importance of recording the band playing live in the studio together.
Originally hailing from Whakatane, four musical brothers from the Kora family, Laughton, Francis, Stuart and Brad, began playing together as a band in the early 1990s under the name Auntie Beatrice, winning the national Rockquest high school band competition in 1991 and the East Coast region Battle Of The Bands three years running, earning a release on Tangata Records for their efforts.
In early 2002 Kora’s core members Laughton and Francis recorded a four-song demo while on holiday in Queenstown, sharing songwriting duties with local muso Dan McGruer who also joined them on bass guitar and keyboards.
The Volume EP was released in 2004 and the band quickly developed a reputation as being one of the nation’s finest live acts.
A debut LP followed in 2007, the eponymous Kora which went to number 1 in the New Zealand charts, spending a year in the top 40 and reaching double-platinum status. Live performances at festivals including the Big Day Out cemented their reputation as a live force in New Zealand and beyond. Quickly on its heels was a Kora! Kora! Kora! remix LP by Sheffield based post-punk electronic innovators Cabaret Voltaire.
The long-awaited 2012 follow up LP Light Years continued to show the band’s ability to fuse a multitude of influence, from reggae to heavy metal to dirty south hip hop. This album went on to achieve platinum sales and to cement Kora as a top tier act in their home country.
In the years since, between live appearances, the band pursued a multitude of other projects, with rock radio favourite ‘Carolina’ in 2016 showing an appetite for the band’s unique material that remains as strong as ever.
Songwriting for new releases began in 2019, and new material has been received exceptionally well at recent shows. A fresh lineup based around long term members Fran Kora, Stu Kora, Dan McGruer and Richie Allan has blossomed with the addition of some of the hottest musicians in the country in Darren Mathiassen (Trinity Roots, Hollie Smith, Shapeshifter) and Marika Hodgson (Hollie Smith, Troy Kingi, Alae) and Karlos Tunks (Troy Kingi, Modern Maori Quartet).
The single, ‘Secret Lover’, released in July 2020 garnered an amazing reaction on social media and live, and landed in New Zealand’s radio and sales charts. ‘Weekend’, released in November 2020 followed up nicely, as an anthem for the working class to celebrate the end of mahi for the week.
Fresh recordings based on jamming as a band in early 2021 at Studio 11B in the Bay Of Plenty have yielded the first of many new works. ‘L-Over’, produced by Tiki Taane (Salmonella Dub, Tiki Taane, Six60, Shapeshifter) sees the return to the bands rock roots and a fusion of its members’ multiple energies of influences.
With a deep and undeniable groove created by some of the best in the business, mixed with soaring vocals and lyrics that reach into the heart of the listener, Kora look set to remain as one of the few acts that can make THAT magic happen on stage.
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