Beth Torrance on the magic of making music with a band

Beth Torrance is about to release a new EP. It's darker, more distorted with that same brand of clever songwriting from previous releases. With the backing of a full band 'The Garden Party', the new songs are a glorious modernisation of indie rock in a way that feels a bit 'New Zealand'. Ahead of the EP's release, Beth answered our questions about finding new creative direction, the joys of playing as a band and balancing life in radio and music.

The new EP sounds modern and sharp with an undertone of grit. I absolutely love it. Ahead of production what was your vision for the project?

When writing these songs I envisioned a band production. The earliest track off the EP is ‘I’ve Got a Record’ – it was memorable in that it was the first song I wrote that I knew required a band arrangement. And it opened a door because I knew I wanted it to be part of a band project. The tracks that came about afterwards were in support of that idea.

Moving back to Auckland in 2023 served as the impetus to achieve that vision. I got a band together – which went through many iterations until we became the Garden Party – and started rehearsing these songs. We played our debut show at Going Global last year.

I think you can hear the influence of the city on the songs. There’s a sense of being on the precipice of something new, and almost a kind of brightness and chaos. It’s interesting to hear it in contrast to earlier projects that I wrote when living in Thames. Those earlier songs have a distinctive closeness and warmth to them in an acoustic sense, I think, which comes from being close to the sea and the whenua, and from a sense of isolation.

You worked with Jacob E. Rush at Bigpop’s Drake Street Studios. How did this collaboration evolve the songs during recording?

It was really exciting to get into the studio because I’d been sitting with these songs for a while – in some cases years. It was really satisfying to hear them come to life when I laid them down with Jake.

Jordan Lim (Preacher) plays drums; we laid down the guitar and drums together in the studio. We sent the stems to John Heywood (Alex G), who plays bass on the project. John and I met after an Alex G show at the Powerstation. His other band at the time was on the same management roster as I. He mentioned he loved my stuff, so I invited him to record bass on the EP and he was really into it. He recorded remotely from Philly and it just sounds great. John’s a really sensitive player but the parts he comes up with are really so tasteful.

Your previous releases are more folk influenced. What prompted the change in direction?

I think the change was a natural evolution. I started writing songs that seemed to call out for a band arrangement, so I started playing with a band. I still write acoustic or folk-oriented songs as well but it feels really good to have the freedom to do either. I think it’s really good for one’s writing, too.

How does your work as a radio producer cross over with your career as an artist?

I started volunteering at bFM in 2022, which gave me a great education of the local scene. It’s really exciting to be around people who have the same kind of passion as you do for music, and to be hearing local acts on the airwaves. Radio just teaches you so much.

Who are your favourite local artists right now?

Office Dog for sure. We played with them in February at Double Whammy – their new album is great. I love Awning – I saw them open for Wednesday at the Hollywood. That show was really great. Blunt dog are awesome too.

You’re holding a release celebration show on August 1st. What's coming up after this?

Definitely more shows! My band, the Garden Party and I are just having so much fun playing and want to keep playing. We also recently spent a day at Roundhead laying new stuff down so I’m really excited about that.