IVY speak their mind and take us inside Dunedin’s resurgent scene

Local Dunedin heroes IVY have never shied away from expressing their opinion. They've recently released a track called ‘Gutter’ that takes aim at the frustration, disillusionment and anger surrounding a system that can leave people feeling powerless and controlled.

With their distinct alt rock sound, IVY have become part of a Dunedin scene experiencing a serious resurgence. Following their ambitious performance with a 26 piece orchestra at the Dunedin Arts Festival, the band are now looking beyond New Zealand, with an Australian tour alongside Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers set for October and work underway on their second album. We caught up with IVY to talk Dunedin's thriving music scene, and the realities of making a living from music.

Your latest song 'Gutter' carries some pretty heavy themes. Tell us a bit about what inspired the track and what impact you hope it will have for listeners...

Gutter is about the feelings of frustration with current world affairs and geopolitics. It uses the metaphor of a soldier who learns he is fighting in vain for a cause he does not believe in. It embodies the feeling being led up the garden path, being told what to believe without question. The song digs into how we’re expected to function inside a capitalistic system that doesn’t feel fair, especially when it seems like the worst people end up benefiting the most.

I can hear some distinct influences in your sound. From your perspective who are some of the bands you've grown up listening to and inspire you to this day?

We all grew up listening to Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, Muse and so many other alt rock bands from the 90’s. Nowadays we collectively have an eclectic taste in music, ranging from jazz to nu metal, classical to R&B, but modern influences include Fontaines D.C., Death and the Maiden and Dimmer. All genres of music have slowly worked their way into our new songs.

You've performed with a full orchestra at Dunedin Arts Festival. How did you approach translating your songs into an arrangement for more than 26 musicians?

We had a lot of help with the orchestra show. We had amazing orchestrations done by award winning classical composers Anthony Ritchie and Maddie Parsons-Craig. We received a significant grant from our local council and Creative New Zealand, which really helped fund the production. It was definitely the highest stakes gig we had done at the time. The pressure of playing in front of 300 people, many of them with classical backgrounds was immense. We knew there was no room for improvisation or mistakes and one small timing error could have thrown off the entire orchestra. Overall it was a great learning experience for us as a band and made us better musicians.

The scene in Dunners is flying at the moment. Why do you think there are so many incredible bands coming up right now?

What is happening in Dunedin music at the moment is really quite special and there are so many factors that have combined. In my time involved in music in Dunedin I have seen the local scene re-ignite, reminiscent of the explosion of the Dunedin sound in the 1980’s. This town has always been a hotspot for bands and musicians that consistently punch above their weight but for so long it has been a bit of an echo chamber due to the closing of countless historically significant venues across the city. In turn, it has driven domestic and international touring bands elsewhere in the country, which has led Dunedin musicians to build a tight-knit community that learns, helps out and takes inspiration from each other. There has been a resurgence in music that is rough, edgy, emotional and politically charged both locally and globally. Luckily for Dunedinites all those things come naturally to creatives here, primarily influenced by our bitterly cold physical environment and artistic isolation from the rest of the country.

What's the most challenging aspect of making music in this day and age?

By far the most challenging aspect of making music in this day and age is making a living. It has become normalised for people to access music for free online, which has directed significant sums of money towards multi-national corporations like Spotify and Apple and away from the artists who write, record, produce and release their music. Additionally, it’s so easy to get lost amongst the noise online and on social media, with musicians now forced to create short form visual content at a greater volume than the songs they write if they are to have any hope of serious commercial success and making music a full time job.

After the success of your last album, what's on the cards for the band in the foreseeable future?

We have recently just announced a tour of Australia with Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers which will take place in October, as well as lots of writing and recording of demos which will eventually be part of our second album. We aim to continue touring both nationally and internationally, writing and releasing music we love and keep pushing to make the band our full time gig! This is our passion and we want to keep doing this band thing together for years to come.