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Music News - Seafog: Dig It On Up EP Release

Seafog: Dig It On Up EP Release

03 February 2017 - 0 Comments

"Seafog are a gnarly little unit, like a terrier on a leash!" raves Mark Williams, singer-guitarist of label mates MarineVille and an unabashed fan of the band from sleepy Port Chalmers, Dunedin. Only a few months after the immediate success of that gnarly little unit’s debut album Raise Your Skinny Fist (ZR006), a time in which Seafog has garnered quite a following as a tight and energetic no-nonsense live outfit, Zelle Records proudly presents the follow-up, the 12" EP Dig It On Up. Says Seafog frontman Robin Sharma, "We really wanted to get some of our new songs out after the recording of Raise Your Skinny Fist. So we asked Forbes to record this bunch for an old school EP."

Two guitars, a drum kit and Robin Sharma’s very distinctive singing voice described by Grant Smithies in the Sunday Star Times as having "a very human sort of waver as he intones a loose jumble of impressionistic phrases punctuated with pauses, so that you can almost picture the tentative dots and dashes between the words in his notebook" – that’s all there is and all it takes. Robin Sharma on vocals and guitar, Marty Sadler on drums and Nigel Waters on guitar effects have churned out six epic songs. One guitar was set heavily with bass tones. Guitars are more opposed than usual on this succinct statement from the restless three-piece with Waters using effects to maintain the soundscapes the band was seeking.

"This record was made to be played real loud! We’re very proud of this effort." – Robin Sharma

On Dig It On Up, Seafog have gone more sonic and spacious with an emphasis on bass, voice treatments and a louder live vibe. Once more, recordings for the Dig It On Up EP took place in the Ante Room, the former Masonic Lodge in Port Chalmers very much liked by the band for its contributing to that cohesive live vibe. Again, the formidable "extra member" Forbes Williams oversaw recording, engineering and mastering.

Although you can tell that Seafog draw from an infinite number of extremely diverse influences from the realm of indie rock and post-rock, especially melodiously noisy acts from the eighties and nineties, there’s nothing stylised about these blokes or their music. Similar to the LP, the songs on Dig It On Up unpretentiously reflect the boys’ deep connection with pop culture, counterculture and music. Opener The Crown deals with the favourite Dunedin drinking haunt of the same name and also with the problem of finding places to gig in Dunedin. Real life Crown owner Jones Chin was asked to record a welcome intro to walk the listener into the song and EP. The remaining songs reference math rock, ZZ Top, Joy Division, and The Stones (Dunedin).

Sarah Sharma was in charge of designing the artwork. The original oil on canvas on the front was carried out by Timothy Armstrong, the back photography is by R. M. Sharma.


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