Indie music legends The Chills will perform at the Sawmill Cafe next month as part of a 14-date national tour to mark the launch of their new studio album, Snow Bound. The group’s founder and driving force, Martin Phillipps, says he’s looking forward to returning to the venue on Friday, October 5 after a three-year gap.
“Certain venues have an atmosphere and the Sawmill has got such a great friendly vibe,” he says. “They’re great people and it brings the best out in us and the music, too. And it’s nice to get away from the more weary audiences in the main centres – people are really open to you and are out to have a good time.”
Phillipps confesses to a few nerves the last time he visited in 2015, after the launch of the first new Chills album for nearly 20 years, Silver Bullets.
“When we toured the last album I was quite nervous because I hadn’t done a run of consecutive shows for a long time. I wasn’t sure how my voice would hold up,” he says. “But we did fine. Now, I just try not to do more than three shows in a row.”
Snow Bound once again finds Phillipps in reflective mode, as he contemplates ageing, mortality and the state of the world in general.
“People of my age group can find themselves stuck in the sense of not knowing how to respond to world events. Back in the 60s, people thought a lot had been accomplished and life was getting better, and now you suddenly realise that life is slipping backwards.
“It’s about reassessing how to move forward and what you can contribute, and not accepting that a lifetime of experience isn’t worth anything. It’s great seeing yourself with knowledge and determination, but you also see a lot of the same mistakes being repeated again and again; there’s a lot of reinventing of the wheel.”
He is less jaded about the current music scene, saying that while the technology might have changed since the days of TV shows like Radio With Pictures, personalised music streaming was a fast track alternative to finding new music now.
“I get frustrated when people say there’s nothing new being done,” he says. “It’s one of the most exciting periods. There’s so much new stuff going on. Okay, you’re not going to get the same fervour and excitement as when you were young, but when you do a quick search based on a couple of tracks of what you used to like, you quickly discover all sorts of new groups and forums to explore.”
The Chills will be supported by Finn Andrews of The Veils at their Leigh show. Doors open at 8pm and tickets cost $50 from undertheradar.co.nz
Ticket Giveaway
Mahurangi Matters has a double pass to see The Chills at the Sawmill Café. To enter the draw, send an email with your name and contact details to reporter@localmatters.co.nz with The Chills in the subject line. Entries close Wednesday, September 26.
