9th July; Pumice, Richard Youngs, Christopher Thomas Failure
@theoldhairdressers ... tickets on sale now
Since the early 1990's, Aotearoa / New Zealander, Stefan Neville has recorded and performed iconoclastic pieces of broken & repurposed pop song as Pumice. He delicately smears together droning NZ folk, jangly Pakeha blues & scorched Pacific skiffle. Usually performed on multiple instruments at once, with a security blanket of grot & tape saturation through crumbling shitty speakers.
Stefan is an active participant in NZ underground music communities. He has collaborated with Kraus, Chris Knox / Tall Dwarfs, Coolies, Hermione Johnson, The Renderers, C.J.A, Ducklingmonster, Antony Milton, Campbell Kneale, Greg Malcolm, Gfrenzy & Witcyst, as well as international contemporaries like Jandek, Anla Courtis, Richard Youngs & Les Harrys. Stefans music has been released on Soft Abuse Records, Feeding Tube Records, Fordamning Arkiv, Planam, Horn Of Plenty, Root Don Lonie For Cash, Ultra Eczema & his own Stabbies Etc label. He facilitates an experiential & spontaneous music making program for people with disabilities in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland called Māpura Music. His visual art practice is just as rotten & playful as his music.
“Everything Pumice owns is broken. Virgin audience members at his shows might think he is fucking up till half-way through when it becomes clear they are witnessing a perfect solo ballet of mini-cassettes, modified guitar, foot-pedal drum-kit & short-circuiting spring reverb croon. Deep into a genius career, Pumice still surprises with his subtle mastery of broke-down sounds, slowed-down Magic Band rhythms, crumbling chord organ hymns & tragic ballads that reach deep into the very soul of Aotearoa / New Zealand anti-pop pop music.”– Glenn Donaldson