Racing take fresh material on the road

Racing is a new band producing a fresh rock 'n' roll sound.

Sweat dripping down the walls of Napier's Cabana made a lasting impression on Ed Knowles.

He's played there many times with former group The Checks. Now he and fellow breakaway Sven Pettersen have a new band called Racing, formed alongside Auckland musicians Izaac Houston (Space Creeps) and Daniel Barrett (Sherpa).

The four-piece will tread those historic floorboards for the first time with their new line-up, delivering a fresh rock 'n' roll sound on Friday, November 14.

"I have fond memories of sweat pouring down the walls, it's great, we always loved it," Knowles says. "It's a special place, hearing stories of Th' Dudes and all those guys, what they got up to upstairs."

Racing have been working on an album for the past year - penning hundreds of tracks in that time, but Knowles hoped audiences throughout the country would help narrow down the selection.

"We have written a stupid amount of tracks, but we just want 10 clean ones - I think we are going to release one more single then jump in a van and play all the songs and choose ones that make people move the most," he says.

"When you are making an album it's easy to lose sight of what's important, but we love the idea of music having a purpose, it's about moving crowds and the best way to do that is not in the studio, it's on the stage."

Their first single Carnivalize, about transforming into a heightened version of yourself, has been well received since its low key official release on October 14.

Knowles believed both Checks' fans and a new following appreciated the direction they were heading in.

"I think there has been a good reaction so far, we sent it out and people loved and accepted it ... I just started writing songs after The Checks and really wanted to make a band eventually because we have a lot more to give."

Turning over a new leaf musically and giving people a taste of something they had not heard before was an easy progression.

"I think we are evolving, it's a much bigger sound and I like to think we could play the Boiler Room; it's the hypnotic bass groove music Sven and I really love. The Chemical Brothers are still playing rock 'n' roll in the guise of electric; I think we take that and narrow it down."

• Early bird tickets are $10 or general admission $15, from eventfinder.co.nz