Grooves for the gin and tonic set

By MIKE HOULAHAN

Andrew Spraggon's first album as Sola Rosa was a learning curve and he says there are plenty of lessons from his new album he'll take forward to album number three.

Haunted Out-Takes, the Auckland musician's second Sola Rosa album, is a perfect confection for the gin and tonic set - you can dance to it, but its downbeat stylings also make it perfect lounge-room music.

Spraggon was looking for a slightly harder-edged offering than Sola Rosa's debut disc Solarised. He succeeded, but without sacrificing the Sola Rosa groove.

"I never really sat down and said 'I want to make this more dance-floor oriented' or whatever," Spraggon says.

"But there was more focus on the whole beat side of it and making the rhythm section, the bass and the drums, making the grooves more solid and a bit harder, but that wasn't directed at any dance floor motives. It probably came from listening to hip-hop, which had an influence on the whole beat side of the record. It's still pretty downbeat and pretty slow."

Solarised won deserved praise for its blending of trip hop, jazz and Latin styles into a sophisticated, laidback album. However, its creator found himself stifled by the frequent reference to Latin influences, to the point where he consciously wanted to avoid them on Haunted Out-Takes.

"To me the only obvious Latin influences are on [first single] Ready Now and Sleepwalker, and while Sleepwalker sounds Latin it's actually a Calypso riff that's the whole foundation of the track.

"Ready Now has got the south of the border trumpets and stuff, but it was the first track I wrote after Solarised so it's got the feel of that record. After I wrote it, I shelved it for six months and then came back to it again.

"I tried to avoid the Latin thing, purely as a reaction to so many people talking to me about Solarised and saying 'Gee, your album has got a very Latin sound'. That meant the next one wouldn't."

With such a contrary attitude, you can just about guarantee the next Sola Rosa album will again sound different. Spraggon suggests the hip-hop influence will expand on his next record, and says vocalists will definitely make their first appearance on a Sola Rosa record.

For now, though, simply getting the second record out is enough.

"It was a relief to finish it after a year and a half's work. I probably let go of it about a month ago when we finished mastering it. You're faced with the decision of handing it over to the record company and go, 'Ah, that's it'. You can't do anything about it now, you can't take it back and change it."

After the release of Solarised, Spraggon embarked on some extensive live work, including supporting St Germain and accompanying Dimmer on a national tour. From that experience, Spraggon was determined to make Haunted Out-Takes sound un-electronic.

The drums were programmed, but produced in such a way to make them sound real. Spraggon, a multi-instrumentalist, played most of the rest of the music on the album, with guests such as Don McGlashan, Neil Watson, Kingsley Melhuish and John Pain.

"I played more guitar on this record than on the last one, a lot more hand percussion, things like that," Spraggon says.

"I don't really think about live musicians until the final stages. I hope it sounds organic and natural and not too electronic: I want it to sound human."

Performance

* Who: Sola Rosa

* Where & When: b.Net NZ Music awards tonight, Bruce Mason Centre; Crow Bar, Wyndham St, tomorrow night

* Out now: CD Haunted Out-Takes

- NZPA