Sola Rosa moves on

Andrew Spraggon, the man behind Sola Rosa, outside the bowling club that features in his latest album's artwork. Picture / Dean Purcell

Winston and Doug from the Mt Eden Bowling Club are eagerly poring over my copy of Sola Rosa's new album, Moves On. Their grand old clubhouse, with its musty brown bricks, baby blue writing and "SICK MEMBERS" sign, features prominently in the album artwork.

"They said they were going to send us a copy," says Doug, who has opened the club on a Monday especially for a photo shoot and chat with Sola Rosa (real name, Andrew Spraggon).

"Just remind them, will you?" he smiles slyly, giving the album back.

While we're waiting for Spraggon to arrive, Winston - an ex-club president during its centennial year of 1995/96 - remembers how the Mt Eden residents saved the club-house from demolition a while back. He laments that "we want new members. Old, young, male, female". With this he flicks his cigarette butt into the garden and goes inside.

Spraggon rolls up a few minutes later, wearing sunnies and wrapped in a warm jacket. After some photos we take a couple of big chunky pint glasses out of the fridge, Doug pours us a Speights or three and we take a seat in one of the orderly rows of tables and chairs.

Moves On would be a good album to play bowls to - it's cruisy, with the occasional driving stab ("I like my stabs. Horn stabs especially," says Spraggon), and, since all the hot young things are now dabbling in the traditionally old timers' sport, it is pretty funky.

"I didn't set out to do anything in particular, I just set out to make an album that was about beats and grooves rather than cinematic, moody stuff.

"I wanted to make it a bit more about funk and soul and live instrumentation and something that could be brought to the band and not be too complicated to try to recreate live, which it was before with the previous two albums."

On those albums, 2001's Solarized and 2003's Haunted Out-Takes, Spraggon was a bit of a loner. It was just him, a laptop and the occasional live band performance. On Moves On he has a band, he is using vocalists for the first time, and it sounds crisp and authentic.

"I like those old school sounds, and that is what I'm striving for. Bringing in instruments like Hammonds, Clavs and Rhodes, and trying to use the old production gear to get those old sorts of sounds.

"What I'm striving for really is to get a hi-fi sound, but from a certain period which is the 60s and 70s. I like the way records sounded then more than they do now."

The core Sola Rosa band is made of guitarist Ned Ngatae, drummer Will Scott, percussionist John Highstead, and bass player Matt Short. But being in a band is nothing new for Spraggon who, in the 90s, was in Auckland rock band Cicada.

"I've been trying to change and become a band so when people hear that Sola Rosa's coming to town they know they will see a band, not just one guy standing behind a couple of CD players.

"I'd rather watch a group of musicians interact. It's kind of weird hearing myself say stuff like that because I left a band years ago to do this and didn't really want to have anything to do with playing with musicians for a while, and now it's come around and bitten me on the ass."

But it's a good bite on the ass because after the dark and moody Haunted Out-Takes and the somewhat one-dimensional Solarized, Moves On is far more lively, with tracks such as the uplifting first single, Redeemer, and Deadman Walking.

"I'm generally not a dark and moody person," he smirks. "I like dark music but I just wanted to make a completely different album and a lot of it comes back to the live [band] thing. We needed some more 'up' material."

After the last album he also needed to take his music to the next level and the only way to do that was with a band.

"I'm constantly thinking how to take it to another level. With whatever you do in life, you have to ask yourself what you're doing.

"After the last record I just wanted to take it more seriously, work as a touring band and basically get together a shit-hot band that sounds really good. One that entertains people when they play live.

"That's the great thing about a band, because in the past I went out and played my songs off laptop, or CD or whatever, and no matter how much you remix them you're still listening to the songs, again and again.

"But with a band you don't get bored with them because they sound different every night. It's not so much about focusing on your songs but just about focusing on what you are doing as a band.

"But sometimes," he laughs, "I just wish I could play an instrument well enough to join them. I'm just there on laptop. I mean, I can jam on the laptop, but it's just pushing buttons."

As well as a love of old funk and soul music, when Spraggon is making an album he is influenced heavily by his favourite music of the moment.

Although he was listening to hip-hop when he made Haunted Out-Takes, the influence didn't come through on that album. Instead, he says, it comes through on Moves On, especially on tracks like What If?, featuring Nathan Haines and Manuel Bundy, or the jaunty Lights Out.

"And now I'm starting to get bored with a lot of the hip-hop so who knows what the next one will be?

"I'd probably like to make the next one an even more live affair with more live drums, and some faster tunes. That'd be a bit of a challenge for me."

Drum'n'bass maybe? "Nah, not that fast, 'cause I'm always stuck around the 90 bpm range, so somewhere just below 110, maybe."

While we've been talking, Doug has been reading and waiting patiently across the room. We haven't heard a peep out of him, although the clubhouse cat has occasionally squeaked a meow.

Before we leave, Ingrid, from Spraggon's record company, FMR, gives Doug a copy of the album. "Put it on," smiles Spraggon. "I don't know if it'll be your cup of tea."

But Doug's already off towards the bar, and presumably, heading for the stereo.

WHO: Sola Rosa (aka Andrew Spraggon)

WHAT: Auckland one-man-band becomes a band

ALBUMS: Moves On (out now), Haunted Out-Takes (2003), Solarized (2001)

WHEN & WHERE: Tonight: Indigo, Wellington; August 16 & 17: Apartment One, Wanaka (DJ gig); August 18: Subculture, Queenstown; August 19: Jetset Lounge, Christchurch; August 20: Refuel, Dunedin; August 27: The Studio, Auckland