Perfectionism is both a blessing and a curse for Sola Rosa producer Andrew Spraggon.
The renowned Auckland musician has used his exacting nature to evolve a one-man project into an internationally-acclaimed collective over the past decade.
Sola Rosa has six albums, remixes and EPs in the back catalogue – with latest offering Low And Behold, High And Beyond topping the New Zealand iTunes chart on its release in March.
But the album was three years in the making and he’s still working through the tracks with the band, tweaking and changing for live performances. Nothing is ever truly finished.
“It’s one of those things,” Spraggon says. “I’m really happy with it because otherwise I wouldn’t put it out.
“But sometimes the tracks don’t work live, so that can mean changing arrangements or parts or whatever. It’s the first time we’ve really done that intensely, and even during the US tour we were changing the tracks in the van. It keeps it interesting.
“We’d do a gig and then decide it wasn’t really working, so look for a way to fix it. Talk about it as a band and then make changes on the laptop, try it out at soundcheck and perform it that night.”
That collaborative approach is also something relatively new for Sola Rosa.
“It has taken a long time to get to that point, me being a bit of a perfectionist and control freak. Now I’m that comfortable with the members, their aesthetic, ideas and ability that I can let that go now.
“I think that will continue into the next album with collaborating more in the studio. Quite often the live versions end up much better than what you recorded, so next time I’d like to try it that way around.”
With its melodic beats and eclectic vocals from five different vocalists – including British soul singer Olivier Daysoul, electro R’n’B singer LA Mitchell and long-time contributor Spikey Tee – Low And Behold is somewhere between hip-hop, funk, electronica and nu-soul.
Like previous hit album Get it Together, tracks from which featured on everything from Gossip Girl to Criminal Minds, it represents an evolution in the band’s sound which is unintentionally more commercial.
“The intention with every album is to sort of try and rough it up a bit. This album I wanted to try and make the beats heavier and introduce a little more hip-hop flavour, but it still sounds pretty polished I guess – maybe I just can’t help myself,” Spraggon says.
Sola Rosa play World Bar this Saturday from 8pm. Tickets $27.50
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