Taking it in - the Butlers

Words by Liam Stretch. Photos by Frances Scrimgeour.

On the sunniest of Ōtautahi days, I sat down with Butlers' drummer and vocalist, and all-round gorgeous human being, George Berry. We talk growth, an upcoming EP, and the summer ahead. 

As we sit down in the intense sun, slip, slop, slapped, I neglect to keep my iPhone in the shade, revealing it to be a bit of an over-heater, leading me to lose half of the recorded interview – as a trained journalist, I should know better; always have a backup. Alas, an interview, an email chain and message or two later, we've put something together to tell you about this group of incredible boys.

Many of you will already know about these fellas, especially if you're from Christchurch. They're a five-piece band with a reputation for silky-smooth melodies - George, Jordan, Walt, Bradley, and Stingy. Initially fitting under the surf-rock umbrella, this band has grown substantially in their sound and image – especially over this past year.

Originally meant to be fresh off a tour in the US of A, but due to the apocalyptic doom we faced this year, it, like many things, was put on hold for the time being. But it may have presented itself as a bit of a blessing in disguise. Several writing retreats and gigs later, the boys are working towards the release of an EP and an action-packed summer in our backyard.

"It's been a year, that's for sure. We were meant to be heading to America in April/May, but ol' Covid had other plans. That was pretty devastating for us, but we charged on, wrote more music and recorded some of the songs which will be coming out in the first few months of the New Year! As people individually, I feel like we've really grown as individuals, which is really awesome to see, it's definitely helping us musically. The boys are in good spirits," George says.

After the success of the last two albums The Halfway House (2017) and the eponymous The Butlers (2019), and the EP Frederick's Friends (2017) which boasts the most well-known track, No Good Nina (which is closing in on 2 million streams on Spotify), I was curious as to how the upcoming release would compare. 

"The album we released nearly two years ago was our way of maturing our sound a wee bit but also keeping that garage-y sound. We lost a little bit of that – not in a bad way – but kind of progressed and lost sight of that image that people originally loved us for. This EP is a way of getting back to that sound but at a whole new level." George says that the band has come a long way since it was first formed and has developed enormously as a collective. 

"We understand our musicianship now; we've got a better handle on our instruments, our chemistry, our production. There's a lot more cohesion; a lot more smarts in the sound. It's what you would expect from a band that's been together for around five years.

Part of their development has been encouraged by the most band-like things to do; a band retreat. After a retreat to the primordial landscape of Kaikōura, they came away with five songs and have whittled these down to three. 

"The other two are great, but I think we came out of that lockdown with so many ideas, and we recorded them and listened to them now, and we were like 'it's just not us' – whether it was because we were liking the idea of a retreat or getting a little bit experimental with the sound and the sights. It was a good learning experience."

George likens this to famous artists such as Tyler The Creator who will record up to 100 songs before making an album.

"They can do that because they've got the time, the resources, the money. But a band like us who don't have all of that. You make your songs, and you record them because that's all you can afford to do, and then you release them. This time around, we recorded these songs and didn't feel the pressure to release them because we had to. We didn't feel like we had to because we can't half-ass this anymore. We've got these three songs; they're awesome."

Taking their even more polished package to the nation in the coming months, the boys have an action-packed summer, with gigs to suit all types. "We're starting with Le Currents – which fellow member Walt is involved in a directorial level – then we go this one called AUM festival. It's on the outskirts of Auckland; a really hippie, mediation festival with apparently the best light show in New Zealand. The Top Twins and Anika Moa are headlining it. We're playing there on the 30th of December.”

They’re then driving to Gisborne for RNV and will be one of the first acts on the Garden Stage to play in 2021, at 12:15am on the 1st of January. “I'm really happy with that one; our first festival was on that stage four years ago, at like two in the afternoon, so it's nice to see that progression." 

George says to be playing on the Garden Stage makes him glad to be moving on from the 'kebab stage'. So-called because at that slot in the afternoon, people are usually eating their kebabs before they get wasted. "It's nice to be veering away from the kebabs – less kebab and a bit more fab."

Into 2021, they'll be heading to Bay Dreams and the Mount, and then they will be playing the Festival of Lights in Taranaki on the 9th of January. Following this, the band will be popping over to Tora Bombora for the first time, then making the trek back down south to the Banks Peninsula Festival in Charteris Bay on the 20th of February. 

There are also plans to hit the rest of the country – and maybe Australia – mid-next year. "Once we've released our new music, we'd love to do a big phat tour around the country around May, and now that this Aussie bubble could be a thing, we'd love to get back over there!" George says.