Words by Hannah Powell

Yo Vocal had a chat with Kevin from The Raddlers, an indie-pop band from Christchurch. On the cusp of releasing their new single ‘A Little While’, we talked about their music, the Christchurch music scene, and how it all began.

The Raddlers, a five-person band, based in Christchurch, was the sweet result of one fateful night. It all began with a TuneSoc – a music-centred club at The University of Canterbury – jam night. As people started to trickle out of the event, five strangers: Baily, Chas, Kevin, Jack, and Liam – gravitated towards each other to play. “We all had similar interests in music,” said Kevin, guitarist and vocalist for the band. Ideas were easy to bring forth, he said. By 3 AM that morning, it was set.

Not wanting to be a covers band, they began to write originals from the get-go. With new tracks came different vibes, but Kevin says, “indie-pop is a safe place to put us”. Their latest single, A Little While, is something of an easy-listening summer breeze. Perfect, one could say, for the harsh Canterbury winter ahead.

“Tesky is in your face, get-down-and-boogie [style],” Kevin explains, whereas their new single is one to “stand back and groove to”. Described as fitting nicely in your pocket, A Little While is one of six songs to be released off their upcoming EP. Different to their 2019 EP Tesky, Kevin says their new EP will have “more of a storytelling element”. Another track to be released, A Long Sunday Drive, was produced to be a sensory experience, much like their earlier release Home.

Their single, Home, a song released by Kevin and vocalist Baily at the peak of the Australian Bush Fires, was recorded, mixed, produced, and released in the space of a weekend up north. A track about the blaze across the Tasman, Kevin describes how homesickness influenced its overall sound. “It hit me on quite a personal note,” he said. “I’m not originally from New Zealand, and I haven’t seen my family in two and a half years”. Collaborating with Mason Bennett (a mate whom they met down in Dunedin while playing a Daily J gig), they used his most recently posted Instagram photo as their cover art – a poignant red sky framed by an aeroplane window. Mild Orange, Kevin said, was a significant influence in their sensory intention.

Although it was Coldplay that brought them together, Kiwi bands such as The Shambles and Soaked Oats also heavily influenced their sound. Being in contact with ol’ Christchurch locals Mako Road, as well as seeing The Butlers evergrowing success, Kevin agrees that “New Zealand bands have been a big part in influencing our music for sure”. Now near the end of NZ Music Month, he can’t get enough of the number of people who have been around to help the bands. With UCSA having given them gigs, as well as their opening for Lime Cordiale in 2018, Kevin puts it down to the kiwi classic ‘two degrees of separation’. “Everyone knows someone,” he says. With a tight-knit band community, and the talk of local-only festivals this summer, “hopefully it will be really encouraging for NZ artists.”

As for the name The Raddlers? Having formed as a band for TuneSoc’s Battle of the Bands, they were formerly known as Cold Socks, inspired by their incredibly damp band room. But at a Boo Radley’s Open Mic night, with the five boys sitting around a table, The Raddlers was born. “You know a radler is a shandy, right?” said one stranger. And with that, the name stuck.

listen to their new single here

and follow their journey here

Interview with The Raddlers