Barb

The mutant love child of southern hemisphere it-kids Liam Finn, Lawrence Arabia, Eliza-Jane Barnes, Connan Mockasin and Seamus Ebbs, Barb is what happens when five passionately creative friends lock themselves in a world-class studio for a month with no plans and plenty of wine. On a break from their successful primary solo careers, the band had no expectations other than simply, making music. "We just booked the studio for a month, which is quite daunting in a way. It was just a complete risk and an unknown. We didn't have any songs or anything written," says Finn of the sessions. Musically, one can hear Liam's avant-garde leanings as well as Arabia's (James Milne) moody melodicism taking center stage, underpinned by a collective obsession with their own irreverent version of American soul music. Finn chuckles, "I'm not sure what's happening to us - we're all white but we're all trying to be black and make funky soul music."