So can you tell us a little bit about your musical journey, some of the previous bands you've played in and the journey up to the release of this debut solo record?

Let me think.

I picked up bass guitar, I think I must have been around 15 and took some lessons.

And I think the main reason I did that was because my brother was playing guitar and he was just like, well, you can play the bass.

I've got the guitar covered.

And yeah, so it quickly became quite a big part of my life and I spent it.

many many hours just like playing in my room and then yeah after school I went to a music academy called Mains I was living in Auckland at the time and formed my first band there that was a band called Vacants and I played bass in that band and it was sort of like like post-punk-y kind of stuff and yeah we played for quite a while and the Auckland scene at that time was now I can like looking back on it I realise it was actually really strong and there were bands like the Mint Chicks and Die Die Die that we'd play with all the time and there just seemed to be lots of great bands so that was cool but the whole time i was in that band i i was kind of like thinking about writing my own music and so shortly after that started up a band with my cousin that was much more um electronic based um with like beats and um i was playing the keyboard and We put out two records and by the time we put the second one out, I'd moved overseas to Shanghai in China.

This is Final Chance followed by Safety.

How do you think that transition phase lent itself to the music?

Um yeah I don't know it was um it was pretty it was kind of a rough adjustment period um coming back and yeah and I and I was kind of like living in a tiny tiny little um shoebox apartment in Shanghai and then was back here and kind of, like, living in the countryside and grappling with a lot of stuff.

So, yeah, it had a big kind of impact on the writing, and I think I kind of...

At some point, I kind of decided to lean into it a bit, and there's some references to, like... certain places in China and kind of like quite specific references to that period of my life but then also yeah like something like Make It Simple was very much in my mind like a New Zealand song and I guess I was even sort of thinking a little bit about New Zealand music and things from the 90s that were kind of like I don't know, even something like Good Shirt was kind of like maybe in the back of my mind a little bit.

yeah you're also one half of the duo big sigh with rachel perry um this project sort of feels sonically a bit more restrained or maybe folk rooted do you tend to write with a certain outfit in mind or does that reveal itself to you afterwards

yeah i i kind of do these days and it kind of works I don't know, for whatever reason, for my brain, it works nicely having these two kind of different outlets.

But occasionally there's been stuff where I'm like, hmm, this could go in either direction.

But for the most part, it's been good to have that, to have Big Si as an outlet as well, because it's meant that for Nicholas Joseph, I'm like, okay, let me just play electric guitar, like really play the guitar.

Do you tend to write with a certain outfit in mind, or does that reveal itself to you afterwards?

Uh, yeah.

I, I kinda do these days, and it kind of works, I don't know.

For, uh, for whatever reason, for my brain, it, it works nicely having these two kind of different outlets.

But occasionally there's been stuff where I'm like, "Hmm, this could go in either direction." Um, but for the most part it's been good to have that, um, to have Big Sci as an outlet as well, 'cause it, it's meant that for Nicholas Joseph I'm like, "Okay, let me just play electric guitar," like really play the guitar in a, in a, a way that I enjoy.

Um, like electric guitar and, and all the kind of like noisiness and embracing that kind of aspect of the music.

Whereas, um, Big Sci's a lot more, um, sort of gentle and f- I suppose, like vocally focused.

Where can people see you and where can they buy tickets?

How do you think that transition phase lent itself to the music?

Um yeah I don't know it was um it was pretty it was kind of a rough adjustment period um coming back and yeah and I and I was kind of like living in a tiny tiny little um shoebox apartment in Shanghai and then was back here and kind of, like, living in the countryside and grappling with a lot of stuff.

So, yeah, it had a big kind of impact on the writing, and I think I kind of...

At some point, I kind of decided to lean into it a bit, and there's some references to, like... certain places in China and kind of like quite specific references to that period of my life but then also yeah like something like Make It Simple was very much in my mind like a New Zealand song and I guess I was even sort of thinking a little bit about New Zealand music and things from the 90s that were kind of like I don't know, even something like Good Shirt was kind of like maybe in the back of my mind a little bit.

yeah you're also one half of the duo big sigh with rachel perry um this project sort of feels sonically a bit more restrained or maybe folk rooted do you tend to write with a certain outfit in mind or does that reveal itself to you afterwards

yeah i i kind of do these days and it kind of works I don't know, for whatever reason, for my brain, it works nicely having these two kind of different outlets.

But occasionally there's been stuff where I'm like, hmm, this could go in either direction.

But for the most part, it's been good to have that, to have Big Si as an outlet as well, because it's meant that for Nicholas Joseph, I'm like, okay, let me just play electric guitar, like really play the guitar.

Yeah.

So there's been a lot of water under the bridge since then.

And yeah, it just took a while to kind of like finish the production side of things and the mastering.

And then honestly, just to kind of like figure out a good plan and get tour dates into my calendar and all that kind of stuff.

So yeah, it's been a long process, but it's been super rewarding.

And actually just yesterday... my cassette tape of the album arrived so that was really cool now that I've got this like really wicked physical thing that I can hold and say like hey this is it so that was a yeah like a really nice moment yesterday

So this album, Word Is On The Street, it's about regional Aotearoa New Zealand.

Yeah, a little bit.