All back to my place

Neil Finn awaits the arrival of his musical mates at Roundhead studios for the next 7 Worlds Collide series and recording sessions. Photo / Richard Robinson

Tonight, Neil Finn has invited a few friends over to his place for a sing-song.

It's just a small gathering really. Just Finn, some musical mates ... oh and an invited audience of 40 or so, a small team of sound and radio people, and four bands - the Motts, Dictaphone Blues, Dr Colossus and Naked and Famous.

It's five bands if you count Finn's own all-star pick-up group - which he's dubbed "Loose Unit" - which includes Don McGlashan, Sean "SJD" Donnelly, and Bic Runga.

They're first up in the main room at Finn's Roundhead Studios, whipping through early Split Enz' Spellbound and a tag-team vocal take on Sharon O'Neill's classic Maxine.

"It's quite odd singing it as a man," he laughs later about the O'Neill track, "it definitely changes the song a little bit. But I think Don really nailed it. There's a black woman lurking deep in that Celtic body of his."

That's just the start of a night which has the invitees skipping from Roundhead's A and B studio to catch the next act, with a brief pause between floors where Finn and McGlashan play the latter's Andy, enhanced by the stairwell's natural reverb.

But it's really the young bands' night, especially the extravagant gypsy-rock of Dr Colossus, a group which Finn singles out when talking about the talented young Auckland acts beating a path to Roundhead's doors.

"I think there's a genetic spike - I am very impressed by our young people at the moment. It's exciting to see young musicians - for instance that Dr Colossus Band and that guy Leon [Radojkovic] is 22 years old and he's doing those arrangements which are just madly sophisticated, nutty and exciting."

But there are ulterior reasons for the gathering. The main one is that this a try-out for a possible "Live at Roundhead" show for Radio New Zealand National which he has presented as an idea and hopes will be taken up by the station.

"I love public radio. I always have. I am well known for advocating for a youth network and that's been very disappointing for me obviously. But on the other hand Radio New Zealand are great and they do a great job at what they are good at. And the idea of having live uninterrupted music going across the whole country is very much the public radio thing that I love - getting out to Motueka and Gore with the same music that people don't really get a chance to listen to."

Finn says now that he's based back in Auckland and is involved in the studio he's finding himself part of a musical community, something he hasn't always had in his past career. The young acts playing tonight say he's been generous with Roundhead's facilities. His musical son Liam has also helped him make some musical connections.