Dunedin musician Kane Strang on success and learning to ask for help

Kane Strang says he's still trying to comprehend his international record deal. Photo / LouLou Callister Baker

Kane Strang is understandably jetlagged when we meet for an interview in early June; he's fresh off the plane from Europe, where he played a selection of shows in cities such as Paris and Berlin; and had toured extensively across the US in March. The tours set vastly broader horizons for an artist who for years had been playing to rooms that were "75 per cent my friends".

But in 2017, international recognition is slowly becoming the new reality for Strang. The Dunedin-based singer this year signed a record deal with US indie label Dead Oceans, owned by US label collective Secretly Group, home to artists such as Mitski, Julianna Barwick and Kiwi Marlon Williams. The deal, which had been in the works for two years, all began with one fateful email from another Secretly Group label, Jagjaguwar.

"I actually thought someone was trying to trick me. I even googled the email address to double check it was real," says Strang.

"When I realised it was, I burst into my flatmate-slash-guitarist's room and went, 'Oh my god, Jagjaguwar emailed me'. It was crazy, and I'm still trying to comprehend it. It all happened quite quickly."

Strang was shifted to Dead Oceans, and two years after that first email, his sophomore album Two Hearts and No Brain is finally being released. He says the album has been a long time coming, having begun work on it right after he released his debut Blue Cheese in 2015.

Kane Strang: "I just woke up one day and was like, I need help." Photo / LouLou Callister Baker

Strang initially attempted to write and record the songs on his own as he had done with his debut, but after a while, things weren't working out. He wanted the record to be a noticeable step up sonically from his previous offering, so he made the choice to phone in a friend, enlisting the help of producer Steven Marr (of Christchurch trip-hop group Doprah).

"I just woke up one day and was like, I need help," says Strang.

"I just had to accept that I didn't know enough to make it sound how I wanted it to sound. I've always had this real trial-and-error approach, and eventually it was just like, error, error, error, error, error.

"[Steven's] a really great songwriter, he's really good with music technology and he's a friend, someone I can really trust and feel comfortable expressing myself around. I knew he liked my music and cared about it; it wasn't just some random guy doing it for a pay cheque or a job."

Kane Strang phoned in a friend for some help on his new album, Two Hearts and No Brain. Photo / Loulou Callister-Baker

Marr and Strang got to work in Dunedin's Chick's Hotel, which, following its closure as a venue, has found new life as a recording studio. Marr's touch helped elevate Strang's songs to the polished, nuanced sound he wanted, and the result is sublime; Two Hearts and No Brain is like alt-rock from the future, with richly layered guitars providing a lush canvas for Strang's sturdy vocals and lyrical witticisms.

With the album finally out tomorrow, it feels as though Strang is poised for a breakthrough. That pressure is not going unnoticed by the singer himself, who humbly embraces the challenge.

"It took me a long time to accept how my life was going to be now. I've got this opportunity, and no matter how daunting it is, I really want to try my best now and stop just standing there like a zombie on stage freaking out. I want to be a good performer."

LOWDOWN:

Who: Kane Strang
What: New album Two Hearts and No Brain
When: Out June 30 on Dead Oceans