Electric Wire Hustle searching for their 'own voice'

Electric Wire Hustle view their new EP as a journey.

Expect the unexpected from these Kiwis, writes Paula Yeoman.

It's only five tracks long but Electric Wire Hustle's latest offering Aeons has it all, from tales of android suicide to a guest vocal appearance from Kimbra and enough cosmic energy to launch a space ship.

It's what fans have come to expect of the genre-hopping Kiwis. Although Mara TK - who shares vocal, instrumental and producing duties with Taay Ninh - says they have gone out on a limb in their continued quest to find "their own voice within this massive back catalogue of all the music ever created".

"Our first record was very specific to a certain style. It was like a modern Detroit hip-hop record, so for people involved in the J Dilla scene it just fit perfectly into that world. He'd passed away and there was a big resurgence in his music," TK explains.

"But our last album was a complete departure in sound. It was like we were lost in a forest and not sure which way to go. You know, you listen to it, and it's like 'Where do these guys fit?' And the truth is we had no idea at that point. Anyway, miraculously, this record [Aeons] is a cohesive body of work."

TK views the EP as a journey, or a narrative drawn from his own experiences of touring.

"A lot of shit has gone down over the years. For example in Desert of the Real there's a part where this guy is searching for his kidnapped android lover and he breaks down on the highway that stretches from LA to New Orleans and he ends up playing a well-paid gig for a biker gang.

"I have done well-paid gigs for gangs," he laughs.

"So it's like taking some of my experiences on the road and heightening them. And, I guess I've always just wanted to get to a place with lyrics where I can put enough information together, that I can draw a vivid and detailed story."

EWH has achieved that here with plenty of twists and turns, which weave TK's tales in with hip-hop, electronica and psychedelic soul to create an otherworldly vibe.

The songs provide a taste of where the act is hoping to take their next full-length album, and TK adds that the positive feedback they've had so far has reassured them that their journey is pointing them in the right direction.

"It reinforces that it is translating and maybe we should take this narrative thing a bit further. But we're also the kind of cats who will completely change stuff right at the last minute," he laughs. Translated: always expect the unexpected from EWH.

• Electric Wire Hustle's new EP Aeons is out now.