Electric Wire Hustle expand to four

Electric Wire Hustle have expanded to four as they prepare to release their second CD.

With a new line-up, representation in New York and a second CD in the wings, Electric Wire Hustle are on the verge of an exciting year.

In the past 12 months founding band members Mara TK (vocals, bass, guitar) and David "Taay Ninh" Wright (keyboards, synths) have added two "incredible musicians" to the mix.

"Johnny Lawrence is a bass player who has been living in Toronto, we used to play together in the early years in Christchurch; Mario Crew from Philadelphia is our new drummer - he's added a wealth of colour to the picture," Wright says.

"Mara and I have taken the time to think about how we want to evolve the band, we have been working on the sophomore album and have started recording material for a third album."

Set for release in June or July, Love Can Prevail features songs which stay true to the Electric Wire Hustle brand, while progressing their sound to a new level.

"It's similar but different, it's still rooted in soul music, it's working that in with hip hop elements ... we really wanted to capture more of a band sound.

"For this record, definitely there's a lot more live drumming, it's a little more guitar led; because we have been touring for the past three years ... a lot of them begin as sketches on the road, we assembled those sketches in the studio where we started talking about what themes we might want to explore further."

The tracks were primarily recorded at Wellington's Blue Barn and throughout Germany, during the band's year-long stint in Berlin two years ago.

"From those sketches came initial concepts, those ideas came from different places, on a train on the way home from Amsterdam, another was in New York.

"It's the luxury of being able to get little ideas down ... you can just get those bits and pieces on the fly and work them up."

They were excited to finally reveal their first offering since 2010's self titled debut.

"We have got new management in place in New York so they have opened up huge new opportunities."

With bandmates based offshore it was important for the four-piece to maximise the time they spent together - making the most of any opportunity to lay down fresh tracks.

When they weren't holed up in the studio, Electric Wire Hustle welcomed 2014 in the opening slot at Martinborough's La De Da New Year Festival, and more recently played Rippon in Wanaka.

"It was a lot of fun; my wife and I also had our first baby so there's a lot of stuff that we need to work around."

A chance to play at The Cabana in Napier on Saturday with like-minded musicians was yet another highlight.

"It's so enjoyable hanging with people who are so passionate ... it's truly special we felt a real sense of community and whanau."

A taster off Love Can Preval is available on Electric Wire Hustle's website and Facebook pages.Tickets to Saturday's show, starting at 8pm are $20 from Music Machine in Napier and Big Noise Audio in Hastings.