Jason Kerrison and his mate Panda on his farm at Takahue, near Kaitaia. Photo / White Locket Photography
Jason Kerrison and his mate Panda on his farm at Takahue, near Kaitaia. Photo / White Locket Photography
Northland's best-known pop star — not to mention the first Kiwi singer to survive an entire TV series disguised a tuatara — has dropped his first solo single after a two-year recording hiatus.
Yesterday's release of Jason Kerrison's The Timing coincided with the former Op Shop frontman's unmasking on Sundaynight as the winner of The Masked Singer NZ.
The offbeat talent show featured a panel of judges trying to guess the identity of well-known singers whose faces were hidden in costumes such as a giant tuatara (in Kerrison's case) or a sheep (we're talking about ewe, Troy Kingi from Kerikeri).
Kerrison, who raises alpacas and grows hemp at Takahue, south of Kaitaia, says the show was thoroughly different from anything he'd done before.
''I actually turned the producers down twice when they asked me to do it. I was like, 'Nah, it's not really me man'. It's a bit kooky, it's a bit out there,'' he says.
Jason Kerrison, aka Tuatara, was unmasked on Sunday night as the winner of The Masked Singer NZ. Photo / supplied
But when Kerrison's agent asked him to think about it again he discovered ''some really great actual legends'' such as Patti LaBelle and Chaka Khan had been on the show in the US.
''And then I thought, 'Who the hell am I, just a guy from Invercargill who's living in the North, who's been asked to be in this crazy show', so I got a bit less precious about it. I'm glad I did in the end. We spend too much time trying to be cool and trying to fit in. As soon as I put that aside I had a ball and met a lot of great people.''
The marketing spiel describes his new single as an ''electro-sonic synth-pop ride firmly held down with a tightly syncopated groove''.
Kerrison says The Timing explores the what you're left with when someone really close leaves.
''It's deeply personal but it's also deeply universal. It's one of those things we've all been through man. You're left holding the can and thinking, 'Gee what happened there?'.''
However, rather than dwelling in darkness, the song examines what we still have and what we've learnt.
Former Op Shop frontman Jason Kerrison has released his first solo single. Photo / supplied
The single comes from a concept album which is due out later this year and will supplement the listening experience with sci-fi themed virtual reality content.
Sound-wise Kerrison says it's a combination of what he's been listening to recently, a mix of 1980s pop — such as Kate Bush, Nik Kershaw and Phil Collins — and dark house, to give the album a cinematic feel.
''It's got a whole bunch of elements in there,'' he says.
When he's not touring or making music Kerrison lives in a tiny house at the Takahue farm he calls the Great Northern Retreat, tends to his alpacas and hemp farm, and hangs out with his horse Chappy.
Kerrison says he got alpacas because the grass was too long for other stock. It turns out, however, alpacas only eat short grass.
Former Op Shop frontman Jason Kerrison hanging out with his alpacas. Photo / White Locket Photography
''So now the short grass is a lot shorter and the long grass is even longer and looking terrible, but I love them. They've all got names so they're more like pets. They're gorgeous man, they'll actually sing to you if you're in pain or if you're sick. It's pretty cool.''
Kerrison, who campaigned in the 2019 elections for the Far North District Council's Te Hiku ward, is keeping his options open about a second tilt at local politics.
He feels he has a mandate for a another go but wants to leave it ''for a wee while'' before trying again.
In the meantime, he's back to making music and enjoying life in the Far North on the land he's called his own for the past 10 years.
He sums up his love for Northland like this: ''It's the people, the place, the culture. We're very lucky. We're blessed.''
■ The Timing was recorded at Kerrison's home studio with drums added at Parachute Music in Auckland. It was mixed in London by Paul Matthews and mastered in Berlin by Sebastian Braunreuther.
