The Datsuns, with Ben Cole seated. Photo / Supplied
With new album Eye To Eye released at the end of New Zealand Music Month, the Datsuns are hooning back on to the Kiwi rock music scene. We pull drummer Ben "Poundin' Soul" Cole over for a quick catch up.
1 Describe the Datsuns in 2021 in one sentence.
Four humans sprinkled around the globe firing sounds at each other
2 It's been six or seven years since we've heard from you. Where have you been?
Children have been sprouted and grown. Them things need a lot of encouragement! There's a whole other band's-worth now.
3 What have the events of the last 12 months meant for you and your music?
In the past we would have been playing somewhere but so much is closed for business right now, so instead there are new songs piling up. I don't think it'll be quite so long until the next album!
4 How does your new music best demonstrate your evolution as a band?
I think it's a lot more diverse. We're spread out physically from each other and we're spreading out in different ways musically too. We've got more ideas to throw in the pot.
5 What one song do you most love to perform live and why?
I really couldn't say. Playing a show is kinda like playing one really long song with lots of breaks and lots of different parts in it, so I choose that. I like to wander through the whole thing.
6 What does success as a musician mean for you?
Being able to spend all of your time swapping noises with like-minded people and coming away from it feeling better and fuller than when you started.
7 What has been the best development in the music industry in the past few decades?
The price of entry into the world of the recorded musician is much lower than it used to be. You used to need a studio and all kinds of gear to record an album but now you can record one on your phone or laptop and put it online and you're done. You can cut out so many middlemen, it's great.
8 If you could only listen to one album by another artist for the rest of your life, what would it be?
An impossible question! I say Sam Cooke LIVE at the Harlem Square Club. The way he can get a crowd going, you know everybody's having an excellent time. It's super joyful
9 If you were curating a dream music festival, who would be on the bill, alive or dead?
First of all, you're gonna need a bigger tent! Jimi Hendrix Experience, Blue Cheer, Dead Meadow, Reigning Sound, The Hives, HDU, David Bowie, New Kingdom, Minor Threat, Swans, Nick Cave + Bad Seeds etc etc. Too many!
10 Where do you see the Datsuns in five years?
A couple more albums under the belt and a couple more tours coming up!
• The Datsuns' seventh album Eye To Eye is out now.