This feature is part of a new Scene Report on Dunedin. Check out the series here.
Asta Rangu dropped their debut album, ENTRTNMNT (2022), and then proceeded to bounce.
“We’ve been a but [sic] quiet since our album release and tour — call it a much needed rest after two years of growth as musicians, artist, and most of all as friends,” they wrote in a quasi-farewell post on Instagram.
“The near future is not certain for Asta Rangu now, we are living in different parts of the country, and the recharge may take some time. But we had a blast making music and presenting it together.”
Who knows if we’ll ever hear a second album from the Ōtepoti band — that social media message was three years ago now — but it would be very welcome.
Richard Ley-Hamilton, Julie Dunn, Josh Nicholls, and Angus McBryde, who all featured in different bands and flirted with other genres around their city, let loose with rewarding results on ENTRTNMNT.
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As Ley-Hamilton said, the four-piece “approached each song fresh. We embraced the wilderness of each song and paved a new way every time.”
“To suit the energy and idea of a song, we would adjust mics, instrumentation, our intensity, at the same time trying to allow as much flexibility for later in the process. It was naturally less streamlined, but resetting between tracks gave us the freedom to be creative and experiment. After having this experience, I don’t believe I’ll ever record any other way.”
ENTRTNMNT is a collection of pristine indie-pop that revels in experimentation. They utilise intriguing instruments throughout the record, including a vintage Korg Delta synth from the ’80s. Stabbing synths drive the poppier tracks, while Ley-Hamilton and his bandmates prove themselves equally adept at diving into heavier, more aggressive moments.
A track often sounds sonically accessible before being taken into abrasive, unexpected territory, the sound of musicians challenging each other. It all culminates in the towering and moving “SNGBRD”, a climactic final track fit to close almost any record.
“There is some sense of an orderly pop song, but I love colouring it with chaotic tones and textures. For me, that represents what it is to live,” as Ley-Hamilton told Under The Radar.
Listening to these tracks, it’s easy to hear why the likes of The Beths and The Chills asked Asta Rangu to support them on tour, and Aotearoa critics loved the album too.
“Asta Rangu have pulled off an adventurous chronicle… a glittering drive through starry sky, with surprising twists and bursts of sunlight through the dark clouds… an impressive debut album,” praised Flying Nun Records.
RNZ called the tracks “lush and listenable,” noting that they felt “spacious and inviting — imperfectly formed, but deliberately so.”
Otago Daily Times wrote that ENTRTNMNT “hits all of its marks with grace and formidable energy,” while Under The Radar hailed it as “nifty new noise-pop, equal part crunchy noise and charming melodies.”
Listen to Asta Rangu’s album, which was released on Dunn and Ley-Hamilton’s independent record label trace/untrace, above.
