tiny ruins

Praise for “Some Were Meant For Sea”

"her voice, somewhere between Karen Dalton and Nathaniel Rateliff, is filled with contradictions - fragile yet forthright, vulnerable but fiercely determined - the lyrics allusive and elusive as dreams" - 4 Stars - MOJO

"she's managed to avoid the applied angst that so often ruins the work of female singer-songwriters and created a debut album of vast beauty” Tom Ravenscroft - BBC 6 Music

"an absolutely gorgeous album" - Bob Harris - BBC Radio 2

"Exquisite" - Word

Album Of The Year - Mark Coles - BBC World Service

"one of the most sophisticated and moving albums of the year" - New Zealand Herald

Spunk Records are very pleased to announce a new set of recordings from Tiny Ruins, with the Auckland songwriter and musician to release Haunts on Friday April 19. A collection of old songs written by Hollie Fullbrook in her early twenties and recorded in the Auckland summer of 2012, it follows her cherished 2011 debut, Some Were Meant For Sea.

Having returned from touring Europe for five months as a duo, Fullbrook and double bassist Cass Basil returned to New Zealand with intentions to begin recording the second Tiny Ruins album, having recently demoed its songs in Berlin. While discussing options, the pair heard that friend Jonathan Pearce, known for his stealthy recordings of gigs around Auckland, had acquired an 8-track tape machine. An idea arose to brush the dust from some older songs that were long unplayed, suspending the impending album recording, or in theory, further preparing for it. Enlisting long-time collaborator Alexander Freer on drums, the initial thought was for the sessions to be spontaneous, simple and fun, while testing out the tape machine for Jonathan.

They took Pearce, his 8-track and several other pieces of unspeakable equipment cobbled and leant by friends to somewhere in the middle of nowhere, arriving to their Waipu studio, a house on a one-time commune set deep on the outskirts of Northland's Brynderwyn Hills, a few hours after departing Auckland.

With very limited fresh tape, the recording session took just three days. Each song was limited to four takes which feature Freer on drums, Basil on double bass and backing vocals and Fullbrook on guitar and vocals, recorded live in the same room. Some minimal overdubs of bowed double bass, snare and piano were added in the late hours of the final night. Pearce and Simon Gooding mixed the tracks live from the tape machine into a vintage 1970s Neve desk at York St Studios, and it was lovingly mastered, again by Gooding.

Among Fullbrook’s originals, Peg Leg Howells' ‘Rolling Mill Blues’ makes a stand-out appearance on Haunts, having first appeared in her orbit on a mixtape from a friend in Montreal. Three cuts were initially demoed for Some Were Meant for Sea, and most have been played live on the very rare occasion.

Songs written by a younger voice, and recorded some years later in the carefree southern summer, Haunts is a bluesy record; a spontaneous bluster of nostalgia and maybe something a little spookier. Fullbrook’s sentimental side is clear over six rich and inviting pieces – a footnote perhaps to Some Were Meant For Sea, and part of the storied trail to Tiny Ruins’ next release of brand new material.