8 Questions with Die! Die! Die!’s Andrew Wilson (Sino Antipodean Music Exchange!)
by Dan Shapiro
Formed in 2003 in Dunedin, New Zealand, noise punk trio Die! Die! Die! play a special brand of noisy and eclectic art punk, that has earned them critical acclaim, and the distinct opportunity to record with legendary producer / audio engineer Steve Albini (Nirvana, The Pixies).
Having already toured alongside The Pixies, Wire and The Blood Brothers, Die! Die! Die! is now set to make their China debut, courtesy of tenzenmen Records and This Town Touring, playing at D-22 this Friday, June 3rd.
In advance of their upcoming Beijing show, Die! Die! Die! frontman Andrew Wilson entertained us for a quick “8 Questions with …”
CW: How did your whole China tour come together?
Andrew Wilson: Tom [Matessi] from [This Town Touring] got in touch with us a while ago about the possibility of us doing shows in China, it was nearly the last place any of us thought we would end up touring around and of course we jumped at the chance to make it happen as I never thought it would be possible for us to play many dates in China.
CW: Can you quickly describe your sound?
AW: Our sound is a constantly evolving movement of our collective thoughts and ideas of what we think punk rock music is to us.
CW: What’s the story behind the name Die! Die! Die!?
AW: We formed the band with one main goal of playing in as many small towns in New Zealand as possible, with this is mind we knew we needed a name that would try to create as much interest as possible, of course we quickly decided to broaden our horizons and play as many places in the world would could, which I suppose leads us to China.
CW: You guys are affiliated with the well-known Flying Nun label. What were your first thoughts when you signed to such a legendary label? How have they helped you grow as a band?
AW: Flying Nun was of course one of my favorite labels from New Zealand as a teenager with so many artists which were complete influences being released on the label. It was a label that captured the spirit of strange and very interesting music coming out of NZ in the 80s and 90s. We are still having to grow independently as a band, like we always have.
CW: You’ve been around for about 8 years now, what’s been your favorite country to tour and why?
AW: New Zealand being home and all is always a wonderful time when a show comes together, but everywhere we have ever played has been a great experience in so many different ways, it’s far too hard to have a favorite.
CW: What role did Tenzenmen Records and This Town Touring play in booking your tour?
AW: They were the people that got in touch with us and have put the whole tour together so we put our trust in them that this will be a truly special time.
CW: What are your hopes for this upcoming China tour?
AW: I hope we can play to as many people as possible, and that the people that do see us get something out of our show that will inspire them in some way.
CW: Aside from your instruments, what must you bring on every tour?
AW: Your sense of humor.
CW: What can Chinese fans expect from Die Die Die?
AW: A really fun exciting show, and quite possibly something no one in China would have seen before.
