Birthed in the dirty depths of a Dunedin flat (shared by the entire band), Hot Donnas' self-titled EP has arrived, unleashing a fiery and ravenous twelve minutes of non-stop riffs, groove and intensity.
From the initial kicker of track ‘Fear Me’, followed by an unwavering urgency in ‘Loose Teeth’, the EP backs it down a notch to groove through ‘My Old Man’, before finishing off with the ‘Rag Doll’, a rock ‘n’ roll extravaganza pulling deeply from their 90’s influences, leaving a lasting, breathless impression.
As Mitch Sizemore of the band explains, “These songs all stemmed from our normal procedure of starting with a guitar riff and fleshing it out from there. It has helped that we all moved into the same flat at the start of this year and were able to get home from work and jam without a fuss. It meant that we were able to get a lot of practice in and have the songs 100% ready to go before we made the trip up to Auckland to record.”
Diving into the studio with Steve Marr at Roundhead Studios (Shihad, BENEE) alongside the support and backing from NZ On Air, Hot Donnas took their chance to take the intensity, professionalism and groove of their tracks to another level. Providing the “sonic punch” that their collective ear-holes had been seeking. Recorded live, the track was able to retain the energy that makes Hot Donnas a band keeping you on the edge of your seat, concerned that they’ll explode out of your speakers at any moment. Chris Chetland (Lorde, Scribe, Six60) partnered with the band for mastering, adding a crisp edge to the track.
“Being able to record at Roundhead was an experience that I will never forget. Hot Donnas as a collective tend to be very relaxed and we try not to take things too seriously, so it was nice to break out of the comfort zone and get into a professional studio. Personally, I was very nervous going into the first day of the recording session as a lot of highly regarded NZ bands have recorded there. Steve did a great job of making it relaxing and enjoyable and I feel that's how we were able to record the songs with ease," Mitch added.
Undoubtedly an act worth celebrating, Hot Donnas have a bright & intense future ahead. With international borders reopening and live music returning, EP ‘Hot Donnas’ will surely become the underground-anthem of sweaty dive-bars, clubs and pubs from Dunedin to Darwin!
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