ALAE

Comprised of multi-instrumentalists Alex Farrell-Davey and Allister Meffan, drummer Jayden Lee and bassist Marika Hodgson, emerging New Zealand band Alae are poised to take their sophisticated brand of indie pop to the world.

Coming together as a two piece in 2016, Alex and Allister delivered their folk-inspired sound throughout New Zealand. With solo gigs and nationwide support slots for Hollie Smith and a sell-out Auckland show with Boston’s Lake Street Dive, Alae made a strong impact in only a few short months. The pair self-funded their self-titled, 6 song debut EP, which was recorded at Roundhead Studios and released in November 2016, along with 6 stunning music videos to accompany.

The emotive duo then wrapped a stellar year with the addition of drummer Jayden Lee and bassist Marika Hodgson, performing as a full band with a fuller sound at the legendary NZ Rhythm & Vines Festival. In early 2017, Alae’s debut EP was nominated for the Best Independent Release for the prestigious Taite Music Prize. Refusing to rest on their laurels, Alae hit the road through February and March, taking their music throughout New Zealand, and on to Australia, where they played in support of their singles, “Things Change” and “From 1 to 3.” Both singles gained significant air play on New Zealand radio, while the videos were play-listed on Edge TV and MTV NZ & AU.

Another successful New Zealand tour during August commanded sold out shows as well a follow-up trip to Australia in September. Alae wooed both audiences and industry giants with a performance at the prestigious Big Sound Festival and Conference. Spot plays on radio stations Triple J, Double J, ABC radio and 4ZZZ further bolstered Alae’s infiltration of Australian ears.

Capping off a stellar 2017, the band’s freshly released single “Too Strung Up” was premiered on November 9 by Rolling Stone Australia and launched straight into Spotify’s prestigious New Music Friday playlist in New Zealand, Australia and the United States where followers number over 2.3 million. Further high profile international playlist additions across the platform have helped expose “Too Strung Up” to over 1.4 million new listeners across the world, breaking NZ records for local independent artists on the Spotify service. The acclaimed single “Stone Cold” has traced the same steps with another debut through Spotify’s New Music Friday in Australia, New Zealand and the USA and has featured on Apple Music’s ‘Best of the Week’ playlist after a Billboard.com video premiere.

Fast forward to 2018, Alae's album Henry Street arrived on October 26th, where they celebrated by jumping straight in to a New Zealand wide tour. Henry St hit number two on the iTunes album charts, number one on the iTunes alternative album charts, and number five on the New Zealand album charts.

Looking ahead, a tour to Australia is planned, and possibly America where..."Our music has its biggest audience over there, possibly because it has a sort of heartfelt country-folk flavour they appreciate. It would be great to get in front of some decent-sized crowds on that side of the world."

Over Summer, Alae busied themselves with summer festivals from the River Sounds Festival to most recently the prestigious Homegrown 2019. They have also been on tour with the John Butler Trio and L.A.B performing across New Zealand's idyllic outdoor locations after locking in a high profile support slot.

Alae aren't slowing down anytime soon. Most recently, they've released their single 'Help You Now' and are already working on new music.

VIDEOS

DISCOGRAPHY

Henry St - 2018
Stone Cold - 2018
Too Strung Up (Acoustic) - 2017
Too Strung Up - 2017
From 1 to 3 - 2017
Things Change - 2017
alae - 2016
All Gived Up - 2016

PRESS

stuff.co.nz - November 2018
nzmusic.org - September 2018
nzmusic.org - October 2018
Atwood Magazine - October 2018
Atwood magazine - April 2018
chillfltr.com - April 2018
Billboard.com - April 2018
nzmusic.org - November 2017
themusic.com.au - August - 2017

BOOKINGS/MORE INFO
JAZ KAPOW / FENELLA STRATTON
E: jaz@twicethehype.co.nz / fenella@twicethehype.co.nz
P: +64 21 128 7475 / +64 21 054 0699