Clap Clap Riot

About the Artist

Rock music with a pop overlay describes Auckland based indie maestros Clap Clap Riot.

With a live performance that could set any crowd alight, and edgy hooks mixed with wild vocals on the recordings, these guys are destined to make a mark on the music industry abroad. Clap Clap Riot have been compared to internationally recognised bands like The Easybeats, The Hives and The Kinks along with receiving rave reviews from New Zealand media for their highly energetic and captivating live performance.

“[Clap Clap Riot] were bursting with energy, the songs were ridiculously hooky and they had a fully formed sound and style. The combination of fizzy, perfectly formed pop songs and Stephen Heard’s fidgety vocals is a daunting one, and the band is a rare example of the complete package. They could truly end up anywhere.”
Duncan Greive, Editor, Real Groove

Consisting of four members the band have completed production work with Jimmy Christmas (The D4) on their debut EP and have played shows alongside The Datsuns, Cut Off Your Hands and The Checks. They have also completed two headline tours throughout New Zealand and performed at the Big Day Out, Rhythm and Vines and Southern Amp festivals. MTV Australia televised a live performance from Clap Clap Riot when they performed at ‘The Lair’ alongside Evermore and Air New Zealand Fashion Week were graced with a stirring live show at one of New Zealand’s most prestigious annual events.

Clap Clap Riot were announced as the ‘Best Unsigned Artist’ in New Zealand through the Myspace Peoples Choice Awards 2009 and were also recognised as a future award winner in collaboration with the 2009 Vodafone NZ Music Awards.

Their debut 5-Track EP TV Knows Better is drenched with rock n’ roll and sprinkled with pop sweetness. The EP has seen two singles, “Don’t Want Your Baby” and “Thief” receive extensive airplay across C4, MTV, and Juice TV as well as hitting the radio airwaves on The Rock, The Edge, and Kiwi FM.

“Their debut EP features five extremely catchy tracks packed with duelling guitar riffs, heavy hitting drums and powerful vocals giving the songs a lot of substance.”
The Groove Guide

“We love Clap Clap Riot! We picked up the band through our new artist discovery programme and gave them funding for recording and making a couple of music videos and we have featured the band twice on our Kiwi Hit Disc radio promo samplers. The competition for NZ On Air funding and Kiwi Hit Disc is enormous ... like thousands of applications a year … and so that is no mean feat and says that this is one serious band to watch out for…!”
Brendan Smyth, NZ Music Manager - NZ On Air