Music Industry News

Living Perfection is the musical project of Maté Vella (he/him), a songwriter and producer based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland.

Vella is a prolific guitarist who found his footing in Tāmaki’s teeming All Ages scene of the 2010s. Alongside Lliam Powell and Alexander Grant, he formed the post-punk outfit Cool Cult, releasing two records via Muzai, touring Aotearoa, and performing at Camp A Low Hum. The trio later expanded their lineup, becoming Trust Punks. The band released two acclaimed albums on international indie labels Wharf Cat and Spunk, earning coverage from NME and Pitchfork.

More recently, Vella has turned to electronic production as one half of nxrthwxstkvrdvshivn, while performing in Sunreturn affiliated acts including Long Distance Runner, Chances Are, K M T P, and Family Band. In 2025, he launched Living Perfection as a vehicle to further his electronic practice and explore his Croatian heritage. Early singles ‘Steel and Soul‘ and ‘Ti Si Moj Dom‘ found favour with the local alternative ears, receiving coverage on Undertheradar.co.nz and charting on the 95bFM Top 10.

Following up his four to the floor anthem ‘Late To The Disco‘, today Living Perfection shares his debut EP in full. Ovo Je Za Tebe‘s five tracks play with Ital Disco & modern online genres like Witch House & Vapourwave. Living Perfection has been shining his best loafers to ready for the dancefloor to celebrate the Ovo Je Ze Tebe. Fans can head to Geihinkan Karaoke Bar (17A Albert Street, Auckland CBD) on July 25 to witness Living Perfection in the flesh. He’ll have support from The EE Machine (Emily Edrosa, Street Chant) and Sunreturn label mate Green Grove. Do not miss out by buying a ticket.

The five tracks on Living Perfection’s Ovo Je Za Tebe are akin to arriving at the discothèque in your 1987 BMW 3-Series, keeping your sunglasses on while hitting the dance floor. Inspired by Golden era Italo Disco, the songs are constructed with digital synths working their best to emulate analogue textures, bouncing bass arpeggiation and Vella’s deep baritone croon. The EP was expertly mixed and mastered by Martin Phillips (REPAIRS, God Bows To Math) who polished the tracks to a gold standard.

“I realised in the last few years I want to have fun playing music,” half jokes Vella. “For me music is not that serious, Living Perfection lets me have a good time, dancing in my living room or in the club with people who also want to dance and have fun.”

“The Living Perfection project is definitely a new challenge. I’ve never done anything solo before so at the start it’s quite confronting to not have a bandmate to be like ‘this is good’ or ‘this sucks’. I mainly leave it to my fiancé and baby who are pretty brutal with their commentary. My kid is a pretty good judge of music already so if she dances to a song I’m making at home I take the win.”

Tracks like ‘Hvala ti‘ and ‘Ti Si Moj Dom‘ see Vella begin to explore more of his Croatian heritage: “It’s funny, I never had really thought, or learnt much about where I came from other than hearing little stories here and there from my grandparents. Since making Ovo Je Za Tebe, it’s sparked a lot of interest in my heritage, mainly the language, but also the history of the area. A lot of the songs from the time period are usually love songs or war songs so hopefully Croatians don’t all hate my silly little songs!”

“I’m very excited to put all the songs out and for everyone to enjoy them. Hopefully see you out on the road next year for a dance. Ova pjesma je za tebe.”

Check out all things Living Perfection below:
Instagram
Bandcamp