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Alec is the project of Hugh Piesse (he/him), a musician, songwriter and producer based in Tāmaki Makaurau. As Alec, Piesse creates contemplative alternative rock, despondent yet wryly devotional, all through a veiled vocal delivery.

Piesse has a long history within alternative music in Aotearoa, performing in groups like Caroles (alongside Reuben Winter & Lawrence Goodwin), Crook, Purex, New Folder and Tied On Teeth. When not working on original material he acts as a musical journeyman, having appeared in live performances by The Pleasure Magenta, Hot Couture, K M T P & The Naenae Express.

Today Alec shares his second album, Endless Pasture. He describes the album as “exploring living in New Zealand from multiple perspectives and characters. The good, the bad and the ugly.”

Alec crafted Endless Pasture in the heart of winter, moving between his Langholm flat and a windowless storage shed, each imbuing the album with a distinct atmosphere. Upon the release of the single ‘Another Party’ (May 15) Piesse explained that “Endless Pasture sort of revolves around people trying to escape the circumstances that they’ve ended up in, but are too mired in them to change I think amongst other things.”

Repeat listeners will discover traces of the Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine, as well as nods to Allen Toussaint and Burt Bacharach. “The first half of Endless Pasture is very dreamy. I was hoping to make something sound like you were listening to your subconscious. The second half gets more lucid. This involved a lot of nostalgic sounds I lifted from the Alesis Quadraverb, using distorted guitars and muffled vocals to flirt with shoegaze. Sort of like a submerged version of a ’90s songwriter.”

Piesse wasn’t alone when making Endless Pasture, with confidants including Fraser Hunter, Akaiti Tangiiau, Jake Preston, Seamus McGuire. “I make music with these people quite often so we all know what we’re trying to achieve just based on past experience. It really is just us hanging out, having a good time, maybe a beer and having fun with it.”

With the album now released Piesse comments “Practically speaking, I’ve worked on quite a lot of music since I finished the tracks on Endless Pasture. I put a lot of time and effort into making these songs into something that I felt wasn’t half-assed. The album means a lot to me in that sense and I’m really looking forward to anyone who’s ever listened to Alec getting a much better album to enjoy than those old hunks of junk.”

Check out all things Alec below:
Bandcamp
Spotify

Photo credit: Delilah Lin