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Brassouls

Brassouls formed in 1999 by Kingsley Melhuish in Auckland New Zealand, and debuted at Khuja Lounge mid year. A year later, the dozen strong Brassouls entered a live-to-air version of the composition 'Fugit' in the B-Net Demo Derby, and won the prize money to record a studio version. The album version of 'Fugit' features on the acclaimed 'Not Your Ordinary Municipal Brass Band' along with Rick Bryant's 'Lies' and the eclectic pulsations of 'Quixotomosis' featuring didgeridoo and conch shells. Brassouls describe themselves as a band of wind musicians, inspired by the sounds of "second line" New Orleans marching brass bands. Such influences include Dirty Dozen Brass Band, The Rebirth Brass Band and The New Orleans Nightcrawlers. Brassouls are a particularly Kiwi take on this idea however. Many of the members in this particular ensemble have roots in church brass bands, or traditional English and Welsh colliery style brass bands, for which New Zealand is renown as having some of the best in the world. This is the brass sound that many folks are accustomed to in New Zealand, and they are very strong traditions in Aotearoa.