Hamerkop perform live surround-sound sculpture experience

Hamerkop is a pair of Baltimore-based sound nerds, one of whom hails from Christchurch. Annabel Alpers (formerly of Bachelorette) is a composer, singer and instrumentalist; Adam Cooke is a Baltimorean drummer and audio engineer.

Their new work, Remote, is a live, multiple-speaker, surround sound experience. The project began as an exploration of the beauty of sound, inspired by Alpers’ collection of field recordings from her homeland and beyond. The resulting work still contains the pop sentiment of Alpers’ previous work in Bachelorette, anchored by Cooke’s minimalist drumming as she expands her use of experimental textures and vocal layers.

In Annabel’s words, “My intention is to create a live sonic experience that encompasses the audience, and is as cathartic for you to listen to as it is for me to make. I'm inspired by the beauty of my remote homeland, New Zealand, which I miss so much when I'm away. I'm also inspired to find beauty in parts of everyday life - patterns and forms, mundanity, longing, excitement, nature (tamed and untamed), connections, fragility... (the list is endless) - and attempt to communicate this awe to you, through music.”

Listen to Radio New Zealand's interview with Annabel Alpers about her project, 'Remote'.

Praise for 'Remote':

"Why should you care about any of this? Because Alpers has calmly and quietly built a substantial cult following around the world, producing some of the most arresting and distinctive pop music ever made in this country." Grant Smithies, Stuff, 18 June 2017

“From her very first EP as Bachelorette in 2005, Annabel Alpers was lauded by local music critics. Her first album, Isolation Loops, prompted Gary Steel to write in Metro: ‘Alpers’ imagination makes most songwriters seem like dullards.” Gareth Shute, The Spinoff, 20 June 2017

Hamerkop 'Remote'

Wellington: Carter Observatory
Thursday, February 21
7:30pm
Tickets from Museums Wellington

Auckland: Fringe 2019
Q Theatre, Loft
Thursday, February 28
7:30pm AND 9:30pm
Tickets from Q Theatre

To find out more about the project check out Hamerkop's Kickstarter, visit the Particle Tracks website or follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or on YouTube

Purchase Tickets for Hamerkop in Wellington

Purchase Tickets for Hamerkop in Auckland

Bachelorette was the alter ego of Annabel Alpers, her solo psychedelic space-pop adventure, which saw the release of four internationally heralded records: The End of Things (2005); Isolation Loops (2007); My Electric Family (2009) and Bachelorette (2011). First on Arch Hill, then Drag City - US; Mistletone - AUS - and Souterrain Transmissions in Europe. Annabel has toured many times internationally, headlining her own shows as well as opening for Beach House, Low, The Magnetic Fields, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Bill Callahan, and The Wye Oak.

Bachelorette: Complex History of a Dying Star

Bachelorette: Grow Old With Me

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