Hello-Fi

Auckland born and bred, James Duncan is one of those musicians you have almost undoubtedly heard, but until now, may not have been fully aware of. A founding member and integral part of the SJD live band, James collaborated on, co-produced and co-wrote much of the last SJD album 'Dayglo Spectres' leaving his indelible imprint on an album that justifiably scored, almost unanimous, 5 star praise. As well as his massive long-term contribution to SJD with Sean Donnelly, James has also been, and remains, the #1 guitarist of choice for Shayne Carter and Dimmer.

However, it is time for Mr Duncan to step from the shadows as he presents his own album, 'Hello Fi'. And it's excellent - from infectious warped pop genius, led by the singles "Cupboards Bare" and "My New Flumes", to spacebound shoeglaze on the hypnotic "Everyone Around You" and the Radioscope Alt Chart #1 "Don't Close Your Eyes". 'Hello-Fi' heralds the arrival of a major songwriting talent, who has his own individual style, complemented by years of collaboration with two of New Zealand's best ever in Donelly and Carter.

Fans of the more eclectic and introverted flavours of Mirror Minor will not be disappointed with cuts like "A-Obvious" (reworked from its initial appearance on Kingsland Vinyl Appreciation Society's vinyl release 'A Flip And Two Twisters') and the sultry Tortoise-esque "Get Blanket". Further treats are to be found on the bonus mp3 component of the disc (not available on iTunes or elsewhere), with a fistful of tracks that didn't creatively fit into the grand svelte scheme of 'Hello-Fi' proper, but were simply too compulsively gorgeous not to get a fully fledged release.