Dear Time’s Waste
Dear Time’s Waste is the creation of Claire Duncan, a project that began in her bedroom and has grown into a fully-fledged band. The name comes from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 30, a poem about looking back on the past with both regret and nostalgia.
“I think for me it relates to the way I feel about creating music, having a really cyclic relationship that doesn’t really ever end.”
Auckland-born Duncan grew up surrounded by a musical family, especially her father.
“My dad’s a one-man-band, he plays pretty much everything.”
She first took up classical clarinet, followed by keyboards and guitar lessons. As a child she performed in theatre shows, talent quests and was a fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber. In high school she began to write songs and play music with friends which included forming a heavy metal band.
“We used to play quite a lot on a local radio station in Blockhouse Bay, the Mulcher, probably to five people who were listening.”
After performing as a solo artist for a couple of years, Duncan was looking for a new outlet. The challenge was figuring out how to translate her ideas into songs. Friend and producer Djeisan Suskov was enlisted to help bring the songs to life.
“It was just a matter of finding the words to articulate what that idea was, communicating that to Djeisan and the two of us experimenting with different gear to create this sound. ”
From May 2008 they began recording tracks at Suskov’s old flat. “It’s this big old house in Newmarket that used to be a hospice. It’s got this slightly creepy vibe to it.”
For eight months they recorded after hours, Suskov and Duncan playing all the instruments and doing everything else from the initial demos to mixing and mastering.
“We wanted to have the space and the time to really think about things, revise things and to not feel pressured by time or money.”
The result is five track EP ‘Room For Rent’, full of songs about individuals and their experiences in the world. Duncan says she likes her music to have breathing space and Dear Time’s Waste uses different instruments to create distance between the listener and the music.
“I like creating this distance that pulls away from people and then at another point rushes forward and becomes very intimate.”
Influences include Sonic Youth, Deer Hunter and My Bloody Valentine.
“I quite like some folk music too.”
Her band she says is “… a revolving cast of generous musicians who I play with live. The most regular players are Brent Harris, Rikki Sutton (both guitar), Rosemarie Harris (bass), Ben Barter (drums) and Kyle Duncan (bass/drums). Djeisan Suskov also sometimes plays drums live and Michael Ramirez is also playing guitar for some shows”.
They have just finished a tour and will shortly be heading into York Street Studios to record a song or two, hopefully as first steps toward an album.
“It will be interesting because I’ve never really recorded at a hard core studio before.”
Duncan is hopeful there will be an audience for Dear Time’s waste here and in Australia. “I can’t see myself doing anything else.”
www.myspace.com/deartimeswaste
- NZ Musician June/July 2009 (Vol:15, No:1)
“I think for me it relates to the way I feel about creating music, having a really cyclic relationship that doesn’t really ever end.”
Auckland-born Duncan grew up surrounded by a musical family, especially her father.
“My dad’s a one-man-band, he plays pretty much everything.”
She first took up classical clarinet, followed by keyboards and guitar lessons. As a child she performed in theatre shows, talent quests and was a fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber. In high school she began to write songs and play music with friends which included forming a heavy metal band.
“We used to play quite a lot on a local radio station in Blockhouse Bay, the Mulcher, probably to five people who were listening.”
After performing as a solo artist for a couple of years, Duncan was looking for a new outlet. The challenge was figuring out how to translate her ideas into songs. Friend and producer Djeisan Suskov was enlisted to help bring the songs to life.
“It was just a matter of finding the words to articulate what that idea was, communicating that to Djeisan and the two of us experimenting with different gear to create this sound. ”
From May 2008 they began recording tracks at Suskov’s old flat. “It’s this big old house in Newmarket that used to be a hospice. It’s got this slightly creepy vibe to it.”
For eight months they recorded after hours, Suskov and Duncan playing all the instruments and doing everything else from the initial demos to mixing and mastering.
“We wanted to have the space and the time to really think about things, revise things and to not feel pressured by time or money.”
The result is five track EP ‘Room For Rent’, full of songs about individuals and their experiences in the world. Duncan says she likes her music to have breathing space and Dear Time’s Waste uses different instruments to create distance between the listener and the music.
“I like creating this distance that pulls away from people and then at another point rushes forward and becomes very intimate.”
Influences include Sonic Youth, Deer Hunter and My Bloody Valentine.
“I quite like some folk music too.”
Her band she says is “… a revolving cast of generous musicians who I play with live. The most regular players are Brent Harris, Rikki Sutton (both guitar), Rosemarie Harris (bass), Ben Barter (drums) and Kyle Duncan (bass/drums). Djeisan Suskov also sometimes plays drums live and Michael Ramirez is also playing guitar for some shows”.
They have just finished a tour and will shortly be heading into York Street Studios to record a song or two, hopefully as first steps toward an album.
“It will be interesting because I’ve never really recorded at a hard core studio before.”
Duncan is hopeful there will be an audience for Dear Time’s waste here and in Australia. “I can’t see myself doing anything else.”
www.myspace.com/deartimeswaste
- NZ Musician June/July 2009 (Vol:15, No:1)