Sleeping Village: Where the unexpected music is the expectation
I’m standing at Lyall Bay beach with the Wellington band, Sleeping Village, and the ocean appears angry. Grey waves throw themselves on the stony shores, each of them as severe and turbulent as the last. They scatter light, the colour of the water ever-changing yet always angry. The band members fight the terrain to get the perfect shot for Massive, our photographer projecting instructions and poses through the wind.
The music of the beach surrounds them. The percussion section roars from the stony bed below. Cymbals clash as the waves roll in. Brittle wind whirls a tune through the rhythmic crashing. A car’s radio can be heard in the foreground, adding to the chaotic symphony. In the distance, someone strums a guitar, and the beach fades.
Mums love them, sound guys hate them, and they are obsessed with Mallard Ducks. Sleeping Village is the local Wellington band which can create a world of absurdism and sincerity within a single song.
Sitting down to chat with them in Massey’s recording studio, the band has constant, infectious grins plastered on their faces. I am told tales of their van breaking down in the middle of nowhere on their first South Island tour. I learn that if any of them play a Red Hot Chilli Peppers song, they have to do 20 push ups. And they revealed to me that mums love them — which is true. Even my mum adores them. But what I learnt most of all in the interview is that this band is a family.
The band was founded in 2020 by their charismatic leader, Oscar Alty. The band name was inspired by a song by the band, Black Sabbath. It began as a one-man-band. Now, it’s transformed into a six-person village.
From prog-rock, to indie, to jazz, to metal, to country, Sleeping Village refuses to be tied to one specific genre — but that’s the point. Sleeping Village’s guitarist, Logan McAllister says the freedom of genre is inspiring and “all part of the fun”.
“If you can't decide one genre to stick to, why not just make doing a bunch of them the point?”
And why not? It’s part of the reason they have become such a successful band in Wellington’s music scene. Oscar’s description of their “balls-to-the-wall random-ass chaos” sound makes their gigs heaps of fun. The night will begin with a jazz number, go into a prog-rock song, play around in the country scene, and then end with heavy thrash metal. Audiences are left on the edge of their seats the entire gig. Confusion and excitement mingling.
Violinist Wicket Kendrick says that now the unexpected is the expectation, “we can get away with everything”. And the band says Wellington is the place that allows them to do this, saying it has the best music scene throughout Aotearoa. Logan says Wellington has the best venues and the best venue staff. “The artists that choose to stay in Wellington every fucking day have chosen to make this the place where they develop themselves and their sound.”
Many aspiring music students turn up to Welly in crowds to find their sound within the thriving scene. Compared to Auckland, where it seems you’re more likely to succeed if you’re signed to a label, Wellington allows smaller, independent bands to thrive. Wicket says, “It’s zero to one hundred in Auckland. You’re either new or you’re famous.”
Joining a label is rare and is becoming increasingly less accessible. While some music scenes suffer under this hierarchy, independent Wellington artists have forced themselves to find other ways to become successful. For Sleeping Village, all merch, song writing, production, bookings, and designs are done in house. Guitarist Alex Scott-Billing says their independently built identity gives the band a layer of authenticity for their audiences to enjoy.
Sleeping Village’s first recording “had the worst setup ever” according to Oscar. “I did it all myself. The drums had just one microphone. And we had a field recorder taped to a light”.
Recording songs has become a lot more stress free now that the band is produced by Massey student, Connor Lyttle. Their latest singles, Are You Gonna Kill Me and Vatican City Breakdown, were recorded and produced by Connor.
At some point this year, with a date yet to be decided, the band will be releasing their third album, Three Mallard Ducks.
When asked about the album name, they all burst into laughter. Oscar explains that the name came to be after he and Logan were playing “like absolute crackheads while Alex was doing a jazz solo over it”.
“There are three ducks raging inside Oscar,” Logan laughs. “We’re all taking some of the burden of that weight through the recording of the album”.
Alex explains that it’s also a comedic take of the father, son, and the holy ghost. They believe Oscar is all three of them.
Compared to their last two albums, Oscar says the Three Mallard Ducks is “the name of the South Park movie. Bigger, longer, and uncut”.
“Our other two albums (Songs To Make Love To and Tomorrow) have got a mood and they stick to that mood while still jumping around genres. This one is kind of just like absurd fucking chaos.”
Once the album is finished, they want to take it and tour overseas to spread their music and explore the music scenes in places such as Japan, Korea, and Australia. Logan says, “I just think there is almost more people overseas who will fuck with the project and our songs.”
Who knew that when Oscar started this one-man band four years ago, it would become God’s favourite band forever (according to them).
Members:
Oscar Alty (he/him)
Alexander Scott-Billing (he/him)
Logan McAllister (he/him)
Wicket Kendrick (she/her)
Caleb Broadhead (he/him)
Aaron Bray (he/him)
(Producer) Connor Lyttle (he/him)