Liam Finn

A young Liam Finn learned to play many instruments, because when youre a Finn, there just are a lot of instruments about. And when youre possessive of as much natural talent as he, to have them sit there gathering dust would not so much be a waste as it would a crime on an internationally important scale.


Though Ill Be Lightning is his first solo album, its not by a country mile the 24-year-olds debut musical endeavour. Liams first publicly visible use of those aforementioned skills came in fronting the band Betchadupa, a close knit outfit of childhood best friends with whom Finn relocated from his native New Zealand to London in early 2005.

Yet Liam eventually found himself torn between band concerns and a new set of songs, inspired by his relocation, a more personal, confessional sound he felt uncomfortable presenting to the other members. A debut album a few years in the making, Ill Be Lightning is a record on which Liam Finn over a two month period in Roundhead Studios in Auckland like some bearded, Kiwi version of Prince, plays, records, engineers and produces nigh on everything you hear. Its a process born out of a strikingly singular, unshakable vision, a desire to record the songs exactly as they were in his head, free of outside influence.

It seemed, and was, the only way he could have done it. The first time you hear the songs, you cant wait to hear them a second time. That process continues until numbers like first and second become forty fifth and ninety eighth. Its an achievement made even more mesmerising when you come to witness what he does to the tracks in a live setting.

The record, you soon realise, is not a way of setting the songs in stone. Its simply one interpretation, relative to the space in time in which they were recorded, not the final be all and end all. Rather than going through the motions on a note for note rendition, the privileged attendee at a gig gets from Liam their own, often radically expanded or altered, unique version of a song to cherish for themselves in the knowledge that tomorrow nights performance will sound different yet again. So Liam shoots his own publicity photos, album artwork, and videos. He plays damn near everything on the album, and damn near everything live too.

But the live shows would be vastly diminished in their impact if it werent for the vital role played by Eliza-Jane Barnes. Far from merely the effortlessly glamorous assistant you assume she might be before she unleashes that incredible voice of hers and deftly manipulates the vast array of looping and sampling equipment before bashing the living crap out of a defenceless few drums, watching her casually make awesome and hold steady whilst Liam threatens to get completely lost in the music is one of the many delights of a Liam Finn gig.

And such feats were observed early on in that most notoriously difficult of locales to crack the States, where Finns album began quietly selling thousands through DIY touring. Before long, surreal and Big Things started happening. Following a tip in Rolling Stone, in early 2008, a David Letterman appearance ensued, and soon they all started phoning up all those big, bizarre programmes where bands appear to zillions of viewers whilst laughing along awkwardly to scripted swipes. Instead, Liam, with guitar, drums and Eliza Jane in tow, looked like a defiant savage, passionately peddling the likes of debut single Second Chance with a brutal yet vulnerable intensity that leapt out from beneath the throng of studio lighting.

Starting with just guitar and voice, before extending to loops and percussion, it was a final wrestle on the drumkit amidst a chaotic whirlwind of sound, and then a sudden halt, which made Liam an overnight word-of-mouth hero. Letterman was baffled yet clearly overjoyed by the serene severity of the booking (seriously, watch the reaction on youtube). More TV personalities followed suit, eager to bottle the effect for viewers Craig Ferguson, and rumours abound that Conan O Brien is next up.

A trip down to SXSW in Austin, Texas, stealing headline slots from The Lemonheads and performing no less than 9 packed shows to adoring and eager hordes didnt hurt, shortly after neither did the invitation to be a part of an sold out theatre tour with grunge veteran Eddie Vedder in April. So, before barely even breaking into the second quarter of 2008, 52 shows had already been notched up. Plus its not just America thats keen.

The UKs nearest equivalent one-stop-shop for musos on TV Later with Jools Holland launched Finns work in fine fettle recently. But now its time for some more intimate performances throughout the rest of at least certainly this year to introduce these wonderful songs to new people environments which are a little closer, more personal than behind a screen. Besides, thats how best to be ushered into the world of Liam Finn: personally. What may well follow are many repeat visits and listens, and maybe even that most sacred, if frightening of things obsession. Trust us, hes worth it.