Afternoon Raj was fused through friends, Hawkes Bay roots, musical consensus, & brain chemistry in 2008. The Raj blend a mixture of classical training, NZSM education and effervescent, fluorescent, sometimes pre-pubescent energy to create compositions of real authenticity. The band is a legacy of progressive rock originating from California, with a wide array of influence ranging from Jazz, Dub, Electronica, D&B, Ska, Funk, Latino and World music.
Since forming they have been active in the local music scenes, gaining notoriety most recently at the WCC’s EARTH HOUR AWARENESS CONCERT 2009 at Civic Square. Positive vibrations are their focus; encouraging universal change through awareness. This philosophy is expressed in any way as long as its big and bounces. Expect dance rhythms with insightful messages; rich acoustic and electric tones, epic crescendos, and of course a dam good laky laky time. Get ready for the new thang.
29/10/2009 Recent excerpt from Cupcakes and Mace blog as seen in the NZ Dom Post 16-11-09:
http://networkedblogs.com/p16017407
Afternoon Raj is a five piece band that mixes prog rock with reggae, dub, and ska influences. I love to skank so I have a huge amount of fun dancing to these guys! The Raj’s ringleader James Mason draws the crowd in with a huge smile and a genuine love for what he’s doing. Bede, Matt, Andrej, and Nick impress with guitar solos and great beats.
The crowd grows every time I see them play and more than a handful of us have learnt the words to their older songs. They know it and use it to their advantage! Their show on Saturday, at Wellington’s cool kid venue Mighty Mighty, kicked off with number one crowd favourite Lickity Split, a song that creeps up and kind of explodes.
Quite frankly I was relieved when the set finished, I was about to pass out from heat exhaustion. In a matter of 30 minutes I managed to go from tipsy and excited for the music, to AHH WOoo *dance* *dance*, to omg I think I’m going to drown in my own sweat, to I need fresh air and a chair or I’m going to throw up. It was awesome.
"Afternoon Raj is the sound of Hawkes Bay in the big city, it’s the sound of summer"
Afternoon Raj is the sound of Hawkes Bay in the big city, it’s the sound of summer, and it’s for dub and rock fans alike. These boys may work in offices by day but they’re drunk musical hippies at heart, singing at concerts bringing awareness to global warming and generally trying to save the world.
They’re yet to record an album, an album I’m looking forward to having on repeat, and I’m nervous about how they’ll capture their perfect live sound. They’re smart guys though, I’m sure they’ll figure it out.
Would love to, bro - but I'm away this weekend. Got Palmy on Thurs and Napier on Fri, then Havelock on Sat! But will be there next time I can, for sure. Hope it goes well!
Hey guys - Thanks for adding me. The recordings are sounding mean! Canada has been pretty amazing to me so far. Lots of music going on here! big love to ya's xoxo
