The Adults kick off tour this weekend
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In the frothy wake of their joyous sophomore album “HAJA”, this weekend Jon Toogood’s THE ADULTS kick off their limited run of Australasian shows, with Jon’s Wellingtonian hometown crowd up first on Saturday 1st September at Meow.
After a few shows across the ditch, the band then return homeward to play the tour’s final shows - Blue Smoke in Christchurch on Friday September 14th and at iconic Auckland venue Powerstation on Saturday 15th September.
Jon made his Powerstation debut in 1991 with the first of a few decades’-worth of historic Shihad concerts (and more recently in 2016 he transformed the venue into a cabaret lounge for his critically acclaimed solo acoustic show), so it seems fitting that this new Toogood venture should see the man returning to the Powerstation stage.
Helmed by Jon, this live incarnation of THE ADULTS features electric-blue witch hop pioneer Estere (who features on the album’s first single, ‘Bloodlines’), hip hop artist Raiza Biza (who’s found on the second single ‘Boomtown’ & album cut ‘That Gold’), drummer Ben Lemi of Trinity Roots and gifted jazz guitarist / vocalist Emily Browning.
Writing “HAJA” Toogood was inspired by the Sudanese folk music Aghani-Al-Banat, performed exclusively by women, which he first encountered at his wedding in Khartoum.
The Adults
Saturday 1st September Wellington - Meow
Friday 14th September Christchurch - Blue Smoke
Saturday 15th September Auckland - Powerstation
For tickets & info visit theadults.live
HAJA ... the album ....
After the release of Shihad FVEY in 2014, Jon began searching for an inspiration to kick off the second chapter in the critically acclaimed Adults journey, eventually finding it at his wedding in Khartoum, Sudan in the traditional music, Aghani-Al-Banat, performed during the ceremony.
Aghani-Al-Banat literally translates to 'girls music' and is one of the only aspects of Sudanese music that deals exclusively with women, their lives and their issues. After a recording session in Khartoum with an all-female group of musicians, Jon returned to his Melbourne home to amend them into an album with the help of co-producer Devin Abrams (Pacific Heights/Shapeshifter). The album’s title, HAJA, is a respectful Sudanese term identifying an older, more experienced woman.
Much like the first Adults album, HAJA features an exciting cast of collaborators, including upcoming New Zealand artists Chelsea Jade, Estère, JessB, Miloux, and Raiza Biza, the award-winning Aaradhna, and recent breakthrough artist Kings. These contributions help make up the eight tracks that are HAJA, which is one of the freshest, most intriguing records to emerge from New Zealand this year.
The album’s second single, ’Boomtown’, features Kiwi indie pop darling Chelsea Jade and Rwandan-born/ Hamilton-raised rapper Raiza Biza. "This track is the most positive, uplifting track I think I've ever written and that's heaps to do with the Aghani Al-Banat track I chose to write the tune around," says Jon. "I remember hearing it played at my wedding and couldn't get it out of my head. After playing all this music along with it I had a tune that we couldn't stop listening to."
Jon is currently studying towards his Master's at Massey University, with the cultural significance and music of the Northern Sudanese people as the topic for his thesis.