By Mark Derricutt

Starting the year with the knowledge that Luke Finlay - Auckland based Audio Engineer/Guitarist was about to release 'Finding Hate In Yogurt'; the curiously named first single, and title track from his solo project - 'King Fin's' forthcoming debut album had me excited for New Zealand music without even hearing a note.

I'm already well versed in Luke's capabilities both with live mixing, and ability to create interesting, discordant music that just... works with his band Helgorithms - so I already knew I was in for a treat. Then I checked out the supporting musicians (Matt Grossman and Jesse Reeves - ex Black Leaf Gardens and others) and I just had to take a breath before I hit play...

 Blam - there it is. Instantly I'm hooked - this isn't some slow grower, mellow intro, let it settle tune - this is straight into the action with a sound that blends old school Primus, new prog masters Beardfish, a hint and nod to Vai/Zappa with a final dab of jazz loosely holding things together for some of the most infectious groove laden 4 minutes, 36 seconds I've sat listening to fresh tunes.

Having listened to the track back to back on high rotation, each time I hear it I find some other, small nuance in the track that makes me go "ooh - I like that". There's so much packed into this one track, that I'm left hungry with intrigue over what I'll find when I full album is released sometime in the second quarter of 2017.

King Fin is already shaping up to be one of my favourite discoveries for 2017, and although the project is instrumental, I don't think we'll be missing the vocals anytime soon. Until I can get my hands on the full release, I can see this song getting a lot of airplay. Thankfully MP3s don't get wear and tear!

Bio: King Fin is the love child of Audio Engineer/Guitarist Luke Finlay, drawing influence from but not limited to King Crimson, Steven Wilson, Toe, Kimbra. King Fin has a strong emphasis on a Funk & Progressive style of music, protruding from his fingertips you’ll find King Fin displays licks that’ll make you question how many fingers he has, time changes that’ll make you question reality & beats that’ll make your head bop along until you have a neck as long as a giraffe.