Bond Street Bridge

bond-street-bridge.jpgBond Street Bridge is the creation of Auckland-based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Sam Prebble.  Sam has been playing music for as long as he can remember, and ‘probably before that as well,’ as he puts it. Bond Street Bridge is currently a solo project, but Sam has always played in bands, orchestras and choirs.  For the past few years he has been playing in the Broken Heartbreakers and Reb Fountain’s Bandits, and has recently guested on releases by White Swan Black Swan, Dylan Storey and Andy Gibson, playing fiddle and writing string arrangements.  Sam’s experience in bands and orchestras has developed the strong sense for arrangement and orchestration he brings to his debut album, ‘The Mapmaker’s Art.’  Listening to the lush soundscapes and cunningly interleaved parts on this record, it is hard to believe that it was recorded on a laptop with one microphone, in a falling-down villa next to a motorway.

NZ singer/songwriter showcase w/ Bond Street Bridge, Hannah Curwood & Dafne Della Dafne – Madame Claude, Berlin

Monkey Records presents: NZ singer/songwriter showcase feat. Hannah Curwood, Bond Street Bridge & Dafne Della Dafne 9pm, Saturday 10th July Madame Claude Lübbener Str.19 10997 BERLIN (Kreuzberg) Berlin Entry by donation Bond Street Bridge is the solo project of New Zealander Sam Prebble, who has become a fixture of the Auckland indie folk scene over the past few years, playing mandolin, fiddle and guitar in a wide range of up-and-coming bands.  He has been playing various instruments for as long as he can remember, and one of his favorite hobbies is learning to play more of them. The live set is a solo show in which Sam uses loop pedals and tape echoes to build up layers of guitar, violin, beats and vocals to produce a hypnotic, compelling and original sound.  Audiences are drawn in to the strange world Bond

Bond Street Bridge – Silver

silver.mp4 'Silver’ is the second single from Bond Street Bridge's critically acclaimed debut album 'The Mapmaker's Art.' The song and the video tell an epic story of folly, adventure, and eventual insanity.  A well-dressed but confused-looking young man pushes a mannequin in a post-apocalyptic shopping trolley through a desert populated by dessicated skulls, poisonous snakes, and cantankerous alchemists. With only a deck of cards for guidance, he's searching for a mysterious potion – presumably he'll know it when he sees it.  As in most ill-conceived endeavours, things go wrong quite quickly. The video was shot in lush black and white by Briar March, and directed by Nigel Braddock.  Sam Prebble, the one-man multi-instrumentaliser behind the Bond Street Bridge project, wrote the script and provided art direction.  He explains 'the logistics of the shoot were a bit of a nightmare, but since it was my idea, I couldn't really complain about

Bond Street Bridge – Motorways

motorways.mp4 The debut album from Bond Street Bridge, 'The Mapmaker's Art,' was recorded with one microphone and an old laptop in a falling-down villa next to Auckland's northwestern motorway.  The circumstances of the recording had a strong influence on the content of the record; and this is particularly audible on the track 'motorways,' the new single and video from Bond Street Bridge.  Most of the songs on 'The Mapmaker's Art' are about ways of traveling, and this song is inspired by the motorway at night, wet from the rain. 'Motorways' is a lush track. The glitchy beats, driving strings, and rolling bass surround a sinister tale of misadventure on the open road, delivered in a hushed an impressionistic vocal.  There are bones, there's poison and knives, and the wet road follows powerlines through the mountains to an unspecified destination. In the video, shot in grainy black and white by Sam

Bond Street Bridge – Birds (single)

birds-art-for-web.jpgMonkey Records is pleased to announce the release of a summery little gem from Auckland artist Bond Street Bridge.  The new song 'Birds' is the first single from Bond Street Bridge's forthcoming sophomore album, due for release in early 2010 following on from the critically acclaimed The Mapmaker's Art released last year. In this catchy wee number, Bond Street Bridge, aka Sam Prebble, reflects on the mating habits of New Zealand's paradise shelduck, Tadorna variegata.  These striking brown-and-white ducks  generally mate for life, and pairs are a common sight in open country in New Zealand. Prebble says 'I spend a lot of time driving around the country for shows and whatnot, and anthropomorphising the wildlife is a good way to pass the time.  I have to concede that the birds in this song are probably not really in love, but based on the way

Bond Street Bridge – The Mapmakers Art

bond-street-briidge-mapmakers-art.jpgBond Street Bridge is the creation of Auckland-based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Sam Prebble.  Sam has been playing music for as long as he can remember, and ‘probably before that as well,’ as he puts it. Bond Street Bridge is currently a solo project, but Sam has always played in bands, orchestras and choirs.  For the past few years he has been playing in the Broken Heartbreakers and Reb Fountain’s Bandits, and has recently guested on releases by White Swan Black Swan, Dylan Storey and Andy Gibson, playing fiddle and writing string arrangements.  Sam’s experience in bands and orchestras has developed the strong sense for arrangement and orchestration he brings to his debut album, ‘The Mapmaker’s Art.’  Listening to the lush soundscapes and cunningly interleaved parts on this record, it is hard to believe that it was recorded on a laptop with one microphone, in