Iggy has his Kiwi band

The auditions have closed and Iggy Pop has his brand new band.

More than 200 New Zealand musicians auditioned for the chance to lay down Iggy’s renowned solo track ‘The Passenger’ online and under the direction of the Godfather of Punk.

It’s all part of a promotion from telecommunications company Orcon for its next generation broadband.

Now the band has been chosen and it assembles on Friday (Oct. 30) to hook up with Iggy in Miami live via Orcon Broadband. They’re spending the day under the maestro’s expert guidance laying down a brand new version of 'The Passenger'.

Iggy’s new band comprises four musicians from Wellington, two from Auckland and one each from Warkworth in Rodney District and Paraparaumu.

The group comprises:

• Tia Beaufort (Pukerua Bay, Wellington) & Stephanie Engelbrecht (Evans Bay, Wellington), drums
• Charley Davenport (Paraparaumu), cello
• Ben Jurisich (Warkworth) & Sam Logan (Karori, Wellington), guitars
• Takumi Motokawa (Brooklyn, Wellington), xylophone
• Daniel Tate (Onehunga, Auckland), bass
• Miho Wada (Remuera, Auckland), flute

The recording session is being streamed live at www.facebook.com/Orcon from around 1pm (NZST) and the finished track is being turned in to a television ad for the company. It will be available for viewing from November 17.

Orcon CEO Scott Bartlett says he’s amazed at the quality and number of musicians who jumped at the chance to audition for the band.

“Iggy obviously has huge pulling power in the global music community. We were expecting around 50 New Zealand musos to audition but in the end we had more than 200.

“It was a pretty tough job screening them down to eight but with Iggy’s help I think we have unearthed some awesome talent.

Mr Bartlett says it looks like it is going to be a pretty incredible re-make of 'The Passenger' and not just a re-hash of the original.

“We are really excited about what is going to come out of this.”

On Friday, the New Zealand band members connect to Iggy’s Miami studio via the Internet with everyone in the band laying down their tracks and Iggy singing the vocals.

The studio is going to capture all the audio and visual feeds and create a unique musical and video rendition of ‘The Passenger’. The music and footage is then going to be used to create commercials and a full music video.

“The internet is enabling Kiwis to do incredible things each day and this helps us prove that,” Mr Bartlett says.

The Iggy Pop ‘Together Incredible’ auditions were viewed online more than 65,000 times on Facebook and the site attracted close to 4,000 fans.

Media release date: 29 October 2009

MORE INFORMATION

For more information, please contact:

Quentin Reade

Pead PR

T: +64 9 918 5552

M: +64 21 847 908

E: quentin@peadpr.co.nz

About Kordia

Kordia is an experienced and stable trans-Tasman business that powers some of the most significant communications technologies in this part of the world.

Kordia has a team of over 700 talented people who build, manage and maintain telecommunications, broadcast and a range of other specialised networks in New Zealand, Australia, South-East Asia and the Pacific.  Kordia’s shareholder is the New Zealand government – the company has been around for about 60 years.  

Kordia’s heritage is in broadcast.  When New Zealanders watch TV or listen to the radio, it is likely that the programme is carried over Kordia’s broadcast analogue or digital network. 

But Kordia’s business is changing.  Now many long distance phone calls are carried up and down the country on Kordia’s next generation network.  It also owns Orcon, and delivers world-class broadband, down-under, through them.

Kordia’s satellite and radio technologies monitor the safety of boats and shipping crews across a territory than covers 50 million square kilometres of the world’s oceans.

Kordia is also looking to massively improve the cost and performance of New Zealand’s connection to the world by building a new data cable to Australia – OptiKor™.

Kordia has undergone a significant transformation in the past few years.  It has spent $170m to shift from ‘broadcast-only’ to being a lead player in the technology, media and telecommunications space. 

The acquisition of AAPCS in Australia (2005), Orcon (2007) and iServe (2009) in New Zealand has established the framework for change, with revenue from the telecommunications sector increasing eight-fold over that period.  Total revenue for the Kordia Group has doubled since 2005 - from $130m to just under $260m. 

Revenue: NZ$254 million, FY09, ended June 2009.

Key customers: TVNZ, MediaWorks, SKY Television, Vodafone Hutchison Australia, Ericsson, NokiaSiemens Networks.

Employees: 856 (includes Kordia in New Zealand and Australia, Orcon and its subsidiaries, part time staff and contract workers).

Take a ride with Iggy and Orcon

Iggy Pop is making a new band – and plans to fill it with Kiwis he meets online.

The Godfather of Punk is inviting Kiwi musicians to help him re-record ‘The Passenger’, one of his best known solo tracks.

It’s all part of a promotion from telecommunications company Orcon for its next generation broadband.

Orcon CEO Scott Bartlett says Iggy is going to be in the driving seat, reproducing his hit with Kiwi talent.

"If you’d like to sing lead vocals, backing vocals, harmonise, play guitar, bass, drums...or anything with Iggy Pop, register with us at www.facebook.com/orcon.

“We’re looking for eight talented Kiwis who have the right credentials to help Iggy lay down a new version of probably his most classic song. But instead of going in to the studio with him, it’s all going to happen over the internet with the magic of Orcon broadband.

“Iggy’s in charge and he will select the musicians to join his band from video auditions they upload to our website. It’s powered by Orcon and it’s going to be huge.”

On 30 October, the selected New Zealand band members will connect to Iggy’s Miami studio via the internet, with everyone in the band laying down their tracks and Iggy singing the vocals.

The studio is going to capture all the audio and vocal feeds and create a unique musical and video rendition of ‘The Passenger’. The music and footage is then going to be used to create commercials and a full music video.

“As far as we know, nothing like this has been done before, certainly not in New Zealand and not globally as we understand,” Bartlett says. “So it’s ground–breaking stuff and also a great way for us to showcase the power of Orcon broadband and what can be done with it by talented New Zealanders.

“The internet is enabling Kiwis to do incredible things each day and this helps us prove that.”

The call for musicians kicks off today (7 Oct.) and entries close at noon on 22 October. The final ad will to be available for viewing on the Orcon website and on TV on the week commencing 16 November.

New Zealanders can follow the search from now and watch the ad being made via live stream on 30 October at www.facebook.com/orcon.

Media release: 7 October 2009

MORE INFORMATION

For more information, please contact:

Quentin Reade

Pead PR

T: +64 9 918 5552

M: +64 21 847 908

E: quentin@peadpr.co.nz