Liam Finn

Liam Finn has always followed his own path. From the adolescent guitar fireworks of his band Betchadupa, to his incendiary one-man performances (including spots on The Late Show with David Letterman and Later… With Jools Holland), he’s found ways to challenge and disrupt what you might expect from a singer-songwriter.

His latest project Hyperverse finds him once again charting new territory, including fans in the writing and recording process in unprecedented ways, with even more ambitious plans to close the gap between artist and audience down the line.

Betchadupa burst onto the scene in Aotearoa New Zealand courtesy of acclaimed local label Flying Nun, with accompanying oodles of indie cred. The band folded around 2006 (although there was a rogue single in 2020), with Finn’s solo debut I’ll Be Lightning arriving in 2007 to much critical praise.

His strength of vision was immediately clear, helming most of the instruments himself, and serving as its producer, as he would do on follow ups FOMO and The Nihilist.

In support of the debut he began performing solo, using loop pedals to trigger guitar parts he could then sing along to, as well as accompany himself on drums. An early adopter of this performance mode, he set an incredibly high bar, with explosive shows that felt part-rock n’ roll, part-magic trick.

Since then there have been side-projects like BARB, which featured Connan Mockasin and James Milne of Lawrence Arabia, and Finn’s soundtrack work for the 2017 documentary Susanne Bartsch: On Top. After 25 years of performing alongside his father Neil and Crowded House, Liam and Neil released their first collaborative album Lightsleeper in 2018. This led to Liam and his brother Elroy officially joining Crowded House as core members and co-writers, releasing Dreamers Are Waiting in 2021, and touring extensively during recent years.

Based in America for the past twelve years, Finn still has strong ties to the country he grew up in. It was a show in Auckland, New Zealand that reminded him of the joy of playing solo with his loop pedal. “It reignited my flame,” he says, “And it also made me realize there’s something about that energy that you never really capture in a studio, because you’re not adrenalized, you’re concentrating, whereas on stage you’re trying to entertain and you’ve got one shot to do it all.”

For bookings contact julian@villagesounds.com