Lyttelton musician Anita Clark (aka MOTTE) tells Charlotte Ryan how she created the ethereal yet powerful sound of her new album Cold + Liquid.
Photo: Supplied
The album follows years of personal struggle for Anita, during which time she had to regain her voice after a virus paralysed her vocal cords.
For six months after the virus struck in in 2018, she says she could barely speak, let alone sing.
"It was so hard when I lost my voice because it was at a moment where I was having so much fun trying to stretch my vocals out and increase my range and just having fun with what I could do with my voice because it felt so secure."
It was two years before Anita could rely on her voice again. Now her speaking voice gets weak when she's tired but singing feels "pretty fine".
"I've just got to take care of my nervous system."
The cover of Cold + Liquid - a 2022 album by NZ musician Motte, aka Anita Clark Photo: Ba Da Bing
In contrast to 2017's Strange Dreams, her previous "minimal" album, Cold + Liquid features a rich array of sounds from the environment.
Most of these Anita recorded on the Bank's Peninsula with Wellington music producer Thomas Lambert.
"Rolling boulders around, rolling rocks together, dropping handfuls of debris onto logs.. very fun. It was very, very fun."
She also collected some sound samples - including the mechanical drone from inside a cement carrier ship - from friends.
A portrait of New Zealand "through socio-geological sounds" is how Anita's record company describes Cold + Liquid.
The idea of social geology, which studies interactions between the geological environment and social development, is one Anita finds interesting.
Creating a sound for Cold + Liquid that was a balance of warmth and chilliness for the took a bit of time, she says.
"I like to make beautiful music but I like it to be dark, as well… something that's a bit harder. You have to balance things out and it needs to be contrasting.
"I don't want to make people feel uneasy. I don't want to make myself feel uneasy."
Motte's NZ tour:
Oct 01 - Unitarian Church, Auckland w/ Kraus
Oct 02 - Never Project Space, Hamilton w/ Halcyon Birds
Oct 06 - The Loons, Lyttelton w/ Roy Montgomery
Oct 07 - Article, Whanganui w/ Ludus
Oct 08 - Vogelmorn Hall, Wellington w/ Ludu
