Bird and Bone

Artisan Guns formed in their last days of university in East Auckland when in the middle of 2006 Matthew Hope (vocals, guitar), had a newly discovered interest in singing and song-writing, he enlisted the help of Reuben Stephens (bass, harmonies), a like-minded classmate, for a musical project. Alex Freer, a long time friend of Matthew’s, soon joined the band on drums, and suggested Jonathan Pearce, a musical collaborator and family friend, as their lead guitar player. The band first gathered one Saturday morning at Matthew’s house, and soon found themselves bonding musically. Some scratchy, lo-fi demos scored them their first gig, as well as some solid coverage New Zealand radio. After many successful gigs around Auckland the band locked themselves away into the studio with producer/engineer/Mixmaster extraordinaire Dave Parker and began work on their debut recording. After a period of growing, expanding and evolving as a band, they emerged from the studio with the five track “Bird and Bone EP”. The band has stayed true to their folk roots, but add drum machines, swelling layers of keyboard, and plenty of loud, loose grooves on this EP. The result is a fresh, original, clear and honest sound.