More Info →Tribe of Two's Act Far From Primitive

Description: The information for this image was taken for a story that ran in The Manawatu Evening Standard on 28th March 1990..

"Public perception of dancefloor music has now surpassed the sound your average guitar, bass and drums line-up can deliver, says Tribe of Two keyboardist, guitarist and vocalist Mike Miers. The advantage with using sequencers and high technology is that we can multi-track the sounds and create the music heard in the clubs within a live format -- it's become unrealistic to try and recreate that sound with a small group, so we programme up to 20 instruments with multi-track techniques to provide the instrumentation we require.

Tribe of Two are a new synth-pop duo playing on the Palmerston North scene -- they opened at Chantelle's last weekend and continue this Friday and Saturday nights. Starting time is 11.30 pm. Along side Miers, Brent Maharey plays synthesised drums and handles most of the vocals. The drum pads act as triggers to play whatever kind of sampled drum sounds are required.

Both musicians have a long history in Palmerston North bands, playing in SP2 and Snatch as they worked their way towards recreating the sounds of bands like New Order, the Cure and OMD. Not surprisingly, the Pet Shop Boys are seen as the role model for their own writing.

The duo have written six originals so far and plan on recording after building a reputation with live work. Miers says one myth he'd like to dispel is the idea that the music is pre-recorded on tape before the performance. About half the keyboards are presequenced so I can play guitar -- with Brent it's about the same ratio. Sometimes people get the idea that tapes are being used, but in actual fact, each instrument is producing its own sound live -- there is no audio taping involved.

[Pictured] Tribe of Two ... Mike Miers."