Interview: IVY

From Choir Boy to Rock Star: A Chat with Ivy’s Jesse

What happens when you mix classical choir training, a bit of 80s metal, and a whole lot of high school mates eating pies? You get IVY – Dunedin’s genre-bending rock outfit who’ve just dropped their debut album and are about to hit the road with The Beatniks. We caught up with frontman Jesse Hanan to talk about the weird journey from singing Bach to shredding guitars, why they brought an orchestra into the mix way too early, and how their new album is basically a time capsule of teenage chaos.

RBF: Let’s go back to the beginning. You guys started in high school – what was that like?

JH: “Yeah, we started in 2020. I was in Year 11 and we kind of started out as a jam band and formed over about a couple of months. Each member started at slightly different times. We formed in high school, didn’t really even practice, just ate pies and went to the dairy – that was kind of what our jams were like. We didn’t really play any covers except for Sweet Home Alabama, which was pretty terrible. Then we took a break because of Covid and came back to it with a bit more intensity and drive. We went to Connor’s – our bassist’s – house and practiced for about a year, then transitioned to university where it really kicked off in 2023.”

RBF: You mentioned you came from a classical background. How does a choir kid end up fronting a rock band?

JH: “Classical music was my beginning. I started out in choir when I was five, then took classical singing lessons from 10, did competitions all throughout high school. But it was this weird transition. When we first started out, I had a real strange voice because I was classically singing and then I’d try to get into this alter ego of a rock singer, so I kind of hurt my voice.

Classical is so rigid with lots of strict rules, when you’re in a band it helps understanding theory, but it doesn’t give you that natural ability to write music. I think that’s gotta come from you. I won a competition when I was 10 and the guy, Peter, who’s become a mentor, was like, ‘You should pick up guitar so you don’t have to have a piano player with you all the time.’ So really, it was just being able to sing and play at the same time. Once you can do that, I feel like it’s only a matter of time before you start wanting to write your own stuff.”

RBF: Your violinist Louis is a pretty unique addition. How did that come about?

JH: “Louis was originally only meant to come on for one track. We recorded an EP and he came on this track and did some practices with us. I think it was in the beginning of 2023 – we had this conversation with Louis on his birthday actually. We were like, ‘If you’re gonna be at these practices, you know, why not be in the band?’ So we asked him to join us on stage for gigs from there on out.

It was really hard at first because James on guitar has already got quite a lead-based instrument, and Louis on violin is also very lead, so they’re both in the same musical register. Notes can clash quite a lot. Louis has had to learn – and he’s done a really great job with it – to fit in with the band, almost using violin as this extra layer, removing himself from the lead and fitting through the song. But he has room to be able to do lead and be this big heavy layer that you can probably hear on some of the songs.”

RBF: You played with Dunedin Youth Orchestra pretty early in your career. That’s the kind of thing bands usually do after 15-20 years, not when they’re still in their early twenties, right?

JH: “We have Louis’ mum to thank, and a lady called Bea Ward who’s the Chairperson of the DYO. They heard our music and saw Louis from the classical side of things and thought it would be an interesting idea. I think it really helps that they’re also a youth orchestra - we’re young, they’re young! It’s like, we don’t need to wait around for years, we can both attempt this thing as two young entities.

We just kind of did it because we could. The opportunity was there, so why not take it? It was scary and we were a bit out of our depth, but I think we pulled it off well enough. It wasn’t the weirdest transition for Louis and I particularly, because we know what it’s like looking at a conductor and being part of a 20-30 piece unit. But it was more like, how does our music fit in this world? Huge credit to Ashton, our drummer - he laid down such a good foundation and he’s so steady that we didn’t feel like we were too all over the place.”

RBF: Your debut album just dropped. How long has this been in the works?

JH: “Truthfully, a lot of the album that’s come out now, we’d written at a similar time as the EP. A bunch of the demos were made at the same time, and even the year after. But we didn’t have the musicality to pull it off in a way that we wanted to. The EP represented us pretty well as kids - we were like, let’s just try every genre, let’s just have fun and not care too much about how it sounds.

The album’s really from the end of 2022, through to 2024, although there’s one song from 2021. But we’ve only really been able to put it in this context recently because we finally have enough money to be able to afford a production that we think is quality. One good thing about all this though, is that it’s come from the same background. Every song has a similar origin, they’re all about the same kind of things you experience when you’re that age, good and bad. Recording it all at the same time really helped too.”

RBF: Where did you record it?

JH: “We did ‘Heartless’ first in 2023 with Spaceline Studios here in Dunedin. Then we won the Bring the Noise competition, which allowed us to go to Sublime Studios where we recorded two songs, ‘The Trees’ and ‘Real Love’. But, we ended up just using ‘Real Love’ for the album. Everything else, seven tracks, we did out at Seaward Sounds in Port Chalmers over a seven-day period. Four days in one week, then a week off, then three more days. Those seven songs were really cohesive. For people interested in production, you can kind of tell the difference between where each song was recorded, which I think adds some variety.”

RBF: Looking back at songs you wrote 4-5 years ago – do they still speak to you the same way?

JH: “Not really. Well some of the songs do, like ‘Loon’ feels a bit more modern. But a lot of those songs came from high school where I was all emotionally volatile. Everything was just all over the place. Maybe it’s just your brain still developing, but now I’m actually way more normal and way happier. Some of those songs are about family members passing, and time does have a positive effect on that too.

I don’t necessarily feel the same about the songs as I did when they were coming together. That being said, I think there are a few songs that are gonna transition well into the next project - ‘Invasion’ (the opening track), ‘Loon’, ‘Tall Grass’, and ‘Black White’ feel a bit more aligned with our next project musically and sonically. Not to sound dismissive of it, but I’m kind of emotionally over it, it’s just not really how I view things anymore, which is kinda nice. It means I can listen to it with a third-person perspective. It feels like my prefrontal cortex is finally getting itself together, which is a bit of a relief.”

RBF: You played Going Global in Auckland recently. How was that experience?

JH: “That was awesome, man. That was a crazy experience. I love Auckland. I think it’s common for people from Dunedin to be like, ‘Man, I hate Auckland,’ but maybe because I’m used to the small-town vibes of Dunedin, I felt like I was in the big smoke. I was walking around like, ‘Far out, we’re in New Zealand!’ I’ve been to Auckland before, I just kind of forgot because it’s been so long.

One thing I liked about it is that Dunedin has a very similar sound all the way through musically, and it was refreshing going to Going Global and seeing so many different genres. But everybody was equally as musically great. I’d never really had the opportunity to hear a great pop band in person, really great R&B, really great hip-hop, great heavy rock, pop punk… It just felt like a musical circus. I just had the best time soaking it all in.”

RBF: You mentioned the next project. What’s coming up?

JH: “Yeah, I made this playlist the other day of stuff – we’ve got about 11 demos. Only about six of them are really worth keeping at the moment, but those six feel really strong and cohesive. We’re working together more as a band. I think a lot of this first album, I came up with the foundation and almost took a dictatorial perspective on it, trying to get it across the line. I’ve had to go, ‘Okay, chill bro!’

It’s been really refreshing, handing off any idea that I’ve got to James and being like, now what do we make as a unit? It’s been so fun, so exciting. The next album is definitely in the works, and hopefully we get to record it soon.”

Ivy’s debut album is out now on Spotify and all streaming platforms. They’re kicking off their album release tour with shows at Pearldiver in Dunedin (Friday and Saturday) and the Seafood Festival in Port Chalmers (Sunday), before heading north to tour with The Beatniks. Catch them at San Fran in Wellington (Thursday, dates TBC) and then Auckland. Follow them on Instagram and Spotify to stay updated on all their shows.

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