Article taken from NZ Musician Magazine, April/May 09:


Fresh Talent: Harbour City Electric

Harbour City Electric originated back in 2007 as a resident Friday night funk band for Sandwiches Nightclub in Wellington. Over the last few years the band has gone from a fluid and rotating roster of local soul, funk and jazz musicians jamming out, to a tightly codified seven-piece roster, focused on writing, recording, releasing and touring high quality (genre non-specific) live music.
The current line-up includes Simon Koziarski (guitar), Paddy Bleakley (bass), Ned Worboys (lead vocals), Ed Zuccollo (keys), Richard Shirley (trombone), Shaun Elley (drums), Lex French (trumpet) and Lisa Tomlins (backing vocals). Harbour City Electric have just completed recording their debut EP, and by the time you are reading this should be in the middle of a national promotional tour.
Primarily recorded by Mike Gibson at Trident Audio in Wellington, mixing and engineering was handled by Benny Tones of Organik Muzik Workz. The finished product went offshore to be mastered by legendary Los Angeles resident Dave Cooley, a man who has been in much demand for the mastering of Kiwi soul and funk releases over the last few years.
During the recording process Harbour City Electric also benefited from having their own DIY home recording set ups and band members with a bit of audio engineering experience, something Simon Koziarski is quick to elaborate on when we meet up. 
"We had a real good couple of days with Mike Gibson at Trident, and because we all own our own gear and have a little bit of experience, the overdubs were something we could do in our own time, which was nice. There was no pressure, there was no time limit, there was no clock ticking away with the money. So we had a good chance to listen through everything and think about what we were going to do."
The result is a gorgeous five song, self-titled EP, which straddles a tasteful line between soul, funk, hard rock, hip hop and electronica - all tied together by Ned Worboys' smooth soul saturated vocal lines. Bleakley and Elley make a relaxed rhythm section and the rest of the band provide emotionally evocative melodic arrangements. Think Stax Recordings, think Motown, then throw a touch of the unexpected in the mix.
In terms of what has shaped and influenced the music, Koziarski refreshingly places as much emphasis on the people themselves as he does on their record collections.
 "We just all hang out together having dinner, chilling, trying stuff out; playing guitars. That's been really valuable for us, just spending that time together. Good friends, good vibes, good music."

Author: Martyn Pepperell