Avalanche City hits No 1 on music charts

A Wintec graduate has hit the big time with a No 1 on every major music chart in New Zealand.

Dave Baxter, who studied a Bachelor of Media Arts, is a founding member of New Zealand folk band Avalanche City, whose debut single Love, Love, Love went to No 1.

Avalanche City released their debut album, Our New Life Above The Ground, for free on Facebook last October only to see it downloaded by 11,000 people in four months.

“Basically I wanted it to go out to as many people as possible.

“I had a theory that it would spread and get a lot more listens … I thought it would be more of a fun ride if I gave it away for free rather than trying to sell it,” he said.

But he didn’t expect his “snowball effect” theory to work so well. “If a few hundred people downloaded it I was going to be really happy. I really didn’t have any expectations.”

Following the success of their online album giveaway, Avalanche City released Love, Love Love, in December.

Baxter said a turning point was when TVNZ picked up the single for its latest advertising campaign, turning the song into a household anthem and forcing the New Zealand music industry to pay attention.

“We were pitching to radio for months and months and it didn’t really get play-listed much until TV2 picked it up,” he said.

The single hit No 1 on the official New Zealand top 40, No 1 on iTunes and No 1 on various radio countdowns across the country when the album was officially released this month.

“I’ve heard it on the radio and that was kind of crazy. I’ve heard it on TV while I was doing the dishes and that was funny as well.

“It feels pretty crazy. I haven’t quite processed it all yet. It’s all quite like a little bit out of control, but it’s good out of control,” he said.

But Baxter said the success hadn’t gone to his head.

“I feel like it hasn’t changed me at all as a person. But I think people expect it to change you. I feel like just normal old Dave.”

He said the days of needing a record deal to make it in the music industry had passed, and that resources available online were “hugely important” for independent artists.

“It definitely wouldn’t have happened without Facebook or the internet.”

Avalanche City started with a simple vision – “To learn how to sing properly and to write songs that I enjoyed and songs I thought were interesting,” he said.

Baxter recorded the album last April in an old Scout hall north of Auckland, where he spent a week alone playing all of the instruments and producing the record himself. He has since gathered a band together.

“That was a fun way of kind of making it my own unique project.

“It was just nice to get away out of the studio and make my own space and feel like it was exciting and a bit more of an adventure than normal recording.”

He said his time at Wintec was hugely important in honing his song writing skills and he credits tutor Rik Bernards as a “major player in my musical life”.

“He taught me a lot of things,” he said.

The band heads to the United States this month to play some label showcases in Los Angeles and New York.

After that the band will make a small South Island tour at the end of May followed by a nationwide tour later in the year.