Sulfate - First Move, Repairs, Flogging a Dead

Peter Ruddell is 1/3 of New Zealand's most well known “guitarless guitar band,” noise-rock trio Wax Chattels. Today, he debuts his solo project Sulfate with the cathartic single, 'Speaking For Others'.

A departure of frantic and frenetic nature of Wax Chattels, 'Speaking For Others' is doomy, but with strong harmonies supported by its minimal instrumentation. Heavy drums and a distorted electric piano wash through the track while Peter's ambient baritone sits low in the mix, complemented by sparse female vocal harmonies.

Sonically, it takes influence from the slow-core bands of the 90s such as Codeine and Low, along with doom bands like Earth.

"This song has a long history. I wrote a demo of it while I was living in Japan in about 2014, which I rediscovered late 2018 and reworked for this project. It’s about being at the mercy of others, having to relinquish control and give in to external powers. I wanted it to try and capture the battle of trying to explain things in a language that is not your own, in a country that you are new to, and in a culture that you’re unfamiliar with. How you always feel like you’re being misunderstood, or saying the wrong thing - how it’s a trudge just to transfer meaning."

Sulfate will make their first live appearance at Auckland City's underground bar and music venue The Wine Cellar.