Cityscape talks festivals and new music with Lorna Coll, vocalist for Christchurch band Volts.

You released your first single ‘Wild & Out’ late last year, and now we’re seeing Volts all over the place. How’s the ride been? It's been exciting! Marc [Royal] and I have been quietly working away on this band for a few years now. We recently made some additions to Volts, expanding our lineup and really focusing on writing and releasing our single. Things have really taken off from there.

You’ve been hitting the festival scene pretty hard this summer – what’s been a highlight? We have played some great shows but Nostalgia Festival was definitely a highlight. The crowd were really responsive and we had people hooked from the first song, it was so much fun.

What’s your process for working together on songwriting? So Marc will come up with guitar riffs that we will base a song around and then I create a melody and narrative, the song flows on from there. We spend time revisiting and refining each track until we have something that we are happy to take to the rest of the band. Our bass player and second guitarist Victoria and Andy Knopp also take a production role, bringing the final arrangements together.

What are you listening to at the moment? Fleetwood Mac. They are always on my playlist.

How do you relax? Crank up the music in my headphones and head out for a run.

What’s the best advice your mum ever gave you? To pursue my goals in music. My mum is an inspiration to me. She's a really creative person who followed her passion for art later in her life.

What’s your pro-tip for rocking a crowd? Enjoy your performance. The crowd can tell when you're genuinely having fun, and bring lots of energy to the stage.

When was the first time you played for a crowd? When I was seven years old. It was a school production and I forgot all the words. I just stood there.

Do you have a pre- or post-show ritual? Gin and tonic.

Why ‘Volts’? We just thought that name suited the band and our sound… and Marc likes to be in bands starting with ‘V’ – he used to be in a band called The Valves.

Who’s someone you’d love to collab with? I'd love to guest vocal with another Kiwi artist with a different style of genre to Volts, something like reggae or drum & bass would be cool.

And what’s your favourite place around the city to just hang out? The beach. I love anywhere quiet where I can be inspired and write new music.

What’s on the cards for this year? We have a busy year ahead, more gigs including a release show and our next single called ‘Glass Walls’ on the way.

When will we be seeing more new Volts music? The next track is due late March and then an EP to follow around April/May. We have been working on the record for a while now so we are really looking forward to everyone hearing it.

'Glass Walls' single release show, A Rolling Stone, Friday 16 April
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