Wellington Music: The Eighth Note - Toby Sussex

Who are you? Tell us a bit about your music:

My name's Toby Sussex, I'm an indie folk-pop singer-songwriter based here in Pōneke. In a live setting, I perform with a guitar and a loop pedal, playing a mix of fingerpicked acoustic songs and energetic live-looped bops.

What have you been working on lately? Any new tracks or albums on the way?

I recently released my debut EP, Weather Dependent, to a lovely response. These four tracks were all written, engineered, produced and mixed by me, and mastered by Mike Gibson. In terms of new songs, I've written a lot of fresh material lately that I'm super excited about and can't wait to start producing soon!

Where is the best place people can follow you & find your music?
Instagram would be the best place to keep up to date with me, and I do post on Facebook and TikTok as well. You can find my music on any of your preferred music platforms. Or, just go here for links to everything!

What were the 3 most influential albums to you growing up?
This is a tricky one! I think I'll have to go with:

'All The Little Lights' by Passenger.
'Now, Not Yet' by Half Alive.
'My Head is an Animal' by Of Monsters and Men.

Which other Wellington musician (s) would you most like to work with?

Hans Pucket would be an amazing band to collaborate with in some form one day. Not sure what that would look like, but I'm forever in awe of their live presence! French for Rabbits would also be an amazing pick.

What’s your favourite Wellington venue to play in?

Ooo, I might have to go with Meow, but I would really love to play Vogelmorn Bowling Club. One day soon hopefully! I've also had some lovely gigs at Moon in Newtown.

In your songwriting or composing (or the band’s songwriting) how do the compositions and songs take shape?

It's a different story for each song, but generally I start with writing lyric ideas into my phone whenever I think of them - sometimes going on a writing frenzy there and then, sometimes not touching the idea for months. I'll come up with a chord progression or riff on my acoustic guitar next, and then match a melody with the lyric ideas. I'll try to make it sound musical, which usually involves cutting down and distilling the words to the core message I want to communicate. Once the song has a performable structure, I usually road-test it in a live environment. I love seeing how people respond to it before I start recording and producing.

Where/when is your next gig?

To be confirmed! Keep an eye on my channels...