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**Liam Finn, Jess Cornelius (Solo)** “This record is very much a catchup of my last ten years. And a lot has happened.” Liam Finn has always followed his own path. From the adolescent guitar fireworks of his band Betchadupa, to his incendiary one-man performances (including spots on The Late Show with David Letterman and Later… With Jools Holland), he’s found ways to challenge and disrupt what you might expect from a singer-songwriter. His latest project Hyperverse finds him once again charting new territory, including fans in the writing and recording process in unprecedented ways, with even more ambitious plans to close the gap between artist and audience down the line. Betchadupa burst onto the scene in Aotearoa New Zealand courtesy of acclaimed local label Flying Nun, with accompanying oodles of indie cred. The band folded around 2006 (although there was a rogue single in 2020), with Finn’s solo debut I’ll Be Lightning arriving in 2007 to much critical praise. His strength of vision was immediately clear, helming most of the instruments himself, and serving as its producer, as he would do on follow ups FOMO and The Nihilist. In support of the debut he began performing solo, using loop pedals to trigger guitar parts he could then sing along to, as well as accompany himself on drums. An early adopter of this performance mode, he set an incredibly high bar, with explosive shows that felt part-rock n’ roll, part-magic trick. Since then there have been side-projects like BARB, which featured Connan Mockasin and James Milne of Lawrence Arabia, and Finn’s soundtrack work for the 2017 documentary Susanne Bartsch: On Top. After 25 years of performing alongside his father Neil and Crowded House, Liam and Neil released their first collaborative album Lightsleeper in 2018. This led to Liam and his brother Elroy officially joining Crowded House as core members and co-writers, releasing Dreamers Are Waiting in 2021, and touring extensively during recent years. There is also new Crowded House music on the way, and a global world tour is slated for 2024. Based in America for the past twelve years, Finn still has strong ties to the country he grew up in. It was a show in Auckland, New Zealand that reminded him of the joy of playing solo with his loop pedal. “It reignited my flame,” he says, “And it also made me realize there's something about that energy that you never really capture in a studio, because you're not adrenalized, you're concentrating, whereas on stage you're trying to entertain and you've got one shot to do it all.” Thus the Hyperverse project was born, broadcasting the creation of Finn’s new album via Twitch, as he improvised, wote, and bottled inspiration live to an online audience. Starting in an Auckland studio, moving to his father Neil’s Roundhead studios, and eventually his home set-up in L.A., the creative process was on full view. “I wanted to see what would happen if I let people watch what would normally be incredibly solitary and intimate”, he says. Twitch’s chat function offered an added bonus, allowing fans to give feedback. Finn says the process felt like having a roster of “faceless, ageless, genderless producers”. The result is a collection that crackles with innovation, harnessing the energy of those high-wire studio sessions, the results pared down to impeccably crafted guitar-pop gems. Acting as mixer and producer at every step, Finn says he was emboldened by not having anyone to answer to: “I just thought, I want to see this through and have it sound exactly how I imagined.” He describes Hyperverse as “A composite of almost everything I've ever made as a musician.” it’s as well-rounded a portrait of an artist as you’re likely to find, an album its creator describes as “a journey”. First single ‘I Just Want You To Be So Happy’ pairs scrappy guitar chugs with a remarkable, nimble vocal melody, building to a cathartic climax of ecstatic chords and passionate drum fills. Finn says, “Every once in a while you write a song that just kind of comes out well, even words and all, without much effort. Pretty much the whole of ‘I Just Want You To Be So Happy’ came out in 10 minutes”. The album has been gestating for years, as have plans around it, Finn enigmatically saying “I'm catering this project towards a new idea of how to release music”. What stands out most is the creative verve on display, resulting from laying the process bare and involving fans the whole way. Finn can now look back on his career with a sense of perspective, but also acknowledge that not much has changed. “It feels like a record for my teenage self. I'm reflecting on actually feeling the same as I ever have since I was a teenager. But with some, I guess, wisdom.”
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