SPLIT ENZ CELEBRATE 50 YEARS OF DEBUT ALBUM
Formed in 1972 in Auckland, New Zealand, Split Enz, known initially as Split Ends, were, and remain, utterly unique. As the first band from New Zealand to achieve major success beyond the Southern Hemisphere, they blazed a trail with a sound and style entirely their own. Evolving from folk-inspired beginnings into a fusion of art-rock, new wave, and theatrical performance, Split Enz didn’t just follow trends, they genuinely created them. While no one sounded like Split Enz at the time, countless acts have drawn inspiration from their legacy over the past five decades.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of their groundbreaking debut, Mental Notes, the first instalment of a landmark archival project, ENZyclopedia Volumes One & Two, presents a comprehensive tribute to New Zealand’s most visionary and influential band. Housed in a deluxe 5-CD box set (also available as a 3-LP + Blu-Ray edition), this release has been curated in close collaboration with the band. It offers an in-depth look at their formative years, showcasing the evolution of a group whose creative spirit reshaped the boundaries of popular music from New Zealand.
Lead singer Tim Finn, “Mental Notes was an album we carried around in our heads and hearts for a few years before we actually got the chance to make it. Phil and I had imagined epic and luxurious soundscapes that would stand alongside the masterpieces from the sixties we had fallen in love with in our most impressionable years, far removed in a land at the bottom of the world. Which is why, thinking we had fallen short, we tried to make our first album twice. Once in Sydney and again in London in 1976. So the “real” Mental Notes is still hovering somewhere between two records, never to be fully realised. However, nowadays I can hear beauty in the flaws, and completeness in the imperfections.”
Pre Orders are available now
https://wma.lnk.to/split-enz-enzyclopedia