What does it sound like when a jaded musician turns his back on relentless touring, changes his name, builds a studio in the middle of nowhere, and starts afresh? Stillwater Blackball is on a mission to answer that question, and with all those years on the road, he has learned a thing or two about groove. 

Armed with his laid back vibes and organic sound, he wears his Australasian influences on his sleeve. His new single, Waterside, out June 4th, is an anthem for anyone desperate to be lost in the wilderness, away from the weight of the “real world”. 

Stillwater's omnivorous approach has already been turning heads in the industry, with many wondering who the mysterious character might have been before he crashed out of the touring world. “I played with so many people, I started to lose sight of genre,” he explains. “These days I just grab what I like from all over the place and put it all together - I guess that's my sound.” 

As a multi-instrumentalist and seasoned producer, he breathes life into his songs deep in the back of beyond, before NZ's resident audio wizard Chris Chetland masters them at KOG Studios. The results are breathtaking, uniting a broad range of influences with a timeless and soulful voice. 

It's hard to say what's next for Stillwater Blackball, or when he'll emerge from exile, but one thing's for sure: he's one of the most exciting homegrown voices around. 

Waterside drops worldwide on June 4th 2021, followed by the video June 18th. 

Written, Performed and Produced by Stillwater Blackball
Mastered by Chris Chetland at KOG Studio, NZ

Waterside

After hitting the road straight out of school, Stillwater Blackball toured non-stop for years as a session musician, learning almost everything there is to know about the industry. But souls on the road get worn: when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he decided enough was enough, cashed out of the game, and started single-handedly writing and recording his own music in the middle of nowhere. Earlier this year, he dropped the “soulful, dynamic and uplifting” groover “Waterside” (Pario Magazine), and now he’s back with the follow- up single “Light”, out August 6th.

Released alongside a genuinely stunning video, “Light” manages to be at once intimate and universal, like a self portrait for humanity. It's a beautifully choreographed balancing act between epic soundscapes, hard-hitting grooves, introspective reflection and screaming guitar solos. Stillwater explains: “I had this idea that you don’t really know yourself until you’ve been at your lowest, and that maybe that’s something we all share, maybe that’s the only thing we all share. It’s kind of a strange idea, but it was interesting to me at the time, and so that became 'Light'. Ultimately it’s me trying to reflect constructively on my darkness”.

So who is Stillwater Blackball? Good question. We don’t really know, and it seems he likes it that way: “there’s so much noise today, so much you’ve got to do on top of just making music. It seems you have to sell yourself to sell your songs. That’s not me, I’m a quiet guy, so for a long time that held me back. Then I just decided to do it on my own terms”.

One look at the video for “Light” and it's easy to see how this approach might pay off. Stillwater stands silhouetted against a whirlwind background of chaos and peace, light and dark. This release is a truly immersive and intense audiovisual experience that you don't often see from someone at this stage in their career.

Revelling in his self-imposed studio exile, Stillwater is constantly honing his sound. “I send my tracks off in batches to be mastered by Chris Chetland at KOG Studio, NZ. At this point, the release schedule is so far behind the pace I'm making them at It's kind of
frustrating and exciting at the same time”. With so much still to come, the future looks bright for this hotly-tipped breakthrough artist.

Light drops worldwide on August 6th 2021, followed by the video August 20th.

Light

Elusive musician Stillwater Blackball returns with the groovy synth-fuelled banger “Flesh and Blood”. The track, which fuses p-funk vibes, Nile Rodgers guitars, and a huge chorus, takes an honest look at relationships in the online age. 

“I got the idea when I found out my cousin's life was falling apart around him, but online he made it look like he was living the dream,” Stillwater explains. “It made me feel this strange distance between us and made me realise how little we know about the people around us if everyone pretends they're fine all the time. In the track I tried to cover the darker side of all that stuff, but dress it up as this big dancey synthy banger, to reflect that mindset of never admitting anything's wrong.”

So who is Stillwater Blackball? Good question. We don’t really know, and it seems he likes it that way: “there’s so much noise today, so much you’ve got to do on top of just making music. It seems you have to sell yourself to sell your songs. That’s not me, I’m a quiet guy, so for a long time that held me back. Then I just decided to do it on my own terms”. 

A touring musician by trade, Stillwater uses the time when he's not on the road to hole himself up in his home studio and bring his own music to life, playing and producing everything himself. It was only when he sent “Flesh and Blood” off to be mastered by Chris Chetland at Kog Studio, NZ that anyone else heard it. It seems to be a winning formula for the up-and-coming musician, who has huge tracks behind him and a bright future ahead. 

Flesh and Blood drops worldwide on August 12th 2022, followed by the video August 19th.

Flesh and Blood

Peace

Time

Home

Wild

Commissioned by Olympic mountain biking legend Thomas Frischknecht to soundtrack his world leading Scott-SRAM mountain bike team’s 2023 season round up video, this is an acoustic version of a track from my EP ‘peace/time/home/wild’ that I released earlier this year. Unlike the synth-heavy original version, this is stripped back to just guitars, double bass and simple percussion. It’s a chill groover that puts you in mind of love, mountains and wide open spaces. And world-class mountain biking...

Stillwater Blackball

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