Powder Chutes

Nice chat with Laura from Vinyl Lollipops...

Powder Chutes
June 2026

Interviewed by:
Laura Williams,
Vinyl Lollipops

Photography courtesy of:
Keegan Gingrich
Deadairlive Photography

Powder Chutes:
Otis Murphy - Bass
Archie Orbell - Drums
Henry McConnell - Vocals
Clarke West - Guitar

Laura:
Thank you for your time. Please give us the backstory about how and when your band was established.

Powder Chutes:
We’ve actually been a band for well over a decade. We started playing together back in primary school, which means we’ve been in Powder Chutes for more than half of our lives. Once we finished school, sticking together to take the band to the next level was a no-brainer. What makes Powder Chutes work so well is that we’re all inherently different. Everyone brings a totally unique flavour to the table, and that friction is where the magic happens.

Laura:
How would you describe your music-making process for your new single, “Rivers?”

Powder Chutes:
"Rivers" started the way a lot of our tracks do, with Clarke bringing in the initial kernel, the main riffs, basic structure… the foundation. From there, we put it through its paces in a full-band jam. It got completely pulled apart, refined, and developed into the heavyweight track it is now. The final piece of the puzzle is usually Henry coming in with the lyrics and vocals. That often throws a beautiful spanner in the works. It forces us to workshop the music all over again to fit the vocal energy, but always in the best way possible.

Thematically, "Rivers" pulls no punches. It explores the heavy complexities of navigating mental health within the chaos of modern society, balancing medication, and holding onto your sense of self while maintaining relationships.

We’re unlike a lot of modern bands because we aren't a prolific track factory. We don't just bang out fifty songs and pick the best. We tend to painstakingly chip away at a track until we’re completely obsessed with it. If we aren’t 100% happy, it never sees the light of day.

"Rivers" was recorded at Parachute Studios in Auckland, which is a fantastic space. It was our first time tracking there, and our first time working with Dave Rhodes as a producer. In terms of tracking, we’re like most bands: Archie lays down the drum foundation, Otis locks in the bass, and Clarke tracks the main guitars. Henry’s vocals come next, and then we dive into the fun part, experimenting with extra layers of texture, subtle guitar nuances, and rich vocal harmonies. It is definitely a creative process we savour.

Laura:
Do you have a favorite song you like to perform the most? If so, can you please explain why?

Powder Chutes:
Right now, it’s unanimously "Rivers." It’s an absolute sonic heavyweight live. That said, "Dutchies" is always a massive crowd-pleaser, especially back home in New Zealand. It’s our rock reimagining of a beloved drum & bass anthem by the legendary Kiwi band Shapeshifter, and the crowd goes mental every time it drops.

Laura:
Can you please spill some behind-the-scenes details about how you prepare for shows?

Powder Chutes:
To be honest, we don't have any mystical pre-show rituals. Because we operate as an independent band, we're usually doing all the heavy lifting and gear setup ourselves. Once the hard yards are done, our routine is pretty simple: grab some food, sink a couple of beers, and head straight into the mosh pit to support the opening bands. Henry is the only one with a real regime. He usually sneaks off somewhere quiet to blast through his vocal warm-ups.

Laura:
Why call the band “Powder Chutes?”

Powder Chutes:
Honestly, have you ever tried to come up with an original band name? It is impossibly hard these days. We went through dozens of epic names, but every single one was already taken. We wanted something entirely unique. A name where we'd be the only result when you Google it, with zero confusion on streaming platforms.

Ultimately, it just sounded killer, but it was also inspired by our hometown. We’re from Wānaka, an alpine lake town heavily centered around skiing and snowboarding, so "Powder Chutes" felt close to home. It wasn't until much later that someone told us it’s also slang for a rolled-up banknote used for snorting nose candy. We were way too innocent to make that connection at 14 or 15 years old!

Laura:
What genre of music do you consider Powder Chutes to be?

Powder Chutes:
Hard tock, modern grunge, punk angst. We’ve heard plenty of labels thrown around, and we’ll happily take any of them. While our foundation is definitely heavy, hard rock, there’s an underlying groove and honesty to our music that seems to connect across a really wide demographic.

Laura:
What should fans expect to experience at a show?

Powder Chutes:
Maximum energy and absolute joy. We pride ourselves on leaving absolutely everything on the stage. We keep things loose enough to ensure every single live show is a unique experience, but musically tight enough to be incredibly proud of the performance. Because we’ve known each other and played together for half our lives, we can navigate any chaos thrown at us mid-set: broken strings, microphones cutting out, or our bassist randomly disappearing into a mid-song mosh pit. We just keep rolling.

Check out the visual tour diary captured by Keegan to feel the exact live energy of our live sets.

Laura:
Typical question here. Who has influenced you the most via music?

Powder Chutes:
Individually, our tastes are wildly different, but we have a massive collective sweet spot. You'll hear the heavy sonic DNA of bands like Rage Against the Machine, Slipknot, cleopatrick, and Alien Weaponry, alongside brilliant Kiwi acts like Kora and Supergroove. But scratch beneath the surface and our individual playlists span from Bring Me The Horizon and Thornhill to Massive Attack, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Heilung, and even cinematic composers like Hans Zimmer and Joe Hisaishi. Life is way too short to limit your ears.

Laura:
How can fans and future fans locate, listen to and buy your music?

Powder Chutes:
You can find Powder Chutes wherever you consume music. All major streaming platforms, Bandcamp, and our official site at www.powderchutes.com. If you love physical media, you can grab a vinyl copy of our self-titled debut album directly from our website, at local record stores across Aotearoa, or right from the merch table at our gigs. It’s currently on its third vinyl pressing, which feels incredibly surreal for us.

Laura:
Is there anything else you would like your fans to know?

Powder Chutes:
We want everyone to know that we’re working our asses off to establish Powder Chutes on the global stage. There is a phenomenal new wave of guitar bands breaking through the ranks in New Zealand right now, and we are absolutely stoked to be leading the charge in that movement.

If you’re local or traveling through the South Island, we’re playing a massive homecoming single release show at Water Bar in Wānaka on Friday, 19 June. Come down, grab a drink, and experience the chaos in person. Following that, we’re heading up north for an All Ages show at Big Fan in Auckland, before wrapping things up at Monkey House in Whitianga, which is awesome because it's our producer Dave Rhodes' hometown!

Laura:
What’s coming up next for Powder Chutes?

Powder Chutes:
"Rivers" officially drops on 3 July, which is the first new music we’ve dropped for over a year, so its a bit of insight into the next chapter of Powder Chutes.

We’re deep in the trenches working on our second studio album with legendary Kiwi producer Dave Rhodes (Devilskin, Blindspott) which we’ll be recording at Parachute Studios in Auckland. The new material is sounding massive, and we can’t wait for everyone to hear it.

Laura Williams
©️Vinyl Lollipops
All Rights Reserved.

A few band shots from the video shoot for Rivers
Courtesy of Keegan at

Rivers drops on 3 July with a kick-ass video from

We’ve got 3 shows to celebrate the release of Rivers

19 June - Wanaka, Water Bar

26 June - Auckland, Big Fan (ALL AGES)

27 June - Whitianga, Monkey House

Epic support fromqt




and The Lost Semen… who are too cool for Insta

Tickets from