Born from the post-apocalyptic earthquake ruins of Christchurch, lead singer and rhythm guitarist, Sam Mander, and drummer, Ben O’Carroll, founded the band in late 2017, quickly forming acquaintances with lead guitarist, Thomas Klever, and bassist, Thomas McHutchison. Within three short years of the band’s inception, they quickly excelled at delivering unfeigned, jaw-dropping live performances.
From there, Dolphin Friendly set the local music scene on fire with their authenticity and energy, securing slots on the major music festivals nationwide, and opening for acts like Sticky Fingers, Skeggs, L.A.B, The Black Seeds, Shapeshifter and more. As a result, Dolphin Friendly now enjoy a hard-earned reputation as one of the best emerging local rock acts.
Recording ‘Radical Desire’ with friend, musician, and producer Connor Jaine from Mako Road proved an easy experience, and the band are thrilled with the result - a fresh take that has helped coalesce their primary sound, and where they are taking their live performances.
Says Sam, “Our sound has definitely become heavier, live and in the studio, which we don’t make any apologies for haha, but we’ve still made a conscious effort to maintain melody and groove. It’s all part of the journey as musicians.”
Dolphin friendly are also an unapologetic force of a political nature, cemented together through a shared vision of a greater consciousness to empower humanity, and committed to delivering firm messages through their music. With ‘Radical Desire’, the band ensured their message is portrayed quite strongly throughout. “Lyrically, we’ve ramped it up quite a bit as well, and tried to capture a more serious note on some of the local and global issues we feel passionate about making change for”, said Sam.
That passion extends to the band members’ shared core value of humanitarianism. Their altruistic tendencies are backed up by the band actively donating 10% of all their tour profits to disadvantaged individuals, communities, or relevant causes in need. To date, Dolphin Friendly have happily donated thousands of dollars to issues associated with chronic illness, mental health, racism, poverty, and sustainability.
With the new EP WON’T BE FOOLS set for release next month, fans will have numerous opportunities to see the band perform live as they hit the road for a nationwide run of shows all through summer. Dates to follow.
