Music makes the art grow fonder

01 Feb 2023

Believe ‘hue’ me, this music speaks colour. New Zealand pop band SKRAM is taking the music world by storm, and their visual representation of music has a lot of flair and colour. Their most popular track, Love Don’t Keep Me Waiting, uses an array of vivid Resene paint colours as an expression of fierce and heartfelt emotion. 

The exciting new pop group, with their colourful and dynamic aesthetic, consists of Henry Ashby on lead vocals and guitar, Felix Nesbitt on drums and vocals, Tane Butler on Bass and Conall Ryan on guitar, vocals and various instruments. 

“We’re like high energy, passionate pop music swimming in an ocean of pink and blue colours and explosive fun,” says lead vocalist, Henry Ashby. “We strive to create music that is genuine, heartfelt and meaningful, and we hope that it resonates with our listeners in a positive way.”

Henry amidst the colours while filming the popular track Love Don’t Keep Me Waiting. Using Resene testpots including Resene Wellywood, Resene Hopskotch and Resene Funtasia.

Starting in the musical theatre scene up north, Henry began his journey by performing in productions and auditioning for various acting projects. After moving to Wellington and meeting Felix and, now former member, Lee, they began playing at gigs around town before jamming and writing together.

Right from the start, this trio knew they had something magical, which Henry describes as “lightning in a bottle”. They started working as hard as they could to create, release, and play their music to large crowds at events, all while building the business and branding of SKRAM.

Since then Tane and Conall have joined, along with other members, and the group work every hour of the day to try and develop more opportunities to play, write and perform to people.

“I feel as though since SKRAM started our style has been constantly developing as we discover more about ourselves,” Henry says. “I’ve personally finally started to feel comfortable exploring my favourite, more expressive colours and outfits, that let me tap into an energy that feels more real to me than I’ve felt most of my life.”

Lead vocalist of SKRAM, Henry Ashby, painting with the bright vivid green Resene Wellywood in his music video for Love Don’t Keep Me Waiting.

“I never thought of myself as a painter or a visual artist until SKRAM gave me the freedom to start understanding myself a bit better.”

“Painting for me always feels nostalgic and reminds me a lot of being a kid, staring at some colour or shape that you’ve decided is your favourite and letting your imagination do whatever dance it needs to do to create something that evokes your emotions in a really free way.”

The band find their inspiration from their experiences in life, inviting people into their world to experience these most relatable stories through music. Every track is different from the last, and through exploring love, fun, nostalgia and human connection, they are writing songs that people can connect with and feel a part of. 

Their aim is to capture the essence of imaginative, over the top bubbly colourful aesthetics, while evoking heartfelt and emotive imagery that soars the hearts of people who are listening to their music.

A rush of colours used by Henry, painting here with Resene Wellywood during his music video.

Henry admits that his track, Love Don’t Keep Me Waiting, includes lyrics and melodies that are intensely personal for him. To capture the heart of the song, he used a giant canvas with Resene testpot paints to really immerse himself in the moment.

“This massive piece of art let me feel like I could be childish, emotional and dramatic, so I could feel that intense heartbreak again for a minute.” 

“I added reaching hands which was an obsessive idea I couldn’t let go of, like a hopeless romantic reaching out for a hand to hold, or a hand that’s spreading wide to let go of something for the right reasons.” 

Picking a favourite song is almost impossible for any artist, but at this moment, the heartfelt track is Henry’s favourite, leaving him deeply uplifted that people are connecting with the message and relating to an emotive and vulnerable place that he and others have experienced.

Henry’s mother, an interior designer, suggested Resene testpots as a way of finding the idyllic colours he needed. After visiting the Resene ColorShop in Wellington and talking to, what Henry calls “the legend behind the counter”, Henry left with the brightest and most enigmatic colours he had ever seen in his life.

Palette wise, Henry knew what he needed and Resene had more than he could have asked for. Glittering pink tones, his favourite colour, reminiscent of cotton candy and bubble gum were needed to bring playfulness and passion to the piece, so he opted for shades like Resene Hopskotch, and Resene Sugar and Spice.

A vivid rainbow of Resene colours can be seen on the finished canvas from SKRAM’s Love Don’t Keep Me Waiting music video.

“Pinks are always my favourite and I definitely have way too much pink. The reason for this is because I was always scared growing up as an Aotearoa male to admit to loving pink and when I finally started screaming it from the rooftops, the colour helped me discover who I am, letting me find an effeminate side to myself that actually makes me feel prouder and more masculine than I ever felt.

“Don’t hide from your favourite colours ever, even if they’re chaotic and bright.”

Reaching hands, dramatic swooshes, and theatrical depictions of love and emotion are expressed through colours like Resene Funtasia, Resene Wellywood, Resene Bowie, Resene Surfie Green, Resene Switched On, Resene Outrageous, Resene Tahiti Gold and Resene Bullseye.

“The Resene Metallic range is like butter on a crumpet for me, probably just because it’s so glittery and sparkly. After these, I also realised I needed some joy, optimism and hope in the piece, so I brought fiery oranges and brighter yellows and greens.” 

“Oceanic blues and greens are an intoxicatingly calm counterbalance to the pink. The ocean has always made me insanely tranquil while scaring me to my core as well, so this became a big theme of one side of the heart in the centre for me.”

Featuring SKRAM, with their adorable little ray of sunshine, Alfie the cat, who has his own Instagram @skramcat.

The inspiring NZ band are working hard to make their music and business a full time gig and Henry is currently also working as a drama and music teacher to inspire young minds. They are working towards touring everywhere they possibly can with their music and art in tow.

You can find SKRAM’s music on Spotify and their music videos on YouTube. 

Check out the band and their upcoming shows on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skramogram/

Published: 01 Feb 2023