The Phoenix Foundation formed in 1997 when good friends Conrad Wedde, Sam Scott and Luke Buda decided to stop playing metal and work on a more diverse and dynamic sound – a change of direction to reflect their evolving musical experiences.

Having jammed for a few years and recorded “This Charming Van” and released the China Cove EP in 2000, they were joined by Richie Singleton (drums), Will Ricketts (percussion) and Tim Hansen (bass) in 2001. A few weeks later they laid down the mesmerizing track “The Drinker” which received special attention from the B Net radio network and went on to win Best Unreleased Song at the B Net Music Awards 2002. Previous songs “Blue Summer” and a pre-album version of “Let Me Die A Woman” have also featured on bNet radio station’ playlists over the last two years. The former holding the No.1 position in the National Alternative Radio Charts for 4 weeks during 2002.

Recording for their debut album Horsepower began at The Surgery (Wellington) in June 2002 with Dr Lee Prebble (The Black Seeds) at the helm. The vibe of The Surgery suited their style and The Phoenix Foundation joined the impressive list of artists who have recorded there (Trinity Roots, Recloose, The Black Seeds, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Cornerstone Roots and Twinset). Mastering was completed with Mike Gibson (Fur Patrol, Letterbox Lambs) at Inca Productions over the summer of 2002/2003.

The album was released to critical acclaim in late June 2003, receiving glowing reviews in the Sunday Star Times (Grant Smithies), The Herald (Russell Baille) and The Listener (Nick Bollinger), the last of which rated it as one of the albums of the year in its 2003 review issue in December. Nominations followed for Best Pop and Best Rock at the 2004 b-Net Awards and Album of the Year at the prestigious Vodafone NZ Music Awards 2004. The videos for “Let Me Die A Woman” and “Going Fishing”, both shot by Christchurch-based director Richard Bell, also won the 2003 and 2004 Kodak Music Clip Knack Awards for best made video made for under $5000 (No NZOA grant money needed there!)

After a two month break over winter 2004 while guitarist/singer Luke Buda travelled to Europe with his family, the band have re-grouped and are planning a series of summer gigs in both New Zealand and Australia (where the album was released in June this year) in preparation for the release of their second album, the final mixing of which is taking place NOW.

The Phoenix Foundation are:
Sam Scott – guitars, vocals
Luke Buda – guitars, vocals
Conrad Wedde – guitars, keyboards
Warner Emery – bass guitar
Richie Singleton – drums
Will Ricketts – percussion

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