Image: Boyd Anderson
Keeping it real WORDS BOB SACAMANO IMAGES SUPPLIED
They came, they saw and now they’re conquering all. From playing underage in East Coast pubs to headlining international stages, the full-on groove machine that has become L.A.B have come a long, long way, and we have the sneaky feeling that they’re just getting started. These boys from the Bay have done good. In three years, L.A.B have released three stand out albums, toured to sell out shows up and down Aotearoa, and pretty much established themselves as the soundtrack to our lives. Last year alone they played to over 200,000 people, won the Radio New Zealand people’s choice award for best live act, and received rave reviews both here and across the Tasman. They’re so good that the Aussies will be claiming them any day now.
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Good luck with that Cobber, because L.A.B – the name, apparently, doesn’t really mean anything except as a reference to a laboratory – are about as Kiwi as it gets. The band was formed by drummer and producer Brad Kora of much-loved dub/electronic outfit Kora together with brother Stu (also of Kora), Papamoa boy Joel Shadbolt (of Batucada Sound Machine), former Katchafire bassist Ara Adams-Tamatea and keyboardist Miharo Gregory. Each successful in their own rights, the joining of their forces has created something much greater than the sum of the parts. Their latest album – the creatively titled L.A.B III – was recorded at coproducer Lee Prebble’s (of Fly My Pretties and Black Seeds fame) home studio, The Surgery, in Wellington throughout 2019. The band were living, eating and sleeping in the studio for week-long stints, working around the clock, and the result is a tour de force that captures the sound of a band alive and in full flight.
