(originally published in NZ Musician magazine, Oct/Nov 2003)

One Million Dollars are celebrating the release of their debut album 'Energy State', on Sugarlicks Records. If you've had the pleasure of catching their live show, you'll know that this 10- piece band cook up a very groovy blend of soul, funk, and bossa nova. It's an infectious sound that is winning them fans far and wide.

Lead singer, guitarist and chief songwriter Richard Setford gives me the background on the band.

"There's 10 of us now, and we've been together for about a year and a half. It started about a year before that with just four of us. Two of the members left for overseas and me and Amos (Clarke - bass) just kept going from there, kept building it up. We picked up people we met through playing, or who we already knew.

"I've always wanted that big band sound. I like the vibrancy, the energy that you generate from that many people. Just that fullness of sound - musically."

Other Million-aires present are Brazilian import Robson Santos (berimbau, harmonica, Portuguese vocals), and Steph Brown (keyboards). Missing from the interview are Amos Clarke, Tom Atkinson (drums), Paul Taylor (percussion), Richard Cotman (lead trumpet), Nick Tempest (trumpet), Eamonn Deverall (sax, flute), and Cherie Elliot (trombone).

Keeping such a large band together hasn't been as difficult as you might think.

"We all get along really well," says Richard, "and everyone of us is into playing this kind of music. It's also because of the kind of gigs we play, where a lot of people come along and they're really into it, and I love that, feeding off people."

"It's really, enjoyable, aye," adds Steph. "It's not work at all, it's just a party. The music has got heaps of energy, and with such a large group of people, we all vibe off each other. It's just heaps of fun!"

Richard notes that they don't go crazy on the workload either, getting together to rehearse about once a week. "We're pretty comfortable with where we are, right now. We're not driving anyone too hard." "Our gigs are pretty emotional," says Robson.

"You cry when your photo gets taken," retorts Richard.

"Oh, whatever," submits Robson, as the others fall about laughing. "I think the band is able to share emotions, through the music. I'm not talking about crying, okay? You have an energy in music, its intense, but its not aggro at all, and people like that, they get into it."

Recording the album was a long, drawn out process. taking 14 months all up according to Richard.

"A lot of it was pulling in favours. We recorded most of it at (head of their Sugarlicks Records label) Gareth Farry's house. He has a shed out at his place and his brother Lukas engineered it."

Richard produced the album with Lukas, who graduated from SAE a couple of years ago.

"We did the drums, bass and guitar at The Lab in a day - about 14 or 15 tracks. We ended up using pretty much all the drum takes from that session and most of the bass we redid in the studio.

"It started out very casually, with us just taking our time. We started it in summer (of 2002), and Lukas was working at Khuja Lounge (central Auckland venue and Sugarlicks' spritual home) at nights and coming along to recording in the days. And then the deadlines came along with BMG (the label's distributor). They started saying, 'Right, can we have a single?' and then we started to work! The last six months have been pretty full-on, four-to-five days a week. Just me and Lukas working on it, with the band coming in to do their bits.

"The studio was a Pro Tools setup through a G4 Mac, going through this little analogue six-channel mixing desk, in the corner of the lounge. The desk was built by Greg Price of Ekadek. Everything else was overdubbed. It was quite a basic setup, a little booth, and we had a Rhodes there that Steph played on. We had a Roland Juno keyboard too."

Lukas added programmed beats to a few of the tracks. Manuel Bundy also contributes a remix of Get Off.

"The last two weeks have been mixing down, and that was a nightmare, just listening to the same song over and over again. We'd try and do one song a day, and it got a little stir crazy in there!"

Typically the songs went through some changes from the live environment to the recording studio.

"It's funny 'cos we were left to our own devices, Lukas and I, and we'd go too far with the songs sometimes. We made it clear that everyone could come in whenever they wanted to, but a lot of the guys have got fulltime work as well. So we never got that advice, and sometimes we got out of control! Towards the end we had to rope ourselves in and go, 'Well, maybe this isn't such an impression of the live style that we have'.

"It's the first time for any of us, and it's Lukas' first shot at it as well, so we're all growing together, making the same mistakes and learning from them. We did think about getting in a producer at the start, but this is the best way; you just dive in and see what happens, and obviously, it's cheaper. I really like the studio buzz, I like the way you can take a song and completely shift it somewhere else."

The band are certainly happy with the finished result.

"It's a pretty diverse album," says Richard. "There's blues, jazz, and some dance. You've got Robson's Portuguese lyrics and that's what I love about it, the diversity. I don't want to get bored."

Robson agrees: "There's a little bit of everything there and it's not by intention, really. It's not like we go, 'Oh we have a Brazilian in the band, let's cash in on that Latin thing.' Nah man, I'm trying to be an artist, and I really love the music."

There's a national tour coming up to promote the album, and some wider travel plans on the horizon too.

"I want to go offshore with the band," says Richard. "I want to go to Europe, I think that'd be cool and with Robson, I'd love to go to Brazil. We do a couple of songs in Portuguese, so we think that would fly pretty well; Robson seems to think so."

"You're gonna hook us up, right?" asks Steph.

"Of course," says Robson. "Take you to all the favelas and stuff. If music can take us to anywhere, that would be great. I would love to go to Europe, I'm pretty sure Japan would be good, even China. Take me there!"

But selling 'Energy State' is very much the short term focus. Manager Stephen O'Hoy says they'll be touring this summer, and while the initial print run is only 1500, they hope the album will go gold in the long run.

And Richard Setford is already thinking about the second album.

"I think it would be better if we concentrated more on a live representation," he says. "The horns, for example, were all recorded separately; the trumpet would come in, and then, say a week later the saxophone would come in, and there wasn't that cohesiveness you get with them all playing live together, you know? And then there's tuning problems, if you're going from one week to another."

"It's all a money situation," says Robson. "We just couldn't afford to go into a proper studio with everyone together. That's just how it is. It would be good to have some money! I am a dreamer. I dream to record in Brazil, taste the environment of other places. I don't know if it's possible, but I like to dream."