Jefferies Peter & Lonie Jono

Re-issued on vinyl for the first time since it's 1987 release, At Swim 2 Birds is a sonically rich and ever expanding collaboration between Peter Jefferies (This Kind Of Punishment) and Jono Lonie. Originally released on Flying Nun Records and then Xpressway – At Swim 2 Birds saw Peter Jefferies (on percussions, piano, tapes etc.) team up with Dunedin folk musician Jono Lonie (synth, guitar and violin) on the instrumental release, one that is at times both pastoral and experimental.

Peter Jefferies is truly an unsung hero of New Zealand music, having formed Nocturnal Projections with brother Graeme in the 1980s they went on to record as This Kind of Punishment. They were a band ahead of their time – and one that still sounds as fresh as when it was released. Following this he embarked on a string of solo records - Last Great Challenge for a Dull World and Electricity – tracks of which have been covered by the likes of Cat Power and Amanda Palmer. As well as recording one of the great Flying Nun singles – Randolph’s Going Home – with Shayne Carter (Straitjacket Fits).

This collaboration with Jono Lonie was another inspired creative turn. While Lonie may have been different from many of the ‘80s Flying Nun acts – more King Crimson than Velvet Underground – At Swim 2 Birds – provides another impeccable and intriguing piece of fourtrack recording from Dunedin in the 1980s. Titled after the surreal Flann O’Biren novel, this album is a varied affair from piano-scapes, ambient noise, minimalism to experimental moods and homemade instruments. All seeking out free combinations that act as both antithesis and co-existence. As Peter Jefferies explains, At Swim 2 Birds is “an exhilarating mix of tape loops, pianos, guitars, drums and strings capture an antidote of sorts to a previous sound and method of writing".