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December 6, 2025 12 mins

Pop rock band Castaway released their sophomore EP Nondual in October - the popular tracks resulting in regular airplay on many mainstream radio stations. 

Three of the five band members Joe, Rhys and Austen joined Francesca Rudkin and told her about the pressure of recording this album in such a short space of time.

They also shared how they met at Canterbury University and making the decision that music could be a career for them.

Plus they preformed Pretty Little Liars live in studio.

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News Talks EDB.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Now, I am telling you this right now. This is
a band going places. This song is Daisy from christ
Church based pop rock band Castaway, and October they released
their sophomore EP, Nondual and they're now getting regular airplay
on many mainstream radio stations. Very exciting times for the band,
and I'm thrilled to have three of the five band

(00:33):
members here, Joe, Reese and Austin Welcome.

Speaker 3 (00:37):
Thank you for having us.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
Okay, So Jack and Jackson aren't with us, but you
guys are all based in christ Church at the moment.
Is that right?

Speaker 3 (00:44):
Yeah, that's correct. Yes, yep. We all met at UNI
there and have been there ever since.

Speaker 4 (00:48):
They are still with us digit at the studio. They're
not with us.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
A very good point, muscatch how I say that? But
none of you are from christ as you said you'll
meet at the university and the halls.

Speaker 5 (01:03):
Yes, we're from all over New Zealand. Originally I'm from Wellington, South,
Joe's from Olmado, Reese and Jackson are from the Cargo
and Jack is from Auckland.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
Okay, nice macks there. So why have you decided to
stay in christ Church?

Speaker 6 (01:16):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (01:17):
Potentially like a convenience thing for us at the moment.
Building the scene down there is has been exciting for
us and I think it's just been something that's working.
So we're continuing with it. I guess when you when
you start out, you build a home base and that's
where your fans are, and so it just makes sense
to stay there for them. For the minute, we've thought
about exploring going way to it. We'll see, we'll see

(01:37):
what happens.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
You were in a hall r and A, You're in
a hall called Wilson, And I'm making I'm joining the
dots here between Wilson, a volleyball and the film Castaway.
Isn't that obvious?

Speaker 6 (01:50):
There?

Speaker 1 (01:50):
We go?

Speaker 6 (01:50):
Okay, right?

Speaker 3 (01:52):
Who came up with that idea?

Speaker 4 (01:54):
That was me a pastime ritual. So the actual halls
of residents was Rochester and Rutherford. And on nights out,
you know, as you do as a student, you'd be
gallivanting about and on. Somehow all of us boys ended
up in the Wilson House on the sister, first and
third floors. Austin, Joe and Jack were on the third floor,
and then me and Jackson were on the first and

(02:17):
when coming back to the Welson house, everyone shouted, Wellson
a few drinks and yeah after a few few antics.
So that kind of stuck with us, and I was
like Welson, like, you know, like the movie Castaway, and
it was Castaway.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
Too easy, too easy.

Speaker 5 (02:33):
There we go.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
So when did you guys realize that you had a
little bit more on you than just sort of being
a band jamming Awaite university and that you could potentially
make a go with us.

Speaker 5 (02:42):
It was about four years ago, at the end of
twenty twenty one. We'd gone away for a trip down
to the beautiful Acador to have a boy's weekend get
away and just chat the band and how we were thinking.
We'd played a few gigs by that point in the
university scene, and we came together and we're talking through it,
and we'd realize that over the last three years of
us playing together, just how much would really fallen in

(03:04):
love with music and with the band and the craft.
And we said to ourselves, look, boys, should we give
this a serious go? And here we are four years
later after that conversation is still gone.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
And did you have sort of any goal in mind.
Did you think to yourself, Okay, we'll do it for
a couple of years, we'll do it for a year.

Speaker 5 (03:21):
I mean what it was always thrown around trying to
make a sustainable career out of music. That was sort
of the catchphrase. And I think as we've come further
and further along, we've realized that that can look like
a lot of different things, and that can mean a
lot of different things. So I think there's not necessarily
any again goal, Like once we played Glastonbury, then we're

(03:43):
going to be done, but we're just enjoying the ride.

Speaker 2 (03:46):
Nice. How would you describe yourselves as a banjo I
w heard you described yourselves as next to a boy
band energy. I'm not sure, honest, next.

Speaker 3 (04:00):
To that's totally it nailed, nailed it. Describe us where
we're a pop rock band. We're definitely in that boy
band sphere. We all like boy bands. It's it's it's
you know, it's been a lot of fun for us,
and it's kind of something that we can channel and
that we enjoy. It's just fun, you know, the live energy,

(04:21):
the antakes, it's just keep it, keep it light hearted.
But I think I don't know alongside boy band like
we're I would say we're reasonably mature, a bunch of people,
easy going kind of guys. We like to talk about
topics that are a little bit deeper, but then having
this contrast of the boy band energy is a nice
mix for us and it's something that we enjoy.

Speaker 4 (04:41):
So yeah, I don't know.

Speaker 2 (04:43):
Who meeting about that and said, who's quote is that? No,
I love it. And look, as you mentioned there, you
know there's something to your lyrics and things. And we
started off with the song Daisy, and I know that
it's quite a personal and emotional song for all of you. Recee,
maybe you could tell me a bit about it.

Speaker 4 (05:04):
Yeah, Daisy was being created at the time when there
was a bit of loss going on within the band.
There was as you do go throughout life, you always
experienced loss, but that at a particular time was noteworthy
for us. There was Austin's mum who was diagnosed with
breast cancer, and then also a bit of loss with
my grandmother and Jack's family, and you know, everyone can

(05:27):
relate to that kind of message. So that's really where
the spark came for those lyrics and the meaning of
that song, which we still hold really close and dear
to our hearts. It's got a special place and it
means a lot.

Speaker 2 (05:40):
What is the process with the songs? Do you all contribute?
Does somebody kind of take control of songs? Do you
have a leader or are you all participating in writing
a song?

Speaker 5 (05:49):
I think every song comes from a different place. It
always looks very, very different when you get down to
the nitty gritty, but for the most part, it is
very collaborative. We're actually in the studio this week over
at the lab and Mount Eden recording, and we've just
come off the back of a pretty intense writing period
for the last sort of eight weeks where it's just

(06:09):
been bunker down, all five boys in the living room
writing together and then kind of chipping away and doing
little bits where we can on each of the songs
by ourselves.

Speaker 2 (06:18):
Because that's the thing, right you can spend and I
think you did spend about four years, you know, writing
your EP.

Speaker 3 (06:23):
The first EP.

Speaker 2 (06:23):
You've got all this time and you work on it
and you're refined, and then all of a sudden it's like, okay,
now we've got an album, and actually, where are the
ideas coming from? Right, let's go. We're starting from scratch.
It's a bit of pressure.

Speaker 3 (06:35):
Yeah, yeah, it is. It's that's it's the pressure cooker
for sure. But that's the beauty of it. I think
once we had written that first our EP, Nonjeel, we're
just excited about music. We're releasing it, and the ideas
were flowing, and like Ustin said, this has been the
most collaborative work that we've done together. When the ideas

(06:57):
are there, they're there and you're just gonna let them flow.
We've been really lucky in that sense.

Speaker 2 (07:00):
Is the new album a similar sound to Nonduel?

Speaker 3 (07:02):
We're trying to go for something a little bit different,
trying to push the bird out a little bit.

Speaker 2 (07:05):
Expect it's some cool stuff, excellent and I present the
albums out next year. Yes, yep, okay. So what's happening
over summer. It's generally a pretty busy bat time for bands.

Speaker 5 (07:16):
Yeah, I mean there's a lot going on. We've got
a few gigs we're looking at lining up down in
christ Church and then further down south and Queenstown. It's
been such a hectic year though that I think we're
really looking forward to having a Christmas holiday to be honest,
Break with.

Speaker 2 (07:30):
Your sounds like my teenage son. Oh such a tough Yearah,
it sounds very familiar. The song that you guys are
going to play for us is pretty Little Liar. It
has been getting regular airplay, particularly on the likes of
z M. We've been playing you a little bit too.
We've been building up to this. That's interview in this performance,
just you know, don't pretty prettyure? What is it like

(07:51):
to hear the song on the radio.

Speaker 5 (07:53):
It's always a bit surreal. Yeah, yeah, when you're driving
in the car and it pops on, or getting messages
from friends, Hey, I just heard you're on the radio.
It's a lot to take in, that's for sure.

Speaker 4 (08:05):
That concept does a cut over and you're like, man,
imagine if we were on radio and now you're there and
it's you're just you.

Speaker 2 (08:12):
Know, but do you do you go, Okay, that sounds great.
Do you go, Oh, I wish we'd changed this. I
don't know a fictionists. Yeah, like, now now the music's
out there, Yeah, you got to you gotta rest with it.

Speaker 3 (08:24):
Something that's something that Greg have, our producer, has taught
us along the journey is that once, once the music
is finished. You have to listen to it as a
song rather than your individual parts, which is so hard
to do when you're like you play the instrument. You
just have to listen to it and enjoy it as
someone who isn't you as listening to it and they're going,
this is a cool song. You know, that's that's what

(08:45):
it is. You get an emotion from it, You get
a feeling that that's what it's meant.

Speaker 4 (08:48):
To send it off once it's out there. Yeah, man,
just let people enjoy it.

Speaker 2 (08:52):
Go, let it go, all right? So cassaway you are
going to perform pretty little lie take it.

Speaker 6 (08:57):
Away lives saying, gen she's on the floor twisting and dancing.

Speaker 7 (09:11):
I can have seen before. Forgive me devils on my tongue,
grabs my hand and pulls me close in my ear.

Speaker 6 (09:20):
Shee is bess, soft and slow for you can call
me anything you like.

Speaker 7 (09:27):
Do you love both ways? When I cross your mar
Do you lose yourself in some messes? Tell me if
I'm ride and then let's say goodbye some that the time.

Speaker 8 (09:44):
No, don't want that. You really lie too fast?

Speaker 6 (09:57):
Don't want that.

Speaker 7 (10:03):
No surprission head again, creepy to know the bad of
youthful self. I am not the luncher your loss and
that spurring intsier. I know, I know, but I don't
wanna hear.

Speaker 6 (10:19):
Or you can call on anything you lack.

Speaker 7 (10:23):
Do you live both ways? When I rust your mad?
Do you lose yourself? And someone else in his eyes?
Tell me if I'm right? And then I say goodbye?

Speaker 6 (10:37):
So I'm not that time.

Speaker 8 (10:39):
No, don't want that.

Speaker 9 (10:48):
You really don't want that.

Speaker 10 (10:58):
Said in Nearly Confession the driving screen just dill noun
mad a session, I fee the lid.

Speaker 7 (11:08):
Night's the good times, the Sweet sixteen? Or is this
man in Western team fantasy? Is is the fact that he's
cut from Americazie? Is it the charm and the cheeky
the please please mate? Did the way you don't my
trust making not to breathe?

Speaker 10 (11:31):
Well?

Speaker 8 (11:31):
It from just for your pleasure?

Speaker 6 (11:33):
Let me tell you one thing. Don't love that.

Speaker 9 (11:44):
Really lied to Fast. Don't love that you really lied
to Fats. Don't love that.

Speaker 8 (12:02):
You really lied too Fast.

Speaker 2 (12:09):
Guys, it was absolutely amazing. Thank you so much, Thank
you so much for coming. And I know, as you said,
you're in the middle of recording this album. Thank you
so much for coming and performing, have an amazing relaxing summer,
and can you please promise to come back when you
know you've hit the big time.

Speaker 3 (12:23):
I think we can promise you that. Thank you so
much for finding us. It's been an absolute pleasure. You
guys are awesome. Appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (12:29):
And that was Joe resent often from the band Castaway,
sounding pretty good for performing in the studio. Their EP,
Nondual is on streaming services now, and keep an eye
out for their album releasing next year.

Speaker 1 (12:42):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks It'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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