Dj Nocturna Interview With Shane Te Kawenata Bradbrook and Adrian Workman, New Zealand’s post punk band, Vietnam

Formed in the Wellington, New Zealand suburb of Wainuiomata in late 1981 while in high school, at a time when Māori visibility in New Zealand’s punk, post-punk, and alternative music scene was rare, the young four piece VIETNAM notably featured two members of Ngāti Kahungunu: vocalist Shane Te Kawenata Bradbrook, and bassist/songwriter Adrian Workman; alongside co-founder/co-writer and guitarist PeteDransfield, and drummer Leon Reedijk. The original four piece immediately disbanded upon the release of the Vietnam EP (Jayrem Records, 1985).

Thirty years later, the eponymous EP was rediscovered by bloggers, YouTubers, and record collectors in the US and Europe, becoming widely hailed as a “lost classic” of New Zealand music. 

In late 2016, Spanish label BFE Records reissued Vietnam as a full-length LP, with the addition of bonus archival live and demo tracks. 

To celebrate, the original bandmates reunited for the first time since 1985 in Wellington, NZ, to play what was intended as one last show in February of 2017. A roaring success, the reunion show encouraged the band to stay together long enough to create the new album called “This Quiet Room.”

https://vietnambandnz.com
https://vietnamnz.bandcamp.com