21.05.2025
Behind the Score: Shayne P Carter Talks Home, Land and Sea
When it comes to music that hits you in the gut, Shayne Carter is a master. Known for his fierce originality and fearless approach to genre, the award-winning composer and musician has carved out a singular voice in New Zealand’s sonic landscape. Now, he brings that voice to the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s new season of Home, Land and Sea - a powerful exploration of place, identity, and connection. We caught up with Shayne to talk about writing for dance, evoking landscapes through sound, and his lifelong quest to embrace the contradictions of the human experience.
Kia ora Shayne! Thank you for speaking with us about all things Home, Land and Sea.
Firstly, can you tell us – how do you begin shaping your musical vision for your work?
With dance, the starting point is always the vision of the choreographer and the intent of their piece. Then I try to apply my own feelings or interpretations to the subject matter. The music for Home, Land and Sea will be pre-recorded, but with live accompaniment I try to respond to the dancer. I like being in the moment because there you find things you could never construct or plan.
What influences your compositions most?
Eliminating false notes. The terror of being bland!
Do you write with movement in mind, or is it about creating the emotional world of the piece first?
I try to evoke an atmosphere first. If you can create that wellspring of feeling, then everything else will follow.
How does composing for dance differ from other musical projects?
My tendency to write maudlin, self-obsessed and incredibly slow music is often thwarted!
Do you draw from specific landscapes, memories, or personal stories while composing?
Those are very much the crucial ingredients of all creativity, I think. It’s a given that your environment and surroundings impact your psyche and creativity. Where I come from (Dunedin) is hemmed in by hills, with an incredibly turbulent pocket of sky. The town I’ve lived a lot in (Auckland) has a wide screen IMAX sky that goes on forever. Straight away you can see how those canopies overhead affect the people.
How would you describe the soundscape of this score?
It’s quite raw, like the elements. I don’t like uber-tidy Pro Tools music. Life, or emotions, aren’t like that — all tidy around the edges and fitting squarely into a box. They’re smeared and scratchy and often contradictory. Some of the music is quite uncomfortable. But hopefully I can evoke some beauty as well.
"The great thing about music is that it can make you feel things where you’re not even sure what that feeling is. It articulates the spaces in-between."
Shayne Carter rehearsing for Lightscapes in 2023. Photo credit: Stephen A’Court.
Will you be experimenting with any instruments or textures?
I am always trying to do this!
How do you see your role as a composer when it comes to telling stories about land and identity?
Just trying to find a bit of truth. I also think that — even with our modest platforms — artists have the opportunity to offer a richer counter narrative to the mediocrity or insidiousness — or straight out evil!
What is the most challenging aspect of composing for dance?
Trying to overcome my tendency to write maudlin, self-obsessed and incredibly slow music.
What do you hope the audience feels or thinks as they hear your music during the performance?
Well, hopefully they just feel something. The great thing about music is that it can make you feel things where you’re not even sure what that feeling is. It articulates the spaces in-between. Music as accompaniment shouldn’t announce itself or stick out, but the worst thing it can be is wallpaper. You try to be part of the piece.
What excites you most about this project?
I can remember working with the RNZB a couple of years ago and watching an in-studio run through of the show where I was virtually sitting in the middle of the dancers. It was so visceral, and physical and full on — it was like a rugby league test in there! All this grunting and breathing and trembling and bandages and strain. Then when you stood back it looked all ethereal again and everyone was floating on clouds. I have full respect for people who have the commitment and discipline to create that kind of artistic illusion. It’s also really interesting being involved in different forms and watching people who are good at it go about their work.
What are you working on next?
I’ve recorded an album of my songs with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra which I’ve been working on for quite a while. It’s called REforms and it’s coming out in August. It’s a dream being a singer in the middle of that sound world and an absolute buzz to hear my tunes rendered like that. To me it doesn’t really sound like anything else — it’s not “classical” and it’s not “rock” or “crossover”. It’s just good tunes that hopefully — quietly or otherwise — kick some ass.
You can keep up with Shayne P Carter on his Instagram.
Home, Land and Sea will be coming to Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch from the 24th July to the 9th August.