Releases

Album Credits

Composition & Performance - Josh Mehrtens, Josh Reid, Tom Kelk & Jack Ferguson

Lyrics - Josh Mehrtens

Producer - Josh Mehrtens

Co-Producer - Paddy Hill

Recording, Engineering & Mixing - Josh Mehrtens & Paddy Hill

Mastering - Fabian Tormin

Assistant Engineer – Alex Corbett

Creative Direction & Artwork/Design - Josh Mehrtens

Management – Dom Prieto, Josh Reid, Josh Mehrtens

Distribution & Label – Mild Orange & AWAL+

You never know what you don't know.

CREDITS

Production & Direction – NeedPastel
Animation & Design – Fadjar Kurnia
Creative Director & Script – Josh Mehrtens

Guitar, Lyrics, Synth – Josh Mehrtens
Guitar – Josh Reid
Bass Guitar – Tom Kelk
Drums, Piano – Jack Ferguson
Choir – Paddy Hill, Cam Hay & Mild Orange

Produced, Engineered, Mixed. – Josh Mehrtens & Paddy Hill
Assistant Engineer – Alex Corbett
Mastering – Fabian Tormin
Recorded between Oākura, New Plymouth and Auckland (Aotearoa New Zealand) in 2020 & 2021

NOTES

I was playing guitar one day while looking out the window and watching a storm batter the coastline of Oakura beach. It got me thinking about how these storms are a requisite part in shaping the bay. It can't always be a beaut sunny day at the beach, and if it was, this coastline wouldn't be nearly as stunning and dramatic. It's constant state of change and pressures makes it what it is. This song popped out in that moment.

At the time, I was recovering from recently having pneumonia and pleurisy, which was scary AF. Pleurisy is an infection of the sack that your lungs sit in. So when you breathe, it causes the lung to inflate, which rubs against the infected pleura, causing excruciating pain, but then you breathe more to deal with the pain and you then enter a painful panic attack. Anyways, this sent me into a pretty dark place for a bit and I couldn't do what I love (music) for a few months. We cancelled shows and other opportunities which weighed heavy on me. My family, the band and the wider MO fam were there for me all the way through this. The moment eventually passed and makes more sense now. I like to think it's shaped me for the better like that storm in Oakura.

At the time that we recorded 'TKD', it was probably the most deliberated song we've ever made. Jah and I would spend hours at a time looping the verse trying to come up with different riffs. We recorded so many versions. The song ultimately came together in a few sessions in Roundhead Studios with Paddy Hill manning the spaceship. The choir you hear at the end is the band, plus Paddy, and the photography legend, Cam Hay.

I came up with the video idea on a plane, which inspired the moving through head-spaces like a window theme. I knew the only way to bring this to life would be by animating it. NeedPastel and Fadjar Kurnia did an insane job bringing this to life, as well as adding so many great creative flares to the story telling. It takes place in Oakura and includes a bunch of little easter eggs.

Something pretty wild; the song found it's way onto Apple Music's 'The 100 Best Songs of 2021'. It's also featured in a TV show called 'The Gone'.

- Mehrt

Getting Warmer (feat. B.)

CREDITS:

Vocals/Lyrics by Bena Simanu & Josh Mehrtens
Instrumentation by Josh Mehrtens

Produced, engineered and mixed by Josh Mehrtens
Additional engineering and mixing by Paddy Hill
Mastered by Fabian Tormin
Art by Josh Mehrtens (Jaipur, India 2017, edit 2021)

PRODUCTION NOTES:

On the eve of Spring 2020, after having a cold af Winter in Arrowtown, coupled with a bit of blues and listening to a lot of lofi to help, I made this beat in about 20 minutes and kinda mumbled out the chorus. The next day Bena came over to my house for dinner and I showed it to him just before dinner with my family. We spent dinner both itching to work on the track together. We ate, got into recording, and boom, Getting Warmer was done. I'd made the drum beat pretty janky on the fly, so it was a little out of time. Thankfully, the legend Paddy Hill helped retime them, and also ran the track through a 1960's tape machine too in Roundhead Studios, Auckland. I also drew (very poorly) the scene for the YouTube visualiser. Need Pastel brought it to life amaszingly. Cheers, and I hope the sun is shining for you (but even rainy days are great) - Mehrt ✌️

CREDITS:

Produced, Mixed and Engineered by Josh Mehrtens
Mastered by Fabian Tormin
Recorded in Riversdale Beach and Arrowtown, New Zealand in 2019 & 2020

Vocals, Lyrics, Electric and Acoustic Guitar by Josh Mehrtens
Electric & Acoustic Guitar by Josh Reid
Bass Guitar by Tom Kelk
Drums by Jack Ferguson

Artwork and Creative Direction by Josh Mehrtens (Rosham Beau)

PRODUCTION NOTES:

We parked up at the Reid Family beach house in Riversdale Beach, NZ for a couple months to record this album (cheers Paul and Fiona). The house is literally on the beach, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. A few songs we'd written in Dunedin, a few I'd written over the summer, and a few when we all got together. Before recording the album, we invited all our friends out to the beach for a party and we played the songs live. We then converted the place into a studio and got busy eating very well, swimming, riding the quad bike on the beach... and recording. Before I had the chance to mix the album and do a lot of my vocals and guitar we headed to Europe for the Foreplay Tour. We played a few of the new songs live there which really helped sculpt them. We got back from tour, recorded Grin at my parents house and then I proceeded to finish producing/mixing the album in my bedroom for about 9 months. Mild Orange equals us really living the music and really doing this thing. Thank you all for listening and for the ongoing support. You, yes you, are a big part of this. Cheers, Mehrt ✌️

CREDITS:

Written by Mild Orange
Recorded in Dunedin and Arrowtown, New Zealand 2017/2018

Produced/Mixed/Engineered by Josh Mehrtens
Track 3 'Stranger' Produced/Mixed/Engineered by Tom Bell
Mastered by Fabian Tormin (Plaetlin Mastering)

Performed by Mild Orange:
Vocals, Lyrics, Guitar (Electric & Acoustic), Synthesizer: Josh Mehrtens
Guitar (Electric & Acoustic): Josh Reid
Bass Guitar: Tom Kelk
Drums/Percussion: Jack Ferguson

Additional performances:
Poetry (~Outro) and Spoken-word: Bena Simanu (B.)
Synthesizer (Intro~): Sam Mehrtens (Sam Wave)

Album Art & Design: Josh Mehrtens (Rosham Beau)

PRODUCTION NOTES:

A lot of the bones of this album was written by Jah and I in our third year university flat in Dunedin - occupied by 10 humans, 2 lizards, 2 rabbits, and one very free range chicken that would roam the house and garden. Funny place. Anywho, in November 2017 (after Uni exams), the four of us locked ourselves in our practice room for a week or so to begin recording Foreplay. It was a cold, windowless place, yet we were free to do as we pleased in there and we brought a lot of warmth in. Down By The River was the first song we recorded, and we knew we were onto something after hearing it back roughly at the end of the day. There was a little bit of recording done in our empty flat after. I spent most of that summer mixing the album and recording vocals in my bedroom while working at a golf course during the day. I'd test the mixes out while mowing fairways and greens. Loved it. Then we were back at Uni and I finished mixing and more vocals/guitar tweaks - right up to the week of submitting songs for release. A lot of trial and error. But got there in the end. So amazed by how many people have listened to and loved this album. So grateful for everyone that has found us. Thank you!!! One last thing - It's so worth learning to do things yourself and persisting through all the headaches learning can bring. Who knows what you're capable of and where it'll take you. Got this album to show for it. Cheers, Mehrt :)