What are your names?
George, Julia, Jacob and Josh
What is the bands name?
Achtung!
How did you come up with the bands name?
I read it on a sign, and thought about the King Krule song of the same name, and the U2 album Achtung Baby
What is your genre of music?
We call ourselves emo-adjacent post-punk
Give us a little bio about you.
Achtung! are cathartic emotional post-punk born out of the energy of the New Zealand music scene. Formed in Dunedin and now based in Christchurch, Achtung! have been gigging for the last few years opening for local and international touring acts and are set to release their highly anticipated debut album later this year.
What made you go into music?
I (Jacob) played guitar from a young age after growing up around my parents always playing music in the house, George and I have been friends for the majority of our lives and have been playing music together since we were young and it’s been really amazing to get to play with Julia and Josh who have also been playing in bands for years.
Who are your influences?
We all draw on different bands and musicians for inspiration, but the primary songwriting inspo comes from UK acts like King Krule, Black Country, New Road and american emo bands like Mineral and Title Fight
Are you a signed?
We are independent!
You released your DEBUT single ‘New Dog, Old Tricks’ tell us more about the song and how it came about for you as a band.
This song is quite special to us because it was the final song we wrote for the album. We had been in the studio for the first day of recording and we were just super inspired that we went and sat in George’s flat and wrote the entire song over a few hours. It’s a really personal song too which made it all the more special that it came together so well and that we can put it out as our first single.
Describe the track in two words.
Cathartic heartbreak.
What was the writing and recording process like?
I (Jacob) always have some chords, riffs and lyrics and I brought them to the band and we just entered a creative flow state when putting everything together. Recording was really fun, we got to add a lot of really cool additions like the piano heard during the outro and it came together better than we could’ve hoped.
Who did you work with on the song?
We recorded with Nick Roughan of Southlink Studios who was really great to work with, he really understood our sound and we had a really great time working on the album with him.
You are also set to release a brand new album ‘Spear In Fine View’, tell us more about the creative process and describe it as a whole in a sentence.
The album spans songwriting from late 2023 (the inception of the band) till the end of 2025. It was pretty amazing to have it all come together in the recording studio, and working together on it was super rewarding. It’s deeply personal too, which makes it all the more special.
In one sentence, A snapshot of our lives and all the heartbreak that came with it.
Do you have any live shows coming up and if so, what can we expect from your shows?
We are playing at Space Academy on the 26th of June alongside Only You and Minerva, and then headlining a show at the Darkroom on the 18th of July! You can expect us to play songs from the album, and some exciting new tracks we’ve been working on!
Where will we be able to buy tickets from?
All tickets can be found on Under The Radar
Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
Making music, whether still with this project or others but definitely still making music.
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
To quote a good friend, “we must keep going”.
When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
Ear plugs are definitely number one, but leads, pedals picks and drum sticks are always important.
We know New Zealand’s longest running TV soap is Shortland Street, what would ‘Achtung!’ scene look like if you was to get a part?
Maybe a cameo where the band is involved in a crazy rock and roll based injury
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
You can find us on instagram
