New Zealand group Brother Love is 17 years young this year. Formed in Christchurch in 1993 by ex-Axel Grinders Marty Henderson and Patrick Faigan, the group found early success releasing vinyl on small US indie labels, and were in fact able to tour twice to the states and play to healthy audiences, both in 1996 and 2000. These releases garnered them an international following, which led to, among other things, support slots for Dead Moon and Sebadoh, a listing in High Times magazines Hemp 100, and an appearance on the soundtrack of local feature film “Snakeskin”. In 1998, the group relocated to Wellington, and the departure of Faigan precipitated a long period of widely diverse line-ups, generally promoted live as Brother Love and the Free Association.

Recordings made during this era were released on a CD/LP, “Rock’n’Roll Criminal” on German psyche-rock label September Gurls, and on the group’s debut New Zealand label release, “The Sin Aesthetic” in 2003. From 2004, the group has been based in Auckland, and the current line-up features bassist Rock Hardman (of Ape Management and Royal Wolf) and drummer Ken E Bear (also drummer for Ape Management and the SF5). The most recent album, “The Gospel According to Brother Love” was released in 2009, and features Henderson in home-recording mode, with a collection of lovingly crafted lo-fi gems. Live, the group is more of your classic psychedelic hard-rock power trio, with moody atmospherics and screaming guitars accompanying the songs of love, hate and hope.

Over the years, Henderson has also been a busy contributor to many musical projects, including working with Space Dust, Ape Management, Bill Fosberg and the Therapists, Submit To Desire, The Puddle, and Constant Pain. He recently filled in as tour Bass player for US act Lord Bishop Rocks on his NZ tour in 2010, and runs a production services company, providing technical and labour services for big concerts.

This year sees Henderson and the group returning to live performance with a vengeance, to celebrate the upcoming vinyl reissues of all the 90s releases, as well as presenting a new set of full-on live band energy, featuring songs from the upcoming album, to be released on Powertool Records later this year.