Five years on from his impressive debut album, 'Banana Sludge', we are buzzing to welcome back our beloved Aotearoa-based psychedelic and garage rock artist, Joe Ghatt with his forthcoming sophomore album, Caper — set for release on June 14th via Third Eye Stimuli Records, Echodelick Records (USA) and Six Tonnes de Chair (FR).

Following the unexpected acclaim from his charming lo-fi 2019 debut album, followed by a successful first tour of Australia’s east coast and supporting California’s Allah Las on their 2020 New Zealand tour, Joe Ghatt excitedly got to work on his follow up record — a process that became a three year journey, battling the isolation of Covid-19 lockdowns, whilst getting deep in his exploration of new influences, sounds and production.

The process for making his follow up record saw moments when Joe was pushed to his limits — mentally, physically and environmentally — but through his musical endeavour, he learned to make light of situations and in the end realised that the whole process was a kind of "dance".

Joe Ghatt's forthcoming record 'Caper' is a labour of love and dedication that sees the New Zealand artist evolving his jangly psych and surf-infused garage rock sound with exciting, exotic style and sounds, exploring his love for Afro-Beat, Tropicalia, Bossa Nova, Peruvian and Latin music.

With Joe writing the bones of all the songs on his faithful nylon string — the first instrument he learnt to play when living in Spain as a young teen — the album is a highly percussive and rhythmic journey that will delight the senses and imagination. Different to Joe’s 2019 debut album Banana Sludge, where he recorded and mixed the album all through his Tascam Reel-To-Reel, on Caper, Joe enlisted Melbourne’s John Lee (The Murlocs, Bananagun, Sunfruits) to mix and master the album, giving it a contemporary sound, while staying true to Joe’s colourful, analogue charm.