Pajama Club

Background

After Sharon and Neil Finn's children, Liam and Elroy, left the family home to pursue their own musical careers, the parents wondered what to do to fill the time left open by their children's absence. The two decided to repair the music room in their Auckland home and begin making music of their own: "We've had a bit more time on our hands since the boys left home, and we just decided to make a record. It was as simple as that. We called the group Pajama Club, because we were dressed in our pajamas when we started." (The group was in fact originally called Pajama Party, but was changed very early on due to another group having the same name.)

With Pajama Club, Sharon began to play the bass guitar, while Neil sat behind the drum set, despite the fact that neither had played either instrument before. Neil commented that "We found ourselves locking into these grooves which were incredibly fun to play...We naturally gravitated towards being 'funky'," drawing influence from South Bronx band ESG.

With Pajama Club, Neil employed a different style of songwriting, adding words to instrumentals as opposed to Crowded House's method of writing instrument parts after the lyrics. He felt energized by the experience: "It was all new to me, it felt like starting over. When you've been doing something for as long as I've been writing songs, you can feel like you've exhausted your reservoir of ideas. Discovering new methods, new angles on songwriting, was very exciting." The music takes influence from dub, disco, and funk, and uses motorik-style beats. He stated "Some people aren't gonna get it; it's not as 'songy', in a traditional way, as Crowded House...I like what happens when you keep yourself open to new things happening. It keeps the music fresh and alive." Pajama Club also features vocals from Sharon, who previously sang backing vocals on a number of Crowded House songs.

Discography