Having taken their electronic pop road show to Europe for a third time, Minuit are releasing another album of stick-in-your-head tunes in their homeland. CHRIS ORMOND of NZPA reports.

Wellington, July 9 NZPA - Comprising of singer Ruth Carr, along with beat and melody makers Paul Dodge and Ryan Beehre, Minuit (pronounced Minwee) has notched up an unusual travel CV.

While New Zealand bands get to Scandinavia from time to time, Russia and Vietnam are generally considered off the beaten track.

Dodge says the recent Vietnam trip was an opportunity to have a holiday while giving back to a country generally starved of live rock music.

"That seems to be the way that Minuit works. We kind of try and find a holiday destination that we would like to visit and then try and hook up a gig there," he says.

The band's headlining of the Hanoi music festival was made possible by a bunch of ex-pats living there who take it upon themselves to organise such events.

"They try and get any band they can coming through Asia and convince them.

"They say `this isn't the usual place you might want to come to, but we'll help you out and show you a good time in exchange for you coming to play'."

The result was that Minuit and several other bands ended up playing to a crowd of about 2000 appreciative locals.

Personally, the band had a blast and came away pleasantly surprised at what a great tourist destination Vietnam is.

"It could have gone either way...and in the end it turned out to be awesome, but if it had been shit, that still would have been ok", Dodge says.

Through their trips to Europe, Minuit have managed to build contacts, set up a label (Dollhouse Records) there and bring a promoter on board to help push their music.

They've had opportunities other bands would be envious of, including a special slot on the BBC's Radio 1 and playing alongside the likes of The Chemical Brothers and The Crystal Method.

Their music has also caught the ear of music industry figures in Finland and the Czech Republic.

Dodge says they attracted a few hundred people to a mid-week gig in the latter country last year courtesy of a local radio station having taken a shine to their music over the previous year or so.

While playing to a packed club in a foreign-speaking country on the other side of the world where everyone knows the music and sings along must be pleasing, it's not typical. "If you go another 500km north or west, people won't know who we are. And you can go to Sweden and play to five people."

"It's about getting someone to champion you, otherwise your up against a million other bands and it's really hard," Dodge says of touring in the northern hemisphere.

The band also found fans in Finland , and travelled even further into obscurity when they caught a train to St Petersburg, in Russia, to play a club gig organised through a MySpace contact.

They got to spend a week in a "dodgy" apartment and check out the Russian city.

The northern hemisphere fans were treated to a mixture of older material, but Minuit gave New Zealand a taste of their new material during a recent autumn tour and are keen to get the latest album, Find Me Before I Die a Lonely Death dot com, out to fans.

It follows on from their 2003 album The 88, and The Guards Themselves three years later, and is an intriguing mix with plenty of dark lyrics over the top of the band's traditional, uplifting electronic pop style .

There's variation from the thumping beat of songs like, Run, Run, to more delicate tunes, all with an honest lyrical approach.

"I don't know if it's her evil side," Dodge says when asked about Carr's story telling. "I think it's her normal side. She does have a lot about death and dying and dishonesty..."

While Minuit is sometimes referred to as a dance band , the albums have individual songs with themes.

They're certainly a party band, but Dodge says it's always gratifying to get feedback from fans who say they relate to, or have certain attachments to their songs.

"To us, that's way better than any good review...that's what this music's for. It's written by people for people really.

"I think Ruth's honesty comes through and people seem to respond to it.

"I don't know where she gets were ideas from...but it just kind of rings true."

* Find Me Before I Die a Lonely Death dot com is released on July 20

* For pics contact Jane Skerman at Isaac Promotions on 09 3600270, 021 2407317. jane@isaacpromotions.com

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