Eigenface are heading out on the road to celebrate the release of their debut album and are excited to make to Christchurch, with support from Michaela Tempers.
For these shows, Penelope Esplin and Elliot Vaughan will be travelling as a duo, bringing Eigenface into a more intimate live setting with layered vocals, guitars, electronics, ambient and orchestral textures and the occasional moment where everything gets bigger than two people probably ought to manage.
The group comprises Penelope Esplin on synth and vocals, Elliot Vaughan (CNZ/NZSM Composer in Residence 2024, Moth Quartet, RNZ Concert Presenter) on bass and vocals, and Logan Valentine (Moon Lander) on electric guitar and vocals. The group formed from an impromptu challenge to write and perform on one another's work, the result became a cohesive set of songs, resulting in Eigenface's self-titled debut album.
The album moves between folk intimacy, dream-punk, electronic experimentation and bright, dissonant pop, exploring memory, place, relationships and all the uncomfortable bits in between.
Released on Home Alone Records, Eigenface arrives on October 2, 2026. Recorded and mixed by Vaughan and mastered by Harris Newman (Wolf Parade, Buck Meek, Godspeed You! Black Emperor), the album features Vaughan's lush string arrangements throughout. Across its songs, the band explores memory, place, relationships and the tension between beauty and discomfort through expansive arrangements, electronic textures and intimate storytelling.
Eigenface’s debut single, House by the Sea, reached #1 on RDU (Christchurch), #4 on Radio1 (Dunedin) and #2 on the Student Radio Network Charts. Eigenface have appeared at Day in the Bay, The Performance Arcade and Newtown Festival, and shared stages with Lake South, Julian Temple and Birdfeeder.
Michaela Tempers is a writer and musician based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa. She picked up a guitar for the first time at 16 after seeing a black and white video of Joan Baez covering Bob Dylan’s classic ‘It Ain’t Me Babe’. She begged her brother for guitar lessons and taught herself to sing, inspired predominantly by the folk artists of the 60s and 70s.
While studying for her master’s in Creative Writing, she began writing a new collection of songs exploring the complexities of womanhood. These songs formed the basis for her forthcoming EP ‘Good Woman’, informed by her early influences as well as more recent loves, Frazey Ford, Laura Marling, and Julia Jacklin. She has opened for Creedence Clearwater Revival, Holly Arrowsmith, as well as Australian folk artists Boy & Bear and Sarah Blasko.
Eigenface Album Release Tour
Friday 2nd October – Space Academy, Christchurch
Saturday 3rd October – Pearl Diver, Dunedin
Friday 6th November – Vogelmorn, Wellington
Saturday 7th November – Porridge Watson, Whanganui
Thursday 12th November – Big Fan, Auckland
Friday 13th November – Last Place, Hamilton
Tickets on sale via undertheradar.co.nz
Links
linktr.ee/eigenface
eigenface.nz
instagram.com/eigenface_/
youtube.com/@EigenfaceNZ
instagram.com/michaela.t...
open.spotify.com/artist/...
Tags
alternative, electronic, pop, rock, Eigenface, Michaela Tempers
