Andrew Wilson is an Ōtepoti-born musician with a hectic but impressive musical career. Many will know him as the frontman/guitarist of post-punk trio Die! Die! Die!, one of Aotearoa’s most important and consistent bands of the last 20 odd years. In that band he’s played innumerable shows around the world with the likes of Slint, the Brian Jonestown Massacre, and more. Die! Die! Die!’s debut album was also recorded by none other than Steve Albini, the producer behind Nirvana’s “In Utero”, among countless others.
Since 2024, Andrew has been releasing solo music under the name AW, which features a far more subdued and low-fidelity soundscape compared to the kinetic energy of Die! Die! Die!.
His latest album, “THE NERVE” released in December of 2025, and he supported its release with an Aotearoa-wide tour in the latter half of March.
Critic Te Ārohi chatted with Andrew outside Pioneer Hall, right before an afternoon show with local Ōtepoti punk rockers Sogg and SEEK HELP! This was his second Ōtepoti show that weekend, following a sweaty and noisy night at the Crown.
Returning home to Ōtepoti brings mixed emotions for Andrew, who is now based in Tāmaki Makaurau: “You almost see your former self moving around there, you know? [...] it’s tinged with sadness, joy… But yeah, it’s really amazing. I’ve got so many special people here I really care about.”
Alongside his two shows, Andrew had a korero with Amped Music Project (a local music mentoring programme for highschoolers), where he shared stories and wisdom to a room full of Dunedin’s best upcoming musicians – many of whom are avid Die! Die! Die! fans. Andrew says with a laugh that he’s “slightly jealous” of Ōtepoti’s burgeoning youth music scene. “No, I think it's unbelievable,” he continued. “And I kind of can’t comprehend how it’s happening, I think that’s more what I wanna get my head around. It’s just so amazing”.
His musical journey began as a Logan Park High School student, where he played in various bands with now-Die! Die! Die! drummer Michael Prain, most notably in Carriage H who went on to win Smokefree Rockquest in 2001. They started off booking their own shows at “lots of church halls” like the Māori Hill Coronation Hall and the Knox Church Hall. It wasn’t until the opening of a short-lived all-ages venue, called Orbit 107, that Andrew was able to connect with more people from other schools, and most notably where they met Aotearoa psych rock legends HDU, who invited Die! Die! Die! out to tour the country.
Andrew’s latest musical endeavour is “THE NERVE”, his first full length under the AW moniker. Many of the songs on this record were first written while Andrew looked after his young son. The short track “WATER THE VAMPIRES” offers a brief look into this process; a lone acoustic guitar is accompanied by the sounds of running water and his son’s voice as he plays in the bath.
He also had the help of Stefan Neville (of electronic project Pumice), who played drums on the album and recorded the album. “I remembered how easy it was for me to write an idea around a bass and a drummer [...] I could just play a bassline once and he’d come up with a drum beat immediately,” he reflects.
“THE NERVE” was recorded entirely on tape with an eight track reel-to-reel, giving the music an intentional, low fidelity atmosphere that perfectly matches the introspective lyrics. Andrew says it’s important for him to keep the music “honest”, with every track being recorded in one take. “I prefer working with tape, because with digital you can edit out mistakes and make yourself sound a lot nicer [...] basically you’re creating limitations for yourself [with tape]. Sometimes the limitations are the best part of music.”
Seeing AW tracks played live is a different beast entirely, with a full band giving the songs a new vitality and Andrew’s passionate performance contrasting starkly from the vulnerable delivery of the album.
While Andrew spent a lot of his weekend talking about past musical adventures, he is always looking ahead to his next projects. He’s already begun recording some new AW music, and is hoping to get Die! Die! Die! to write some new material. He says it's become “quite challenging” to get the band together, partly due to all three being fathers to young children. “We all became ‘Dad! Dad! Dad!’ really quickly,” he joked.
The band recently played at Port Noise in Lyttleton, which was the trio’s first show in three years. “Hopefully we’re gonna get something out before the end of the year [...] if we could do one song, I’d be really happy.”
AW’s album “THE NERVE” is out everywhere now. Follow Andrew’s Instagram @aw_sound_ to keep up with his upcoming shows and music releases!
