Powder Chutes

Three of them might be still at school, but their blending of rock styles is far from just kids' stuff.

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AS THE GATEWAY to New Zealand’s Mount Aspiring National Park and the Southern Alps, the lake town of Wanaka is the kind of place where the well-heeled own second properties, and winter heralds the arrival of city types with expensive skiing equipment. It’s also the unlikely home of teenage quartet Powder Chutes, whose recent single Moths To The Flame has been grabbing attention beyond the South Pacific.

“There are lots of crusty old skiers and snowboarders here,” says 16-year-old bassist Otis Murphy. “So there are lots of people that really like rock music. It’s just a small place, and it’s a real tight-knit community, but once winter hits there are heaps of young people that come to get on the piss and listen to music.”