Datura

New Zealand power trio Datura draws its original material from the hard rock sound of the 1970s. Brent Middlemiss directs the band’s most forceful South Pacific textures through a lead guitar augmented by multiple distortion pedals, wah-wah, and reverb settings. Their debut release, Allisone, arrived in 1998 and highlighted the core trio format, yet the follow-up album Visions for the Celestial brought in additional players handling Hammond B-3 organ, Indian pot drum, flute, clarinet, finger cymbals, shakers, and tambourine.

The group came together in early 1995 and has maintained a steady schedule of club dates across central north New Zealand. A pair of self-produced demo-style cassettes issued in 1996 quickly sold out.