Bret McKenzie solo: From being LOTR's 'hot elf' to crooning about conspiracies

While Bret McKenzie will forever be known as half of Flight of the Conchords, he's also known as FIGWIT (Frodo Is Great, Who Is That?) from Lord of the Rings, an Oscar and Grammy-winning composer, a dad and a solo artist in his own right, to name just a few.

After releasing 'Songs Without Jokes' in 2022, Bret tells rova he's "chilled out" on being quite so "obsessive" about his musical departure from comedy. In touring his latest album 'Freakout City', he's bringing audiences a blend of funny and full-on eight-piece-band powerhouse.

"I’ve realised I don’t mind if it’s funny or if it’s serious or heartfelt. To me, they’re all songs, and so I just enjoy them all, and I do the show so that I'm not trying to torture the audience with emotion," he explains. 

Watch our full chat with Bret below:

"I might do a ridiculous song, then an emotional, heartfelt, or sincere song, and then I might do a song from 'The Muppets'. So the show changes tone all the way."

As does the vibe on Bret's new record - the subject matter shifts from lighthearted jabs at ageing with lyrics like "I'm getting too young for all this shit", to a heartfelt ode to his kids, to traversing the strange world of conspiracy theories in the title track, 'Freak Out City'. 

"My dad was a farmer - he passed away a couple of years ago - and often in the evenings he would go online and find some pretty ludicrous stuff that the algorithm was feeding him, and just thought it was all real and true," he said. 

"It was a cause of a lot of drama in my family - you know in those COVID years, when someone couldn't come to Christmas dinner because of vaccines." 

It's deeply personal, socio-political stuff, delivered with a fun jaunty twist - an unusual trifecta that it's hard to imagine any other artist being able to pull off.  

"A lot of the songs, I'm just trying to reflect on my life or what's happening around me," Bret adds. 

That's not the only feat of musical mastery Bret performs - but only those who make it to his live shows will get to witness his improv prowess.

"It's quite fun, and quite stressful for me - but I ask the audience for an idea for a song," he explains. 

"Then we try and do a collab, live." 

And collab they do, even when the suggestions are less than ideal. In London, Bret was forced to write a song about a 'shooting in the park where the gun sounded funny', and the next night - despite asking for something lighter - a tale of an office romance where the woman turned out to be a Nazi. 

"When it works, it's really hilarious and wildly buzzy to watch. It's almost like a magic trick, for people who aren't musicians."

Bret McKenzie brings his 'Freakout City' tour to Wellington's Meow Nui on April 1st and 2nd, followed by a show at Auckland's The Hollywood Theatre on April 4th.