The early years
Joel Little’s introduction to the New Zealand music industry came as the frontperson of pop-punk band Goodnight Nurse in the early 2000s. After releasing three albums and achieving considerable local success, the band announced an indefinite hiatus in early 2010, with guitarist Sam McCarthy soon afterwards co-founding electronic duo Kids of 88 with high school friend Jordan Arts. Having shared Goodnight Nurse’s production duties with McCarthy, Little became involved with the new band after hearing an early version of their song ‘My House’.
“Sam had made a demo of half the song. I heard it and immediately said, ‘I’m coming over and we’re finishing this up today.’ We were all pretty notorious for starting ideas and not completing them, but I knew that one was too good not to finish.”