An always intimate-sounding blend of indie pop and electronics, Christchurch, New Zealand's Shocking Pinks are the project of singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nick Harte. Something of a wunderkind, Harte began playing piano at age six; took up bass, drums, and guitar by the time he was eight; and studied jazz and modern composition -- as well as saxophone, viola, violin, and cello -- at ten. When he was 13, Harte started recording his songs and also performed as the one-man Z, drawing comparisons to Brian Wilson in a New Zealand music publication. He also played in several other bands, including Pig Out, Solaa, Montessori, Laudanum, the Incisions, and the Brunettes (on whose When Ice Met Cream he played drums).