Tavita & Bay Road Release Second EP Diamond & Balloon

Pōrirua-based songwriter Tavita De Seymour returns with Diamond & Balloon, the second EP from Tavita & Bay Road. It follows their 2024 debut with a set of songs that feel clearer in tone and more assured in their simplicity.

Recorded with Toby Lloyd at Tiny Triumph Recordings and mastered by Mike Gibson, the EP touches on reggae, roots and alt-pop, but stays centred on the writing. The band — Eli De Seymour (bass), Tim Manu (drums), and Rene Ross (keys) — keep things steady and understated, letting the writing lead.

FOCUS TRACK: “Ain’t Got Far to Go”
The focus track, “Ain’t Got Far to Go,” is an up-tempo reggae tune with a light psychedelic edge. Its lines are plain and direct — “You’ve given me a place to rest my mind” — holding to the steady, modest sense of progress that runs through the EP.

ABOUT THE EP
The opener Diamond & Balloon sits in a space of uncertainty and quiet pressure. Ain’t Got Far to Go lifts the mood, while Keep On Moving drops into a slower, more reflective place.

Reveal is the EP’s starkest moment, built from clear, uneasy images — abandoned structures, movement in the dark, voices close by. The song leaves these scenes as they are, without pointing to any specific meaning.

The closer, One More Time, ends the record simply, staying with the unresolved feeling rather than forcing a conclusion.

RELEASE SHOW
Friday 21 November, 6.30pm — The Sin Bin, Lower Hutt
With Ainslie Allen

ABOUT TAVITA
Samoan–Pākehā, born in Wellington and long settled in Pōrirua, Tavita works in community mental health. His songwriting leans toward clear scenes and unembellished language, allowing the listener to sit with the tone of each track.