Six strings and a free spirit

Bo Ade-Simpson is a guitarist, improviser, and creative force behind Dorado Whakatū, a production company revitalising the local music scene. From busking barefoot to playing festivals and producing events, Bo has a fearless authenticity and a deep connection to music. His focus and passion continue to inspire audiences and fellow artists alike. With big dreams and an even bigger personality, he’s proving you don’t have to leave home to make waves. As told to Justin Eade.

Where did you grow up?

I was born in Nelson, grew up on Mount Street and went to Hampden Street School, then Boys College. I was always the jester, the jokester, I've always been ‘me’, like an eccentric. I did well in school, I had a switched-on mind and a good heart, so even though I clowned around, I rarely got in trouble. The teachers liked me and saw I wasn't a bad kid.

You had a real knowledge of who you were quite early on in life?

Yeah, I wasn’t afraid to send it and be the centre of attention. I don't get precious about how other people view me. A lot of the time I would just put myself out there, not worried about what the reaction was.

What’s your age and occupation?

29 going on 30, but I don’t see age as a number. You can let yourself become a five-year-old again if you really wanted to, or you can turn yourself into a 90-year-old very quickly. My occupation is an improviser. Live music and magic are very similar. I've told a lot of people that I'm not a musician, I'm a magician, because I'm cultivating energies, like a puppeteer, controlling the magic in the atmosphere.

How much is music part of your life?

Well, people say I'm a musician, but I say I'm a connector. What matters most to me is living authentically in the present moment. Being in that transparent state allows me to connect on a deeper level with my environment and gives permission for magic to exist. Connecting with my reflections allows me to connect with myself, and to let whoever I'm with know that the universe is just this moment in time, and because I’m with them, they are my entire universe. Music is such a cool vehicle to do that, I can connect a lot deeper without having to use any words.

Where did you learn to play the guitar?

I started at 11, found a half-size guitar from a family friend with a book of 12 chords. I sat there, and within like a week I had spent all my time just trying to change the chords as fast as I could. And then my parents got me a little three-quarter guitar. I had guitar lessons for two years with Andrew Shellock, and then after that, I started teaching guitar at 13 or 14. With anything I did, be it tennis or football, I always wanted to be the best in the world, so I'd always like hyper-focus and spend lots of time working on my skills.

When did you start playing music?

I started on the streets seven years ago, just busking as a guitar looper and having the amp so loud you could hear me over half the city, and you know, I'd be that barefoot guy with the guitar behind my head. My looping grew as this adventure of pub gigs to festivals. It even led to me and rapper Hoody Time creating a music video called Truth around Nelson. It went viral until it was banned because it had the potential to influence the US elections.

What is your business Dorado Whakatū based on?

Everyone has always said to me, ‘Why aren't you off around the world? Why aren't you in Melbourne? Why are you here?’ A lot of people go to Melbourne or London or this and that, and they try to make it, and that’s cool. But I thought, why not have the narrative of staying here and bringing the world to you? So, Dorado Whakatū is a production company aimed at recreating a golden era of music in the Nelson region.

In terms of bands, you have both The Dorado Experiment and Genre Fluid?

Yeah, The Dorado Experiment has a core team of me, with Blue on vocals, Shay on bass, and Dale on drums. It's really like, how do I make a band that is all about the journey and being able to improvise as a four-piece, as opposed to the one-piece and two-pieces that I do with my looping (recording a musical phrase and making it a continuous, flowing phrase that repeats itself). The Dorado Experiment has a bunch of gigs on this summer, and we played in Chatham Islands on New Year’s Eve.

Genre Fluid is more of a duo, and an expression of however I’m feeling in the moment and playing that spontaneous music which allows the fluidity of genres to come out. It’s expanding into multiple vocalists with the idea of the looping being the common denominator, which will allow it to open up worldwide and be a part of my life, no matter where I go, with that looping talent.

Who are your guitar heroes?

I'm inspired by Mark Knopfler, Santana, Hendrix, Peter Green, Gary Moore, John Mayer... all the guitar gods. Peter Frampton’s Do You Feel Like We Do? would be one of the best live performances I’ve ever heard, because of its five-minute guitar solo with the talk-box at the end. Then you've got Talking Heads, Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, The Doors, Zeppelin… everything’s inspiring, especially when there’s a dirty guitar solo in it. System of a Down, Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers… I love it when bands are authentic and sound like themselves…

Mark Knopfler is so good that he plays a lot of notes that you ‘hear’, but he’s never played. They're called ‘ghost notes’, so, like, your imagination fills it in, because it's so set up for that, and it's so ‘there’ that your mind hears it, but he never needed to play it. It's amazing. Mark Knopfler, really, I think he's the best. He's the one guy who's never played a note that he didn't need to.

People say to practice, but some people just genuinely have a gift, right?

I think it's not about practice or gift; I think it's about focus. Focus, and intention. If you learn correctly, it doesn't take you long to become good at something. Lindsey Buckingham did that performance of Big Love in 1997 on the Dancealbum, and he does it in this finger style. I watched that and spent, I think it was two weeks, four hours every day, learning from scratch how to use my thumb and fingers. So, four hours a day in hyper-focus, trying to keep my thumb doing that as these other fingers get involved… trip up, trip up, trip up… I tripped up a lot, but then it was just the persistence of remaining focused; it was my intent to be able to do it.

How often would you play guitar in a given week?

Sometimes never, you know. I've had times where I've left and haven't played music, haven't touched guitar in two months. But I’ll have been levelling up in other ways, and maturing in other areas of life, which feeds into my playing. Grow in life and it will expand your playing. And then all of a sudden, I’ll have this gig on, and it's for three hours, I can just turn up on stage, and I just start. It’s like I’ve been playing the whole time leading up to it.

Do you record?

Yeah, I do. I was recording at Geoff Sherlock's house in Richmond. I'd spend 10 or 15 hours a day there, sometimes for a month.

Your recent trip to America sounds like an amazing experience?

It was definitely full of amazing opportunities, which included the chance to meet Rick Wake, a head producer at Sony. And a developing opportunity of taking over whole towns with ‘the clowns of California’. There are these little towns in the middle of America that are like energy vortexes. They're just tiny places but full of magic and full of like, old, stuck-in-the-past, or ancient alien things, kind of lawless and free…

What other endeavours have you got going on?

Dorado Whakatū, as mentioned, is the production company and vehicle I run to bring local talent to the fore, and maybe even bring huge acts here. It has run four events at the Silvan Steps in the Richmond Hills. It’s really about showcasing the deep talent here, having a bunch of cool people who are amazing at what they do and saying, ‘Hey, I can give you money for just being you?’ To showcase talent like the Barden Party for instance, which started in Nelson. But then at the same time, I really wanted to marry it with asking bigger, more established acts to come here, like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who knows? If it’s a dream, it can be a big one…

Any advice for aspiring guitar players out there?

You've just got to want to do it. Don't necessarily just try to learn a bunch of songs but just spend time with the guitar. And figure out how you want to play it. But it's about intention. You've got to really want it, you know? You've got to be focused. And listen to it.