One half of the award-winning Kiwi comedy duo Flight of the Conchords is not just flying solo, he's heading in a completely new direction.
Bret McKenzie has a new solo album coming out and a big band national tour, both titled Songs Without Jokes.
But don't worry. The punchlines may be gone but there's still plenty to smile about.
McKenzie's new songs are done not for laughs or movie characters, but for himself.
"I wanted to do some music ... and this is what it is and so I was quite staunch. If I came up with a joke I was like 'no, no, no don't put that in there, try doing it without a joke'," he said.
"I'm really trying to move into a new box. It's a similar box, just a slightly different box."
The trouble is that when you're a multiple Academy, Emmy, and Grammy Award winner for comedy, film, and television music, what more is there left to do?
And while his songs are without jokes, they're full of lovestruck joy that recall a bygone era.
"My songs do hark back to the 70s and the 80s. Randy Newman and Harry Nilsson are big inspirations for me and those songs... they're quite catchy, these songs."
The music lends itself to a big band, so having lived in Wellington the past three years, he knew enough of the musicians to muster 10 of the best.
"Like everyone, I was working remotely, at home. A lot of emails, a lot of Zooms, writing songs and sending them off to people, and then I started rehearsing with this band of Wellington musicians for this project and just the joy, just the joy of getting in the same room as other people, such a novelty now," McKenzie said.
The September tour will play in civic theatres and opera houses in eight centres around the country: Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill, Wellington, Whanganui, Hastings, and Auckland. And like good comedy, when it comes to uplifting a nation, McKenzie's timing is perfect.
"I want to do one of those shows that kind of brings the audience together and lifts them up with what I describe as a joy bomb, but we'll see how it goes," McKenzie said.
"I'm going to try and drop a joy bomb on New Zealand."
His new album will be released on August 26, and his new single 'A Little Tune' is out now.
