Exposure Lifestyles – Issue 2

Issue 2 2006 FREE!

Contents Jon Toogood at Rippon ’06 by Pat Shepherd

2. Letter from Editor 3. What’s Floating Your Boat?

4. P Digsss 5. Tehimana Kerr 6. Mikki Dee 8. Bevan Smith 10. Flowz 12. Dave Dobbyn 13. The Nomad 14. Dan Weetman 16. Luke Buda 18. Ahmen Mahal 20. Adi Dick 22. Harriet and the Matches 25. Roles of Production 26. Joe Lindsay 28. DJ Raw 30. Spacific 32. Unpublished Gems 34. Opensouls 36. Crypt Kicker 3 38. Mike Fabulous 40. Full Chrome Logic

41. Deva Mahal

42. Radio Active

44. Ladi6

46. Stink Magnetic

48. Lisa Tomlins

50. Emu

52. The Upbeats

54. Bret McKenzie

56. 50HZ

58. Blink

60. Hikoikoi Reserve

62. Spartacus R

63. Bonfire Audio

64. The Mysterious Tapeman

Letter from the Editor As we all know, Wellington is a very small place, I don’t think a day goes by when I don’t pass a musician I know or have photographed. I think that is one amazing thing about NZ music, that you may be walking down the street with your headphones on and the people you are walking by may be the creators to the soundtrack of your day.

Their music can also create a soundtrack to our lives, we remember happy times, sad times, special days through songs of that time. I have a lot of respect for these artists who are constantly putting out amazing work. Once again, issue two takes a look at more of the characters who are part of the NZ music scene.

For those who did not see issue one, all interviews are unedited, so they stay true to the artists’ words. I have credited all the amazing photographers and writers who have helped me, otherwise all images and interviews are my own work. Issue one and two are both available as pdf downloads on www.exposurelifestyles.com and please, I’d love to hear your feedback or if you are involved in music, photography, illustration, journalism, please flick me a mail on patshepherd@exposurelifestyles. com as this publication cannot continue without support and contributors.

Thanks again to everybody who has supported me with everything for this issue, you guys rock!

PAT Editor, Designer, Chief Photographer, Chief Writer: Pat Shepherd Cover and Editor Illustrations: Mephisto Jones Contributing Photographers: Sarah Hunter, Jess Silk, Sean Aickin Contributing Illustrators: Mephisto Jones, Peter Campbell, Bradley Minton, Delete London Heading Typography: Claudia Riedel

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The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the publisher.

Exposure Lifestyles is subject to copyright in its entirety. © Pat Shepherd 2006 All Rights Reserved.

What’s Floating Your Boat?

Book – “Massive Change” by Bruce Mau. Clothes and shopping – The Dump Shop, anywhere.

James (Hikoikoi Reserve) APHRODITES CHILD album‘666’, and of course LAWRENCE ARABIAS album.

Luke Buda Vietnamese food, Crocodile sneakers.

Mikki Dee www.musicolin.com www.transmit.co.nz Pat

Loving Montano, Jackie-O-Motherfucker, my Line6 DM4 delay pedal and Hayao Miyazaki’s films.

Daryl (Dukes of Leisure)

I’m listening to ‘Songs: Ohia’ and ‘Magnolia Electric Company’ which are monikers of the same dude, Jason Molina and he’s fucking amazing!!!

He’s like a sermon where they take you down to hell just to show you how truly beautiful heavan and earth really are. I’m eating macadamia nuts and feijoas and reading books of rumi poetry.

Tommy

...flaming tikis, jungle woman, The big O, exotica music, !!! Reverb, Bernie Dexter, brotherhood, soh!, DFA 1979, Booze Demons, hot lovin’.

Crypt Kicker 3

Good soundsystems, Warcraft3, nigiri & sashimi.

Jeremy (The Upbeats)

The clavinet and flamenco is rockin’ me today.

Ryan Prebble

Squishy harmonies, Myspace (internet heroin!) – feijoa cake with cream cheese icing (made by yours truly!)…

Lisa Tomlins

What floats my boat … finding my family history, putting it into context today so I have a place to stand. Understanding my roots, doing lots of research. Making my music richer, my words wiser.

Jessie (Harriet and the Matches)

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P Digsss is a master at getting the crowd moving, we find out who has influenced him over time.

What has your time in Shapeshifter taught you about life and music?

It’s reminded me that music in numbers is powerful and a good way to go. For me music is life, life is music, it’s always there all consuming and all good.

What do you get up to when not around music?

I like to spend good quality time with my girl Jaymie. Read a good book surf skate snowboard wakeboard surround myself with loved ones and sample the finest of the world’s potent marijuana.

You have worked alongside many talented musicians, who have been the most influential people in your music?

The most influential have been my friends I grew up with, my crews in my first bands that introduced me to the live music arena, and the bands I have the pleasure of doing music with now. Most of which are from

Aotearoa, I like a lot of other people, use to look at overseas artists and go ‘nice that’s where the level be at’, but over the past decade or so I have been so enveloped with Aotearoa music arts and crafts, home is where my heart is right now, home got me wrapped around its li’l finger.

Who would appear in your ultimate show lineup?

My ultimate line up would be a two day and night festival. Including the Drop, my sis Hollie Smith and band Recloose and bands the Illphonics, Shapeshifter, anything my sis Deva wants to sing in, Cinematic Orchestra, Jill Scott, Quantic Soul Orchestra, Alice Russell, SA-RA Creative Partners, Platinum Pied Pipers – shit I could just go on and on non stop, anyways that’s enufff.

What part of music gives you the biggest kick?

It’s all good it’s all important it all has its kicks but you can’t deny the feeling when you’re up on stage doing it LIVE LIVE LIVE it’s the rush!

Tehimana lets us in on life in Freddy’s and when we can expect to see some solo tunes.

You come from a rock background, how did Freddy’s come around?

Yeah, I come from a rock background. But still into my Reggae ... when I moved to Welly I started a band called ‘Orange’ we had ‘Shihad’ and ‘Head Like a Hole’, in our rehearsal space/spot to rehearse (not there anymore), then started jamming with all sorts of Rock (alternative), only did originals. Joined Fat Freddy’s in 2000 for the Jazz Festival (I was working in the studio when I met Mu, we were working on an album together). He asked me to play some axe over a Freddy’s track, (‘Wairora Blues’) and that’s it, been jammin’ since.

Do you find it hard to come up with fresh ideas when there is so much music around to influence your ideas?

The thing with Freddy’s is that we are all full of ideas, I haven’t bought a CD in ages, not that it influences me. But I try not to let that happen (it’s still good to know what’s going on out there in the music world).

What is the most important thing for you when playing a gig?

One of the most important things for me is to be relaxed when playing with Freddy’s and that we are all on the same wave when it hits us musically, sometimes it’s a 20 foota, or 10 foota – if ya can’t ride it, you’ll wipeout (that’s for the surfheadz).

Can we expect to see any solo work from you soon?

Well that’s a hard one, I’ve got stuff that I’ve been working on since Adam was a cowboy. I think you’ll be hearing some of Jetlagg’s music very soon. Gonna be freaky shit.

With music being your full-time job, what areas of music excite you the most and give you the biggest high?

I get the biggest high when we play live and hear and see ten thousand fans sing your songs is a massive feeling.

I do like making music you feel to – (ie: that certain frequency that makes you think. But you don’t realise you’re thinking until you stop talking, then you start thinking SHIT interesting.)

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To his mother he is known as Danny, to many he is the NZ ambassador to Ireland, we caught up with Mikki Dee on his recent visit back to Welly.

You are from Island Bay, how did you end up in Dublin?

I’m from Island Bay and lived there until 2000 when I was selected to attend the Red Bull music academy in Dublin. The academy was awesome, definitely a life changing experience in many ways and though it only lasted for 2 weeks, it resulted in me making Dublin/Ireland my home for the last 6 years. It’s culminated in me becoming the number one Kiwi rapper in Europe, I still find it hard to believe, so does my mum.

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In what ways do you promote NZ music in Ireland?

New Zealand doesn’t have an embassy in The Republic of Ireland but it does have an ambassador and that’s me. In 2003 I was contacted by various artists and a London promoter to see if I could hook them up with Irish shows. The first crew to come through was Trinity Roots and since then we’ve had Salmonella Dub, King Kapisi, Scribe & P$, The Black Seeds, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Pitch Black, Stinky Jim and The Nomad. I try and put the artists in touch

with the right promoters throughout Ireland and usually promote the Dublin leg of the tour myself as well as doing support.

My brother Captain Kirk, aka Dirty Flash is my right hand man and we put out a free CD series called Sweet Sounz. I call it CD-flyer and it’s basically a radio show on CD playing mostly NZ music to familiarise the Irish audience with the artists coming through, let them know where to buy the music and where and when the shows are on. We’re up to volume 5, and 6 will be out this Irish summer … is there a summer in Ireland? Come and visit us and find out.

It’s been a lot fun and I’m known in Ireland to a be a purveyor of fine tunes, the association with such quality music has been helpful in aiding me to buy outrageous outfits and it’s great to see the boys and girls happy.

How do you find the Music scene differs from NZ? The music scenes in Ireland and Aotearoa differ in a lot of ways. In Ireland you have these massively successful artists such as Van Morrison, U2, Sinead O’Connor, The Corrs, Thin Lizzy, Enya, Chris De Burgh, The Cranberries, Fergal Sharkey, Westlife, The Thrills … all these huge acts that have made crazy dough (lots of cash) so people here feel like “why can’t that be me?” so

they go for the top right away rather than building something slowly like in NZ. The result is some crash and burn and there’s not a very healthy underground scene. Also there’s no way for Irish artists to get their music videos played (there’s no Irish equivalent of C4 or Juice) unless they’re big enough to get on UK MTV, so it’s hard for underground acts to promote themselves and let people know what they look like.

The radio sucks! There’s a couple of good specialist shows here and there, but nothing like Active or Base.

One good thing is that you get to see heaps of big international artists, as Dublin is an automatic stop on the European tour circuit. It allows the local acts to get some good support slots but I think the other side that is the local artists are becoming comfortable with being warm up bands and not headliners.

These aren’t criticisms, just observations and the club and live music scene here is filled with quality punters and performers.

Which European artists have you worked with?

Any favourites?

I love spinning records alongside my two good buddies DJ Arveene and Tu-ki. They’re both from Dublin and are close friends as well as partners in crime. King Kaps said Arveene is like the Irish Manuel Bundy and Tu-ki is 7 times Irish DJ champ and my live DJ. He’s incredible … see for yourself www.exit15music.com/DMC.mov I like spinning with Ashley Beedle, DJ Ease (nightmares on wax), Flic and Vee, Skitz, Stevie G and my good German homie Ism. When I do my live MC set it’s been fun warming up for my heroes like Lord Finesse, Kool Keith, De La Soul, Schooly D and Roots Manuva … I’ve been pretty lucky, long may it last.

What do you miss about NZ? Fish and Chips, Wakefield markets, Mum, The OGB, the kids, Polynesians, Cook Strait, Taranaki, jammin’ with my musical homies … loads of things but nothing enough to make me wanna move back!

What would be your ultimate show lineup?

Ray Charles, Bob Marley and Outkast at the Wellington town hall, someone make it happen please, I’ll help with flyers and hook up the Irish leg.

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Bevan Smith amazes me with all his projects, he lets us know about life as a full-time musician.

You are a very busy man, can you fill me in on your current projects?

Things are calmer at present.

Ans Westra soundtrack for documentary film. Over the Atlantic – getting ready for the low hum tour starting 14th, album out shortly.

HDU, I’m co-producing their awesome new album.

Skallander. Working in spurts on Skallander 3.

Signer, writing bits to assemble into tracks for the next Signer album.

After two years break I’m ready to get the next album underway. I also do a day a week working on Involve records stuff and admin.

These different projects are worked on in rotation or chunks. It suits me best to be constantly changing what I’m doing or else I get really bored and resort to playing online poker.

You have done a lot of work on film soundtracks, how much control do you have on this work?

Depends on the director/ editor/producer. I often just send in music or give the

people a bunch of stuff that they choose from and then I can revise from there. Having done so many ads and soundtracks over the past couple of years I have amassed a huge library of stuff with Matthew which comes in handy. I would rather work with demanding and perfectionist directors such as on the Japanese ads I do, it’s great to be challenged.

How has technology changed the way you work? Do you think any elements of music have been lost through modern technology?

Sure, changes/updates in technology mean I work on every album in a new way. I started making music with four tracks and tape machines. It’s only been in the last six years that I’ve been using hard disk recording on the PC. I’m constantly trying new software and exploring how I can use/misuse it.

Sure there are people whose music sounds worse because of modern technology. But I blame people’s ears rather than the technology.

Do you have any particular people or places that influence your music and inspire you?

I’m inspired and motivated by people doing creative and/or altruistic things no matter what scene it’s in. People trying to help others and trying to make the world better. Ian (Blink) is a great example of this in the music scene, he has a lot of heart. There’s also some good people in the local art scene.

The musicians I work with motivate me also, Dino, Nik, Matthew, Jeremy ... there are labels that inspire me also, Fatcat, Carpark, Kranky, Warp, Badman.

Sometimes I get angry at the complacency and dullness of the New Zealand music scene, that’s inspiring also. Not to say that there aren’t heaps of NZ artists I love.

What has been the happiest moment in your musical career?

I love getting letters or emails from people who’ve been moved/affected by music I’ve done. I’ve played some great shows especially overseas where people/fans know my stuff really well come up and talk. It’s such a buzz when people from such different places/environments can relate to what I’m doing.

Any bad gig or touring stories?

Ha ha … millions, gig wise, getting lost on the way to the venue in a place where you speak none of the language and don’t have a map, not getting soundchecks cause the venue people don’t turn up for hours while you’re waiting outside freezing to death. Deranged and drug fucked sound guys tripping out on the faders with your mix, dogs running on stage in the middle of your show (actually a high point), no vegetarian food being available, your 1960s vintage guitar being stolen, sleeping on wooden floors for four hours knowing you’re gonna have to drive the next day for 14. Ha ha and that was just one show on the last tour. I swear Ariel Pink and band, Panda Bear and me and Amy were cursed.

Touring, well it’s weird being thrown into label tours with Americans and their bands and being little ole me by myself with a laptop. Mostly it’s very cool, travelling and checking stuff out. Playing lots of shows and driving long long distances can be very boring though.

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Flowz has been involved in hip-hop since a young age. With his debut album about to drop, he talks on life in Welly.

What is Flowz debut album going to bring to NZ hip-hop?

My debut album is gonna bring a new sound and approach to NZ hip-hop, I want to take Wellington hip-hop to a whole new level musically, lyrically and live on stage.

Who has been the biggest influence in your music?

My biggest influence in music are my good friends and family around me, the struggle we have been through together inspires me to write music that’s different to the current 10

crop of MCs doing their thing in New Zealand and overseas.

Was there a particular moment when you knew hip-hop was going to be a major part of your life?

Gotta think about that one ... the moment I knew hip-hop was gonna be a major part of my life was around ’94–’95. I was 16 yrs old, Kosmoe and DJ Raw asked if I wanted to start a crew with them which started as “Pasifican me” a three piece: DJ, drummer, double bass, and two MC’s. Eventually we

changed our name to “The Footsouljahs” DJ Raw, Kosmoe, 163, and myself now “The Footsouljahs” are a big family eight man crew.

What are the pros and cons of the Wellington hip-hop scene?

The pros and cons of the Wellington hip-hop scene, the positives are Wellington has a lot of history and through this history it makes the scene a lot stronger because kids are schooled up in their hip-hop history. Also Wellington kids are creative dudes, in general the scene is pretty tight. And everybody knows everybody, we’re all pretty supportive, that’s what keeps our scene alive and strong. There’s only one negative, the machine and industry is in Auckland, everybody knows that! It’s hard to move from the things you cherish most but the reality of it is it’s a hard slog and if you’re not committed or driven to follow your dreams and your heart forget about it. This rap, hip-hop shit takes a lotta balls, hard yakka and dedication. You need a good support network and people committed to help you. I’m lucky to be in my situation with all the people helping me and believing in me.

When are you happiest in life?

I’m happy when I’m working my music. Music has kept me out of jail and given me a second chance at trying to do something positive with my life. The music I write are stories I have experienced and tales from my community, I’m representing my friends and family. I carry them wherever my music takes me, that’s an amazing feeling. I’ll be even happier when I can support them with the music I make, that’ll be crazy!

ADVERT

He has written the soundtrack to many New Zealanders’ lives, we find out where that jumper from Loyal video went.

You have worked alongside some amazing musicians, if you could work with anybody, dead or alive, who would it be?

Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Deklan McManus, Jim Morrison, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Keith Richards, Van Morrison, Lou Reed, Rev Al Green, Neil Young, Louis Armstrong, Paul McCartney, Joe Strummer, R.L. Burnside, Howlin Wolf, Joni Mitchell , Randy Newman, James K Baxter, Sam Hunt…

Is there a particular time or place you find ideas and lyrics come to you?

The radar is always on – mostly driving, walking, and maddeningly in the middle of the night; beachcombing.

Usually at the piano just when the dinner is nearly ready.

People love your songs for sing-alongs, what are your favourite sing-along songs?

‘Amazing Grace’; any Beatles or Stones song; the NZ national anthem; ‘Auld Lang Syne’ because we don’t know what we’re singing; anything hopeful.

Have you still got that jumper from ‘Loyal’ video?

If I find it I’ll slap it on the wall as a trophy of the eighties in Sydney – with a warning attached and a trade me buy now sticker.

Failing that a sacrificial burning and a fresh mullet in honour.

What would you do if you were not involved in the music industry?

I’d be photographing families NZ-wide and publishing books. Or pumping gas and lubing cars. Sculpture.

If you were to choose one NZ song to send to a country, which country, which song and why?

Welcome Home in Ireland because I now have an Irish passport and because I know it works.

Daimon has experienced a lot in the industry, we find out about life surrounded by music.

You have lived in many places throughout NZ, how do you find the music scenes change and where is your favourite place?

My favourite place is Welly, it has such a healthy music scene, and it’s also handy ’cos it’s in the centre of New Zealand so it makes it easy to tour. There’s been a lot of change driven by the fact that a lot of people have computers and can produce their own music, it’s taken about ten years for this to happen.

Almost everybody is a bedroom producer now. You don’t have to rely on big, expensive studios to get your work done and can spend your money elsewhere.

Do you find your collaborations with different artists has broadened your style and experience?

More my experience, it’s nice to work with different artists from New Zealand and around the globe. Any experience is good experience in the studio, good or bad.

Who would you like to work with in the future?

DJ Shadow. He’s always been a major influence of mine; he’s the deepness. I like to work with fresh talent – it’s fuckin’ cool when someone comes up and everything works out so well when you record with them.

When did you realise music could be a full-time job for you?

16 years ago when I first started DJing way back in Dunedin at this gang-member bar it was pretty-much a full time job. I started producing music in ‘96 and it’s still way more than a full time job – but fun.

Does music ever lose its punch when you work around it so much?

It’s more like that I don’t carry on a track if it doesn’t start out with some sort of punch.

Normally the tracks that come together more quickly are the best ones. I do spend a lot of time fine tuning tracks.

What gives you the biggest high in music?

Performing it live and mastering an album at its final stage. Performing is cool because of the interaction between the crowd and me, you can take the people on a journey and improvise, maybe fuck with their heads a little bit for fun. Mastering is like the final tweaks on all your tracks and making it sound phatter.

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With his album due out in 2010, Dan Weetman had a minute or two to talk about his projects.

Could you fill me in on the different projects you are involved in at present?

The Black Seeds have been working on the third album and we are excited about delivering the new tunes to the people. I’ve just joined back up with my old mates, The Hairy Lollies which has been some loose fun. We have no songs when we play live, all gigs are improvised so it’s great for pushing myself into different styles of vocals or just burps and growls for our entertainment.

Working on some solo stuff which has no name yet, should be ready for release 2010 hopefully.

What was the main attraction of moving from Auckland to Wellington?

I’ve been through bad head spaces like anyone else and my last couple of years up in Auckland were kind of a lost time for me. I do like Auckland but I had to make a change and find myself as well as try and start making music with other people I didn’t know for a fresh start. I thought moving to Gisborne would be good for 14

the soul with its beautiful beaches and countryside.

I met some great people up there, I really fell in love with the place, it holds a lot of good memories for me.

After a year in Gisborne it was on to Wellington, I’d heard it was a nice place to live but didn’t know much about what music was going on and didn’t really listen to much Dub or reggae. I was into rock ‘n’ roll and Drum ‘n’ Bass. Ending up meeting Shannon our last bass player and Barney through Rich our last drummer who took me to a Black Seeds practice which was back in 1998. To make this short for myself they let me join the the band, the rest is history.

Do you ever get artist’s block? If so, any methods to break from it?

I have no real methods to break it, I guess one way for myself is to listen to music I don’t listen to much and try and find a new perspective on a idea. Reading a book that I wouldn’t really read to gain an insight from out of my comfort zone to hopefully trigger a new look on whatever I’m working on.

Taking a walk and getting away from where you are working for a couple of hours is a good one just to clear your head and then come back to your idea and see if you have a new look on things. Reading a book that you wouldn’t really read is

the same thing as the music example, just reading some thing different out of your comfort zone to maybe trigger a new way of looking at your art. At the moment really I’m only adding colour with lyrics with the bands I play in now but once I finish my album in 2010 I’ll have a few more methods on artist’s block I’m sure.

How is winter going to be with a lot less hair on your head?

Cold, so I’ll have to buy a nice warm woolly hat for now while I grow it back.

When are you at your most relaxed and happiest in life?

Sunbathing on a tropical beach yeah! I do try every day to enjoy all parts of my life, it’s really hard, some days are better than others. Being around family and my friends. Oh one more, getting a full body massage yeah!

Always remember to put film in the camera!

I catch up on the busy life of Luke Buda.

Was it hard to find time to record your new solo album between Phoenix Foundation and the birth of Moses?

Short answer: yes. Having a child fucks with your whole shit. But it’s awesome!

16

What do you think are the pros and cons of being a musician in Wellington?

Lots of good people to make music with, plenty of support.

Generally it’s a nice place to live, because it ain’t too big, but there’s enough going on to keep ‘stimulated’. Cons: well, I haven’t been out on the town for a while, but I think the venues could be cooler ... (just wait for them all to give me the evils...)

Do you think there is ever a need for artists to move overseas to ‘further their musical career’?

No. They just need to get themselves over there to play gigs. But then again, I speak in hypothesii (?probably not a word?) Since my band aren’t known overseas.

Life seems pretty busy for you at the moment, do you have any places or hobbies that help you relax?

Watching rugby with the MUSIC AND MOVEMENT club … or talking about it at Slowboat. hahahahahahah! If anyone knew how much of a rugby bogan I was, they’d burn my records! Playing Xbox by myself. Being by myself.

Closing the door. Turning the phone off and crying.

Watching my son going for it more and more as he learns how to crawl and stand. Bring out the violins, standing with my girl on the edge of the world while the comets trail colourful dreamsongs through the sky…

You have worked with many NZ artists, are there any you would like to work with in the future?

The Phoenix Foundation…? ha! Plenty … mostly Dawn Raid … nah. I couldn’t start listing them, it would take too long.

But Mike Fab definitely pops into mind.

Last one, would you qualify to be the leader of an Omnichord society?

Nah … I don’t even own one bro! Maybe a Synthesizer Enthusiast Club.

You may know him as Captain Imon Star, Olmecha Supreme, Murk 108. We find out what Ahmen is up to at present.

You seem very busy with all your different projects, do you think you could ever take time away from music or would your head be exploding with ideas?

All of the projects fit inside a greater context.

I have often explained that there is a sort of comic sub dimensional sonic fiction carrying on in the background of it all.

Some projects are explained as the work of a mercenary. Contracts. Carry out the mission – sort of things. But everything is interconnected.

Music is life. My life. My work.

I can climb a mountain, and it makes my life, my art, my music, my sound stronger as it makes my body, my mind, and my spirit stronger.

It’s not a nine to five job.

It doesn’t stop when I go home. I dream it as it dreamt me.

‘I had a dream I saw a butterfly…’

I was intrigued about our chat on making your new album for all music situations, could you fill me in on this?

Olmecha supreme is a nexus.

It can work as a solo act in small venues, as a two or a three piece in a club, as a five or a seven piece in a hall, or as a full orchestra and circus act in a stadium. I imagine things 18

in more than six dimensions.

The end point of the story telling/communication aspect is to involve people in the dream. Creating alternate dimensions so that when you enter and leave the venue, you have gone some place else and perhaps not returned to your home as you knew it.

Has modern technology made changes to the way you make music? Have any elements been lost through technology?

Technology is chasing you. It allows for simple replication which can make your original attempts mundane. There are two solutions. One is to move faster the other is to remain rooted in the indisputable and constant. Foundation.

Groundation. Soundation.

I try to balance both, hence the credit ‘afro futuristic roots music’.

‘As on earth, so in heaven’ and ‘no matter where you go, you are still here and now’.

When are you at your happiest in life, any particular people/places/hobbies?

In beautiful places. In harmony with my body, says mind and spirit (as happiness in its totality requires all functions to be synchronized, where you end up paying for it later by offsetting it against the redundant me me. Body happiness vs mind vs spirit, two up one down or one up two down).

In the company of those I love. In the service of my greater purpose.

Simplified, when the music is happening. Read in to it.

When the MUSIC is HAPPENING. Broken down, just past string theory without the strings.

Energy fields etc. all things are vibrations of what? Gagut.

What would be your ultimate show lineup?

Right now, Olmecha Supreme in hall formation. Damian Marley. Burning Spear. DJ Krush. Roots Manuva. Medusa.

Abstract Rude. Mf Doom. Madlib. Spikey Tee. Kanye West.

Jay Z. Redman and Method man. Bizz Markee. Manny Styles. Fat Freddy’s Drop. Little Bushman. The Wanderers.

Che Fu. Cornerstone Roots. Capleton. Prince Paul. Tribe Called Quest reunion. Black Star reunion. Dudley Perkins.

Rappercussions. Dead Pres. DJ Marky and more. All day outdoor festival in Nevis, New Zealand, Fiji, or Senegal. Or on the observation deck of the new Black Star Lines Earth Orbital Space Station.

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We find out more on Adi’s recent inspiring visit to Seattle.

You were recently selected to attend the Red Bull Music Academy in Seattle, what did this open your eyes to?

RBMA was basically the doorway to the rest of my life! Being there among the many talented musicians, beatmakers, producers, MC’s, DJ’s etc helped me realise where I’m at with music and life and where I want to be. I spoke to Isaac from Opensouls recently who was part of the second term and he summed it up nicely by saying “It’s the single most important musical event in his life!” – mine too!

Is it hard to keep your own music style while there is so much influence around you? Do you ever get tunnel-vision?

I think I get tunnel-vision all the time. I’m terrible, it’s like if I hear a wicked blues tune I’m like “Man, I want to make some stuff like that!” Then I wake up the next day in a hip-hop mood and all I want to make is hip-hop. I think being a musician or artist you tend to be inspired by everything and anything but when it comes down to making your own music you have to be honest and speak your own mind.

I find my own musical style hasn’t even really been expressed yet, I’m constantly trying to evolve through excorcising my many musical demons. I just love good music no matter what genre so good music is what I try to make.

Can you fill me in a bit more on the vocals you have been playing with for overseas artists?

Basically, in Seattle at the RBMA I met so 20

many cats that were into the same kind of stuff as me, more than I’ve come across at home in Wellington.

After talking and jamming over there and hearing them all DJ or play we all just gravitated towards each other and formed our international musical bonds. We got to record a lot of stuff over there and got a really good idea of how things could sound so from that we all just said we have to hook up once it was all over – and we have.

I’ve just finished recording some vocals on a track of a hip-hop/Downbeat producer Adam Wright from Auckland along with a song a female soul singer from France and I wrote and recorded in Seattle. So now I’m working on vocals for tracks from Amsterdam, London and eventually some other bits and pieces as well.

What has been your biggest high in music?

Hanging out at 4am in the morning in Seattle in the studio with Leon Ware (Songwriter/producer for

Motown in the ’70s, he wrote and produced Marvin Gaye’s ‘I Want You’ album) listening to stories about Stevie, Marvin, Smokey and all the other Motown artists then after playing bass on his song, jumping in the vocal booth with him and recording harmonies alongside him. It was quite surreal to talk about these legends that he has worked with and still does and then jump in and sing with him as he would’ve done with all of them at Motown! It was a pretty magical moment.

Last one, what’s your favorite sing-a-long song round the fire?

‘Oh, please stay with me, Diana’. My old man used to sing that to my Mum at parties when I was a kid.

Jessie and Mea give us an insight into where the individual sound of Harriet and the matches comes from.

How would you describe the sound of Harriet and the matches?

We have a unique, original sound mixing ballad, traditional folk, reggae and soul inspired songs – a sound that is uncommon in Aotearoa, especially with the younger generation.

Folk has a tendency to get a bad wrap, funny dancing and accordions often spring to people’s minds. We’re about the folk sound that came out of old, old protest and work songs. We hope our songs can be referenced for historical reasons in the future as well as the musicality of them – folk has played a huge role passing tales down from one generation to the next.

Something that reggae still achieves, the stories of the great poet and activist Marcus Garvey in Burning Spears music for instance.

So much music these days 22

has no foundation, meaningless lyrics, fitting into a formula.

We see music as a huge opportunity, our chance to have our say by doing something we love. Artists are so lucky in this respect, it’s a much more enjoyable way to make change than becoming an MP or something, for us anyway.

We have little competition in this style we like to call our own because there are few exploring this sound, getting back to the basics of music – the voices. In saying that, recent years have produced true passion from vocalists, Trinity Roots, Hollie Smith, etc. Singing issues of the heart, issues that affect all people.

We sing original tunes with the odd cover in our performances. If we play a cover we really get into it, find out the history behind the song and explain it to the crowd. It’s usually just us on the stage, guitars, bodhrans (Irish drum) and vocals. Although we are a duo in essence we have recently had others playing with us percussionists, extra vocalists, we call them ‘our matches’. The matches were with us as Parihaka.

People often ask who Harriet is, and the answer is both of us. We place a huge emphasis on strong vocal harmonies (which we feel is lacking in New Zealand music at the moment) by focusing on new and exciting ways to use our voices and instruments. We sing as tightly as we can, knowing each other’s voices inside and out, and all the little inflections that we each make. Singing together on a regular basis is the key, like anything a little bit each day does the trick.

The name Harriet and the matches is from the story “The dreadful story about Harriet and the Matches” written by Dr. Heinrich Hoffmann from ‘Struwwelpeter’, a book published in 1845 in Germany. Strange tales he wrote to put his child patients as ease. They are very scary tales to warn children not to play with matches etc. Using that name comes back to our philosophy about true folk music, involving all things folk, the stories and the ideas not just the music. Folk means people, people do a lot more than music, and so music should combine all aspects of our lives.

Tell me a bit more about the hats?

My sister picked my one up in an op shop a few years back which I inherited when she was overseas. I began wearing it every time I played, my performing hat. When Mea and I got together formally after years of jamming we created a matching look. We dress the same, this includes our hats. It’s something fun that we can be remembered by and use as a gimmick of sorts. It relates to old times, buskers and old folkies who would put their hats out and sometimes we still do for koha. We just like our hats.

Getting dressed up is so fun, we like to throw a bit of theatrical stuff in to support the music.

Which NZ artists help inspire you in your music?

Music has always been a huge part of our lives and people are constantly influencing us. When growing up, women musicians were a strong influence such as Mahinarangi Tocker and Charlotte Yates. Writers who 23

write about the land, their people and the issues that surround them such as Patricia Grace, Elsie Locke and Keri Hulme are a huge inspiration. It’s not just musicians that influence us. We think it’s important to know your roots, singing about them is one way to weave it into your life. Friends, family, partners and flatmates play a big role such as Ryan Prebble, Tessa Rain, Bunyip, Hikoikoi Reserve, Safari, and of course Mea’s Papa John Grenell, a true South Island cowboy from way back. It is these people that help us get the gigs, play support, give us advice and create collaborations with. The whole lot are priceless and we couldn’t do what we love to do without them.

How do you share the load with writing songs?

We originally came together with a set of our individual songs, singing on each other’s, splitting the load evenly. When we come together with our music it creates a whole new sound from the original tune.

We have begun to write songs together, this is something new for both of us and we are still exploring and learning. It is an art to be able to write with someone else, and we think we are doing it quite nicely! Both of us are songwriters so our set list rapidly expands and because we are a duo we only have each other to please, and with few instruments progress it fast. Getting the organising side of things happening, getting gigs and setting up tours is easy, both just do half. We have to stay really open and honest with each other, communication is so important when working with a good friend. Our friendship and music are so intertwined, they go hand in hand with each other so if one is sick the other follows.

We really lift each other up, our music feeds our friendship and vice versa.

What do you think are the pros and cons of being a musician in Wellington?

Harriet and the matches started out in Wellington at the beginning of last year.

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We recorded our EP ‘Ata Takahi’ here, and stayed based in Wellington for nine months. Mea is now living in Christchurch, our hometown. So as the matches we aren’t real Wellington musicians at the moment.

However … there is so much support from all the Wellington musicians, but there are so many! Gigs on all the time means there is often competition even on a Monday night as to which venue punters will go to. But having gigs on all the time means heaps of learning opportunities, people to meet, collaborations to be struck etc. Wellington is definitely such a fantastic place to be in Aotearoa for music.

It has set us up with such a strong foundation of experience and people to call on, even if we are on the other side of the world with

our music (which we hope happens soon) we could call up and get some help from home. There is nothing in the world like the Wellington music scene. One of its defining features, something we can all be proud of is how everyone helps each other out. There’s no point in fussing and fighting, competing for the stage, so much more is achieved when we work together, something Fly my Pretties has shown. You are only as fast as your slowest member – no one is left to drag behind. And that’s what we love. That’s what folk is all about.

This is a very brief introduction to some of the roles involved in making an album.

Roles of Production

By Lee Prebble

The Producer The producer’s role is basically to help turn the songs into great recordings. They oversee all aspects of the process and try to make it run as smoothly as possible. It’s a similar role to a director of a movie. They may: • Help in the preproduction stage (rehearsals and song writing).

• Oversee the recording including arrangements and

organising guest/session musicians.

• Help achieve great tones.

• Try to be a fresh set of ears for the musicians.

The Engineer The engineer is the person who looks after the technical side of recording. From choosing the most suitable microphone and placement to making sure there is enough hard drive space or tape left to record all the instruments. They basically put all the individual elements together to make it sound great. When ideas are put forward it is often the engineer who works out how to technically turn those ideas into a good sound.

Recording is capturing the sounds onto a recording devise (computer or tape machine) and mixing is balancing all the individual elements so they sit well together. Sometimes one engineer will mix the music and a second engineer will record it.

Mastering Mastering is the final stage of the album making process before it is sent off for manufacturing.

Mastering involves taking all the songs and making them flow together as an album. Like the mix engineer balances the individual elements, the mastering engineer balances all of the songs together. It is also a chance to do final tweaks on the mixes, for example, if one song is duller than the others.

Sometimes the engineer who recorded or mixed the album will also master it, but there are dedicated mastering facilities which have precision specialist mastering equipment and more importantly expert mastering engineers.

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Joe Lindsay lets us in on the secret of the daggy dancing school of interpretive movement.

Many people will know of your part in Freddy’s, what other projects are you involved in at the moment?

I’m in a band called THE EGGS that is really turning me on at the moment. It’s another Wellington super group with, (in alphabetical order,) Adan, Christopher Yeabsley, Daniel Yeabsley, Imon Star, Lisa Tomlins, Paul Hoskin, Toby Laing and my brother Samuel Lindsay. THE EGGS have a regular night at the Matterhorn where we play the dirtiest, smelliest, poo and wees ever. Some nights I swear there’s some scary voodoo possession shit happening.

Another funk band that is really lighting my fire is TYRA and the TORNADOES. This Auckland outfit is an incarnation of the OPENSOULS whose album Kaleidoscope is about to drop now. The Tornadoes play at a night called Little Nuggets every month at the Rising Sun on K Road. You might have heard a tasty 7 inch called Turn It Up.

If you haven’t, check it, it’s hot! Tyra Hammond is the real deal. I feel privileged to play with her and this band of all stars. Keep your ear to the ground for another 7 inch coming out soon.

When occasion allows I also play with Wellington afrobeat collective SCRIBES of RA. The Scribe have been having a brief hiatus while Mike Fab tours ‘Hiatus On The Horizon’ with Recloose around Europe. But now he’s back I’m sure the Scribes will ignite the dance floors of the capital once more.

There are lots of other little gigs and sessions that I’m involved in but I’m starting to sound like a bit of a band ho. (Though not as bad as Clubba!)

What has life in Freddy’s taught you?

How everyone in a collective has something different and precious to offer, and how magic it can be when fate gets the mix right. Also how under appreciated the homely smell of your own farts are in the confines of a high ace van.

Are you a self taught dancer?

Most definitely. I’m heavily influenced by the daggy dancing school of interpretive movement. There is nothing better than having a good spaz with your mates. Seriously though, my dad says. “Don’t ask anyone to do something you’re not prepared to do yourself.” Which means, don’t expect people to shake their shit if you’re not prepared to shake your own twice as hard. You’re the crowd’s excuse to let their hair down. I have a lot of love and respect for the first person on the dance floor. Go that guy!

What do you get up to when not making music?

I look after my son and surf trademe looking for sailboats.

Who have been the most influential people in your music?

The Freddy’s, especially Warren and Toby. Jeff Henderson and Anthony Donaldson. Twinset. Herman Otto, my high school music mentor who taught me how to use my ears. Nick VanDijk, who taught me how to focus some of that energy.

Fred Wesley, Charles Mingus, Don Drummond, Rico, Donny Hathaway, Stevie, Prince, Bootsy Collins, James Brown.

Roger Whittaker.

What gives you the biggest high in music?

Interaction, wordless communication and hyperventilation.

Favourite 4am food?

Iain’s fried chicken schnitzel, drowned in QP. mayonnaise sandwiched between two pieces of soft fresh white bread.

Washed down with ice cold ginger beer. Aaaaaaagh ngh!

Heart attack!… Burrp … ah that’s better.

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DJ Raw grew up in Lyall Bay and has a lot of knowledge of the NZ hip-hop scene.

You have been involved in the industry from a young age, do you like where NZ hip-hop is at present?

I think NZ hip-hop is now very mainstream, although there are still quality artists out there putting out good music, the industry machine has taken over. It’s at a funny stage, it’s almost been played out by the commercial side of things. One thing I notice at the live shows it that everyone is a rapper or DJ now, it’s like there are no more fans anymore the audience are all your peers. But all in all yeah I’m happy with the scene. It’s gone through a huge wave of success it’s just now we are on the down side of that wave.

Do you find there are many pros and cons to modern technology in music, does it mean more people can do the job?

It means anybody can do the job, technology is a love hate thing for me, I love having the latest software, gadgets & stuff but I hate the cost of it and how one year later or even three months later it’s superseded. At the end of the

day it’s not the gear that make great music it’s the people using it and the better you know your gear the more you can get out of it.

Did working in the film industry teach you much about sound?

Yeah I did a year long course in TV Production which gave me a lot of theory on some aspects of sound, but working in the film industry for 5 years I got to see sound professionals at work every day. A lot of what happens in film & TV transfers into the music industry. I think the most valuable lesson I took from the industry was to always get the best performance from the artist. A lot of the directors would always take the best performance by the actor even if the mic fell into shoot or the lighting had to be readjusted.

Who has been the biggest influence in your musical career?

My mum, she always encouraged me to work hard on my music, she could have easily told me I was wasting my time and go back to a nine to five. She used to tell me “it doesn’t matter if you’re the best in the world there will always be someone better.� Which did two things, one it grounded me and made me humble and two it made me think if I’m not practising and putting in work there are plenty of others that are.

What are your plans for 2006?

I’ve got a lot of projects on that take up a lot of time on top of the DJ School, but one thing I really want to get back to is spinning every week cause that’s what I love and do best.

 � � �

We caught up with Jasper Edwards, the creative director of UK based company Spacific, to fill us in on what they get up to over there.

Many people in NZ will not be familiar with what Spacific does, could you briefly fill us in?

Spacific is an anglo-Kiwi collective of New Zealand music lovers which promotes New Zealand music in London and as far afield as possible.

Our first event was held back in 2001 at cargo and was intended as a one-off night to showcase Pitch Black to UK labels, with Mike Hodgson from the band bringing most of the team together to work on the project.

We were all shocked by how popular the night was but thought nothing of it until April 2002 when emails began arriving announcing the prescence in Europe in July of Salmonella Dub (on tour of France), Fat Freddy’s Drop (going to Germany to sign a record deal), Pitch Black, international observer and Epsilon_Blue (all playing at the big chill festival). Such a confluence couldn’t be ignored and we managed to wangle hiring Fabric for the night. In 2003 we formally adopted the name “Spacific” as we found most Brits couldn’t pronounce Aotearoa (the nights had previously been called “the underground sounds of the aotearoanz” and “return of the aotearoanz” respectively). Since then we have stumbled on, with no major game plan or motive other

than promoting the music we love, hosting events at Cargo, Fabric, Koko, the Forum, Plastic People, the Big Chill Bar and Neighbourhood in London, La Sal in Barcelona, Taboo in Madrid and the Batofar in Paris.

Are NZ artists finding the UK a hard market to break into?

In general yes. The biggest obstacle is that the UK market is saturated with releases: last year roughly 35,000 albums came out here – that equals nearly 100 a day. At the same time the average music buyer purchases only six albums a year. So to get ahead one needs a strong marketing and promotion campaign and/or budget, which most Kiwi labels or acts do not have at their disposal, or in some weird cases, don’t think is necessary!

How often do you make it over to visit NZ? Were there any new artists that caught your eye?

I come over once a year – normally after Waitangi Day. This year seemed to be more about confirming what I had seen last year – the acts that blew me away were Kora and Hollie Smith. The Opensouls sound like they could be good but I haven’t yet heard any of their music – hopefully someone will send me their album. (Hint! Hint!)

What has been your most memorable night through Spacific?

The Fabric events stand out the most but I was running around most of the night so it was hard to enjoy them.

But I will always remember Tali and P Digsss onstage with Tiki singing for the love of it at neighbourhood – that was pretty special. And the crowd at the first ever show back at Cargo – that night was crazy – we drank the bar dry of beer by 11pm!

So what have you got lined up for this year?

We are putting on shows by The Phoenix Foundation, Katchafire, The Black Seeds, Anika Moa and Ladi6 so far.

With quite a few acts still to be confirmed, it is looking like being another great year. www.spacific.net Illustration By Delete

After digging through the negs, Sarah Hunter, Sean Aickin and Pat Shepherd find some of their favourite hidden music shots.

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6

Jeremy Toy is guitarist with mainly Auckland based supergroup, Opensouls.

What do find are the main differences between the Auckland and Wellington music scenes?

I have just moved from Auckland to Wellington purely for music and to grow as a musician. I have done this because I love playing music in Wellington. The ‘dog eat dog’ cliche does exist more in Auckland.

I guess it is a money thing. It’s bliss being able to play blues and freaky hip-hop in a set in Wellington and for the crowd to be vibing off it. I have done that in clubs in Auckland and it has killed the dancefloor ha! I guess you fit where you fit. Triangle in the triangle hole, square in the square hole.

34

Who have been the most influential people in the development of the Opensouls?

No.1 is DJ Dubhead. He got us our first break on the radio and really helped us grow and supported us as a band in the first year we were together.

Ladi6 and Parks have been great helps, they have similar directions and we feed of each other’s energy.

All the bangin’ producers from around the globe. It starts here with Eru Dangerspiel, Mu, Submariner. Overseas beat makers Pete Rock, J-Dilla, ?uestlove, Ali Shaheed Muhummad, Breakestra, Will Quantic, the list is endless.

Do you all manage to make a full-time living from music?

Making music is something you can’t consider work, we do it because we have to.

We all have different outlooks though. There are a few of us that only play music and don’t have other work. There are a few of us that have jobs and play music on the side but I’m sure they would much rather only be playing music.

What do you think makes for a memorable gig?

All the good gigs are the ones where your band mates give ya the chills and you realise you are playing with awesome people. It always helps if you can play a DJ set somewhere in there, records, records, records!

Last off, any favorite songs to jam to when you guys need a break from your own work?

We got a set of funk jams down. ‘Cramp your style’ is probably the pick out of that bunch. Playing the old funk is a lesson.

These guys make noise, damn good noise.

Hopefully that porno soundrack will come soon.

What inspired the surf/spy sound to your music?

Simply the love of the sound that surf music has in general – you know the tone, it’s production and the way that a lot of old surf tunes were written – to the point, generally short and sweet, full of attitude and of course the reverb!

We dig a lot of old spy/rockabilly flicks, film noir stuff etc. You’ve got your classic 36

James Bond type stuff, but scratch the surface and there’s way cooler films like Beat Girl are awesome, where they’re all cruzin’ round using jargon like “Way out daddy’o, you send me over and out”!

There’s a certain amount of amusement that we’ve gotten out of listening to totally over the top reverb, strange abrupt intros and endings, wacky drum fills and dick Dale’s insane guitar style – it’s cool & hilarious.

The band itself started off with Mike and I fucking around with this song idea I came up with while rotten on wine one night, we were just gonna record it for a laugh but it became a project and a labour of love. We played it to a few mates as we were recording it and that’s when Seamus pretty much put his hand up and suggested we do a residency type affair where we play weekly gigs for people to come and dance too. So we joined as a band and became The Crypt Kicker 3, a name which is taken from “The Monster Mash”. It had that direct link to the era and sounded kinda dangerous ‘n’ wild in that ’50s kinda way.

We didn’t quite do a total residency thing like we were gonna, so instead we decided that we’d just go out and rock the music we love to people and hope that they have as much fun as we do and enjoy it with us.

Is music a full-time thing or do you guys have other jobs to support the habit?

No, we all have different places of jerk, we have one

who runs around with food and spins tunes on the airwaves, another who irons his shirt then goes and fondles Hillary’s, Sheppard’s and Rutherford’s, and the other chap – no one really knows. But he definitely has FULL TIME mad eye.

What are your thoughts on the current Wellington music scene?

HMMMMMM ... certain aspects are really good, more practice spaces have become available making it easier for bands to get together and make noise.

I’d personally like to see more gigs out of bars and back into the flats and warehouses of Welly … to the detriment of landlords everywhere. These kinda events tend to be wild and lead to some fantastic social antics and underground followings.

There are some awesome bands around though they tend to leave the country once they get a good following, that’s an old story however. The whole rub a dub dub scene has gone nationwide probably due to mainstream success and album releases and full credit to ‘em since they’ve been paving that road for ages now and it’s paid off.

Wellington at the moment seems to have a lot of different sounding bands around. Less straight out “rock” of the Shihad/Head Like a Hole days or that “everybody sounds like The Datsuns” phase … some really quirky shit like The Inkling, Grand Prix, Connan and the Mockasins, Charlie Ash, The Chandeliers etc, etc … and it’s all good.

If you guys could write the soundtrack to any movie, past or present, what would you choose?

GODDDAM! Just one?? … No fuck that … Dead Man, 12 Angry Men, Beat Girl, Liquid Sky. I’d love to write a surf tune to consider as the official theme to the TV One News, a horror soundtrack, film noir and spy movies, music to complement the bad dialogue of the original Star Trek series, perhaps an Aeon Flux type animation and definitely a porno.

37

Mike Fabulous is a man in demand, we briefly caught up on life and fatherhood.

You are involved in many different projects, do they all have their own special vibe about them?

Sure. Every group of people has its own dynamic, and usually a set of twisted in-jokes, indecipherable to outsiders. I love yous, all of yous!

Do all these projects ever create issues with touring or recording, etc?

I assume you mean in terms of clashes? It’s usually a case of first in first served, so the bands that book furthest in advance have the best pick of dates in my diary.

With music being your full-time job, does it ever lose its fun and feel like just another job?

Yes it does sometimes, but it’s something I’ve really learnt to overcome in the last couple of years – no matter what the situation, to always try to play using the highest parts of my being. Generally though, I really get a lot out of everything I do. Thank you Jesus, Amene.

What has fatherhood taught you about life and music?

It’s mostly a secret. What I can tell you though, is at the moment it’s really been hammering home the importance of maintaining your person through simple things like nutrition, hydration and not drinking too much Fernet Branca on Wednesday nights. If I don’t maintain my shit, everybody else around me pays the price, especially my family. I think it was Chuck D who said ‘you gotta check yourself, before you wreck yourself.’ Or was it Chuck Norris?

Last one, in a paintball battle, who would win between Black Seeds and Fat Freddy’s?

In all honesty, it would be Freddy’s. A large contingent of their crew are keen sports men, and I’m sure Iain Gordon would have experience shooting water fowl, or some such. On the Black Seeds side we have Jim-Ray, who is a keen chess and table tennis player, but does that help when a mother fucker is trying to pop a cap of paint in your face?

Chris lets us in on life in Full Chrome Logic.

What sort of crowd would we find at a Full Chrome Logic gig?

People who are great. Generous citizens with excellent aesthetics. Mainly friends, friends of friends and other people influenced by our state of the art marketing machinery.

What do you think makes for a good gig?

It should be a transcendent experience where time is erased when the band is on stage. The act shouldn’t look bored and ‘too cool for school’. Being on stage is a privilege. People should leave thinking “what the hell was that”. Some of them may like what they have seen. Music should light a fire under your arse and leave you in altered state. The world is great for 40 minutes.

Do you all share the role of coming up with ideas for the music?

We all engage in jamming and argument. Our best ideas emerge from playing off whatever noise the others are making.

Will Full Chrome Logic ever turn you into millionaires?

Please contact fullchromelogic@yahoo.co.nz if you have any suggestions as to how to achieve this outcome.

If you guys could play alongside any artists, who would you choose?

Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Sonic Youth, 3Ds, Bailterspace, The Postgraduates, Boredoms, Hand Hell, The Clean, My Bloody Valentine, The Pin Group.

Deva – diva; says it all..

Image by Jess Silk

What were your main reasons for moving from the US to NZ? I moved here to be with my family after the death of my sister in 2001.

What role has your family played in your musical development?

My family and music are one the same for me. They have both been there from before my first breath.

Your Wednesday nights have become legendary, how do you keep things fresh week to week?

By treating every gig like it was my last.

When are you at your happiest in life, any particular people/places/hobbies?

I am my happiest with a mic in my hand and beautiful music to create with everyone I love near.

If you could work alongside anybody, who would it be?

Jay Z, Damien Marley, Mary J Blige, Prince, Tracy Chapman, Aretha Franklin, Sting, The Roots, Jill Scott, Kanye West, and anyone else with a good heart and a good beat!

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Ladi6 is an inspiration to many, we find out who inspires her.

You have worked alongside some amazing musicians, who has taught you the most or been your biggest inspiration?

Hard question to answer!

All the musicians I have ever worked alongside have taught me something of value that I have taken away with me and I appreciate all that I have been given.

Scribe has been a constant inspiration to me in action and words for as long as I can remember, especially in music and in terms of how far you can go as a kid from Christchurch.

All my amazing music family, Fat Freddy’s Drop band and crew have taught me that you can ‘do’ music or you can ‘DO’ music, the way that they operate and have maintained an independent stance has been thought provoking as well as inspirational.

But I could say the same for Salmonella Dub too. Opensouls have been an ever present inspiration to me and my band Verse Two, and have been a huge support.

Not many people know Solaa very well, but their whole crew and Kaupapa are also so inspirational they have been slogging their guts out finishing their record and their persistence and belief in their music has been inspirational to say the least!

Shapeshifter like Scribe and Solaa are also from Christchurch and are a huge part of the music family I spoke of before, they’re like my brothers. I’ve gotta give props where props are due without my band Verse Two with Julien Dyne & Brent Park I wouldn’t be where I am today. I’ve also worked with Manuel Bundy, Submariner, 44

Slave, Ned Ngatai, Dubwize sound system, MC Silva, Confucius, O.G, Suga licks, Sola Rosa, 50HZ, Deva Mahal, Lisa Tomlins, Sunshine Sound System, Kora, Anika Moa, Pmoney, MC Tyna, Matipi Tuarua, Elia Gaitau and a shitload of others … not just in the studio but on stage as well and I’m just a very blessed person and I don’t take any experience that I’ve had lightly, I am constantly getting inspired by these people and learning more than I ever learnt in high school!

Is it hard to write original material with so much music around you? Do you have to switch off from your surroundings?

Absolutely! And it’s so much harder than it sounds, how do we find time in the day aye?

Is Ladi6’s sound going to be brought to the world with the debut album, or is it mainly an NZ/OZ release?

NZ/OZ/JAPAN and then THE WORLD!!

Why not. He he.

When are you at your happiest in life, any particular places/people/hobbies?

I’m at my happiest when I’m in love!

Isn’t everyone?

Dylan fills us in on the magic sounds tape is bringing us through label Stink Magnetic.

Could you fill me in on life and current projects?

I’m working on Disasteradio’s new album ‘Datasette’, which he put together especially for release on Stink Magnetic, including written tracks inspired by the cassette/datasette format. Together we have designed one of the most exciting release shows Stink Magnetic has tried so far – a live show in Laser Force – the game! I’m also preparing Stink Magnetic’s first one-man-band tour and the establishment of the New Zealand one-man-band institution. The nationwide show is of three one-man-band artists representing Stink Magnetic; the Mysterious Tape Man, Boss Christ – Sideburn Showcase and Bad Evil and also Segue Lugosi showing short films including New Zealands’ first She-wolf film – ‘Shera; Girlfriend of the Wolf’. That’s happening May 24–28 in the South Island and throughout June in the North Island.

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What are the benefits of tape in recording?

There is a specific quality of sound that you get from tape.

It’s like any other format in that they each have specific qualities that are unique to that medium. It’s a pleasure to explore the subtleties of different formats and their contribution to a feel that you’re trying to obtain in your art. It’s a great way to start a record label from your bedroom at Mums’ when you’re a kid!

Illustration by Bradley Minton

Is tape ever going to die?

That’s a good question.

It deserves an answer! As a recording musician I find the qualities of tape useful so I won’t be ditching it in a hurry but I can see how people move with what’s more convenient.

You deal with many ‘nonmainstream’ artists, who intrigues you the most?

The artist that strikes out on their own regardless of the odds and still moves a party like no-one’s business!

If you had a mixtape with 7 songs, what would they be?

That’s a really tricky question! There are so many songs out there! I guess it would depend on what the tape was for. If it was the only five songs on Earth to take to another planet and it was representing my personal favourite stuff only, then it would maybe be something like this – Side A: Link Wray, one of his floating kinda songs like ‘Fat Back’ or ‘Jack the Ripper’, The Mummies ‘Die!’ or ‘Come on up’, The Stooges ‘1969’, ‘Real Cool Time’ or ‘No Fun’, Side B: 13th Floor Elevator’s ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, or ‘Reverberation’, Hank Williams ‘I’m so Lonesome I Could Cry’ or ‘Lost Highway’, The Trash Womens’ version of ‘Space Needle’ and Christchurch’s Chants R&B version of ‘I’m Your Witchdoctor’… maybe, there are so many good songs!

starts 2nd October 2006

Lisa has worked on many projects, we find out if a Tomlins EP is likely in the future.

It seems you are in high demand at present, could you fill me in on your current projects?

Thanks for the compliment!

Yep, it feels like I have taken on a few things lately.

I’m currently working on live shows with Recloose, the Eggs, Rhombus, Hollie Smith, Deva Mahal, Twinset, and Fat Freddy’s Drop, plus working on a few recording projects with some of the above, and more! I’m feeling like a bit of a musical ho…

Would you like to do your own thing in the future, or are you happy where you are at?

There is a part of me that thinks ‘Yeah – I’m happy here’, but I know it would never be enough for me. I never want to be left thinking ‘What if…?’. I’m lucky to have lots of influential friends who are kicking my arse into gear, making me think about what it is I want to say, and getting it out there! I have an outlet jamming with people like Chris Yeabsley and Darren Mathiassen, and the Eggs every week or so.

They’re very encouraging when we’re freestyling – even when it sucks! So, there’s that, plus once a month my lovely friends in Auckland (Isaac Aesili, Chip Matthews, and Julian Dyne), will be hosting me at Khuja Lounge to showcase original jams written by us. Should be a blast! Can’t help but be a bit nervous, though. So, I guess I’ll have something in the pipeline soon – watch this space…!

What has working with such a variety of musicians taught you about music and life?

I guess over the years, I’ve learned not to take myself too seriously! I’ve been really lucky to work with such a high calibre of musicians – I feel extremely blessed. I like the fact that everyone is so grounded and humble. To retain that quality in this vocation is pretty rare! There’s nothing worse than listening to someone with their head so far up their arse they can’t observe what it is that surrounds them – it’s boring!

Just chill out, relax and let the music do the rest!

You must have experienced lots of gigs, what do you think makes for a good gig?

Honestly, it all boils down to one thing – a good rider! Plenty of beers, a good single malt or vodka, LOTS of water, a healthy feed, and a space to chill. Good sound, too, of course!

From an audience perspective, I don’t care what the music is, as long as you can feel passion in the songs! I’ve been to heaps of gigs where I may not have dug the style, but enjoyed the energy. Energy needs to be reciprocal between band and audience for live gigs – it’s essential!

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Darcy talks on the mixed up world of Emu.

With all your experience of beats, have you learnt anything on how peoples moods are affected through beats?

You can make music with one drum, a regular pulse quickly unites people.

The drum brings music to your mind and helps express whatever you are feeling. Add melodic and harmonic elements, the music is guided to a more specific feeling. I want to make people excited.

The feeling that this is going somewhere, not just polyfilling sonic space.

Would you ever like to have a set band or will that change the freedom you have over your music?

Yes I’d have a band with like experienced performers that can deliver the goods, both musically and at the gig. Having said that I’m fully up for providing a platform for less experienced artists who have something to say.

The definition of musician is broad at best, and If I find that my grooves inspire others, then I’m a happy camper.

Do you think the ipod generation is changing music for better or worse?

Definitely for the better,

although I disparage the faddishness of brand name devices and fashion accessories. When I happened to be at the Apple service department and seeing the number of Pods stacked up waiting for repair I thought of the people having to splash out extra hundreds of bucks of which they don’t necessarily have, on a luxury item which is prone to failure. So pay for your convenience and know that it won’t necessarily make you happier. Also, watch out crossing the street with those tunes in your ears!

Which Wellington artists would you like to work or tour with most?

Since moving to Wellington I’ve been blessed with meeting, hanging out and making music with some inspiring muso’s; Michaela Manley, Jeremiah Ross, Hikoikoi Crew, Ryan Prebble, Sophie Moleta, Luke Rowell - EMU music reflects that – electronic-dub-breakbeat with a rock’n’roll sensibility. In life’s flow the people you find (find you) happens naturally, in a fateconspired, self-determining kinda way – if that makes any sense?

What part of music excites you the most?

Walking down the street, the resonations from the previous night. The pavement and people give something – a beat, a bassline. Capture that kernel of music and originality is sure to evolve. Let it stew for a week, month, a year, at some point, every tune has it’s day. When it’s thumping out of a PA system in some venue and making people move – that’s the payoff. I believe in getting music out there, no matter how obscure. Make CD’s, get it on the net and put on a show.

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Dylan and Jeremy give us an insight into the much anticipated new album.

The new album is coming out on Bad Company records, does this mean The Upbeats are going to be bringing their sounds to the world?

Yes definitely, following on from our 12" single releases on Virus, CIA, Human, BC Presents etc, over the previous year. This album represents the last 2 years of studio work for us, and the progression in style and production from our debut album.

With it being released on Bad Companies label BC Presents, we’re definitely aiming for the international market. We’re also looking to use this as the launchpad to introduce our own record label as well. To ride the momentum and hype from the album release.

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How much have you learnt musically since your last album?

I think we’ve made about as much progress as producers in the process of creating this album as we did in the last, which is to say loads. With the introduction of monitor speakers and a better understanding of the engineering and mixing of sound, you should notice a major difference in production values between the last album and this new one.

Musically we have come a long way from the last album, and we have definitely cemented more of an ‘upbeats’ sound.

Although that is not to say we are sticking to a formula for writing our tunes as we are always trying to push for something a bit

different and a bit out there.

The coming album is more of an ‘album’ as opposed to a collection of tunes, which is kinda what the last one was.

What pros and cons does modern technology bring to your music?

For us it’s pretty much all pros. We have a pretty good grasp on the ins and outs of our gear and the only thing that really restricts us now are the ideas and not so much the process. One of the big cons used to be getting our heads around all new music software and technology, and you could spend forever updating and figuring stuff out (and we know people who do). But now we have settled into our somewhat dated gear and it does everything we want and more, so when that starts to feel like it’s dragging us down we might change. So yeah, it’s pretty much all good and apart from the hours spent inside in front of a computer getting all sickly and white and square eyed, modern technology is pretty cool.

How do you guys share the load?

We pretty much work together on everything. We get in the studio 5 days a week type thing, during the day. Half of that time admittedly is spent just hanging out and making each other laugh. But yeah when there’s music happening it’s generally the two of us at it, so the work is spread pretty evenly.

You must see some interesting characters at gigs, any funny stories?

Too many funny stories, but all far too embarrassing to be repeated publicly!

Bret’s talents have taken him around the world, we were lucky to catch up with such an inspiring guy.

It sounds like life is pretty busy at the moment, could you fill me in on current projects?

I’m massively overcommitted at the moment. But that’s become a bit of a habit.

This week I’m recording the final two tracks for the new Black Seeds album. Then I’m leaving for the Americas to work on a Flight of The Conchords TV pilot. I’m going to be living in LA for a few months. I’m really looking forward to it. There’s a lot of great music there.

Over summer I’ve been trying some other projects.

Under the guise of Video Kid I surrounded myself with four synth players, ran drum loops off my laptop and thrashed out some eighties punk-funk guitar. That was fucking loooose. After the first show there was blood on my computer.

I’ve also been playing with the Wellington Ukulele Orchestra. There’s about eight ukuleles and we sing covers like White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’, Don McGlashan’s ‘Anchor Me’ and Jimmy Cliff’s ‘Many Rivers to Cross’. I’ve never

played in a covers band so I’ve enjoyed learning some of my favourite songs. It’s interesting to see how so many great songs use the same simple chords but all have their own original quality.

With the small amount of time left I’ve been practicing with The Lover’s Band. It’s a new three piece with me on guitar and vocals, Hannah Clarke on Drums, and Charlotte Oliver on dancing. We’re going to work on that full time in July.

Music has taken you around the world, where is your favourite place to visit?

London is great to visit. I was there for five months last year living in the East End, near Brick Lane and a pub called The Golden Heart. If it didn’t take thirty hours and all my money, I’d go there tonight.

I’ve got a few special places in New Zealand, but I think Wharariki beach, at the top of the South Island is my number one. I tried to take the Black Seeds llama trekking there a few years ago. No one was keen when we found out you don’t ride the llamas, you just lead them around.

What do you think makes for a good video or photo-shoot?

Videos always seem to work better if the band tries to do something different. A lot of good music videos have a simple concept that’s developed throughout the video. It’s definitely not budget dependant. Most cool stuff is made cheaply. There are too many videos of rock bands playing in abandoned warehouses and rappers surrounded by booty girls. That seems like such a boring way to go. It’s one of the few times when there are no rules.

I’ve been getting into www.youtube.com where you can watch almost every video that’s ever been made. If you’re looking for something on the weirder tip check out German pop star, David Hasselhof’s version of ‘Hooked On A Feeling’ – fuckin’ hilarious.

Photo-shoots are a bit of a mystery.

Are there any particular places where lyrics and ideas come to you?

Song ideas pop up all over the place. Unfortunately I’ve got a terrible memory so the ones that survive are the ones that occur to me when I’m near pen and paper.

I like singing bass lines while swimming at Freyberg pool. It sounds weird underwater and you have to breathe, which gives the phrases space. But it’s hard to remember. Not many make it out of the pool.

Recently I’ve written most songs when I’m at home and feeling settled. I don’t tend to write much when I’m touring. Over summer I’ve been living in an apartment in Wellington. I’ve filled it with instruments so if I’ve got an idea I can quickly work it out before it disappears.

When are you at your most relaxed and happiest in life?

Either when I’m playing music or hanging with my girlfriend Hannah. That’s most of the time. I’m lucky.

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Jeremy Geor lets us in on life as 50HZ.

How has your music style changed over time?

Sure my approach to music has changed as I have learned and also forgotten stuff. Sure this has had an effect on results. Only I am the worst person to be able to objectively assess these changes and how they have manifested. I’d like to say that I am deconstructing and simplifying things … but I’m too close to the material to be able to give a real sense of how this might be … lets just say it has gotten more musical … whatever that means…

Has fatherhood changed your views in life and music?

Fatherhood is a wonderful affirmation of life and simultaneously a terrible drain on free time. So while I feel more motivated to create I sure have a lot less time in which to do this …

Our son Ari is very excited by computers and the sounds that come from one … in fact ‘Boom Boom Baa’ was his first description of the computer before he could form words properly.

That in itself is a real spur to me to show him the process and get him interested in music. Physically I am working in headphones a lot more, as my studio is adjacent to his room and waking a child mid sleep, as any parent will tell you, is a really stupid thing to do!

I guess he inspires me to follow simple themes‌ Do you think music is a tough path to choose in NZ? Music is a tough path to choose full stop irregardless of population density and subsequent market. NZ has a really sympathetic attitude towards its local artists and I guess I have been blessed to experience some of that support. Making money, as in enough to enjoy life, is pretty much only a reality for a few but that has always been a given in my mind. Ultimately any path chosen will have challenges and prove itself to be tough at times.

Any plans for another 50HZ album?

Always plans for another 50HZ album. Title is sorted. Tracks are shaping

up. As per usual I seem to release an album and then create another after it that is made and then basically throw that one away. THEN, I get enough desire to make something I feel comfortable in releasing ‌ I’m probably close to getting to the next releasable collection of tracks.

Who would you like to work with in the future?

Who would I like to work with in the future? I would love to work with several different artists. Probably too many to mention. But for sure whoever I have the fortune to work with I would like those persons to be challenging and to bring a different skill set into my arena.

Ian is an amazing man, so much on, so many great ideas, a true inspiration in the NZ music scene.

Could you briefly fill us in on how your music photography has developed to now integrate touring, management, publications and all your other going ons?

I was obssesed with music photography and photographed every band, local, national and international that passed through Wellington.

Around 2001 I started managing a local band “Ejector”. I took these guys on a few tours and organised all their shows and fell in love with touring. In early 2003 I started 58

a xeroxed ’zine featuring my photos, some random storys and some bitchy rants.

The ’zine became quite popular and I decided to expand it. In 2004 I hit on a plan to produce a monthly roadshow of a tour, magazine and a compilation CD. With the incredible support of Jack Daniels who gave me a kick start I put the plan in action.

Having taken over 40 bands all around NZ, released 17 CDs and 2 DVDs, three years later, A LOW HUM is still truckin’.

Who are your favourite artists to photograph and why?

I love photographing Die! Die! Die! for pure energy and excitement.

Drummer Michael hits the drums harder than anybody around and it’s hard not to take a kick-ass shot. I love photographing Disasteradio because Luke is really expressive and is always having such a good time, he can’t wipe the smile off his face. I really love photographing bands who are still obviously loving what they do. I don’t care much for jaded rockers.

You have experienced a lot of gigs in your time, there must be lots of stories, any crazy, stand-out ones?

Hmmm … December 15th, 2004. The most stressful night of my life. I was releasing my first DVD that night, and they were still in transit from overseas so I didn’t have any on the night.

I was flying over Gerling from Sydney to do the show that night in Dunedin.

They called me at 4pm from Chch (stop-over on way to

Dunedin) to inform me that ALL of their gear was still in Sydney and wouldn’t be here till tomorrow. I then had a few hours to try and organise an entire lot of gear for them to use, specific pedals, guitars, backline, a 4-track mini-disc recorder (which we found in Oamaru – and had to bribe a fellah to drive for an hour plus to bring to us) and much more. Just after the first band “Operation Rolling Thunder” play, before the main support act the fucken DEAD C! the bloody PA goes and shits itself. So here I was, 11pm in Dunedin, not even sure if the mini-disc recorder from Oamaru was even going to show up (meaning Gerling couldn’t play live), The PA had stopped working, I didn’t have any DVDs at a DVD release party and it was the first ever show in Dunedin with the new smoking laws meaning no smoking in the venue and I wasn’t even sure if anybody was going to turn up.

What do you get up to when not touring or coming up with genius plans, any hobbies or favourite places to hang?

I pretty much never get to take a break … but when I do, I LOVE just lying on my couch after having eaten some spaghetti on toast, with the sun streaming through the window, Sky TV playing some totally mind-numbing soppy movie, like “Love Actually” or “About a Boy” and then just drifting off to sleep. Ahhhh.

Either that or eating burgers from Paradise Seafoods in Island Bay. What has all your experience in music taught you about life, people, the universe … the list goes on?

To do something personally rewarding. Money means nothing if what you’re doing doesn’t make you happy.

59

James tells us about life in Hikoikoi Reserve and how Welly suits them just fine.

How would you describe Hikoikoi Reserve’s sound to someone who had never heard your music?

We got a heavy reggae dimension, both in our grooves and in our original song writing. Peace and Positivity. For us it is all about getting to that right feel. The journey to that beat is always interesting as we have a range of musical backgrounds.

The rhythm section is a mixture of Jazz, experimental and classical while our singer Paul is a great ear musician, sings from the heart. We definitely mix up styles and accents, and believe our songs are progressive.

60

What are the pros and cons of being a band in Wellington?

There is a great community feel with musicians in Wellington, this makes houses and practice rooms kind of institutions of music, there are always alternative places to jam and other bands

to jam with that can free up your own musical expression.

There are many more pros ‌ despite Wellington being a great place for a band, there is still a disparity between the musical services provided and the funds collected for original musicians. The public are getting a great deal in seeing challenging music all the time, but musicians are often left only with memories. Venues could improve this greatly by showing more respect for musicians. Playing music is their job and passion. Venues such as Cabaret, the Cross are real hospitable and share resources. Happy provides a more communal feel, you get what you put in etc, these are good places for music and musicians.

What do you guys think makes for a good gig?

A night with some kind of vision, something positive going down. A gig the bands and audience can lock into, a good example of this is the recent National Radio concert at Bodega. In a good gig the band offers more than just a musical performance, but more of a holistic experience. When the audience gives heaps back it adds to this experience.

Are there any plans for a Hikoikoi Reserve album soon?

We are embarking on recording at the moment. Paul has got a great analogue studio so we are in there working on the sound. We have heaps of material for an album so we are looking forward to sussing the resources and laying it down, chur!

If you had the choice of 3 NZ artists to work with, who would you choose?

Definitely Warren Maxwell. Record with Don McGlashan, Tame Iti would be choice to collaborate his art in a peace concert or something.

Supporting the next big thing... ...now.

Fri/Sat 10pm Free

Michael gives us an insight into Spartacus R’s place in the Welly scene.

What artists inspire you guys in your music?

We don’t consciously imitate anyone, however everything you hear will influence you in some way. So each of us is most influenced by the music we listen to most.

Some of the common threads among our

musical preferences are Pink Floyd, Can, Radiohead and The Velvet Underground, with other artists such as Steve Reich, Soft Machine, Miles Davis, Calexico and Charles Mingus also having a strong influence.

Do you guys find modern technology is making any big changes to the way you make music?

Not especially, we can’t afford modern technology. On the other hand, not so modern technology certainly makes up a big part of our sound – a favourite pastime of ours is acquiring vintage musical equipment. That said, we intend to accept modern technology’s warm embrace in the near future. We will soon have the ability to easily record our jams with reasonable fidelity. Hopefully this will improve the quantity and quality of our musical output. Too many fine ideas have been lost to the impenetrable void of our collective memory.

Are you guys happy at where the Wellington music scene is at present?

As has been often noted, there are a lot of fantastic musicians in the Wellington area at the moment. It’s great to be able to go out on just about any night and see a wide variety of styles performed by high quality musicians.

Given the small population, Wellington is certainly well-endowed musically. As our Mayor claims, this is quite a ‘creative’ place – despite her leadership.

Andrea and Henry have made the leap from Auckland to Welly to get their spaceship sound studio crankin’.

You guys are fairly new to Wellington, could you fill us in on what you get up to?

Yeah, been in Wellington for 5 months. We mix and master records for artists and produce our own CDs. We also compose soundtracks and sound design for Film, TV, Docos, advertising agencys and radio. Apart from that … watch movies look at the view.

What were your reasons for moving from Auckland to Wellington?

Our studio was getting a bit small for us and we were well over Upper Queen St. A wicked spot came up for us in Wellington so we jumped at it. Really happy with the decision, Wellington is yum.

Is the audio industry a tough area to break into?

Yeah, you’ve have got to be bloody good at it and to be able to convince clients you are as well.

Where would you like to see Bonfire Audio in the future?

Making more records, growing the business overseas, making heaps more $$ and having a shit load of fun in the process!

It was a stormy day when we tracked down the one man band who can rock any party.

What’s recorded on the tape around your head, or is it blank?

It’s a film I made about a kid that plays guitar. A teenager that doesn’t say much but communicates clearly through a magic set of chord progressions. The film was never finished because of my accident.

If you could choose any tape to wrap around your head, what would it be?

Tiki Tape.

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What drove you to anonymity?

Mostly disfigurement and shame but more about discovering new stuff.

If you could have dinner with one person, who would it be?

Someone into Pizza?!?!