Rip It Up 357

CREDITS Creators Murray Cammick Alistair Dougal Publisher Grant Hislop Editorial Manager Tyler Hislop - tyler@harkentertainment.com Designer Greta Gotlieb - greta@harkentertainment.com Sales Director Pauline Cousens - pauline@harkentertainment.com Distribution Jamie Hislop - jamie@harkentertainment.com Accounts Gail Hislop - accounts@harkentertainment.com

THIS JANUARY

Intern Pauline Reinhardt Contributors Laura Weaser, Murray Cammick, Tim Gruar, Patricia Epping, Chelsea Jade Metcalf, Sebastian Mackay, Ren Kirk, Tim Gruar, Jamie Wynn, Des Sampson, Nick Collings, Gary Steel, Sarah Thomson, Joel Lauterbach, Steve Newall.

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ISSN 0114-0876

CONTENTS

18 16

44

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08. What Goes On, 08. On The Rip It Up Stereo, 10. Fear & Loathing In Los Angeles, 12. City And Colour, 14. So What…, 14. Rip It Up Top 5, 16. Anchorman: The Legend Continues, 18. Dead Prez, 20. Who’s Next?, 22. Peter Murphy, 24. Eddie Vedder, 26. Style File, 26. Artist Q&A, 28. The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug, 30. Gadgets, 32. Style Like Ron Burgundy, 34. Style Like Watercolours, 36. This Month In Clubland, 38. Album Reviews, 39. Xavier Rudd, 40. Album Reviews, 42. Geeks, 44. Metric, 46. Exploring Splore 2014, 48. Film Reviews, 50. Savages, 52. Rhythm & Vines, 54. 2013 - AYear In Review 2013, 56. #Winning, 58. Tweet Talk

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THE PLATYPUS X

COLLABORATION

We teamed up with the stylist behind Street Smith, Liz McLeish, to explore this season’s street style.

View the full lookbook online this month for your chance to win a $500 sneaker wardrobe from Platypus.* *Terms and conditions apply.

WHAT GOES ON THE REPLACEMENTS

ON FIRE THE LORDE AWARDS Lorde has been nominated for four awards at the 56th annual Grammy Awards ceremony.

Lorde was nominated for Record of the Year (Pure Heroine), Song of the Year (‘Royals’), Best Pop Vocal Album (Pure Heroine) and Best Pop Solo Performance (‘Royals’.) Lorde will be attending the Grammy Awards ceremony on 26 Jan in Los Angeles. She was scheduled to perform at the 2014 Laneway Auckland festival on Mon 27 Jan, however due to the tight

timeframe between events she is unable to make it back in time.

In lieu of her performance at the festival, Laneway Festival promoters have announce a standalone Lorde performance at the festival site at Silo Park on Wed 29 Jan to accommodate her schedule and her New Zealand fans. The event will be free of charge to all festival-goers who already have a ticket to the 2014 Laneway Auckland Festival or who purchase one before 5pm on Wed 08 Jan.

For one night only The Rolling Stones will play Mt Smart Stadium as part of the ‘14 ON FIRE Tour. The ‘14 ON FIRE tour will take place on Sat 05 Apr and a limited selection of “lucky dip” seats from each venue will also be available to purchase at a very special price of just $99 via rollingstones.com on Mon 16 Dec, ensuring that some of even the best tickets can be snapped up for a bargain by genuine fans. The Rolling Stones were last down under in 2006 on their A Bigger Bang World Tour, with shows in Auckland and Wellington. Their first ever tour of Australia and New Zealand was in 1965. The 2014 tour will be their seventh tour of our shores.

When Blur announced they were pulling out of the Big Day Out 2014 the rumours started flowing. Everyone from Beck to Jamiroquai were said to be taking the band’s place. In a late blast and flurry Big Day Out has announce three new artists to the 2014 lineup. Beady Eye, who are heading to New Zealand for the first time ever, “one of metal’s most consistently respected and revered bands,” (Metal Hammer) Deftones are joining in the festivities and Swedes The Hives are making their return to New Zealand. The Big Day Out is Fri 17 Jan at Western Springs Stadium in Auckland.

ON THE RIP IT UP STEREO

FIONA APPLE – ‘PURE IMAGINATION’ NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL – ON AVERY ISLAND NINE INCH NAILS – HESITATION MARKS BEST COAST – FADE AWAY AMY WINEHOUSE – FRANK

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MURRAY CAMMICK

FEAR & LOATHING IN LOS ANGELES “The West Coast cities are grander than a large hole in the ground.” enough getting to California, without travelling on to the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival or summer concerts in Memphis, Austin or Chicago. In 2004, the easiest way to see James Brown, Solomon Burke and Mavis Staples was to fly to the Byron Bay Blues Festival, but music fans should not overlook California summer concert season, that has a broad range of music events from jazz festivals, county fairs, cheap club gigs, Hollywood Bowl concerts (from reggae to classical), free Santa Monica Pier concerts and the annual Vans Warped punk / alternative tour.

HAVING FUN IN THE WARM CALIFORNIA SUN ALTHOUGH THE SEVEN Wonders of the World mentality has dominated traditional tourism, increasingly music and cultural events are also a part of the tourist’s travel schedule.

Once it was “don’t eat the local food.” Now people travel to eat the local food and to encounter local culture.

The British Summer music festivals are now an entrenched

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part of the Kiwi OE and many NZ music fans have spent an Easter at Australia’s Byron Bay Blues Festival – the roots Big Day Out that stretches over a very long weekend. I am sure English is not the only language spoken at Glastonbury and Brits flock to the big European Festivals every year. English Festivals are known for their rain, so no wonder, they head for Spain.

As a fan of USA soul music, it’s a challenge to travel to USA music events, as it is expensive

I always think it’s silly that people visit the West Coast of the USA and build an itinerary around Disneyland, Hollywood, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Grand Canyon. For me, the West Coast cities are grander than a large hole in the ground, in terms of their relevant cultural reference points, whether it is Los Angeles as a music and movie capital or San Francisco as a music and arts mecca. I would rather build an itinerary around Earth Wind & Fire at the Hollywood Bowl, the Monterey Blues Festival, the Long Beach Jazz Festival or Jimmy Cliff playing for free at the Santa Monica Pier.

Kiwis en route to London for an OE, should consider a music culture stopover in Los Angeles, rather than the slightly cheaper, alternative routes to London.

The LAX airport has cheap “Flyaway” buses that connect the airport with the Union Station (Metro Rail, Amtrak) and other suburbs.

There are myths about Los Angeles that need to be refuted.

You can get around on public transport – folks who say that tourists need to have a car, just don’t like using the Metro Rail system or buses with users from different socio-economic or ethnic backgrounds. The Metro Rail keeps expanding and already takes tourists to key destinations, such as Hollywood, Downtown, Union Station, Pasadena, Culver City, Long Beach etc. The buses are gritty but a day pass on the entire train/bus system is only $5USD. The downside is frequent buses and trains become rare or closedown after midnight and the “Rapid” bus from Downtown to Santa Monica Beach can take 90minutes, when folks want to see Jimmy Cliff for free at the Pier.

It is true that finding a great suburban LA vinyl record store like Record Surplus or Rockaway Records, by public transport may not be that easy, but the giant Amoeba Music is near the Hollywood & Vine Metro Rail stop and The Last Bookstore (with a great vinyl section) is near the Pershing Square stop.

Even gritty, post-skid row Pershing Square had a free summer concert season this year with performers including The Psychedelic Furs, X, The Tubes and Bow Wow Wow (wow!).

But the best free concert season was the Thursday night twilight series at Santa Monica Pier, their 2013 season sponsored

by MySpace (true!) included Meshell Ndegeocello, Nick Waterhouse, Trombone Shorty, Hanni El Khatib, Surfer Blood, No Age and the Sept 12 finale Jimmy Cliff. Only some of the crowd got on the pier for Cliff (I did) but the bulk of the audience had a picnic on the adjacent beach and saw the stage from their deckchairs. Warning, unlike NZ, a

“I like a crap hotel, if it is a bargain.” hot summer day in California can be followed by a cold evening and you need to take warm clothes to a twilight concert.

There’s a great accessible alternative venue The Echo / Echoplex and record store in the easy to reach Echo Park suburb, that’s a brief bus ride from Union Station (or a $10 taxi fare). The Echo venue promoted two gigs in September at Santa Monica Pier ­– Beach Ball Soul Revue and a Beach Ball Reggae Revue with $20 tickets. I went to the soul gig with Aloe Blacc, Maceo Parker E, Lee Fields & The Expressions and Myron & E. The headliner Aloe Blacc was impressive and Lee Fields is more uptempo than his records. Fields’ band The Expressions were excellent and even though Maceo Parker has the finest of bands, the former James Brown sideman, seem to jam endlessly and his set was poor compared to his excellent recent live recordings with the WDR Big Band, Cologne.

Researching concert dates and booking tickets in advance can be difficult – only a few big players like the Hollywood Bowl announce their season before a tourist is likely to have purchased air tickets. The industry site pollstar.com can have dates months ahead but club gigs are usually only announced a month or so ahead.

Dates for New Zealand bands playing LA were announced long after I had booked tickets and accom, so I was in LA when The Naked and Famous (and Brad Carter’s No) were in San Diego, I was in San Diego when Lorde was at the Henry Fonda Theatre and I was in a plane home when The Naked and Famous played LA’s prestigious Wiltern Theatre.

Aaradhna played the House of Blues in LA, but alas I didn’t want to give up my $11 ticket to see my fave funky Hammond

organ band from San Francisco, The Monophonics, who were playing The Mint. Quite why their ticket was so cheap, I don’t know, so I had the bucks to buy their t-shirt but they had none for sale. T-shirt sales are the way small touring bands pay for petrol and food in the USA, maybe they have good day jobs.

I heard they’d lost their van keys, but they were amazing on stage.

I am looking forward to their collaboration with France’s Ben L’Oncle Soul.

I chose to visit San Diego, over San Fran, this visit as a SF gig got cancelled and cos San Francisco is famous for its over-priced hotels (even the crap ones), but maybe interweb options like couch surfing may make that city a viable option for younger travellers. If you have no friends in that town, you need to find some.

I like a crap hotel, if it is a bargain. I have a fave Downtown LA hotel, The Cecil that also is known as Stay On Main. A few years back I got it for $40NZ a night. I like the free brekkie and the price but I don’t like the shower and toilet being down the corridor. Earlier this year friends alerted me to the LA headlines – “L.A. Hotel Where Body Was Found In Water Tank; Has Long, Dark History”. Of course, it was my Cecil Hotel.

Apparently everything was going swimmingly until there was a lack of water pressure mid-February. Staff took a look in the water tanks on the roof and found a woman’s body. She had last been seen at the hotel on January 31st.

This death was not a murder but it seems that when The Cecil was down on its luck, its former circa 1980s residents included the “Night Stalker” Richard Ramirez who was convicted of 13 murders (died on death row June this year) and the similarly prolific

murderer Jack Unterweger who took his own life in 1994 in an Austrian prison.

With this notoriety, I feared Cecil rates would go up in 2013 and they did. First weekend I tried to book was the same price as a cheap Hollywood (i.e. approx $100 per night), so I stayed there.

Later in the month booking were $60NZ per night (cheap for LA hotel). But the place was packed this year – there were clearly some cheapo offers ($35USD) on offer in the USA. For cheap, flash hotels you have to go to Las Vegas where Sunday to Thursday rates can be as low as $40NZ per night – even after adding the naughty $10USD (or more) resort tax that they charge you when you check-in at a Vegas hotel. The neon city is very accessible to California travellers, as Megabus operate a bus service from Union Station, where you might score on their web site, a fare of $1 or $7 (what I paid) for a one-way trip. Vegas still has some unique live music opportunities, but you will no longer find soulful Gladys Knight resident at a hotel but Downtown has a lively, young alt scene and at the beginning and end of summer, the Cannery Casino in North Las Vegas has the oldest oldies acts they can find playing at a free semi-outdoor concert.

This year Chris Montez (the Ramones covered his ‘Let’s Dance’) and the Kingsmen (‘Louie Louie’) were surprising spritely for their ages.

One of the best concert experiences in LA is the Hollywood Bowl. Every year they have jazz, latin, reggae etc line-ups and even a Sound Of Music sing-a-long. I recall the cheap seats were $5, a few years back for James Brown. The cheap seats for the popular fireworks finale with Earth Wind & Fire were about $30. That was a blast of course, but most of the sell-out crowd brings picnic baskets and is busy eating as the show begins – wine glasses and chicken wings

in hand. I am sure I heard an muted but audible stadium-wide ‘Oh fuck’ when EW&F started with ‘Boogie Wonderland’, and people had to struggle to their feet, without dropping their food.

The Bowl’s fireworks finale is a tourist attraction in itself and EW&F with a large orchestra was a cool combo.

Also very cool in LA, is getting to see a great new jazz talent like Gregory Porter, playing a cool, beautifully-restored old venue like the El Rey Theatre. I had the good fortune of catching the live album launch gig for Liquid Spirit, his third album, but his first on vinyl.

The jazz and blues festivals of California proliferate, late summer and always feature soul and even disco performers sometimes and are multi-genre programmed, despite their longstanding names, not unlike The Byron Bay Blues Fest which a very diverse roster and a lineup which is about three to four times bigger than the average USA blues or jazz festival. The legendary Latin-tinged funk band WAR play most Cali county fairs, as do the likes of Tower of Power, Average White Band, Los Lobos and retro pop acts like the Bangles.

Back to Australia – if you’re not the Festival type, but heading for Sydney or Melbourne Easter 2014, a few acts playing the Byron Bay Festival are also doing side concerts including Larry Graham & Graham Central Station and KC & the Sunshine Band. Several Festival acts are also playing New Zealand –Erykah Badu, Elvis Costello etc.

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TIM GRUAR

CIT Y AND COLOUR For his latest album, The Hurry and the Harm, released last year, Green recruited bassist Jack Lawrence, Bo Koster (My Morning Jacket), keyboardist Spencer Cullum Jr. (Caitlin Rose) on pedal steel and drummer Matt Chamberlain (Pearl Jam, Fiona Apple) and James Gadson (Bill Withers, BB King) on drums to make an album that’s really a journey through a state of mind, exploring everything from his struggles to leave his previous band, Alexis on Fire, (‘Of Space and Time’) to his distaste for gossip media (‘Commentators’).

Given his music is so personal, I had wondered if it was important to associate Dallas the man with City and Colour the entity. “No. My albums have featured my face, or images like my tattoos.

But Hurry… has only has half my face. It’s not really all of me. The idea of someone walking around

Recently another publication raised the question of iPhone usage at his concerts. I put it too him that his compatriot, Neil Young, was not a fan of the practice either. At his Wellington concert Young chided the audience: “Put away your phone watch this in real time!”

“I have a tradition of asking my shows (audience) to allow me to play one song without filming on phones,” notes Green. “I want them to stop trying to capture it so hard that you can’t remember what is going on. How does three inches cover all that 180 degree view your eyes have.”

Essentially, the best camera you have is your head - ears, eyes and memory! So that’s the theme of The Hurry and the Harm album title, I ask. He explains that like the parents of kids at a birthday party or tourists at a site, we all

“The idea of someone walking around with me on their tummy makes me feel a bit sick.”

WIN

THIS MONTH DALLAS Green, aka City and Colour, returns to New Zealand for shows in Auckland and Wellington. With a back catalogue of four diverse albums to draw from, he’s a popular act down this way, selling out on each visit.

On his previously visits he’s been here by himself, but this time he’s accompanied by Jack Lawrence (The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather), Dante Schwebel (Hacienda, Dan Auerbach), Doug McGregor (The Constantines) and Matt Kelly.

Green’s style oscillates between stripped back sounds to a dynamic punch of pulsing rock arrangements. He works hard

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to produce haunting, personal, poetic lyrics that leave the listener almost crippled with the pain.

On the phone from Canada he explains why being miserable is not so bad. “Sadness is wonderful to feel. Sometimes, it’s cathartic to release. You shouldn’t bottle it up. I don’t like to think about my music as ‘sad’, though. I always have some hope in there.”

Early December will once again afford an opportunity to see Green down in this part of the Universe.

His intricate introspective found early favour here and across the ditch, even before his home country, Canada never really sat up and took much notice.

with me on their tummy makes me feel a bit sick. It (City and Colour) is a brand or a character, so is my face. They are separated from me, and I hope everyone realises that what I sing about is not actually me.”

Ask any writer about their process and almost inevitable they’ll reply with some sort of wishy-washy response.

Green on the other hand is refreshingly more concise.

“Lyrics seem to come when I’m more overwhelmed or feeling a bit depressed.” He says writing has a cathartic connection but he likes to get feedback from listeners who have found some kind of connection to his songs, even without really knowing him or his music. Disembodied from the man himself, the spirit of his music continues on.

want to capture ‘it’ right now - too busy filming we forget to slow down and just enjoy the moment. And we rush to share on Facebook, twitter. Etc. “I have this story I tell about how the Internet can connect us or drive us apart. A guy came up to me and asked for a photo.

I said ‘no’ but he could talk to me (a conversation) for a while.

He was you know … ummm (mimics dumbfounded).” That’s the point of live music, Green concludes, “a chance to connect” with the stage and the stage back to the audience. That’s a real connection, not just a digital memory.

SEE HIM LIVE: CITY AND COLOUR MON 16 DEC THE CIVIC, AUCKLAND WED 18 DEC ST JAMES THEATRE, WELLINGTON

SO WHAT...

Sex photos of Nicolas Cage have reportedly been stolen. The actor has drafted in police officers to recover steamy pictures of himself and ex-girlfriend Christina Fulton - the mother of his 22-year-old son Weston - that were allegedly stolen from her home. It’s thought the pictures were stolen from Christina’s home in April and the culprit nabbed four computers, as well as a box containing the illicit snaps.

David and Victoria Beckham are refurbishing their new £50 million mansion and fitting it with a panic room. The couple have bought a seven-bedroom home near Kensington Palace in London and are going to install a state-of-the-art security system including the room which the family could hide in if intruders broke in.

Miley Cyrus plays piano for her dogs at home. The singer, who often posts photographs on Instagram of her loveable pooches, says she enjoys being with her pets away from the limelight and likes to perform her songs to them. “I realised the other day that I sat at my piano and I played for like an hour and a half just to my dogs. And they were sitting there tilting their

heads like watching me perform, and then I realised, ‘I feel like they’re judging me’, ‘This is like a real loser, this is really sad.’”

Avril Lavigne hopes to release the duet with Chad Kroeger, which was played at their wedding. The couple danced to ‘If I Said I Loved You’ at their nuptials in July and though Lavigne thinks it was “nice” to share their “love song” with family and friends first, she wants her fans to hear it too.

Robbie Williams has admitted he regularly smokes cannabis.

The singer - who has admitted to trying heroin and entered rehab in 2007 for an addiction to prescription drugs - claims he doesn’t drink alcohol but often indulges in marijuana smoking sessions to “relax.”

RIP IT UP TOP 5 HOUSE OF SHEM’S TE OMEKA PERKINS CHATS ABOUT THE BAND’S FAVOURITE GIGS OF 2013.

3. RISE & SHINE FESTIVAL HAMILTON Always a pleasure to perform to all ages, one of our best shows of all time was performing to all ages. We are happy to have an influence on their lives and they can spread our positive message as they grow. It’s all about love and unity!

5. ONE DROP FESTIVAL LOWER HUTT SPORTS CENTRE We headlined this festival. Wow, the crowd was massive, they danced the whole set and were LOUDDD! That’s what always makes a band perform harder is when the crowd is giving you energy and we definitely felt that energy. Moe was a great event organizer one of the best we have dwelt with.

4. THE METRO SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA This was an awesome venue to perform at and to sell it out was a bonus.

Australia has always showed us great support. This concert was the first gig with our new lineup change and after two weeks solid rehearsal we pulled it off. There was a natural mystic flowing through the air.

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2. HYEHEN MUSIC FESTIVAL NEW CALEDONIA We headlined a festival and performed to five thousand Kanak people from a local tribe in the town of Hyehen. It was an honor to see the respect they have for Aotearoa music and they were happy that we went and walked around the festival to say hello to them. Beautiful people!

1. MAYJAH RAYJAH FESTIVAL KAKAAKI, HAWAII We were headlining with UB40’s front man Ali Campbell. It as awesome to be back in Hawaii and to see that we still have a big following there.

The people were singing our songs and the crowd were loud. So good to see all our local Hawaii reggae lovers!

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PATRICIA EPPING

ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND CONTINUES

HOLLYWOOD FUNNYMAN WILL Ferrell on being back behind the ‘tache of Ron Burgundy, his love of soccer and teaming up with Robbie Williams to play at Old Trafford, what his kids think of their dad’s sense of humour plus what we can expect from Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues...

We got used to see him yelling at funerals or running naked in the middle of the road in films like Old School but today Will Ferrell is a stylish man with manners.

As soon as we enter the room to talk to him, he welcomes us dressed in a suit, including a very elegant shirt and a tie.

He stands up to introduce himself: “Hello, I’m Will”. You would expect it is just a set-up and think that he’s going to laugh at your face in a matter of seconds with some kind of an adrenaline mock.

But the truth is what follows is a conversation about a family man reflecting on the weight and challenges of being an American icon both in USA and in the rest of the world.

Plus now, how he is dealing with his first main sequel: Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.

The follow-up to Adam McKay’s 2004 comedy, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy - which also stars Christina Applegate, Kristen Wiig, James Marsden, Dylan Baker, Greg Kinnear and Harrison Ford - sees the return of San Diego’s top rated news team.

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This time, Ron Burgundy, Brian Fantana, Champ Kind, Brick Tamland, and Veronica Corningstone face their toughest challenge yet – the 24-hour news cycle.

Shall we start this conversation talking about the crack-smoking scene in Anchorman 2? Of course stakes are higher when you do a sequel. How did you come up with that idea?

Will Ferrell: That was just one of those ideas we came up with when we decided we would have set the movie in the 80s. Part of the storyline is that Ron Burgundy and his team are now being thrown into this experiment called “24 Hours News”. They’ve been giving a 2 AM time slot, a terrible time slot! And they start messing around with the format and what they can do. What they don’t realize is that they are the four fathers of what is now “Infotainment” as in “News Entertainment”.

They are doing stories that are not “news stories”. They do just fluffy pieces. So we started laughing about the fact that in the 80s cocaine was considered somewhat benign. People would have just done it. Especially in the entertainment world, just like: “Oh I am feeling a little tired”, like as if you had a cup of coffee... do some cocaine instead! So we thought it would have been so funny, what if they smoke crack on the air. That’s how it came about. Even though we are having trouble in America putting that scene on the movie.

How did you go back into Ron Burgundy’s shoes? Does the moustache make the character?

WF: It kinda does. They are all the components the fit and make the character. When I grew the moustache out and put the wig on and getting back into those clothes, it felt just right. And I think for all the guys we

“The funny guy does not get the girl - until he starts making money.” kinda just hit the ground running again from where we left off nine years ago. We had an even more appreciation on what that first movie has done for all of us. Everyone has become a better actor and a better improviser.

Director Adam McKay has a very unique style, he has a microphone, a speaker, and when the camera is rolling he would just think of lines on his feet. You’d just start doing them and that makes you think of other lines so this kind of energy happens with the improvisation that it’s totally unique.

As a father, when will you allow you kids to watch your films?

WF: (laughs) I’ve got three boys. The oldest is nine and he still has not seen the first Anchorman. And I mean he is probably getting close to it.

He has seen some PG-13 movies.

You said your oldest son is nine. Do you think there will be a time where he’ll be a little ashamed of his father extreme humour?

WF: You know? I think that it’s going to go one or two ways. Whether he’s going to think like: “Dad this is not funny! This is horrible!” Or he’s going to think: “This is hilarious!” and embrace it. I don’t know but I am prepared either way.

As well as a father are also an American icon. How would you like to be remembered?

WF: (laughs) You know I like what’s happening in the sense that you know I have made enough movies now to where I guess I have a certain fan base and a certain style. At the same time I think there is an appreciation where I am still willing to take chances with the types of movies I do, not just playing it safe doing like a comedy about a dad on a road trip. Like a family movie, there is nothing wrong with those movies, but I keep trying to surprise people. That’s what I think people like, they are like: “God I never know what that guy is going to do!” And that’s what I want. I want that reputation.

And you are an American icon who married a European woman...

WF: Technically. She is pretty much American. She was born in Sweden but she grew up in the States. They moved there when she was one year old. But you know still she is European in the sense they spoke Swedish in the house.

kind of event with the Chelsea football team. Can you talk a little bit about this passion of yours?

WF: I love it and I played a little bit. The Chelsea thing was blown out of proportion. It’s not like I follow them religiously. I love football in general. Meaning real football not American Football which I like to watch anyways. But I am hoping to go to the World Cup next year. I played a couple of springs ago this charity game that the singer Robbie Williams organizes for UNICEF. We were at Old Trafford. I played in front of 70 thousand people. And I lasted 70 minutes before I popped my hamstring. I played a lot of soccer growing up. It’s a great game. It is slowly getting more and more popular in the States with our league, but it just takes forever!

I am asking this because I know you were an athlete at high school, not a funnyman. I am curious: at that age do funny people have a chance to hit on girls thanks to their sense of humour?

WF: No. The funny guy does not get the girl, until he starts making money. I was definitely funnier among my friends. In the yearbook I was “best personality”. Girls have been like: “You’re so funny... but I like this other guy”. So yes, funny guys they are definitely underdogs.

Can you talk a little bit about the perception that Europeans have towards your work? In some countries of the old continent you’re big, in other ones you are less popular. Why you think is that?

WF: I know it’s very hit and miss for me. Maybe Adam Sandler’s movies have more success because they are more physical. But whenever you do European press that is always the question. I know that I am huge in Ireland and big in UK. But they are English speaking countries. On the other hand I had this crazy experience when I was at the Viennale Film Festival in Vienna and they did a retrospective on my work. They did a whole show. The director of the Festival invited me. I thought “What is it going to be like. Would at least 100 people show up?” It was more than 800 hundred people, they had a full Auditorium and people knew my movies. It was great!

A retrospective on you. Did you feel like “I’m too old already”?

WF: There is a little bit of that too. It kinda makes you pause but it was so surprising that people feel connected to these movies.

ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND CONTINUES IN CINEMAS THU 19 DEC

Do you speak Swedish?

WF: My kids do. I speak a little bit. But we go to Sweden every summer; we have a summer place there. She does have a European perspective.

I want to ask you if you ever dream of your characters?

WF: I can’t say that I do. When you are writing a script you can dream about ideas, something that you wake up and you are like: “Oh yeah I could use it in the movie”. The closest thing was when I was doing this movie played totally in Spanish, called ‘Casa de mi padre’: when I was filming that I was dreaming in Spanish. Which is crazy!

Have you ever been fired from a movie set?

WF: No, I have been cut out of movies. No it never happened. I’ve never been on a movie that was dramatic like that. You hear movies where people walk off set and fight with the director. I’ve never been in that situation but I think it would be fascinating because I would not be affected by it. I would start laughing at directors with ego and yelling back at them in a mock way. It would just make me laugh.

I read that you are fond of football. You were also involved into some

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SEBASTIAN MACKAY

DEAD PREZ “I work for the people, my shoes are my office.” artist does that. Some people produce from an altered mind state, they can be on drugs, they can be writing from a lucid imagination, or escapism, they can be imagining where they want to be instead of what the reality is.”

MUSIC IS ESCAPISM, it’s politics, it’s a lifestyle and it’s the driver soundtrack of a revolution and it’s a weapon. Dead Prez eptomise this notion. M-1 and Stic.man are chomping at the bit to be the leaders of hip-hop as a revolutionary movement.

“It’s changed in the way a bacteria adapts every new flu season,” Says M-1 on how the duo’s message has developed since the release of their first record Lets Get Free in 2000.

“We aim to engage with the host, which is America, capitalism and the system, and to grow in ways that don’t allow tools or flu remedies to get rid of us.”

Evolve, spread and infect is exactly what Dead Prez have done from the moment Lets Get Free hit the street to their new ideas for another record.

“RBG [Revolutionary but Gangsta] was about street level organisations of gangstas that attach themselves to working class people, while Turn Off The Radio engaged with radio because we had people saying ‘we don’t hear those sounds on the radio.’”

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“We aim to engage on different levels and keep going forward.”

Last year’s Information Age was another adaption to strike the host from a new angle.

“We changed the sound that was coming out of Dead Prez, because hip-hop isn’t just hiphop anymore. It’s pop, reggae, trance, dance. And we’re not the same people we were 13-14 years ago when we started, we’re fathers, teachers, students.”

M-1’s social stance is firmly grounded and his belief and enthusiasm for what music is loud and it’s infectious.

“Music isn’t just music. It’s part of a revolutionary culture. There are artists on the front lines in Palestine, Tanzania, Iraq, the UK and they’re rapping about the serious issues and things that are being covered up.

“It’s inconceivable that we can do with music what Assange and Snowden have done.”

For Dead Prez, it’s all about remaining passionate and engaged in all aspects of culture, not just music production. “We

don’t profess to know everything, obviously, or to be experts. We’re studying and doing experiments with people and the process and we’re staying engaged.”

Part of that is knowing the capabilities of an information age and adapting and growing to match what’s on offer.

“It’s a new world today. There are so many ways for us to connect and it’s important we keep the same integrity that Dead Prez always had.

“Now, we focus on campaigning songs, not just having a singles or releasing tracks. We have them alongside political prisoner campaigns and bringing water to villages in Africa and India.”

It goes without saying then that mainstream hip-hop would quake at the thought of these two incredibly passionate stance on the music.

M-1’s passion isn’t just a guiding force in the music, it’s also a massive part of how he lives his life. “My lifestyle reflects the music because I am writing from real life. Not every other

And this passion and engagement goes far beyond the studio, with Stic.man and attending health conferences in Copenhagen, working on part two of his work out album (part of Dead Prez’s healthy living mantra) and M-1 teaming up with Public Enemy-esque Italian artists Frontal Assault.

“We try to globalise the music, we care and we’re doing that kind of work [promoting positive health] around the world.

“For all intents and purposes we live that we write about.”

Which goes right down the diet, M-1 is vegetarian and also avoids the genetically modified foods. He doesn’t say himself but it’s clear he believes that change begins with the leaders of that change and as if to the cement that even further, if he could he would have the ability to, “heal all illnesses, any and all illness. The health question is a pragmatic one.” As the man himself says, “I work for the people, my shoes are my office.”

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Dancing

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Summer Guide

TO GIG ETIQUETTE

K

Generally only permitted from the neck up. If you want to cut loose, wear a daisy-chain on your head to warn others of your mental instability.

Always let short stand in front of you so they can see the band.

Short guys, well, you can bugger off and find your own short girls.

Health &Safety

Never let your girlfriend sit on your shoulders. She weighs more than you think and ACC will not cover your spinal surgery.

AlcohoIflyou wake Know your limit. up alone in a field at 5am, you may have exceeded it.

Hot Chips

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Find a bin and throw your rubbish somewhere near the The rubbish fairy will Queueingnces bin. it up for you, just like pick Under no circumsta toot the h fairy will leave should you join a queue.

50c under your pillow. are e This will ensure ther no queues.

Taxi When leaving a concert, Porta-loofos ask the cabbie who they your Never let any part are waiting for. If they say skin touch any surface "Peter", your name is now ys Alwa . inside a porta-loo Peter and you are ready wipe your hands on your leave the concert. jeans afterwards.

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REN KIRK

WHO’S NEXT? ZACHO FRASER CREATING TEXTURED MUSIC via different instruments and sounds, Zacho Fraser explains that dream pop (as a genre) seems to fit his music quite well. Not one to follow the norm, he originally set out to create, “walls of sound” with his music, “as opposed to the conventional drums, bass, guitar and vocals sort of set up.” Walls of sound feels too simplistic a description for the minimalist folk-informed melodies, his choir-inspired gospel vocals, the unusally affecting and evocative place his music takes you to… but whatever Fraser’s music is or isn’t, one thing it definitely is not is conventional.

UNMAP FREEING ADMITTING THAT the inspiration to start making music probably came from the accessibility of pirated software, one thing UNMAP doesn’t freely volunteer is personal information. The Wellington based producer and vocalist isn’t looking for press opportunities, doesn’t use social media for music promotion, couldn’t care less that people don’t know his real name – actually that’s preferable – because he really just wants his music to do the talking.

And talk it does, in the sweet, sweet language of southern inspired hip hop, boasting plenty of catchy synth lines and deep veins of future soul. There’s also dynamic and creative beat making evident in his tracks, along with vocoder-affected vocals that range from crooning falsetto to subtley-spoken refrains.

While many muso’s often have quite a defined writing process, and another mind set (either consciously or unconsciously) they slip into for recording, for UNMAP it’s one and the same. It all happens simultaneously and takes place as the track takes form. “It usually starts with a beat and ends with mixing in vocals. And everything in between is just the writing and recording.”

Using a mixture of hardware and software, UNMAP tries never to become dependent on any one piece of equipment. And as with the gear, his beat making is a mixture of both unquantized playing and precisely programmed patterns, usually both within the course of one song. “A lot of the sounds in the beats are the same drum machines and producer pack samples that everyone else uses, just processed a lot and layered with found sounds and personally synthesized sounds.”

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This process he describes as, “probably the most inspiring thing”, along with the technology. His latest track, ‘Deep Sleeper’, was made mostly on a Roland SP404 sampler, a small hardware sampler with a simple display. “It is a frustrating and slow way to write a tune, but it has its own weird sound and its limitations can sometimes be advantages.”

Acknowledging that there’s certainly a vast pool of musical talent in NZ, which means a lot of exciting music being made locally (particularly electronic), UNMAP isn’t too keen to jump on the collaboration band wagon: “Collaborations can be difficult, they always seems to go awry. In saying that, It would be great to work with someone who has strong mixing and engineering skills and learn from them (and not have to pay them).”

As for performing live, that’s unchartered territory for UNMAP, though something that could become a reality in 2014: “Rehearsing has started, ideas are being thrown around but the formation is still uncertain.” Not only will this be something to keep an eye out for, so will the release of a debut EP. Describing said EP as something that will be short but sweet, in a contradiction of sorts UNMAP believes if his music was a feeling it would be that of “sublime failure.”

Failure, really? Sublime failure even… who knew failure would sound so good! One can only hope the rationale for this description is similar to that of his musical pseudonym: “The appeal of the name is mostly aesthetics, style over substance. I imagine at one point I derived some meaning from it, but I can’t pretend it goes any deeper.”

SOUNDCLOUD.COM/UNMAP-1

After finishing school Zachary Fraser Baxter, a twenty-year-old singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Devonport, realised he’d been playing music for almost 10 years (primarily drums, guitar and vocals) but never written anything of major significance.

So, he developed some new habits of the writing variety and started learning new processes to enhance and expand his musical tool kit.

And strangely, to some, his inspiration to write came from both Burial and Jeff Buckley: “I’d just listen to their music, flip out, then want to create something beautiful straight away!”

Influenced by Burial’s heavy use of delays, reverb and soundscapes, Fraser likes to incorporate these elements in to his own music. And while there are similarities to Burial and a number of producers, Fraser’s music starts in quite a simple space with just his guitar. “The feelings and sounds of the songs are directly influenced by thoughts and ideas I have. Usually I start thinking about something, and then try to create a surreal kinda set of lyrics, to portray it all in an interesting way.”

Following on from the lyrics, Fraser then works with instruments and various production techniques, in order to express the various moods of his lyrics. The result is an endearing fusion of folk-inspired guitar parts, quirky electronic elements, and an experimental vocal delivery akin to James Blake. But all influences and similarities aside, the sound, this music, is most definitely Zacho Fraser’s own.

Writing and recording go hand in hand for Fraser, accompanied by a healthy dose of impromptu fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants experimentation. “I’ll write probably a page of

JORDAN LÉSER

lyrics, mostly metaphorical and centred around one theme or topic. Then I’ll write maybe one guitar part and one four-part vocal phrase.

Then I’ll go into the studio with Morgan (who co-writes and produces my music), and we’ll just kind of write on the spot as we record.”

This process allows space and freedom for the music to take shape naturally and also enables the recording process to impact and influence how the music sounds and is written.

Fraser released his four track EP a few months ago via soundcloud, aptly named The First Collection. Like many other artists releasing music into the digital stratosphere there’s always the hope that it will “be heard” by someone, or someones, with a bit of musical clout, and gain some momentum. ‘2Track/ Material of My Own’ did get heard, and shared, by Lorde nonetheless… resulting in over 50,000 plays. Hi five!

Another cool experience for Fraser has been his first live gig at Puppies in Wellington; so cool that he’s already planning the next one - and the addition of Joel Taylor on bass.

“It was just me singing and Zachariah Bell crossfading, sampling and stuff.” Eager for more stage time yes, but not quite so keen on the idea of collaborating. “I’d probably like to do some collaborating with a rapper more than anything.”

So, two things to conclude with really. Me and Lorde both have good taste in music, we should probably hang out some time. And Zacho Fraser… live, solo, with a rapper, just give me more please.

SOUNDCLOUD.COM/NEEZE

WRITING SINCE THE age of 13, singer-songwriter Jordan Léser has been gigging solo for the last few years in an effort to perfect her craft and make a name for herself.

But in this day and age of the bedroom producer, and with the plethora of digital music platforms, it means anyone can “release” music. It also means the reality of being able to stand out from the crowd and get noticed is a daunting and often thankless road that most artists have to traverse. But, with the September release of her debut EP Just Like Autumn, Léser is finally starting to be noticed by the industry… and about time too.

Léser (pronounced Lazer – piew piew piew) started playing piano at age six and grew up listening to an array of music and exposed to a diverse mix of musicians. She’s grateful to her parents for the foundations those early years provided and acknowledges they probably had something to do with her innate desire to create and deep love of melody and words.

The end result of the aforementioned has been a passion for making music and the desire to create her own sound (no surprises there): “I always feel a bit awkward describing my own sound, but I would say cinematic, piano-based pop songs that feature stormy drums and soundscapes. And sometimes a cello.”

Taking inspiration from some big names – “I love Leonard Cohen, Paul Kelly, Loreena McKennit and Kate Bush, right through to Massive Attack, Afro Celt Sound System and Geoffrey Oryema” – Léser has developed a style that showcases an arresting gift for melody and compositions that will no doubt stand next to those of her idols in time.

Describing her writing process as, “messy, slow, meticulous, instinctual, tedious, theraputic...a bit of a non-process really,” Léser also explains that she is grateful for the effortless moments, when melodies or lyrics just arrive unannounced. Those moments however are a bit of a rarity and most of the time, she admits, it feels like work: “It’s not a cerebral process for me that’s for sure...I’m

guided by instinct and heart most of the time.” And now with an EP under her belt she can vouch for the recording process being quite similar: “Recording is either really exhilarating or really tedious.”

Another recent development for Léser has been the opportunity to form and play with a band, which she emphatically confirms she much prefers to playing solo. But with or without a band it’s still a nerve-wracking experience for her: “I think performing of any kind tests your ability to be completely present. I always aim to switch off my thoughts and enter total concentration, and sometimes I get there and sometimes I don’t.”

Despite being fortunate enough to work with Midnight Oil’s drummer, Rob Hirst, and guitarist, Jim Moginie, on her debut album, Léser still has her feet firmly planted on the ground. And while there’s no doubt the pair helped bring to life Léser‘s beautiful yet darkly melodic musical stories, the music is still very much her own. Title track ‘Berlin’ is a great example of this, with dynamic drums giving way to sparse and haunting choruses, yet never losing sight of the voice, the piano and the words.

Melody always come first for Léser, and interestingly for a songwriter, she doesn’t place too much importance on lyrics: “Lyrics give songs longevity, but they’re just words without a good melody.” And when asked about the importance of rhythm and beats…

“Every song, no matter how slow has a beat, an internal rhythm. I think I just stole that from Leonard Cohen!”

Autumn speaks to the themes of transience, letting go and a shedding of old ways or old loves, which are reoccurring themes that run through Léser’s songwriting. And letting go is exactly what this talented singer songwriter plans to do more of: “Honestly, my biggest goal is to just enjoy the process more and take everything one step at a time.”

SOUNDCLOUD.COM/JORDAN-LESER

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TIM GRUAR

PETER MURPHY “We were completely original.

Unlike Bowie, who is a manipulator and magpie...” four albums of stunning, original and, as it happens, defining material.

“Radiohead would not have formed if it wasn’t for us”, claims Murphy. “Well, that’s exaggerating but it’s true! We were very inspirational. Joy Division and even Bowie, was at the time, happening but we weren’t entirely aware of them. We existed as well, but not because of them.”

“HE LIVES THERE?” exclaims ex-vocalist for seminal Goth band Bauhaus, Peter Murphy, upon learning that Killing Joke Front man Jaz Coleman owns a house on an island outside Auckland. “Tell him that he better well come and pay homage, if he’s in town.” Laughing out loud he talks fondly of his old mate from the trenches of the 80’s alt-music scene.

Murphy is on Skype, beaming in from Istanbul, where he’s lived for over 20 years, to talk about his upcoming trip to Australia and New Zealand. He and his band will be performing Bauhaus originals, nearly 35 years after their initial release.

“I’d just completed the tour of my album Nineth and was in LA. The promoter suggested doing a night of Bauhaus material. So we did and it completely sold out! Bauhaus fans, old and new, are completely loyal and I’m very grateful for that. A second show was suggested and I thought about making it a whole tour, instead. We’ve been going most of the year now.”

Murphy doesn’t think it strange or unusual revisiting the material, which includes their singles ‘In a Flat Field’, ‘She’s in Parties’, and their ultimate signature ‘Bela Lagosi’s Dead.’

“Well, if you’re Beethoven you wouldn’t think it strange to play your 9th Symphony 30 year’s on, now would you?”

When I ask him why he’s living in Turkey he gives me a short lesson on the history of dance in that country culminating in the explanation that his wife, Beyhan, was offered the challenge of setting up a contemporary

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arts company in Istanbul. “Despite all I’ve done, amongst these dancers and patrons, I’m just the husband”, he jokes, “she’s the star, the boss! And I’m not allowed in the studio during rehearsals – my looks are too distracting!”

Indeed, it was Murphy’s gaunt check bones, slick black hair and dark clothing that set Bauhaus apart from their peers. They started innocuously in 1979 in quiet Wellingborough, Northampton but became the Godfathers of Goth.

Their sparse angular, music was influenced by the Bauhaus modernist movement of pre-War Europe. “We were completely original. Unlike Bowie, who is a manipulator and magpie, we were completely original artists. I still am. There was absolutely nothing to do in Wellingborough so we were very fortunate to all find each other, to make this music that reflected our feeling of isolation.”

Mates Daniel Ash and David Haskins and his brother Kevin had played together in bands since childhood, including The Craze, which performed a few times in Northampton in 1978. When they disbanded, Ash convinced his old school friend Peter Murphy to join him, simply because he had the right look for a band.

Murphy, who’d been working in a printing factory, decided to go for it, despite never having written any lyrics, sung professionally or made music. It was during their first rehearsal that he co-wrote the song ‘In the Flat Field’. The band went on to perfect their barren, modernist sound producing

Just prior to recording of their fourth album, Burning from the Inside (1983), Murphy contracted a serious bout of pneumonia leaving the rest of the band to take over the record, including some of the lead vocals.

The lead single, ‘She’s in Parties’, reached number 26 and gained heavy rotation status on commercial radio. It meant international tours and big success in Europe and the Far East.

However, the night before they were supposed to perform two shows at Hammersmith Palais in London the group decided to quit.

The 5 July show became their swan song. The audience was not forewarned but after a long encore consisting of some of their early songs, David J left the stage with the words “rest in peace”. Burning from the Inside was released a week later.

Bauhaus reunited for a tour in 1998 and again in 2005 but Murphy is adamant now that that was it. “We’ve done it, this tour of Bauhaus material is my tour. It’s for fans and that’s it.

We won’t be getting back together.” Not that Murphy needs to. After Bauhaus he embarked on a long solo career that’s clocked up many albums, with his latest being collaboration with Youth, from Killing Joke, in the producers chair. The writing and production of his new work Lion, was very speedy. “We wrote these songs in nine days. Prolific, yes!

But he’s very inspirational. I don’t like to look at my work as chronological; I create work that can belong in any era but I do like to think of it (the new album) as the Bauhaus we promised.”

Lion will be released in early 2014.

SEE HIM LIVE: PETER MURPHY SAT 14 DEC STUDIO, AUCKLAND SUN 15 DEC BODEGA, WELLINGTON

WIN

JAMIE WYNN

EDDIE VEDDER own way to believe.”

“As a parent you worry more. I did for sure,” says Vedder, the father of two young daughters.

“And that’s why we need to use our voices wisely.

“WITH EVERY RECORD you’ve got a new shot at it.” says the unmistakable deep voice of singer Eddie Vedder on the phone from his home in Seattle.

In a rare interview Vedder is in a reflective mood.

listening. Very interesting to play and very challenging.

“Album number ten” he ponders letting out a heavy sigh.

“It’s like a clean slate. Records are like kids they each have a different personality. They are always going to come out different even though the parents are the same.

“What have we learned?

How have we changed?” he asks himself.

“And you know when you’re writing it – you know this is a song which will probably only be played once or twice on tour. So when you get to that place and think you would like to have a song which might get played more often, then you might simplify.”

“And what you’re trying to do is not fuck up the kid. It’s the same group but our records will always be different and you’re just doing your part to get these songs into the world.”

“We don’t rehearse a lot. We don’t practice that much and when we play shows, it’s usually a bigger type of show. So I guess we’ve changed that way.”

Vedder, 48, is chatting about Pearl Jam’s tenth album Lightning Bolt, which confirms the band as the elder statesmen of rock.

It’s their most successful album in years. Arriving four years after Backspacer, Lightning Bolt has given the band a Billboard number one in the US and number two in the UK - entering the charts higher than Sir Paul McCartney and giving them their highest UK chart position since Vs. in 1993.

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“Well, we’re pretty laid back these days,” he laughs.

So starting a record knowing they’ll be performed on the bigger stage - how does that affect things?

“I think that’s really good question. You have to protect the core of the song. It shouldn’t be influenced by that. But just as you wouldn’t want to think about commercial radio while you are writing a song. That would infect the pure nature of what you hoped the song could be.

But maybe sometimes you come up with a song which has three bridges and it becomes difficult

Lightning Bolt sees Pearl Jam in a brooding, questioning mood and looking for answers “I’m always trying to unravel the same mysteries when I write,” says Vedder. “The same mysteries that I’ve been trying to unravel for a few decades now.

“It could be questioning our existence? Or what is the purpose of life? And what’s going to be left in our future.

On new single ‘Sirens’ he sings; “Oh, it’s a fragile thing, this life we lead, if I think too much, I can’t get over.”

And opening track ‘Getaway’ includes the lyric: “I found my place and it’s alright. “I got my

“It’s going to be their world and what is their future? Nature doesn’t have enough people defending it. The resources of this planet are limited and the people who are using and abusing those resources are unchecked and the power balance is completely imbalanced between corporations and the planet. They can pretty much have their way with it. No one is going to stop it - all you can do is slow it down as best you can.

“There is no way I believe in the end times in the biblical sense of Revelations. However, on a scientific level it feels like there is a lot that can be lost in the next 50 years if people don’t pay attention.”

Religion, in particular, questioning the hypocrisy or organised religion is tackled on ‘Mind Your Manners’, a song that proves Pearl Jam haven’t lost their ability to rock out.

“I am intolerant for their intolerance, says Vedder firmly.

“I hate the whole ‘our way or the highway’. And then it becomes hypocritical when you see so many of the things which have come out of those organisations– like the abuse of children and then its cover-up. I have never seen such a dastardly version of hypocrisy.”

On Lightning Bolt there are also special moments in their slower songs like ‘Sirens’, ‘Pendulum’ and ‘Swallowed Whole’, a song written by Vedder, a serious surfer, one night when he’d gone out on a paddleboard.

“It was a full moon and it was the calmest I have ever seen the ocean,” he remembers.

“We were all a little mystified and weren’t sure what we had until we started mixing.

“I was somewhere very remote and it was midnight and I had to do something. I had to get on the water – so I did a two-hour paddle out to the waves. And it’s a complex reef system that goes out for almost a mile.

We had two rooms going so I would be doing some vocals or writing or the guitar or background parts being laid down. You just weren’t sure what it was shaping up to be. So in a way there was no contentious decision making. There wasn’t anyone going overboard. I think we were pretty laid back. Then when something is important.

When you have something you want to fight for in the song, that’s when you bring it up.”

“The waves break about three quarters of a mile out and you go closer they got really loud and huge. You couldn’t see how big they were from the shore. It was such a tremendous intense experience. Every nerve is up to your skin. Your senses are so alive because you are by yourself and it’s extremely beautiful and also a little bit dangerous.

“That song came from that night and I do like that it has a build and then it clears out. There’s momentum, it’s almost like

“Records are like kids they each have a different personality.” you’re running through trails of trees all over and then it becomes and open field.

“Getting out on the water is a huge release for me and now you can surf with headphones.

Everything goes better with music. I think the water and surfing gives that same feeling as mediation It’s a place that you really have to have an intense focus when you’re on the wave.”

While Vedder is the leader of Pearl Jam (Vedder, guitarist Stone Gossard, bassist Jeff Ament, guitarist Mike McCready and drummer Matt Cameron), Pearl Jam are a gang of friends and a democratic group.

“This album was collaborative.

The band and our producer Brendan O’Brien. We were all in the same boat,” says Vedder.

All of Pearl Jam enjoyed side projects and solo work in recent years including Vedder who last summer played his first solo tour of the UK. “Solo careers seems to help our longevity,” he says. “ It’s a bit of an open marriage but it’s all healthy. Part of doing theatre shows on my own was an experiment to get better at my job and be able to bring that to the group.”

When Pearl Jam emerged with their 12 million copies selling debut, Ten in 1991, they were uneasy with fame. They’re a band who have always put integrity first and never compromised on anything.

“It’s always been about the music and fans,” says Vedder. “That’s why we are still here, happy and making albums. I remember what it was like to get a new album

by The Who and knowing they always kept it real. That what I hope our fans take from Pearl Jam.

“As a group we were leaning on each other but we were pretty broken. But their support meant the world to me. I am incredibly grateful for those relationships.”

Back in July the band held “An Evening With Pearl Jam”, a special open-air show at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. A 41,000 capacity stadium and home of the Chicago Cubs Vedder’s beloved baseball team.

But halfway through the show, the heavens opened and a mighty storm broke out with the band and crowd forced to take shelter for two hours as thunder, lightning and torrential; rains hit the stadium - a christening ceremony for the aptly titled album Lightning Bolt.

And when the band returned they played a blinder. A real “Were you there?” moment.

“And I don’t remember a damn thing about the night because of the stress that came with the weather,” laughs Vedder.

“We had the warning about the storm that day so it caused a lot of worry.

“Our only concern was that everyone was safe when the storm arrived. Thankfully they were, and for two hours in our dressing room we were all tense.

“ It’s a bit of an open marriage but it’s all healthy.” ‘ I have no recollection of playing those songs’.

“It must’ve been adrenaline and a bit of wine. I was told I stage dived. But I’m just glad it was a memorable one for the crowd anyway.”

After live shows last summer including a headline slot at the Isle of Wight festival last year, what are the plans for the future?

“It’s today’s age with all the social media it just seems like we are just chasing something, which has nothing to do with the present. And when we get there we are not even allowed to appreciate where we have gotten because we have to go somewhere else.

“There is a story about a guy who used to go to a bookstore and would always walk out with 20 books and he was an old guy. What he was really doing was trying to trick himself into believing he was going to have time to read all these books.

“So I’m not sure how far you can look ahead as we’re just enjoying the present which is a pretty good place for Pearl Jam right now.”

BIG DAY OUT 2014

“Then we went back on stage and I don’t remember what we played or anything. Someone showed me the setlist recently and I said,

FRI 17 JAN WESTERN SPRINGS PARK, AUCKLAND

“And I’ve met a lot of my musical heroes and become great friends.

I am very grateful for those friendships and the support they have given me – after Roskilde (tragedy in 2000 where nine Pearl Jam fans died) happened, friends like Roger Daltrey reached out at a time when I didn’t have anyone else to turn to.

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STYLE FILE

BLACK BETTY. BAMBUL-LAM! VINTAGE CLOTHING COLLECTOR What’s the ethos of your store/ clothing line/business?

You should be delighted with how you look, and I hope to provide anything I can to make that happen.

Which historical figure had some wicked style?

Elsa Schiaparelli.

What muso/celebrity has style up the wazoo?

Most musicians and celebrities have stylists. Without them, they have little style. But I personally know for a fact that Flo (Florence And The Machine) can shop a stylist’s pants off!

Society’s biggest fashion faux-pas?

Mass production and low, low prices.

ARTIST Q&A

Colours/patterns big this season?

Seasonal colours and patterns are just fashion trends that pass.

Stick to what you like and you will always feel good about how you look.

What are the essentials for a man’s wardrobe?

Cologne and a killer jacket.

What are the essentials for a lady’s wardrobe?

Good accessories. They can reinvent your wardrobe infinitely.

Invest by buying the best you can afford. You will never regret it.

Everyone should own at least one good…

Piece of epic vintage clothing. It will add uniqueness, value and personality to your wardrobe.

Hyphenate three words to describe your style: Confuse-Entertain-Delight.

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What’s the must-have look this spring?

Unique handmade accessories of all kinds.

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RICHARD PAGE SCULPTOR Who’s at the table of your dead dinner date?

My grandmother, Constantin Brâncuși and Plato.

What’s an upcoming film you’re jazzed about?

David Attenborough’s eulogy.

Where can your stalkers find you during the weekend?

My studio or the Kite Beach in Raglan What happens when you mix Coca Cola with Pepsi?

Double poison.

Your fantasy spirit animal is…

Lion.

Your signature “I’m an amazing cook” dish is…

Freshly caught gurnard and salad.

The best TV show around at the moment is…

Breaking Bad.

The best place for a date night is…

A desert oasis.

You’d get arrested if the police knew that you…

Worked so much.

People say you look like…

Shit.

Five celebs on your f**klist?

A ghosted Demi, Gwyneth, Pink, Cameron and Selma Hayek.

Kittens or puppies?

Puppies.

What generic current affair has your blood boiled?

Poli poli poli Politian.

Plug whatever it is that’s coming up for you.

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THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

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HE MAY BE short in stature, but Bilbo Baggins and his entourage of dwarves, elves and orcs have had a towering effect on millions of Hobbit followers.

For J.R.R. Tolkien’s legions of diehard fans, the spectacular success of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies has been a fantasy-turned-reality bonanza. But few could have predicted the seismic shifts that the films’ unparalleled success would have triggered, including the transformation of New Zealand’s fledgling film industry into a major movie hub, with the emergence of ‘Wellywood’ and Weta workshops, as a world leader in Motion Capture and CGI. Likewise, the elevation of Sir Peter Jackson from cult director to Hollywood heavyweight and the rise of seasoned pros like Viggo Mortensen, Martin Csokas, Andy Serkis, Elijah Wood and Karl Urban to international stardom

“I have aunts and uncles crawling out of the woodwork all over the place.” has been yet another spin-off of the franchises’ popularity.

With The Hobbit trilogy, it’s Martin Freeman - as Bilbo Baggins - who’s suddenly found himself centre-stage, promoted from a jobbing actor in The Office to blockbuster stardom.

It’s a situation he still finds difficult to deal with, despite his more recent, mainstream success in Sherlock, where he portrays the super sleuth’s trusty sidekick, Dr. Watson.

“The Office and Sherlock have given me a taste of what it’s like to be in the public eye, but it’s nothing compared to being in The Hobbit, as Bilbo Baggins. It is a huge role, despite his small size,” admits Freeman, solemnly.

“It’s the biggest undertaking, in an acting capacity, that you

could possibly have because this is proper, epic filmmaking - in every sense. It’s a marathon, not a sprint because filming and publicising three films is bloody hard work. I don’t know any actors – apart from those on Lord of the Rings – who’ve made a film that’s this big, or taken this long. I certainly don’t think I’ll ever do another film that’s like, or as long as, this.

“But I knew that filming this was going to be a huge undertaking, and that I just had to get my head down and get on with it, because that’s the only way I’d get to the end - short of dying, quitting or being sacked,” he adds, chuckling.

“The upsides of being in The Hobbit are obvious, in that you get to be a part of a great adventure, in three brilliant films, and hopefully do good work,” Freeman continues, animatedly. “But the downside is the price you have to pay for that, which is being propelled to a whole different level, in terms of fame and recognition. Before, I was only really well known in Britain, but now I have aunts and uncles crawling out of the woodwork all over the place and people everywhere, from Papua New Guinea to Paraguay, suddenly know who I am, because these films have such universal appeal, unlike anything else I’ve been in before.”

Freeman recalls a recent episode which highlights just how surreal his life has become, since he took on the pint-sized role of Bilbo Baggins.

“I was at a restaurant, having lunch with an old friend of mine and I suddenly spotted this guy acting rather odd, and I thought; ‘is he taking photos of me?’ because it looked like he was.

I wasn’t sure though, because he was very clever and every time I looked up he was talking to someone,” he recounts. “But a few days later I saw these pictures of me, stuffing my face

“I was literally on my knees, utterly exhausted!” with fish, appear in a magazine!

So I knew then that he had been taking photos of me.

“I also get a lot of people taking pictures of me and my family – without asking - on their phones, which I find disturbing. But I don’t usually challenge them, because if I’m wrong, or if I can’t prove it, then it just looks like I’m deluded!”

Despite the downsides of his newfound stardom, Freeman cheerfully concedes that the benefits of starring in The Hobbit far outweigh the disadvantages.

“Every artist wants whatever they do, whether it’s music, painting or acting, to have the biggest audience possible,” he asserts. “Hopefully, it’ll also open a few more doors to me, because that’s what we all want to happen with everything we do: we all hope it leads to something else; we never want it to be a cul-de-sac.”

That’s exactly what’s happened to Luke Evans, since he was cast by Jackson as the dragonslaying Bard the Bowman, in The Desolation of Smaug. From the moment he hopped aboard The Hobbit bandwagon, he’s risen from relatively obscurity, as a Welsh theatre performer, to become one of Hollywood’s hottest heartthrobs, with starring roles in Fast & Furious 6, as Dominic Toretto’s arch nemesis, Owen Shaw and as Dracula in Dracula Untold. He’s also set to resurrect Brandon Lee’s infamous role as Eric Draven, in The Crow.

“It’s brilliant what’s happened to me, since I got offered The Hobbit,” explains Evans, grinning. “Before that, it was a very slow build because although I’ve been acting, in theatre, since I was 20 I only got my first film part at 30. Being in The Hobbit

has really helped me to be taken seriously as an actor and develop a name for myself. It’s also one of the most incredible experiences of my career, so I couldn’t be any happier knowing that all the good work I’ve done in it is finally paying off.”

Similarly, for Richard Armitage, who portrays Thorin Oakenshield, the King of the Dwarfs, his involvement in The Hobbit has seen his take on acting - and life - dramatically alter.

“It’s been an incredible, lifechanging experience for me and a huge part of my life for the last two-and-a-half years of filming,” he reveals. “On the last day of shooting, I honestly thought I was going to have to be carried out on a stretcher, because it was such a physically demanding role: I was literally on my knees, utterly exhausted! But I wouldn’t change anything about the experience I’ve had, because it’s been an incredible journey, both in terms of the demands on you – physically and emotionally – as an actor and the voyage of self-discovery I’ve undergone, playing this role in these films.

The lingering memory of my time in New Zealand, working with Peter on The Hobbit, is truly an experience I will never forget, nor wish to forget.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by both Freeman and Evans, highlighting just how the reality of starring in The Hobbit has been a dream come true for them, along with the millions of fans of Jackson’s extraordinary take on Tolkien’s beloved tome.

THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG IN CINEMAS THU 12 DEC

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NICK COLLINGS

THIS MONTH IN CLUBL AND FOR THE EXTENDED INTERVIEWS AND MORE ‘BEST OF 2013’ CHARTS CHECK OUT RIPITUP.CO.NZ/CLUBLAND

ALIX PEREZ Alix Perez is regarded as one of the most ground breaking and innovative Drum & Bass producer-DJs of his generation.

Which Alix Perez song are you most proud of and why?

Difficult question. I’m quite a bit of a perfectionist and very critical when it comes to my own music. Recently, I would say ‘Villains 0 Heroes 1’ from my last album Chroma Chords.

Probably because I got as close as

I wanted to get to with that track, including vocalist They Call Me Raptor featured on the track.

In what ways has the places you lived (Belgium and London) affected the music you create?

London is a very inspiring city for me. I feel there is so much history here and we definitely lie in one of the strongest creative pots in Europe, even the world.

unique about our country in your eyes?

I absolutely loved it last time I visited. In fact I kind of fell in love with New Zealand and I’m really looking forward to coming back. I also found that you have a very educated crowd when it comes to music and that is always very appealing as a DJ/producer.

I felt very welcome.

SEE HIM DJ: ALIX PEREZ TUE 31 DEC NORTHERN BASS,

You’ve played in New Zealand before, what have you found

MANGAWHAI

Without social media and youtube do you think you would be doing what you are doing today?

No, probably not. We never had the money to market ourselves (nor took it seriously enough to do so), and we never had any backing from a record label until the end of 2012 (when Ultra signed us). We needed our youtube views to get us onto the booking agency we are on (AMonly), to get us shows, because all promoters see is value in your view count. Having a large number of shows here meant we could set up a business and relocate here which has been pretty key.

MT EDEN Mt Eden got a very quick crash course into the limelight. What have been the biggest difficulties to go from bedroom to big time?

Getting up to speed on production standards was probably the hardest thing. We got big off the back of remixes. Then people were expecting us to write full original songs, something we had never really done before.

That was a huge step for us to take and it took us a little while but we needed to take it to go further.

Apart from playing to bigger crowds due to population and popularity of the music, what are the biggest differences between EDM in the USA and dance music in New Zealand?

New Zealand listeners seem to be slightly ahead of the curve for dance music and are pretty quick to jump on new trends. When we first came to the USA in 2010 to do some shows we had already been touring in New Zealand for more than a year and people were just catching onto our music and Dubstep in general in America. A few years later and “EDM” is the buzzword for dance music in the States...

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Throughout certain scenes in New Zealand you were tarnished early on for using “bootlegged” samples to a mass a following. How do you guys feel about people saying you made your name off someone else’s hard work and haven’t ‘paid your dues’ in New Zealand?

At first we did get alot of hate in New Zealand around 2009/2010. Its funny because we didn’t even have the intention of gaining a following to begin with, it kind of just happened when our friend put our remixes up on youtube for us. But even at the height of the hate we were selling out shows in NZ and USA. We did a 42 show sell-out tour in the States and came home and still heard “they will never get signed”, “they don’t have a release on a label”, “they are just youtube artists”. It’s sad to see basically the same thing going on with Lorde right now, but to an even greater extent.

There is rumour of a Mt Eden album coming out in the near future, what details can you divulge?

Yes, we are very excited about this release as we feel we have evolved so much musically and can’t wait to share our new sounds with the world.

‘No Mans Land’, our first full-length album, is coming out in January with Ultra Records. We have been working on this for a very long time but most of the tracks on it are from the past year. So far we have teamed up with Polina (see Eminem - Legacy), Omar Linx, LIPS, Larry Gold, Diva Ice, and more.

SEE THEM DJ: MT EDEN SEE TOURS AND EVENTS FOR DATES

KOZE

THE BEST OF 2013 TOP 5 TUNES OF THE YEAR GENERAL LEE 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Starting his career as a pioneering German hip hop producer, DJ Koze found himself as the turntable wizard for the legendary Hamburg trio, International Pony who eventually signed to Norman Cook´s Label Skint. He was later lured by the sexy and extrinsically sophisticated dance music flowing out of his native Hamburg and the underground depths of Berlin. 2013 saw the release of his 4th studio album Amygdala to worldwide critical acclaim, with online magazine heavyweights Pitchfork giving it the much sought after ‘best new music’ tag, praising Koze for having “created an album that invites obsession.”

DJ Koze’s turntablism skills from years of DJing hip-hop come out to play in his sets as he shreds the techno/house DJ formula into bits, provoking a convoluted blend of ecstatic breaks and beats that borderline on the psychedelic.

SEE HIM DJ: FLEXX. EVENTS PRES. DJ KOZE (GER) SAT 04 JAN EVERYBODY’S, AUCKLAND

Kings & General Lee – ‘Ain’t Coming Down’ Calvin Harris ft Ayah Marar – ‘Thinking About You’ (EDX Club Mix) Klingande – ‘Jubel’ Zedd – ‘Clarity’ (Tiesto Remix) Flume – ‘Holdin’ On’

GREG CHURCHILL 1.

2.

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5.

Attaque – ‘Warble‘ Adam Port – ‘Voyage’ Roberto Capuano – ‘Yeah!’

Modeselector & Sound Pellegrino Thermal Team – ‘Negativity’ Gaga – ‘Savage’

JAYCEN A’MOUR 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Pegboard Nerds & Tristam – ‘Razor Sharp’ (Original Mix) Zeds Dead & Omar Linx – ‘Cowboy’ (Torro Torro Remix) GTA – ‘The Crowd’ (Original Mix) Mike Hawkins, Henry Fong & Toby Green – ‘Hot Steppa’ (Original Mix) Jaycen A’mour – ‘Stage Dive’ (Chrizz Luvly & Rocket Pimp Remix)

JASON HOWSON 1.

2.

3.

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5.

Sir Spyro – ‘Pull It Up’ (feat. JME & Alana) Spooky – ‘Baby’ Joker – ‘Gully Side’ Royal T – ‘I Know You Want Me’ Bulletproof & Dutty Ranks – ‘One More Time’

TIM RICHARDS 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

M.in – ‘Jesus Hates’ Jimmy & Fred – ‘I See Lights’ (Karmon Remix) Re Dupre, Angelo – ‘Kiss Me’ Danny Serrano & Darlyn Vlys – ‘Body Talk’ Dusky – ‘Careless’

NICK COLLINGS 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Gesaffelstein – ‘Hellifornia’ Pryda – ‘Power Drive’ Croatia Squad & Calippo – ‘The Conductor’ Sonny Wharton – ‘Raindance’ John Roman & Gina Turner – ‘Dance For Me’ (Chocolate Puma Remix)

SCRATCHING THE SURFACE MATT BOWDIDGE PRODUCER “One of the most consistent melodic Trance producers. His sound defines Trance” - Indecent Noise. Clubland scratches the surface on Matt Bowdidge.

What projects are you currently working on?

A collab with Eddie Bitar and another with James Dymond will be happening early next year, along with my first vocal track and a few other projects including new ‘Bowdidge & Taylor’ material. My next single under my ‘Bowdidge & Taylor’ moniker ‘Unstable’, is out on 16 December and my next solo single ‘My Reflection’ is coming out January 2014 What are your thoughts on the current commercialism of “EDM” in the world right now?

It was bound to happen to be honest. The commercialism aspect can be positive in that it attracts a wider audience who can then attract people to the different genres of Dance Music. Personally, I’m not a fan of the commercialism aspect. With a lot of guys jumping on the EDM/House bandwagon, there is no individualism left. If you hear an ‘EDM’ or House set these days (if there wasn’t any jingles or sweepers in their radio show for example), you wouldn’t know who it was and in turn a lot of lineups these days have DJ’s who just play the same music.

What’s the musical equivalent of the G-Spot?

For me it’s plucks behind an uplifting melody. It’s what I live for.

SEE HIM DJ: PURE & POISON FT MATT BOWDIDGE SAT 14 DEC JUICE BAR, AUCKLAND

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ALBUM REVIEWS ***** THE MELVINS TRES CABRONES IPECAC

The Melvins continue to defy expectations on this, their umpteenth album, and the (now) three-piece announces its intentions to continue to do exactly what it wants. Even though they’re not a grunge band, their music is wonderfuly grungy, and after all these years still confounds with its wonderfully spontaneous, gonzo flights of fancy. This is experimental American hardcore, ala early Butthole Surfers but with more ambition and less willingness to bend over, and the group has

*****

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*** *

THE DRAB DOO-RIFFS HOME SURGERY

SURF FRIENDS ENDORPHINS

LIBERATION

FLYING NUN

Compiling choice cuts from the first four The Drab DooRiffs EP’s, Home Surgery is a propulsive collection of the groups’ 2009-2013 output.

Seventeen tracks of organs in orbit, sliding surf guitar, swampy basslines and insistent drums, The Drab’s ride consistently harder and faster than their ‘50s influences might suggest. Any accusations of retro-retread are demolished by some ser-i-ous band talent and the beautiful recontextualization of their sound that occurs every time Karl Steven (or Dr. Steven, I should say) opens his rhythmic yelp of a mouth. There’s something oddly perfect about atomic age rock ‘n’ roll being iced with Steven’s poker faced wit and unapologetically broad New Zealand accent. Start with the beserk ‘Hot Tanya’ or the bNet favourite ‘Superpotencia Mi’ if unsure, but in all honesty?

There’s not a boring pick in the bunch. Stay drab, indeed.

Surf Friends are, as the name suggests, literally a couple of buddies who, when they’re not singing odes to the waves on West Coast beaches, are actually out riding those waves. Our very own beach boys are a duo, Brad Coley and Peter Westmoreland, who make an amiable, enjoyable din in the venerable tradition of Flying Nun, their parent label.

While the songs aren’t vested with greatness, they do have a certain shimmering, summery lustre that makes you want to repeat the experience all over again. Most importantly, the duo knows the value of a good noise. The Surf Friends approach varies slightly across the 10 tracks on their debut, but the key components mix the classic Flying Nun strum with a kind of 21st Century take on psychedelia, where echoed vocals, flanged guitars, phasing SFX and even cheap synths are used to enhance the “life in one chord” grooves. I like it.

SARAH THOMSON

GARY STEEL

RIPITUP.CO.NZ

** **

been so determinedly themselves over the years that they’re like the last man standing, a beacon of the punk spirit re-written in a different and ever-mutating musical language. On Tres Cabrones, the cover of which features a series of wonderful portraits of silly goats and smashed car carcasses, the group proves they’re still capable of great hulking riff-monsters, but also imaginative interludes. And they even do their own; unique takes on three ancient American folk songs. It’s an awesome thing to behold.

GARY STEEL

*** *

SAL VALENTINE & THE BABYSHAKES SELF TITLED

T54 IN BRUSH PARK

BORDER

I’m told that Sal and his Babyshakes have an enviable rep around Auckland as a party band supreme. Listening to the group’s album debut, it’s easy to imagine that being the case, but like so many bands whose reputation is based on a great live presentation, the fizz goes flat on disc. It’s not all bad: the instrumental performances by this 10-piece group are tight and spirited, and the horns and rhythm section are a joy to bop along to.

The Babyshakes take their tip from swing-jazz and early rhythm and blues. But there are two real problems. First, Sal Valentine aka Ivan Luketina-Johnston is clearly still finding his singing voice, and too often, he sounds labored where the style demands, well… style: a smooth, creamy confidence.

Second, the group has opted for self-written tunes “in the style of”, except they’re just not that good, and come close to a parody of the real thing. Maybe next time?

Perhaps the Flying Nun label’s biggest draw card – still – is that it continues to nourish bands who are clearly experiencing the great epiphany that electric distortion and discord and overdriven rock can unleash. And T54 is a great example of that. A 10-song debut that relishes in the sonic and emotional value of ragged blasts, and relegates vocals to a shadowy background murmur.

Occasionally, they really wig out, like the extended finale, ‘Biscuit City Sisters’, but they’re equally adept at slow-burning post shoegaze psych-pop like the clearly sarcastic ‘Life Is Swell’.

Joe Sampson, Matt Scobie and Sam Hood clearly like their drones, and they love their wellaimed laser-beaming feedback clusters, but buried in the detritus there are good songs peeping out as well, they’re just not going to get up and scream “look at me, I’m a great song”, and In Brush Park is like that. It doesn’t brag, it just does the business.

GARY STEEL

GARY STEEL

FLYING NUN

SEBASTIAN MACKAY

XAVIER RUDD “I bleed a lot over the oppression of the indigenous people.” record for a space for bird and nature sounds.” Rudd initially wasn’t convinced it would work but he says the final result, “turned out amazing.”

“All the sounds you hear in the record are bird calls, even when it doesn’t sound like that.”

Despite this, Rudd doesn’t have a personal philosophy but he does say that what that brings to mind is the intangibility of the human mind.

DECIDING TO EMBARK on a journey that has so far spanned seven full length albums and several continents as a one-man multi-instrumentalist, wasn’t, believe it or not, a conscious decision for Xavier Rudd.

grew… I was working on making my sound bigger.”

The Australian native, armed with his slide guitars, yidakis (didgeridoos), stomp box and various percussion, will be taking over our shores this December with Little Bushman as support.

“It can be a challenge to create parts in music that require four hands. It’s a challenge I enjoy and it’s fun playing on stage and playing bass with my thumb.”

And, before you ask, yes, Rudd does play those instruments simultaneously, sometimes while singing and others while playing the yidakis. It makes for an impressive live show this topped off by Rudd’s music being a very clever weave of genres that have developed into his own trademark sound (one you have to hear for yourself).

“Making it [the music] by myself wasn’t something I thought ‘I’ll do that,’” says the thoughtful and contemplative Rudd.

It began as small endeavour, but as Rudd says “over the years different instrumentation just

The organic journey and, while he does sometimes work with other people, it provides a challenge he loves.

Rudd’s music is measured parts self-reflection, cultural preservation and spirit.

“A lot of it is spirit coming through. It took me a few years to work that out. And I have a strong connection with my country and homeland and indigenous blood, on my father’s side.”

This where the cultural preservation comes in (ever evident in the video for the brilliant ‘Bow Down’) and is vital to who he is as a person and as musician.

“Cultural preservation is an integral part of it. I bleed a lot over the oppression of the indigenous people.”

Of the latest release, Spirit Bird, Rudd says the album built itself over time and that most of his inspiration, which he draws from activists, positivity, environmental protection, destruction and devastation, seeps into his writing subconsciously.

“It’s another entity that comes through me and manifests itself in music. I don’t have an opinion on it and I don’t try to control it, I just leave space for it.”

The perfect reflection on his latest offering that he says does have foundations in with “the experience in the Kimberly.” An environmental protest that Rudd had a part in and that “there’s a powerful spirit that came through.”

Part of that spirit is that Rudd says he’s never approached songwriting with the idea that it’s something you sit down and do.

“Our mind is not real. Our brains are real, they’re made of tissue, our hearts are real, and they’re made of tissue. We have an energetic connection with this earth because we are of this earth. “…For a lot of people what we do and feel is lost in our culture that’s become very focused on the mind and what is it? It’s not real.”

What is it then that fans of Xavier Rudd to connect to?

When I put the question to the man himself, he was quick he wasn’t the best person to ask, but he did humour me.

“I think it’s the realness of it, people enjoy raw, realness. And I don’t try to create something that’s commercially viable. I don’t care about the business or fashion side of music, I never have, and I think people pick up on that.”

SEE THEM LIVE: XAVIER RUDD & LITTLE BUSHMAN SAT 28 DEC WAIHI BEACH HOTEL, WAIHI

“I’ve never sat down and said, ‘I’m going to write a song’ it always comes to me when I’m doing something else.”

He says the mental concept of the album was, “to have a solo

SUN 29 DEC BUTLERS REEF, OAKURA MON 30 DEC RIWAKA HOTEL, RIWAKA

ALBUM REVIEWS *** BEST COAST FADE AWAY [EP]

*

JEWEL CITY

Post successful debut LP, Best Coast members Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno self-consciously turfed their blown-out, reverb heavy sound in an attempt to avoid being pigeonholed. The resulting album blanched all the delightful, scuzzy immediacy from their EZ-couplet garage-pop. Lesson learned, Cosentino and Bruno now return with a seven track EP that gladly retreads their favourite archetypes: ‘Be My Baby’ drums;

BLOOD ORANGE***** CUPID DELUXE

UPSET SHE’S GONE

DOMINO

(DON GIOVANNI)

So, the Feelers guy has gone and made a low-key solo album, and it’s really not that terrible.

Between them, Reid and producer Nic Manders play most of the instruments, and the sound is far removed from the anthemic rock of his hugely successful, but critically reviled band. Shorn of that big rock sound, Reid’s vocals have that careworn sound that Peter Gabriel has successfully cultivated to grown-up rock fans.

Sadly, however, his songs are packed with blood, fire, thunder and hurricanes – all the elemental imagery that a profound lack of imagination could conjure. He’s in good company, of course: if Bono can get away with similar lyrical conceits, then perhaps stadium audiences are awaiting Reid as well. It’s not that Saint is bad, exactly; more that in dealing out lines like “I saw the light in the shadow of the night” and song titles like ‘Nothing’s Better Than Love’, Reid makes the startling seem mundane by wielding a very blunt pencil.

LIBERATOR MUSIC/GLASSNOTE

Devonté Hynes hits a very particular stride with Cupid Deluxe, a masterfully precise vision that belies both his broad musical output and clamoured-for pop producer status. Even when limited to the last three years, his credits include solo albums under both Hynes’ monikers (Blood Orange and the folkier Lightspeed Champion) and writing/ production on massive earworms ‘Losing You’ and ‘Everything Is Embarrassing’ for Solange and Sky Ferreira respectively.

With Cupid Deluxe, Hynes’ second full-length as Blood Orange, he has created a mideighties outsider’s masquerade ball complete with PM Dawn scratching in the chill-out room and a misty bathroom that plays The Commodores’ ‘Nightshift’ on repeat. Hynes’ bubbling guitars, perfectly deployed guest spots, elastic basslines and choice picks of redux pop ache with a downtrodden beauty that’s all his own.

Ex-Best Coast & current Vivian Girls drummer Ali Kohler leads new garage-pop outfit Upset, helmed by La Sera’s Jennifer Prince and ex-Hole drummer Patty Schemel. Released by New Brunswick, N.J. punk specialists Don Giovanni, She’s Gone channels the power chords, high school promises and euphoric guitar blowout of a time when the Bis version of the Powerpuff Girls theme was a much larger part of after-school life. Pulling off an album of chugging teen pop chunks might seem a stretch for two in their late twenties and one in her mid forties, but it’s a rough gem that works as well, if not better than, as anything on the poppier album Hole were so desperate to make when they ousted Schemel in 1998 (Celebrity Skin). Who needs an excuse for super enjoyable, hooky as fuck, high-school cliché when love’ll revert us to juveniles soon enough, anyways?

GARY STEEL

SARAH THOMSON

** **

BROKEN RECORDS

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SARAH THOMSON

** ** CHILDISH GAMBINO BECAUSE THE INTERNET

JAMES REID SAINT

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layers of sunny West Coast guitar fuzz; ‘ooh-wah-ooh’ chorus backing; distant surf guitar noodles; diary quality rhyming (‘The One’/ ‘setting sun’). Bright, bittersweet and infectious, Best Coast’s most charming qualities are at their strongest when least overwrought. Sure, Fade Away’s wonderfully eggy lyrics and welltrodden pop construction may cause your inner cynic to begin a series of protracted eye-rolls. But then why are you already singing along? Shut up, you totally are.

RIPITUP.CO.NZ

Excellent first-half production aside, Donald Glover’s Because The Internet fails for two pretty major reasons. Firstly, it’s not an album, it’s a showreel. As unfair as an acting analogy is against an actor who is working hard to add different strings to his bow, it’s also the truth. There’s his Kanye track, his Drake, his A$AP, his Stevie, his version of Bjork’s ‘Army Of Me’. Such range!

While this gripe could be argued as homage and (really obvious) inspirations, the second gripe is harder to dismiss. Glover’s lyricism is just not very good. It oscillates between crude attempts to be taken seriously (murder/ gun noises/etc.), indulgent posturing and ‘hilarious’ meme and pop culture references.

Plenty of rappers can do guts and gags (all of OFWGKTA, for starters) but Glover’s gags are ironic distancing mechanisms, destroying whatever persona Glover is attempting to create and our interaction with it as listeners.

SARAH THOMSON

SARAH THOMSON

*****

PLUS GUESTS OLMECHA SUPREME & KING HOMEBOY AND SLAVE (WAIHI ONLY)

SUN 29TH DEC COROGLEN TAVERN MON 30TH DEC MT MAUNGANUI BREWERS’ FIELD NEW YEARS EVE WAIHI BEACH HOTEL FRI 3RD JAN RIWAKA HOTEL SAT 4TH JAN HUTT VALLEY STATION VILLAGE COMPLEX

GEEKS

FIFA 14 XBOX ONE, PS3, XBOX 360, PS4 Back in October, FIFA 14 released on the last-gen consoles (it feels so weird saying that already.)

While the game scored as well as expected, there was already talk about what the next-gen consoles would bring to the beautiful game when they became available; that speculation can now make way for analysis, because the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions of the title are now available.

From a distance, it would be difficult to tell that you’re playing a next-gen game. But zooming into the action, thanks to the fully controllable replay cameras, you can tell it’s had a facelift. The crowds that adorn the stadiums look better than ever, with distinctive individual models that now react realistically to the events on the pitch.

All of the player models are more detailed too, featuring the likenesses of their real-life counterparts as well as smoother and more realistic animations.

Not only do the footballers move fluidly, they are also capable of more realistic behaviour on the pitch. Players are far more responsive, which can take a little while to get used to. Initially

you’ll overstep a tackle or misjudge your ability to turn on the ball. However, with practice, you’ll start opening the doors to attractive football and stunning shots at goal.

This heightened level of realism has dribbled into the ball physics as well. On the Xbox One. the ball feels even more like an independent entity than ever before, spinning and bouncing around as it would in real-life. All of this visual eye-candy leads to some spectacular football magic.

You’ll witness goals that you’ll want to watch over and over again via the slow-motion action replay system in the game.

Xbox One owners (along with those on the 360) will get an extra feature over and above those available to Sony gamers, too, in the form of the new Legends mode. It adds a rich history of golden oldies to your player roster, with some all-time greats such as Pele, Luis Figo, and Dennis Bergkamp. But also Fredrik Ljungberg for some reason?

It’s not quite perfect, and I can’t help but think that the next rendition will truly take the franchise to the next level, but if you’re a fan of the sport you’ll love it.

ANGUS DEACON

NEED FOR SPEED: RIVALS XBOX 360, XBOX ONE, PS3, PS4 It’s hard to believe, but the Need for Speed franchise is celebrating twenty installments with the arrival of Need for Speed: Rivals.

The illustrious series has had its ups and downs over the years, but in recent times it has really found its feet.

Need for Speed: Rivals was developed by the new (Need for Speed dedicated) studio Ghost Games, with support from racing powerhouse Criterion Studios - the brains behind Burnout Paradise - and boy does it show.

This is great news for gamers who are interested in a racer that takes itself less seriously than the more conservative Forza Motorsport series, for example, and as a result Rivals will appeal to motorheads and casual racers alike.

In Need for Speed: Rivals, the police have been brought into the fold in a meaningful way, thanks to the inclusion of two separate campaigns. You alternate between playing as a local Police officer (either undercover or highway patrol - whichever you prefer), and illegal street racer.

The setting of Rivals is a wonderful open world, with a

diverse landscape of coastal and inland roads. The coast is dramatic and windswept, and this has been captured well. It’s not huge, but it’s very much fit for purpose. Traffic is pretty sparse, but given the speed and that there is no lack of cops trying to take you down or other racers trying to edge ahead, this is a good thing.

The career mode guides you through various challenges and rewards you by levelling up and unlocking new rides. Goals such as side-slamming racers, rear ending someone, or using your Pursuit Tech (weapons) are just some of those you’ll encounter.

Some new cars will come easily, while others you will really have to work for. The rides to unlock include some amazing vehicles from Ferrari, Porsche, Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, and more. It’s not a huge list, excluding the Police range - but that’s not what Need for Speed is about.

Need for Speed: Rivals is an impressive game. It’s got a cool feature (called AllDrive) that means you might randomly encounter your mates as you explore, and the package overall works well. It’s fun, and as a result, the franchise still feels fresh - even after all this time.

JOEL LAUTERBACH

MICROSOFT PROMISE XBOX ONE UI IMPROVEMENTS Microsoft’s Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb has confirmed that the company is listening to Xbox One users’ complaints about the new console’s user interface.

Since the Xbox One launched on Fri 22 Nov, a growing number of issues with the UI have been raised by owners of the system, including dashboard sluggishness, Kinect issues, and the lack of a way to view hard drive space.

The good news is that Microsoft is listening. “I had a meeting today about much of this and I can say that things will get better,” wrote Hryb. “I can’t offer a timeline or a list of what [will] be addressed first, but we are aware of the issue and things will get better.”

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GEEKS

DIGITAL-ONLY FUTURE FOR CONSOLES “STILL A WAYS OFF,” SAYS EA The new console generation has brought with it an unprecedented level of support for digital sales of games and content for consoles, but a digitalonly future is still a long way away, Electronic Arts CFO Blake Jorgensen told the Credit Suisse 2013 Technology Conference recently.

Jorgensen revealed that digital sales of EA games are currently “much lower” than 30%, despite all Xbox One and PlayStation 4 games being available digitally on the same day as the retail release.

“I think a lot of the constraint there will continue to be bandwidth into people’s homes,” Jorgensen said. “At the same time, the size of games has gotten bigger and more complex and so it’s eaten up some of the benefits of [increased] bandwidth.”

This is good news for New Zealand gamers, as it shows that physical sales will continue to be the norm for a while to come. Low internet speeds (relative to the rest of the world) and limited download caps mean that digital purchases of increasingly large games are simply not viable for many Kiwis.

ASSASSIN’S CREED IV DLC DATED Freedom Cry, the first singleplayer DLC for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, is due for release on Tue 17 Dec according to the latest issue of Game Informer magazine.

The four-hour campaign takes places 15 years after the events of Black Flag, and puts you in the shoes of shipmate Adewale.

“Born a slave, Adewale found freedom as a pirate aboard the Jackdaw as Captain Edward Kenway’s second-in-command,” Ubisoft explained when the DLC was first announced back in October. “Fifteen years later, Adewale has become a trained assassin and finds himself shipwrecked in SaintDomingue with no weapon nor crew, starting a new adventure of his own.”

Freedom Cry is included in the Season Pass for Assassin’s Creed IV, but no standalone price has been revealed. It will be available for Xbox and PlayStation systems, but not the Wii U, as Ubisoft have decided not to bring any Assassin’s Creed IV DLC to Nintendo’s console.

REN KIRK

METRIC WIN

THAT CONTRAST BETWEEN indifference and engagement is a constant theme for Metric, running throughout their five studio albums. Take their latest, Synthetica - which came out in June 2012 - as an example.

The record’s shiny production is beautiful and weighty, like some precious metal polished to perfection. Distant drum beats, jagged synth lines, Jimmy Shaw’s thick layers of guitar effects, Emily Haines’ intense vocals that are still somehow never overly emotional.

The album makes you feel something, but where those feelings come from is sort of distant and detached.

The contrast between overt sentiment and introspective cool is part of what makes Metric’s music so damn interesting. And speaking to Shaw in Atlanta about how and why they blend their brew of synth pop, new wave indie electronica, he quickly confirms they’re a band that likes to think about shit: “We are lyrically conscious and have an awareness of why things are the way they are in the world.

We like asking questions and addressing issues. The music starts that way, cause as people we’re concerned about the world, and we’re curious.

Starting life as a duo in 1998, Haines and Shaw called themselves Mainstream.

However, after just one EP

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With songs vibrate like high wires atop a heap of electronica detritus and Haines’sultry, brooding vocals packed with plenty of girl-power punch, the band’s fifth album also displayed a newfound clarity in the production. This provided an added dimension to their tunes, especially noticeable on ‘Dreams So Real’ with its piercing melody, skittering synths and bold talk of “the power of girls”.

(Mainstream EP) they changed the band name to Metric.

The name came from a track they were working on at the time, which involved a sound Shaw had programmed into his keyboard called “Metric”.

Seeing it on the keyboard’s LED display, Haines and Shaw immediately liked that it was a little cold and standoffish.

Over years of playing together the bands’ sound has progressed and changed, due in part to a love of experimentation and also good old intuition: “We have explored different themes and sounds and ideas, always going in the direction that feels right. The music is our version of honesty and truth, of expressing things in a way that’s true to us.”

Originally based in Canada, the pair moved to a New York loft, and then had a stint in London after signing a publishing deal with Chrysalis Records. With the help of producer Stephen Hague (who had produced acts like Erasure, New Order and the Pet Shop Boys), Metric worked on an innovative set of new wave, synth-pop songs.

But feeling somewhat stifled by the restrictions of recording demos, 2000 saw them back in their Brooklyn loft and ready to put together a live band. And in 2001 Joshua Winstead and Joules Scott-Key joined Metric.

Being open to new possibilities

Fast forward a few years to 2009 and Metric released their fourth studio album Fantasies.

The critically acclaimed release sold over a million singles and 500,000 albums worldwide, allowing the band to start headlining music festivals across the world. For a band that had often been told they were doing it wrong, the quartet showed the industry they were actually a fresh model for doing it right.

in the studio making records and having people buy them.

“But the four of us - who we are - move willingly into the unknown. It’s hard to quantify everything now, but we like to embrace whatever’s happening.”

Coming to New Zealand for the first time, their debut Auckland performance is also the last of their Synthetica tour. And they’ve been on tour for a really long time, which is not as glamorous as one expects.

“I miss my bed,” Shaw says wistfully, “and my studio. It’s a building behind my house and it’s one of my favourite places in the world. Sometimes I go there and just sit. I don’t even turn anything on.”

But that means fans new and old are in for a real treat: “It’ll be a pretty hefty Metric celebration,” Shaw enthuses. Promising to

“The music is our version of honesty and truth.” has also enabled the band to evolve, as well as time and experience giving them “more colours in our palette to choose from.” Both of these have also been key influences, along with political and social trends as they come and go, and ‘… people, places, travel and things that happen.” Apart from a time back in 2001, when Stanley Kubrick was on repeat for about a month: “Having it on in the background definitely influenced us, the dream of an expansive state of mind. “ This openness has helped the band adapt to an ever-changing industry that has shifted significantly towards digital domination in recent years.

While many musicians didn’t like this shift, Shaw believes they were just complacent, having become comfortable

delve into emotions and deliver a set with “a bit of everything”, Shaw goes so far as to say the chances of the gig becoming a transcendental experience are pretty high. “You never know what’s gonna happen. It all goes out from the stage and then in the first chorus, sometimes it just comes back at you and creates this giant turbine… and then the energy just goes back and forth.”

In the short term their sight are firmly fixed on next week’s gig, but Shaw is always dreaming about what projects are next, what kind of record they’ll make. And always keeping the creative dreamscape open for more experimenting, because, “we never like to do the same thing twice.”

SEE THEM LIVE: METRIC SAT 14 DEC THE POWERSTATION, AUCKLAND

EXPLORING SPLORE 2014 tangata whenua Ngāti Whanaunga and Ngāti Pāoa. The pristine environment’s the ideal spot for festivalgoers to relax and the perfect place to educate and encourage the community on a sustainable future.

FEBRUARY 2014 MARKS the 10th Anniversary of Splore Festival (running over a 16 year period), firmly cementing it’s spot as the longest running outdoor festival in New Zealand. And what a festival it is; equal parts liberation and libation, idealism and interactivity, creative showcase and community springboard… and not to mention family-friendly.

Combining an exciting and

eclectic mix of international and local talent, headliners and emerging talent bring the beats for dancing feet, visual and performance artists entertain and delight, along with workshops and themed camping for the more adventurous.

British cultural phenomenon Ebony Bones will make her NZ debut at Splore, along with the UK’s original “hip hop geezer” Blak Twang and electronica break beat extraordinaire Adam Freeland. British rapper Ben Chijioke, a.k.a Ty will also be performing, Melbourne’s funk soul band The Bamboos and irreverent festival favourites the Cuban Brothers.

Situated in the bewitching bay of Tapapakanga Regional Park, the three-day festival also introduces fresh energy and a new dimension to the ancient homeland of the

Local muso’s joining the celebrations include ukulele band The Nukes, Wellington Balkan gypsy brass band Niko ne Zna, and Auckland dance favourites

Weird Together, Funkommunity and Latinaotearoa. There’s also up and coming nine-piece hip hop, neosoul, chunk funk monster BrockaflowersaurusRex and the Blueberry Biscuits, as well as a sweet set of DJs including Regrooved Sound System, Andy JV, Mark Pickering and many more.

‘Show Some Love’ is an appropriate theme for 2014 since many have met their future partner at Splore, along with couple who actually tied the knot at Splore 2012. Groups of friends reunite every festival, new friends are made and every year there’s the special sense of community that permeates every aspect of Splore.

SPLORE 2014 FRI 14 FEB - SUN 16 FEB TAPAPAKANGA REGIONAL PARK, AUCKLAND

TWENTYONE PRESENTS

DANE RUMBLE NEW YEAR’S EVE

Dane Rumble DJ set plus resident twentyone DJs Grant Marshall and Sample Gee FREE ADMISSION

7PM til late – r20 event Level 3, SKYCITY Cnr of Federal and Victoria Streets, Auckland SKYCITYAUCKLAND.CO.NZ/TWENTYONE | FACEBOOK.COM/TWENTYONEAKL

FILM REVIEWS

DIRECTED BY DECLAN LOWNEY STARRING STEVE COOGAN, COLM MEANEY, SEAN PERTWEE

ALAN PARTRIDGE: ALPHA PAPA If you don’t think there’s a risk in promoting comedic characters from the television to the cinema screen, then here are three (I think) words to change your mind: Ali G Indahouse. Thankfully Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (directed by Father Ted’s Declan Lowney) neither has a lead character who has outstayed

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his welcome, nor is forced to spread itself too thin in order to appeal to a broad cinema audience.

Co-writer Armando Iannucci repeats what he pulled off with In The Loop, his feature adaptation of TV’s The Thick of It, by helping to pen a film that’ll appeal to fans and newcomers alike and plays to the strengths of the shows

that preceded it. What that entails is keeping the film’s pitiful, egomaniacal and hilarious title character on screen for as much time as possible, something that works wonderfully because Steve Coogan, serial scene-stealer in the past, is a laugh-a-minute lead.

Partridge’s appalling attempts at human interaction and constantly self-serving actions propel the film along from start to finish.

Coogan proves he knows this two-decades-old character inside and out, meaning he’s a cringeworthy delight to watch while on screen – for practically the film’s entire running time.

As for the hostage-taking plot, it exists mostly to confine Partridge inside North Norfolk Digital, alongside his colleagues and new management as the siege plays out and provides him a platform for desperately awkward attempts to get back in the spotlight. It’s a clever move that keeps the focus on a character who would make most of us gladly prefer to be shot by a crazed gunman than spend 90 minutes with in reality.

STEVE NEWALL

DIRECTED BY JEFF TREMAINE

DIRECTED BY ALAN TAYLOR, JAMES GUNN

STARRING JOHNNY KNOXVILLE, JACKSON NICOLL, GREG HARRIS

STARRING CHRIS HEMSWORTH, NATALIE PORTMAN, TOM HIDDLESTON

JACKASS PRESENTS: BAD GRANDPA

THOR: THE DARK WORLD

Paving a way for daredevils and drunken students to do crazy (and sometimes life-threatening) pranks, the Jackass series made being a total douche cool again. As they say, there’s nothing funnier than watching people get hurt. Nearly 15 years on from the inception of the original series, this mantra still rings true as Johnny Knoxville clings to his roots in Bad Grandpa, rehashing a familiar feeling with moderate success.

In a semi-scripted/semi-improvisational comedy, Knoxville plays 86-yearold grandpa Zisman, a recent widower who wants to embrace his new-found single status. Problem is, he’s been left with his eight-year-old grandson Billy. The pair embarks on a wild road trip to get Billy back to his dead-beat dad and leave Zisman with plenty of time for parties.

All credit goes to Knoxville (41) for looking like a realistic octogenarian.

From the gait to the bad habits, he nails the part and the best captured camera segments fall into the category of “old people behaving badly”.

From farting in a public restaurant to trying to mail his son via courier, there are some genuinely funny moments. While the scripted talks between grandson and grandpa feel forced, it does provide an emotional support for the ridiculousness. Some classic slapstick fails to draw strong laughs, but a few moments of unbelievable, jaw-dropping antics – including visiting an African-American male strip show – makes it worth a watch. And hey, it’s much better than Betty White’s Off Their Rockers.

Living up to the sequel’s sub-title, The Dark World, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) takes a turn for the dramatic with a new evil threatening to destroy not just his home world of Asgard, but also that of his love, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman).

Director Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones) expertly maintains the Shakespearian-style tone that Sir Kenneth Branagh injected into the first film, putting our hero against a seemingly indestructible foe with an ancient grudge. But despite the “doom and gloom premise”, the moments of despair are perfectly punctuated with humour, wisecracks and banter, keeping the mood light before the next nail-biting encounter with the Dark Elves.

Chris Hemsworth has added a few more pounds of muscle to his frame, and the film’s one gratuitous ab shot was enough to keep longing female fans happy, but he also flexed his acting chops far more this time around as Thor is caught between his duties to Asgard and wanting to protect Jane.

But in turn, Natalie Portman is no damsel in distress and takes a far more active role in the sequel. Old favourites return – how is it possible for Kat Dennings to get any funnier? – and Loki (Tom Hiddleston)’s banter with Thor is giggle-inducing.

The few twists and turns are often predictable, but the adrenaline -pumping actions scenes are really what you came for, and there’s plenty to keep fans happy until Captain America: The Winter Solider.

LAURA WEASER

LAURA WEASER

RIPITUP.CO.NZ

RHYTHM & VINES WAIOHIKA ESTATE GISBORNE 29-31 DEC 2013

TIM GRUAR

SAVAGES the song, their new found pop darling status and where this was all heading. Savages, she tells me was ‘born’ in London from a concept lead by French born singer, Jehnny Beth (aka Camille Berthomier) and the guitarist Gemma Thompson, later joined by Milton and bassist Ayse Hassan.

WIN

Beth, who hails from Poitiers, featured in a swag of French art movies and was one half of lo-fi indie rock duo John & Jehn (they rippled minor in 2010 with ‘And We Run’).

THE FIRST TIME I heard Hüsker Dü’s Candy Apple Grey it was a moment of pure epiphany.

In the mid-80’s their raucous postpunk thrash kicked brilliantly against the pricks of the glamsynth dominating the charts at the time. It was a music, both melodic and disquieting, veracious assault.

It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that specific voice. So, the discovery of English act Savages was a real, genuine thrill. Their debut, Silence Yourself, has all the hallmarks of good, honest post punk/rock. It’s passionate, intelligent, and like Sinead O’Connor in the 80’s, welling with anger, directed like an exocet missile/ it’s reminiscent of Siouxsie Sioux, Joy Division and possibly even Crass. Pitchfork sum up “a battle between athletic, lean post-punk and a breast-beating monster.” Praise indeed, though the best quote comes from The Brooklyn Vegan, “Intense & blisteringly awesome.”

Clocking in at only 38 minutes their debut is a fast and furious ride. It begins ominously with an excerpt from John Cassavetes’s film Opening Night (about an ill fated production) - a hex to ward off the jinx. The album features new recordings of ‘Husbands’, ‘I

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Am Here’ and ‘City’s Full’ which first appeared on debut single ‘Husbands / Flying To Berlin’ and the ‘I Am Here’ live EP, both previously released under lead singer Jehnny Beth’s Pop Noire label. The album was recorded, “in a fury, like madness and happiness all at once” according to the band’s drummer Fay Milton, at the north-west London studio the Fish Factory in December 2012 under productive hands of Johnny Hostile and Rodaidh McDonald (The xx).

On the surface the single “‘Husbands’ could be misconstrued as “anti-men”. It’s all in the final hour,” shrieks vocalist Beth, having awoken to discover her groom suddenly looks like a total stranger. “Saw the face of a guy/ I don’t know who he was, he had no eyes – his presence made me feel ill at ease.”

“No. I don’t think it’s that at all.

It’s (addressing) inequity and stereotyping and love, but it’s not about sexual politics. You get what you want from it.” Urgency, dread, alienation, foreboding are all invoked, she explains.

On the line from the UK, I asked drummer Fay Milton about

On first impressions you could be forgiven for thinking Savages were a revival act from the studio of Joy Division producer Martin Hannett (circa 1979). Milton says there’s definitely an appreciation of the music of that era. The name however took a longer gestation than their ‘sound’, nearly over a year. It was derived from a number of books from their school days like William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and summed up the arty, raw grunge they were cooking.

Gigs and notoriety came later. .

“We eventually all came together (about October 2011) in Brighton and were rehearsing, but we completely unprepared for our first gig.” That gig, secured by Beth through her connections with John & Jehn, was supporting UK darlings British Sea Power. The gig impressed.

The Observer wrote that “it’s not exactly sexy, it’s not funny and they’re not going to be rolling around in mud like (80’s punk act) the Slits. But it’s the closest thing to art that “post-punk”... has offered in a while”.

Indeed I ask about what the band stands for and she politely points to a recent press statement that clearly articulates that they’re “not trying to give you something you didn’t have

“In a fury, like madness and happiness all at once.” already, it is calling within yourself something you buried ages ago, it is an attempt to reveal and reconnect your physical and emotional self and give you the urge to experience your life differently” Milton explains that much of their music sounds negative but is in fact a reflection of itself, like exposing the dark to the light.

True, she concedes, Savages are theoreticians; they are not claiming to be original. Guitarist Gemma Thompson said she was listening to a lot of Wire and My Bloody Valentine when she started experimenting with the sparse stripped back sound that’s become Savages trademark.

“No you shouldn’t call it art-punk but you can see where it comes from,” notes Milton. She, herself was originally a classically trained percussionist before moving to rock about five years ago. “It is definitely a different,” This is very evident in the band’s sound. It takes real musicianship to make something that looks so primitive but sounds this perfect.

Each instrument seems held in its own little vacuum space with Thompson’s tangential guitars, Beth’s exploratory vocals and Milton’s drums and Hassan’s bass hanging it all together.

Their live shows are captivating, engaging affairs. And there’s good reason why Savages are causing a raucous in the press up North. That feeling of pure epiphany is back again. Find out for yourself when they play Laneway Festival next year.

ST JEROME’S LANEWAY FESTIVAL MON 27 JAN SILO PARK, AUCKLAND

Tombowler.com.au

PETER MURPHY PERFORMING SOLELY

BAUHAUS

SAT 14 DECEMBER - THE STUDIO, AUCKLAND SUN 15 DECEMBER - BODEGA, WELLINGTON ADRIAN BELEW • TONY LEVIN • PAT MASTELOTTO MARKUS REUTER • JULIE SLICK • TOBIAS RALPH PERFORMING THE MUSIC OF

KING CRIMSON TUES 7 JAN - THE STUDIO, AUCKLAND

LAURA WEASER

RHYTHM & VINES WIN

BUILT FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS, WE FIND OUT WHAT MAKES R&V AN ICONIC SUMMER FESTIVAL “IF YOU BUILD it, they will come.” Yes, a line from a terrible Kevin Costner film, but an appropriate saying when it comes to one of New Zealand’s biggest New Year’s festivals – Rhythm & Vines. Although the team behind the event never have imagined it would be running for 10 years and attracting more than 30,000 revelers, it was clear after a successful first run they had “stumbled across a unique formula”, according to organsier Hamish Pinkham.

It began as a project “to avoid working as a labourer” over the university holidays. Three friends – Hamish, Tom Gibson, and Andrew Witters – wanted to set up a business, run a cool NYE event as part of it and have a great summer. They wanted a platform for up and coming Kiwi musicians and wanted to do the country justice as the first place in the world to bring in the New Year. Ambitious plans, but ones that worked. A first year of 1800 people grew to 5000, and it’s continued from there.

We ask Hamish the inside questions to find out what makes R&V a hit event.

You’ve had some massive acts over the years, who has been your biggest “get”? How did you manage to get this artist on board?

Looking back, I think Calvin Harris was a great booking. He had a reasonable profile, but we had the heads up from our booking partners and the label that his next album was

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set to do big things. We put in a sizeable offer and waited. Sure enough, the album blew up right around his performance at Rhythm & Vines in 2011. I think it delivered eight US Top 10 hits. Now he is the worlds most in demand and a well-paid DJ, with residencies in Vegas and Ibiza. We hope to have him back in the future.

No doubt there are some pretty good backstage secrets. What’s the one incident you’ve always remembered?

There was a lot of pressure on Moby arriving as he was known for his fussy vegan rock star behaviour. I was late for the pick-up, so met him directly at his hotel. He appeared slightly frazzled from a long flight so we took him up to the penthouse to try and settle him in with no drama. He took a look around the penthouse and soon enough popped his head out from the ensuite:“What is an Indian man doing in my bathroom?” I poked my head in and sure enough a man of Indian decent was hiding in the shower. Turns out it had been the hotel plumber who was fixing a leak when we turned up to survey the room. Moby saw the funny side of it and went on to have one of the most memorable performances the festival has ever seen.

Over there years, what is the biggest thing you have learnt about running this festival?

Don’t be scared to say no. That goes for booking bands outside of budget, trying to fit in people outside of your consent or promising every local vendor space to sell their wares.

And as Winston Churchill said never, ever, ever give up.

What is it that makes thousands upon thousands of people keep coming back to R&V when the market has become more and more competitive with NYE festivals over the years?

I think we have a great recipe at R&V. The venue is world class. The amphitheater nestles amongst the rolling hills and vines. It really is a magical place. The crowd is renowned the world over, they are passionate and responsive music lovers. But most of all, R&V has a sense of occasion and purpose. It is the first place in the world to celebrate NYE. You can’t beat that.

How far in advance do you start planning the next year’s event?

We try to keep things rolling in January.

It actually is a busy time, not just for our site team, but also debriefing with staff and contractors, thanking sponsors, artists etc. It is nice to have some down time in February to enjoy the summer along with other people’s events! But from March onwards it is all go again. A lot of planning then goes in over the winter: It’s the busiest time for a lot of the team implementing marketing plans, securing talent, refining our internal systems. And come spring time it’s time to get the delivery and on site ready. Very seasonal, but like any working business there is always something to tend to.

Looking ahead, who is an artist you would love to get for R&V in the next few years to come?

I think a legendary dance act like the Prodigy or Daft Punk. It may be ambitious; both acts are hugely popular around the world. Daft Punk, for one, have not toured in seven years.

But I think both suit the occasion. It is a party after all!

What does the future hold for R&V? We want to keep the festival sustainable and stay in business which is paramount. We don’t have huge expansion plans for Gisborne and are happy with the current model. We may increase Glamping and on site accommodation options. Focus needs to be on refining systems such as RFID technology. It would be great to see Rhythm & Alps on par with the Gisborne event. I’d like to see R&V be a catalyst for New Zealand tourism, just like Tomorrowland brings thousands of visitors to Belgium each summer.

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2013 - A YEAR IN REVIEW

“uh huh ho

ney”

ries V Se

T

Here’s what the RIU team have to say about the year that was 2013.

Alexander Hallag (AH) Bill Knowles (BH) Darren Maslin (DM) Gary Steel (GS) Jan Maree (JM) Laura Weaser (LW) Tyler Hislop (TH) Greta Gotlieb (GG) James Manning (JM2) Nick Collings (NC) Ren Kirk (RK) Pauline Reinhart (PR) Sarah Thomson (ST) Sebastian Mackay (SM) Albums of the year GS: Clark – Feast/Beast, The Knife – Shaking The Habitual, James Blake – Overgrown, Jackson & His Computerband – Glow and Sendam Rawkustra – Greatest Hits! Who’s Mad? NC: Gesaffelstein – Aleph, Young Fathers – Tape Two, The Naked and Famous - In Rolling Waves, El-P & Killer Mike - Run The Jewels and The Pet Shop Boys – Electric ST: Doris – Earl Sweatshirt, Has Been Injured – The Muscle, MCII - Mikal Cronin, Silence Yourself – Savages and The Worse Things Get…– Neko Case

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Gig

Hunk & H unkette

GG: Arcade Fire – Reflektor, Haim – Days are Gone, Kirin J Callinan – Embracism, Nick Cave - Push The Sky away and Kurt Vile Wakin on a Pretty Daze TH: Foals – Holy Fire, Bosnian Rainbows Bosnian Rainbows, David Bowie – The Next Day, Haim – Days are Gone and Debbie and the Downers - 13 Films of the year JM: Enough Said, Behind The Candelabra, Utu, The Big Wedding and Blue Jasmine.

GG: Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Gravity, World War Z, Pacific Rim and Spring Breakers TH: Before Midnight, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Sound City, Stoker and Only God Forgives TV show of the year JM: Orange is the New Black season 1…why TVNZ aired it after 11pm pm a Monday night is beyond me.

Biggest surprise of the year AH: Watching Chris Knox perform with Rackets at Real Groovy on Record Store day.

DM: Killing off a beloved Family Guy character. Not cool.

JM: Getting a phone call from GG asking if I was keen to interview Joan Jett. Surprised much? Fuck yes.

GG: Paying grown-up people bills.

Books/comics of the year BK: Tessa Hadley - Clever Girl and Simon Rich - The Last Girlfriend on Earth.

PR: The Fault in Our Stars - John Green.

RK: I re-read Shantaram. It makes me a better human being that book.

GG: Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff… and It’s all Small Stuff.

SM: The Walking Dead

Gig of the year RK: I’m going to go with M. Ward. Just M. Ward and his guitar at Tuning Fork one night not long ago.

GG: Regular Show.

ST: Any/every time Die! Die! Die! play.

LW: Game of Thrones. Always.

GG: Kirin J Callinan.

2013 - A YEAR IN REVIEW

Meme

Film

Winne

r

TH: Byron Bay Blues Festival and Beyoncé.

Local musician/band of the year ST: Cool Runnings.

SM: Villainy.

LW: Cronuts. Life changing and oh-so-terrible at the same time.

TH: Upset, Iron and Wine, Best Coast, Aaradhna, M.I.A, Arcade Fire, Swamp Thing and Ty Segall.

TH: Twin Peaks.

Hunk of the year LW: Miley Cyrus’ tongue.

What’s up for New Year’s Eve? TG: Friends Birthday on a farm in Timuka (BBQ & Beers, Kiwi heaven!)

PR: Ryan Gosling. Seriously? It’s like he’s photoshopped.

GG: Pims in the sun with my British friend Helen.

GG: James Franco.

TH: House party anyone?

TH: Lewis Durham.

2013 has been...

JM2: The year Kanye West’s ego imploded into something much more insane.

SB: Aaradhna (but everyone will say Lorde).

JM, LW, TG: Lorde International musician/band of the year NC: Gesaffelstein. His sound and music videos are moody and aggressive yet he looks like an Armani model.

ST: The Midas touch of Ariel Rechtshaid.

Hunkette of the year ST: Your Mum.

GG: Hunx and His Punx.

GG: Seth Rogen.

TH: Haim. Girl power.

TH: JLaw <3

Meme of the year BK: Screaming Goats= Taylor Swift.

What’s on your summer playlist?

JM2: Best Coast, Gold Panda, Jagwar Ma and Hermitude.

GG: Same same but different.

TH: An exhausting whirlwind.

GG: #funeral #selfie.

Find of the year AH: A rare book copy of Peter Pan worth over $500.00 at a garage sell for .50 cents. Score!

GS: The treasure trove of NZ music history on the new AudioCulture site.

TG: Rhombus, Rhian Sheehan, Calexico, Wilco and Nathan Haines.

GG: Arcade Fire, Haim, Britney Spears, Enya, Amok, The National, Vampire Weekend and Black Sabbath.

2014 will be…

JM2: The year ‘trap’ fizzles out.

ST: About time I grew up or something else equally unlikely to happen.

GG: Expensive, because I want to go to every gig and festival.

VISIT RIPITUP.CO.NZ TO READ A YEAR IN REVIEW IN FULL.

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#WINNING VISIT RIPITUP.CO.NZ FOR MORE INFO AND TO ENTER IN THE DRAW TO WIN COOL PRIZES

METRIC SAT 14 DEC THE POWERSTATION, AUCKLAND 2 X DOUBLE PASSES

RHYTHM & VINES The full line up has been revealed for Rhythm and Vines. Rudimental, Wiz Khalifa, Empire of the Sun and Chet Faker will be showcased at the picturesque Waiohika Estate Vineyard in Gisborne - and you could be there with three friends!

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To enter answer the question below along with your contact details, cut it out and send it to us!

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PETER MURPHY SAT 14 DEC STUDIO, AUCKLAND SUN 15 DEC BODEGA, WELLINGTON 1 X DOUBLE PASS TO EACH SHOW

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