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CONTENTS

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34.

24.

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6. What Goes On/What’s On The Rip It Up Stereo, 8. Space Is The Place, 10. So What…/Tweet Talk, 12. Ginny Blackmore, 14. Game Of Thrones, 16. This Month In Clubland, 18. Style Like Stevie Nicks, 19. Style Like Sam Smith, 20. Gadgets, 21. Ian ‘Blink’ Jorgensen, 22. Tanja Jade McMillian – Misery, 24. Anika Moa, 25.

Antagonist AD, 26. Album Reviews, 28. Film Reviews, 29. Archer, 30. Jurassic 5, 32. My Sneaker Story, 34. Randa, 35. Making Tracks, 36. #WINNING

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WHAT GOES ON MAJOR LAZER Major Lazer have announced the first in a series of albums to come over the next year. Peace Is The Mission, coming Friday 01 June on Mad Decent and available for pre-order today with instant grat tracks ‘Lean On’ and new song ‘Roll the Bass’, will be the third studio album from Major Lazer, the dancehall collective spearheaded by Diplo with trusted co-conspirators Walshy Fire and Jillionaire.

THE BLACK KEYS

NEW ALBUM: PEACE IS THE MISSION

Due to a serious shoulder injury to Patrick Carney, The Black Keys’ forthcoming concerts in Australia, New Zealand and Japan, part of their Turn Blue World Tour, have been cancelled.

Regrettably, due to prior scheduled commitments, efforts to reschedule the original dates were unsuccessful; therefore all tickets will be refunded at their point of purchase.

Refunds for the Christchurch show available from Ticketek.

Refunds for the Auckland show available from Ticketmaster.

OUT FRI 01 JUN

stadium shows this November.

All five original band members are back together, with Christine McVie rejoining band mates Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks after a 16-year absence.

SEE TOURS AND EVENTS FOR DATES

contributing member of society again,” says Max. His co-host, Vince Wynn says it’s really exciting to have the opportunity to add another chapter to the bFM breakfast story. “I’ve also been looking to for an excuse to completely kill my evening social life, so the appointment is a real blessing”, he adds.

MY MORNING JACKET

FLEETWOOD MAC

95BFM ANNOUNCE BREAKFAST HOSTS

Fleetwood Mac will bring their On With The Show World Tour to New Zealand in 2015.

The On With The Show Tour will mark Fleetwood Mac’s first series of concert dates in New Zealand since 2009’s soldout Unleashed Tour. Touring as a five-piece for the first time since 1998, one of music’s most enduring groups of all time, Fleetwood Mac, will play two

Max Oldfield and Vince Wynn have been appointed the new hosts for the 95bFM Breakfast Show. Oldfield, Wednesday Drive host, and Wynn, a former bFM Breakfast Producer, have not worked together before but are enthusiastic about the arrangement. “When I was just doing drive I had no reason to get out of bed before midday. I’m looking forward to becoming a

My Morning Jacket are set to return with their seventh fulllength album, The Waterfall via Spunk Records/Capitol Records.

This release will mark the band’s first studio album on Capitol Records, and fifth on Spunk. Recorded in Stinson Beach CA, The Waterfall is the follow-up to the Grammy nominated Circuital, which was ranked among 2011’s best albums by publications such as Rolling Stone, Paste, MOJO, and Uncut.

NEW ALBUM: THE WATERFALL OUT FRI 01 MAY

ON THE RIP IT UP STEREO

SAM SMITH FT. JOHN LEGEND – ‘LAY ME DOWN’ (2015) FLEETWOOD MAC – THEN PLAY ON (1969)

JESSICA LEA MAYFIELD – WITH BLASPHEMY SO HEARTFELT (2008)

FLORENCE + THE MACHINE – ‘ST JUDE’ (2015)

STEVEN WILSON – HAND. CANNOT. ERASE. (2015)

KENDRICK LAMAR – TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY (2015)

GORILLAZ – PLASTIC BEACH (2010)

ST. VINCENT – ‘BIRTH IN REVERSE’ (2014)

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FKA TWIGS – ‘GLASS & PATRON’ (2015)

THE RACONTEURS – ‘MANY SHADES OF BLACK’ (2008)

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ANDREW JOHNSTONE

SPACE IS THE PL ACE

SCIENCE FICTION WAS the first great literary innovations of the 20th century.

It is fiction that uses narrative as a means of exploring technology, science, ideas and possibilities.

Speculative fiction is a subgenre in science fiction’s crowded cabinet. The style weaves together futurist thought, prediction, science, and metaphysics and storytelling.

This is imagination at its most rampant.

It’s not surprising that this same spirit of imaginative exploration has infected contemporary music styles. It’s only natural that kids who grew up reading Robert A. Heinlein and watching Star Trek, Star Wars, The Twilight Zone and 2001: A Space Odyssey and read Amazing Stories, would be interested in exploring these ideas in various ways including music.

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The original Star Trek opened with a gloriously spacey track that become a popular favourite, often covered and referenced.

call” melody. Star Trek was not a ratings winner and was quickly strangled to death by an unsupportive studio.

It was composed by Alexander Courage, who was also responsible for the incidental music that flavoured much of the beloved ‘70s TV show The Waltons.

Regardless of the obstacles he faced, Gene Roddenberry managed to craft 79 episodes of some of the finest television ever made.

Onboard the Star Ship Enterprise we sailed the seas of endless possibility, our hearts and imaginations set alight by ideas like the United Federation of Planets, (agreed rules for peaceful co-existence) and the Prime Directive, (how to deal with aliens), not to mention the tricorder, the matter replicator, the transporter and faster than light travel.

The music only served to stimulate the fires of discovery with its ethereal “sirens’

Roddenberry cleverly added words to the score so he could claim half of the royalties.

Courage never forgave him for that.

Sun Ra was a jazz composer and pioneer of Afrofuturism, a sub-genre of jazz that set out to examine the dilemma of the coloured person in a white person’s world. Heavily influenced by sci-fi ideas, in 1974 the unorthodox Ra and his partners went about making a speculative sci-fi film, Space Is the Place, that has gone on to

become something of a genre classic if not a masterpiece.

The plot goes something like this: During a European tour Ra is whisked away to the stars and returns some time later to lead the black man to a new life on a planet he has found, where the coloured person can live free of the white man’s oppressive shadow.

As Sun Ra dreams of a better world some place a long way from Earth, Gil Scott Heron takes another tack with ‘Whitey’s on the Moon’. In this track he pursues the argument that whitey is wasting money on egotistical fantasy while black people remain poverty-stricken and oppressed.

Ella Fitzgerald and Kanye West are in full agreement with Sun Ra.

In Fitzgerald’s ‘Two Little Men in Flying Saucer’, aliens come to visit, but they don’t want to stay.

“Two little men in a flying saucer flew down to Earth one day/ Looked to left and right of it, couldn’t stand the sight of it and said let’s fly away.”

In his song ‘Spaceships’, Kanye West dreams of escaping all the shit in a spaceship, and much like Ra, expresses a black man’s yearning for emancipation.

There is a scene in the NZ movie Dark Horse where a group of kids are asked what their superpowers would be. One girl answers: “I would fly to the moon and set up a base for all my whanau.”

I imagined then, the incredible propensity that Polynesian people have for travel and exploration, finding new expression in outer space.

NZ was the one of the last places to be colonised and here the spirit to travel is strong and a prominent feature of our psyche.

We travel freely around our own land and the world, seeking out something new, something that might satisfy the itch.

Lawrence Arabia is the moniker worn by Kiwi musician James Milne. His song ‘Crew Of the Commodore’ is about a starship leaving Earth. I am not sure about the rest but I detect a wistful air of loss as the crew prepare to leave their loved ones behind.

With overtones of David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’, ‘Crew of the Commodore’ paints, for me at least, a picture of brave Kiwi astronauts setting out to explore the great unknown.

Robots and the bigger question of Artificial Intelligence has occupied the mind of many a songwriter. The Flaming Lips made a concept album about it called Yoshimi Battle the Pink

Robots. The themes feel a little vague but it’s great fun. On the other hand, The Alan Parsons Project explore the issue with considered and prog-pop brevity.

The band’s 1977 album I Robot is based on the I, Robot books by Isaac Asimov. The album’s cover inlay reads: “I Robot... The story of the rise of the machine and the decline of man, which paradoxically coincided with his discovery of the wheel... and a warning that his brief dominance of this planet will probably end, because man tried to create robot in his own image.”

Contact with aliens is after space travel, the second most popular theme in sci-fi music.

Love affairs with aliens are quite popular as are alien invasions.

The Pixies visit Roswell, the holy grail of Alien speculation, in ‘Motorway to Roswell’ and Queen sing about the heroic human figure fighting off nefarious invaders in Flash. From the movie Flash Gordon, it’s a lovingly crafted tribute to the 1930s serials of the same name.

Made in 1936, there were 17 episodes. Today they are preserved in the United States National Film Registry and rated by the Library of Congress as “significant”.

Not all aliens are evil monstrous invaders; some are wise and have come to teach us better ways.

The Carpenters’ music was oft derided by critics and written off as “bland”. Their craft, arrangement and performance skills however belied this shallow dismissal. Their legacy is a catalogue of significant pop music.

In his 1967 book The Flying Saucer Reader, Jay David told a little known story about events that actually took place, (to some degree or another):

“In March 1953 an organisation known as the International Flying Saucer Bureau sent a bulletin to all its members urging them to participate in an experiment termed ‘World Contact Day’ whereby, at a predetermined date and time, they would attempt to collectively send out a telepathic message to visitors from outer space.

The message began with the words... ‘Calling occupants of interplanetary craft!’”

Written and first recorded by Canadian band Klaatu, (named after the robot from 1951 movie The Day The Earth Stood Still), The Carpenters give their version the full treatment and the result is a lavishly arranged mini-pop opera. The song is probably a little bit mad (like Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is mad), and perhaps a sideways glimpse into the faltering psyche behind the sugar-dusted brand.

In 1983, Karen Carpenter (a gifted vocalist and handy drummer), died from starvation by way of anorexia.

Let’s finish up by returning to the genre’s one great constant: Humanity reaching for the stars.

It’s 1961 and John F. Kennedy has announced that America will be on the moon by the end of the decade. The nation is on fire with the challenge but there are dissenters, hippies mostly, dogooder liberals more concerned with issues of equality and justice than egotistical posturing.

The Coen Brothers 2013 movie Inside Llewyn Davis features a track called ‘Please Mr. Kennedy’, a subversive “antispace program” commentary delivered with an “aw shucks” wink and nod. The song reminds us that not everyone was enamoured by Kennedy’s vision.

about fulfilling Kennedy’s dream of getting men to the moon in a decade. It is a story of faith, belief and dogged determination.

British electronic duo Public Broadcasting tell this story with beats and melodies overlaid with archived sound material on their album Race for the Stars.

Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ is a regular on this sort of list for good reason. Aware, informed and artful, this 1969 song is a masterpiece that appeared just as the ‘60s space race was about to blown apart by the United States who were about to prove once and for all that American capitalism was a superior system to Soviet communism.

Bowie’s mood is mysterious and obtuse as he examines humanities brave new future, much like the film it takes it cues from Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

By 1972, as Major Tom floats away into space and the glory years of the moon race are fading, legendary singer/ songwriter Harry Nilsson asks, in his song ‘Spaceman’, what of kind of man would want to be an astronaut expressing perhaps something of the a nation’s exhaustion with the subject.

To finish, we examine two possibilities in humanity’s quest to explore the stars. One is out of necessity. We have destroyed our planet and our only hope is to find a new one. Two is a glorious tale of adventure towards a better future for humanity.

And here we are, at the end, eyes looking outward and inward asking why and why not. The stars are the destiny of generations not yet conceived.

For now, all we have are thoughts and dreams, imaginings and speculations.

The other story is one of exuberant conquest over enormous odds as the nation set

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SO WHAT...

Madonna wouldn’t accept a lifetime achievement prize if it were offered to her. The 56-year-old singer has revealed she would not be keen to be presented with such an accolade because she believes she has so much more music to create. When questioned as to whether she would accept such an award, she said: “I’ve got lots of life left to live. Offer it to me in 100 years and I might reconsider.”

although he is a musical competitor, he helped him to get back into the studio because he realised he needed to up his game after hearing Drake’s new collection, ‘If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late’. He admitted: “I look at Drake as an amazing sparring partner. Someone who’s like, ‘Come on, man, get back up!’ Bow! ‘Get back up! What’s up, bro? What you doing?’ I was sitting there getting fat. Sitting back, just knocked everybody out. And then this guy hits the gym, he’s just running around like, bow, 14 hits, same as Paul McCartney. I’m like, Whoa.

OK. Let me go to the studio, then. Let’s see what’s happening. Let me get these lyrics up.

Let me see what’s happening. So, that’s where we at right now, that’s where you getting these records from.”

Kanye West was “getting fat” before he was inspired by Drake. The musician revealed

T WEET TALK “I’m pretty sure that Liam Neeson did the photo shot for the poster of every single movie he will release between now and 2020 at once” Kerrie Murphy ‫@ ‏‬Kerrie_Murphy

“Why is the go-to name for a tiny child in a comedy narrative still Little Timmy, though?

When’s the last time you met a baby called Tim?” Scriblit @Scriblit

“6yr old just saw a butt-centric pic of Kim Kardashian and asked, ‘How does she fit on a toilet?’” kelly oxford @kellyoxford

“I assume having a great body feels like you are wearing really cool clothes everyday.”

Ben Schwartz @rejectedjokes

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50 Cent wants to help Zayn Malik launch a rap career. He thinks the now ex-One Directioner would sell a lot of records just because of his pop background, but he would like to mentor him to enable him to be a “credible” artist. He said: “If Zayn wants a rap career, just because of who he is, he is going to sell records. But if he wants to be credible he has to be with the right people. I’d happily sign him up to my label, mentor him and have him working with the biggest rappers on the planet.” And the rapper even believes Zayn could help him launch a joint venture with Simon Cowell, who is head of One Direction’s record label Syco.

Westlife don’t see each other anymore. The ‘Flying Without Wings’ hitmakers went their separate ways in 2012 and Kian Egan says it was important for himself and bandmates Mark Feehily, Nicky Byrne and Shane Filan to give each other space. Asked if he still meets up with the rest of the group, Kian said: “Not really. I saw Mark briefly just after Christmas. I’m sure the time will come when we’ll sit down for a

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ANDREW JOHNSTONE

GINNY BL ACKMORE songs to agents.

“I had no idea what I was doing or how I was going to do it. It was scary but it all worked out somehow.”

WIN

She explains that there is little demand for songwriter’s wares in NZ because everyone writes their own songs. In Europe she discovered a profoundly different scene with retinue of performers who do not write. She found some early success providing a variety of regional European performers with material.

All and all it was a pretty modest living until Christina Aguilera came along and picked one of Blackmore’s songs for her 2012 album Lotus.

I MET GINNY Blackmore at the studio for a recorded interview and my first impression is that she looks fragile. I mention this and she puts it down to jetlag.

She is in heavy demand these days and travels a lot. “A draining process,” she confides.

She had barely put her feet on home soil a couple of days earlier before being whisked off to tsing at the opening ceremony of the 2015 Cricket World Cup in Christchurch. She does not know much about the world’s number two sport but accepted the gig with her father’s encouragement.

“He’s a huge cricket fan.”

It turned out to be a great experience for her and some of the hundreds of millions who were watching on the subcontinent. After her performance she opened her Facebook to find it flooded with

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praise from places like India and Pakistan.

Since the cricket she’s been on high rotate on the media treadmill preparing the way for her first solo album, Over The Moon, which is being released in NZ on Friday 22 May. 28-year-old Virginia Blackmore dropped out of school when she was 16 to work at the craft of song writing full-time.

“I didn’t really have a talent for song writing. I wanted to be a singer and I couldn’t imagine myself as a recording artist who sang other people’s songs so I figured I had better learn how to write. It wasn’t a talent; it was a skill I acquired through many years of hard work.”

Three years later she found herself in London touting her

Blackmore suddenly found herself explaining to the superstar how the song should be sung. ‘Sing for Me’ (inspired by the music of Etta James, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston), has proven to be a nice little earner for Ginny and it is why she might have “put a little weight on recently,” she says with a laugh. “I can afford to eat better now.”

Aguilera is not the only arrow to Blackmore’s bow. She has also written for Adam Lambert (runner-up, season eight, American Idol), but perhaps her crowning achievement is her solo hit ‘Bones’. “‘Bones’ was written and recorded by me alone in my apartment over the course of one night and released as was because I did not feel it could be improved upon by taking it to a big studio.”

much as she enjoys playing with her voice and instruments.

“That one song changed my career. Lots of amazing singers wanted to record it but no one could quite deliver on it the way I did so it seemed like it was going to stay in my hands.

Record labels were knocking at my door and were saying this is an incredible song and we can’t imagine anyone else’s voice on it so we want to sign you.”

Epic released the song in 2013. It topped the NZ charts, scored well in Australia and entered the top 40 in the USA. She was driving between promotional gigs in the States when she heard herself on American radio for the first time.

“I bawled my eyes out for two hours because after ten years of fighting, dreaming and travelling, it was amazing to finally hear my voice on American radio. It was my biggest dream come true.”

Since 2013 Blackmore’s focus has been on her debut album, which has turned out to be a mammoth undertaking.

“I have mixed emotions about it.

I am really excited because it’s my first album and I am really proud of what I have achieved but its been a long hard two year slog and in some ways I am over it and I can’t wait for it to be out so I can move on.”

Some interviews are more special than others. This was one of the best. Blackmore is a remarkable young woman.

NEW ALBUM: OVER THE MOON OUT FRI 22 MAY

Ginny not only writes, but she is also an adept sound engineer who enjoys the technical side of the recording process almost as

LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW ON RIP IT UP RADIO: SOUNDCLOUD.COM/RIP-IT-UP-RADIO

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CARICE VAN HOUTEN

GAME OF THRONES

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Set the scene for Melisandre as we begin season five…

We are in Castle Black. We know that I’ve clocked Jon Snow. We want to go back to Winterfell to take it, and we want Jon Snow to come with us. But he’s basically married to The Wall – he’s sworn an oath, he’s not going to just follow us. And so I will have to seduce him to get him to do so.

it’s thanks to her.

Stannis is still her focus, but she’s been slightly distracted by Jon Snow. In part it’s by Jon’s presence as a man, but there’s something else too. I think she feels, or she can see, that there’s something else about him that she might have to deal with – or just that she might need him. Yeah, there’s something about this guy; he has a certain power that she cannot really pinpoint yet.

What is Melisandre’s motivation? What is her goal?

What I’m trying to do is to show that whatever she’s doing, she’s doing it for a greater good, that she’s doing it for a purpose that nobody knows about yet. She knows that what we’re dealing with is way more epic than the little wars we’re fighting now, and therefore she feels that people have to make huge sacrifices.

But yeah, I still feel that she’s not doing it for her own good – there’s a higher power she feels beholden to. And she’s a true believer; she’s not a phony.

All of this brings her into contact with another house, another world in Game of Thrones. How has that been for you?

As an actress, that was quite refreshing.

Anytime I work on a new set, it’s like, “wow”.

I’m still very surprised and overwhelmed by the detail and the love that’s in that work. It’s unbelievable. I hadn’t been on the Castle Black set in Northern Ireland before. It looks like it’s been there forever. You cannot imagine that that is a stage. It’s unbelievable, and then the wall is painted on to a big cliff behind it. It’s just incredible.

What’s her relationship like with Stannis right now? Because he suddenly finds himself in a position of power – but in part

How do you relate to Melisandre? On one hand she’s a strong woman who knows what she wants. On the other she’ll do just about

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anything to get it.

I mean, the fact that she uses her womanhood to her own advancement – in a way, it’s sort of intelligent; she knows how it works; she knows how to get what she wants. The crucial thing is it’s not for her own sake that she does that. You know, if it was about her becoming the king or queen, then it would be different, but she’s doing it for something bigger.

Does that make it an interesting part to play – a female role that’s not merely a mother or a lover?

Exactly. I mean, I just read an article in Time magazine about how the entertainment industry, and especially the movies, is so malefocused. I’m very happy to be a part of a place where they write good stuff for women.

Tell us some of the practical skills you’ve had to learn for Game of Thrones.

Well, horse riding, but I couldn’t say it’s a skill I’ve mastered. I don’t do any stunt work or spectacular stuff. I mean, I have to go on a lesson sometimes just to not fall off! Plus, I’m quite allergic to horses. So the last time I went on one, I dosed myself up with antihistamines.

That made it more enjoyable, shall we say.

She doesn’t get to wear many layers. Do you get cold?

Well it actually says in the books that she’s never cold, which is ironic, because I really feel the cold, even in summer. I get to wear all of these plunging necklines exposing the neck area and more, so that’s quite unlucky. And especially since “winter is coming” and it’s not looking like the summer’s coming any time soon, I’m a little worried. I try to just breathe – really like I’m trying to meditate, because otherwise if you surrender to it then you’re screwed. There’s one scene this year that was insanely cold, and I think you can even see it in my face. Then there’s another shot where you just see me from the back – what you can’t see is that in front of me I’m holding a hot water bottle.

What sort of reaction do you get from the fans?

It’s funny, there’s a group of people that really root for Melisandre, which I find interesting.

I don’t think it’s her methods, per se, that they like, it’s the way she keeps her cool, I guess.

She’s not a whinger, a whining woman. So I think that might be something that people are attracted to. And then there’s people, obviously, that really hate her – which is also great, I think. I can see it on Twitter, sometimes. But they don’t hate me personally, I don’t think, and at least it’s getting a response.

Which scenes do you most enjoy filming?

I like more the mind games, the way she plays with Stannis and now Jon Snow.

It’s a completely new chemistry with Kit [Harington] and his storyline, of course, is he doesn’t really want to have anything to do with

me, either as a mistress or as an adviser. That tension, I like.

What is her relationship with Davos now?

They are arch rivals and yet she saved his life…

Yeah, but I saved his life just because I saw that we needed him, not because I like him!

Now I think she accepts him in a way. It’s just his methods are completely different, more human. Again, I’m looking at a bigger picture; I can see that we have to make sacrifices, to do horrible things to get where we want to be.

But, in the end, both Davos and I want Stannis on the throne.

Has playing Melisandre meant you get lots of scripts asking you to play fierce, driven women?

When I walk into rooms, auditioning, new meetings or whatever, people are always completely surprised because they expect this very stern, older, very mature woman, and I’m quite... I’m small. I can be very bubbly, and almost a little bit clumsy, and maybe even funny. If you don’t know me then it’s logical that I get cast for, like, women who are very stern, or very serious. And for me that’s funny, because that’s something that is not at all my, as I would say, speciality. I’ve never done anything like that; I’ve always played the nurse or the joker.

Your scenes, with Liam [Cunningham] and with Stephen [Dillane] are very intense. Is it an intense, serious set?

If Liam is around, then it’s mostly laughing.

We have a lot of fun on set. I mean, the atmosphere is nice and people are friendly, and there is a real “no asshole” policy on that set.

Equally, I find that we work so hard that there’s not much time for messing about. We’re really there to work.

How do you feel being on the biggest television show in the world?

I feel very lucky. I’m just sometimes, like, “Really? I’m in that series? That’s so cool”. I can only be very grateful about that, but the great thing is it’s a show that’s more than just an action movie or a fantasy. We’re trying, in a small way, to hold up a mirror to the modern world – although it’s fantasy and it’s set a long time ago, but still, the topics are so modern.

Have you had any fans dressing up as you?

Yes, yes, I’ve had some girls dressing up and some of them look almost better than me!

“Wow, you’re really good looking!” It’s really funny. And people do often ask me to say that line, “The night is dark and full of terrors”.

Have you got that as your ringtone?

No, but I actually sometimes do scare people on the internet when they’re mean to me – I scare them with the shadow babies and the Lord of Light, and they always respond in a really good way. They love that stuff. Plus I really like to tease the followers. I know that I cannot post anything that gives anything away; I’m very careful with that, but if I get a script, I will just send a picture of, like, the corner of the script, just to get people excited.

GAME OF THRONES – SEASON 5 MON 13 APR, SOHO GLOBAL SIMULCAST: 1PM EVENING PREMIERE: 8.30PM

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15

NICK COLLINGS

THIS MONTH IN CLUBL AND

GEORGE FM DRIVE Moving into the coveted George FM Drive role since the start of 2015, Dan Aux has been part of George FM for seven and a half years. “We play EDM, house, hiphop, drum ‘n’ bass and everything

FRIDAY LIVE – FLAT FM “Essentially we took the idea of a traditional drive time radio show, took out all the bits where the music stops. Where commercial meets underground.

Electronica/UK rave/drum and bass/deep house /nu disco /tech/ experimental. We keep annoying banter to a frequent minimum.

We are a source for listeners to

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else in between. We especially love the bangers! We’re the only drive show in the market with a live DJ mixing up the tunes!”

HOSTS: DAN AUX & GRACIE TAYLOR MON - FRI 3PM-6PM, NATIONWIDE GEORGEFM.CO.NZ

broaden their musical comfort zone within the countless styles of electronic music, of which every week over 50% of ours is brand new.”

HOSTS: ROSS BROWN AND MEXICOJOE (EVERYONE’S PV FAVOURITE GINGER.) FRI AFTERNOONS 4PM-7PM NORTH SHORE AUCKLAND 87.9FM/ WEST AUCKLAND 88.0FM THEFLATFM.CO.NZ

GLITCH IN THE SYSTEM – RDU Essentially a glitch hop show, but incorporates many sub genres such as neuro hop, ghetto funk, neuro funk and tech funk. “I think what makes us unique for a Kiwi based show is that we are directly connected with US-based blog EDM Sauce. James (The Third Man) is a chief writer for them and it’s a great mix of downunder flavours versus US influence (which is the biggest glitch hop market). We have multiple brands/ labels that directly contribute to

GRID CITY GROOVES – PULZAR FM “Our show showcases local artists, giving them a platform they may not otherwise get.

All varieties of music are covered as long as they are from Christchurch and fit the brief for the show. The show is broken down into three blocks. The first block is just a general intro to give the listeners an idea of what the featured artist is all about and play

the show with music, artist hook ups and general assistance to push the show, we’re very lucky.

As DJs, we’re not scared to go playlist/magazine styles and really try to get banter rocking, we also reckon we have radio’s best paper, rock, scissor decision making process in the known universe.

We also broadcast out of a horse float... neigh.”

HOSTS: TWEQ, DRDEE & THE THIRD MAN WED NIGHTS 7.30PM-9.30PM 98.5FM, CHRISTCHURCH RDU.ORG.NZ

music from them. The second is a chat about an artists creative process when writing tunes and also touches on influence. The third section is the promotional side of the show for the artist this gives them ample time to let the listeners know where they can get a hold of them.”

HOST: SEEKER SUN NIGHTS 5PM-6PM 105.7FM, CHRISTCHURCH PULZARFM.CO.NZ

IN IT FOR THE KICKS – RADIO HAURAKI In It For The Kicks is Radio Hauraki’s first ever electronic music show in its 49-year history. “As pop music becomes disguised as dance music, our mission is to filter out the entry level to reward those that know their way around a dance floor,” says Greg. With over 50 years combined service behind

SAVED BY THE BELLS – NOIZE RADIO “We don’t really have a particular genre we stick to (within EDM) but we generally start our shows off with some chill music and move through into some heavier tunes as the show goes on!

Most of the other shows Noize are hosted by local DJs and are mixed live on air. We’ve tried to come from a more traditional

the turntables, for the hosts it’s a case of “nothing beats experience”. This translates to some of the most knowledgeable features and interviews in dance music today from two of the most respected names in the country.

HOSTS GREG CHURCHILL AND NICK COLLINGS FRI NIGHTS 10PM-12AM, NATIONWIDE HAURAKI.CO.NZ

angle by adding regular segments to the show alongside the music, with fun sound effects and stuff like that. We tend to keep the segments light-hearted, topical and relevant to what’s going on in the EDM scene and just try and change it up as we go along and come up with new ideas.”

HOSTS: COURTNEY BELL & JEREMY BELL FRI NIGHTS 8PM-10PM 88.0, HAMILTON NOIZERADIO.CO.NZ

THE HEADSPACE – BASE FM The Headspace has been on air since the first week Base FM launched back in May 2004. “It’s always been about playing tunes that match my mood at that point in time. predominantly beats, hip-hop and deep bass tunes. You have to trust your instincts and be prepared to take risks with your tune selection – it’s all about

TBC – RADIO ONE “We are quietly obsessed with all music. Generally, Woosh pulls out classic soul, jazz, blues and hip-hop cuts, while Booof leans on disco, EBM, post-punk, and ambient classics, before they focus on mixing together new and forthcoming house, techno, drum & bass and other electronically-indebted releases.

the tunes. I guess it’s not that common to find DJs that explore that early Mo Wax and Ninja Tune sound while also keeping up to date with UK bass music and championing the amazing local talent that is flourishing at the moment too. The Headspace is also about how those different styles fit together – the mix itself is ultimately what sets this show apart.”

HOST: DYLAN C

TBC is not about showcasing a specific genre, or trying to recreate a club-set on the radio.

It’s about introducing listeners to exciting music, on a station that still cares about that stuff.”

HOSTS: BOOOF & WOOSH (ON ROTATION) WED NIGHTS 7PM-9PM 91FM, DUNEDIN R1.CO.NZ

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ST YLE LIKE STEVIE NICKS

Zoe & Morgan ‘Gold Luna Necklance’: $205 zoe&morgan.co.nz | Moscot Eyewear ‘ZEV’: $419 blackboxboutique.co.nz Underground Sundae ‘Mini Filigree Earrings’:$190 undergroundsundae.com | Underground Sundae ‘Knotted Snake Ring’:$175 undergroundsundae.com Shen ‘Hankerchief Hem Dress with Side Ruching’: $289 shenclothing.co.nz | Curio Noir ‘Lilith Doll Candle’: $149 curionoir.co.nz Willa & Mae ‘Amethyst Short Pjamas’: $320 willaandmae.com | Miss Crabb ‘ Juliee Cruise Dress’ $480 misscrabb.com

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ST YLE LIKE SAM SMITH

Ray Ban ‘Wayfarer’: $245 opsm.co.nz | Barkers ‘Prospevt Leather Boot’ $249.99 barkersonline.co.nz Kinfolk Issue 15: $38 douglasandbec.com | The Brothers ‘Bogart Garment Bag’: $700 thebrothers.co.nz Adidas Originals ‘Jeremy Scott Superstar Wings’: $260 adidas.co.nz | French 83 ‘Bespoke Suit’: french83.co.nz Douglas and Bec x Sam Orne-Gee ‘Weave Chair’: $1,035 douglasandbec.com | COMME des GARCONS ‘2 eau de Parfum’: $120-180 scottiesboutique.co.nz

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GADGETS

What | Luna Coffee Table Why You Need This | This table features a trio of simple wooden legs and a round white desktop detailed with two removable plant bowls.

Where To Get It | bemrobinson@hotmail.co.uk bemrobinson.co.uk $POA

What | Whiskas ‘Catstacam’ Why You Need This | Catstacam takes six photographs every minute and uploads them on Instagram when it comes within Wi-Fi range.

Currently a Whiskas promo that is being tested by a group of cats owned by celebrities.

Where To Get It | It has not been specified when this product will publicly available. Visit Whiskas.com.au.

What | Memoji keyboard Why You Need This | turn your own face into usable and customized emoji. After all, the vast range of human emotions and reactions can’t be properly conveyed in little yellow faces, or even worse, words.

Where To Get It | Visit memojikeyboard.com or download from your mobile App Store

What | The Brothers ‘Fitzgerald Document & iPad holder’ Why You Need This | Carry you iPad and papers and books and stuff in style Where To Get It | thebrothers.co.nz $240

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ANDREW JOHNSTONE

IAN ‘BLINK’ JORGENSEN acts above and beyond the requirements of the punter.”

List completed, Ian gave it the once over and decided to do the opposite.

His first innovation was to open the gates the night before the official start allowing the audience time to arrive and comfortably bed down. Through the course of the seven Camp A Low Hum festivals, the night before has become a “big thing, an event in itself.”

His took this same approach to venues. His question here was, “Why aren’t people going out to gigs?” He identified several problems:

EVERY FIELD OF human endeavour has its thinkers, innovators, philosophers, impresario’s and entrepreneur’s: people concerned with problem solving, new ideas and reinvention.

The New Zealand music industry has its fair share of these types including impresario Ian Jorgensen. Ian’s projects are collectively corralled together under the banner A Low Hum and include photography, event and band management, a recording label and publishing. It’s a semi- comprehensive list that doesn’t quite seem to do justice to the man’s endeavours, but it’s a start.

Jorgensen is out and about promoting his latest venture, a box set of 10 books of his photography, a story that has its roots with fire that swept through a Kilbirnie Storage facility in April 2014.

“So many people lost so much stuff, including a DJ who lost 8000 odd records and it freaked me out because I had some 40,000 photographic negatives sitting around and realised that they could be gone in moment.”

Stirred into action, Jorgensen imported three specialist photo scanners from the States and set about archiving 15 years of work, a task that took around six months.

As the work progressed he began sorting the photos into genres, time and place and before he knew it he had selected some 3000 images that chronicled his personal journey through the music scene both as a fan and as participant.

His first inclination was to create an online archive but as time progressed he decided that he wanted something that people could access through libraries and archives, “a tactile collection that could be touched and felt”. The result is an astonishing collection that’s tells several important stories about the NZ music scene.

By the time the books had rolled off the presses a film had been made and a nationwide tour featuring many of the artists involved was in the planning.

Like everything Ian has touched, the A Low Hum story was taking on a larger than life persona. As we go to press, the tour, which has wound it’s way across the country taking in a variety of venues from bars to art galleries, has completed it’s first run but like everything Jorgensen does, there plans to continue the tour as an ever evolving format. His projects tend to take on a life of their own and he lets them go, like his Camp A Low Hum music festivals.

Exhausted by the rigorous touring schedule that was taking up most of each year he got to thinking: “what about bringing the audience to his bands rather than taking the bands to the audience?”

As the idea began to take root he started thinking about music festivals and what was wrong with them. He compiled a list that included “crappy port-a-loo’s, long cues for food and beverages, no shade areas, shoddy treatment of the minor acts and a schedule that put the needs of the promoters and main

“Venues weren’t good enough, drinks were too expensive, the sound is poor and bands weren’t running to time and often playing too late. There’s a reason people aren’t coming to shows, many venues curate poorly.”

Ian’s first move was to write a book. The Problem With New Zealand Music And How To Fix & Why I Started And Ran Puppies, it was released in 2009 but just talking about it wasn’t enough, so Ian decided to put his money where his mouth was.

The result was Puppies in Wellington, an experimental venue that put all his ideas into action. It was a runaway success and as promptly as it opened, Ian shut it down.

“I just achieved everything I set out to do with the venue. It worked and that was all what I needed to know.”

Ian enlarges on the theme: “Financial success is not the only goal of my projects. Proving my ideas is equally as important.”

An 800-word article isn’t enough space do justice to the broad range of Ian’s endeavours but we have to draw a line somewhere so lets leave it with his best selling book, A DIY Guide To Touring. Described by one reviewer as “the art of war for touring acts,” this tome has become one of the definitive international texts for bands and tour organisation.

LISTEN IN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW ON RIP IT UP RADIO: SOUNDCLOUD.COM/RIP-IT-UP-RADIO

ALOWHUM.COM

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ANDREW JOHNSTONE

TANJA JADE MCMILL AN with fortitude.

scene.

Tanja is originally from Marylebone in Queensland and came to NZ in her teens to have a look around. She liked what she saw and decided to stay.

Some time later, after an unsatisfactory stint studying photography at University in Australia, she found herself back in Auckland where she met illustrator and clothes designer, the late Martin Emond. He took her under his wing and helped her to find her way back to artistic fulfilment.

“I felt an immediate connection with the country and knew I wanted to make it my home.”

Tanja enrolled at the now-defunct Auckland Metropolitan College, an alternative school that was more interested in nurturing pupils’ talents than force-feeding them curriculum. It was here that Tanja realised that art might be a realistic life choice.

She explains: “It was a unique and special time. The pupils were driven and passionate. It was like university except for high school students.”

IT’S BEEN A while since I have had a decent pair of shoes. It’s been the money or rather the lack of it that has seen my feet becoming closely associated with cheap Chinese tennis shoes.

I even thought they were quite comfortable until I purchased my first pair of New Balance shoes online two weeks back. I was inspired by my conversations with New Balance Ambassador’s Stephen Kirkby and Tanja Jade McMillan and realised that I wasn’t doing myself any favours by treating my feet so poorly; after all they had to carry me around all day.

The sneakers duly arrived and I put them on completely unprepared for what happened next. My feet let out a luxuriant sigh and so did I. Blue with white highlights and a tasty fluorescent ‘N’ on the side, these sneakers spoke the language of quality and I knew instantly that I had

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found the right sneaker for me.

To recap, Mt. Maunganui Street Wear designer Stephen Kirkby has 30 pairs New Balance Sneakers (see March Rip It Up for our interview with Kirkby), all green bar two, and loves them for their classic design aesthetic and durability, much the same reasons as 33-year-old artist Tanja Jade McMillan.

Unlike Stephen, who has a New Balance sneaker for every occasion, Tanja wears them for painting. Being a working artist means that she spends most of the day on her feet. Comfort is one of her requirements and New Balance delivers this factor in spades.

Her other need is durability, and here she is frank, she gives her sneakers hell. They have to put up with all sorts of indignities, like paint drips, and this they do,

It was here that friend and fellow artist/student Askew One anointed her with the name Misery, kind of the opposite of what she actually was. Little did she know what that title had in store for her, but that story is a little way off yet.

After leaving school McMillan started her art career as one of the nation’s first female graffiti artists. Despite her growing reputation she met fierce resistance by some who resented the presence of a female in their midst. Her public works were often defaced with tags, a process she describes as “frustrating.”

One day while at work on a mural, she was confronted by an angry group of male artists.

Without thinking too much she struck back by spraying paint in their faces (a legendary event that still gets talked about in certain circles), winning a decisive moral victory that resulted in greater acceptance of her place in the

“He pushed me to believe in myself,” she said. And she did.

The Misery clothing label was born and flourished, so much so that it threatened to overwhelm Tanja, who was at heart a restless artist who needed freedom of movement and expression and not a commercial operation that utilised only a portion of her ability.

In 2010, after several successful years in business, she made the big decision and shut Misery down, or in her own words, “killed it.”

“Misery suggested something dark and nothing about me or my art was dark. It was dooming me.”

After a stint in Thailand working for the children’s charity Spinning Top she returned to NZ refreshed and ready to try something new and that something new turned out to be Misery Guts, a design project undertaken with friend Shelley Robinson to create “cool things for children’s bedrooms.”

Otherwise it’s painting, a task enlivened by her ever present New Balance sneakers which for her are more than just footwear, they are an essential element of her artists toolbox.

Her favourite pair is charcoal with bronze highlights.

EXCELLENT WILL ALWAYS BE MADE WITH PRIDE

Tanja Jade McMillan AKA Misery is a visual artist and wears the NB 574 newbalance.co.nz/classics @NBClassicsNZ

NB5600

NewBalanceClassicsNZ RIPITUP.CO.NZ

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ANDREW JOHNSTONE

ANIK A MOA I ask if she has gone through a rough time of late. She answers in a typically frank and down to earth manner. “The last couple of years have been pretty hard but no harder than anyone else’s life.”

When we spoke Moa had just finished a winery tour with Dave Dobbyn, Don McGlashan, Che Fu and Supergroove. Being a mother with three sons, twins and a five-month-old newborn I asked her how she copes.

“It’s easy, I go on tour and never see the children,” She laughs uproariously before adding, “I am the man in the relationship: See ya babe, I’m off to work.”

SO UBIQUITOUS IS her presence on New Zealand’s music scene it seems like Anika Moa has been with us forever, but in actuality it’s only a scant 16 years since Warner Music NZ first plucked her from the ranks and began grooming her for glory.

Within months of being discovered she found herself in America and signed to music industry giant Atlantic and then in the studio with a top producer. The result was Thinking Room.

The album debuted at number one on the NZ charts and sold some 30,000 copies. On top of this it yielded four hit singles. A glorious beginning but only the start of the big plans Atlantic had for her, but before they could begin the big roll-out Moa had a change of heart and returned home.

This turnaround is shrouded in mythology but the truth is a simple and straightforward thing; Moa did not like the manufactured image that was being foisted upon her. It didn’t fit and wasn’t for her. Her decision to return home was bold, shocking and altogether brave.

Once home, young Moa was free to be herself and craft a career more suited to her sensibilities. Five successful solo albums in (including the children’s album Songs for Bubbas), and more tours and collaborations than one can count on the fingers of two hands, Moa is more than a musician, she is an icon, if not a force of nature.

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April 10 sees the release of her new album Queen At The Table and a change of direction.

With producer/engineer Jol Mulholland at the helm, Anika entered the Lab recording studios armed with her trusty acoustic guitar and a band but they both quickly realised that this format was not working for this particular batch of songs.

Back to the drawing board, they decided to do something radical. The songs were disassembled and rebuilt on top of beats. The result is a trippy and synth-driven effort that defies everything that has gone before while not losing the essence of Moa. Moa explains: “It’s unlike anything I’ve done before but it still has my melodies, it’s still all me. Jol Mulholland has done a fantastic job and I’m very happy with the result.”

The album is a strange juxtaposition of moods. Moa’s sweet voice and typically catchy melodies stand in stark contrast to the words, which are primarily concerned with the dark side of love: misplaced desire, jealousy, deception, loss and pain. This album is all about heartbreak and, as Moa firmly puts it, “not for the faint-hearted.”

Flippancy aside, Moa is at pains to emphasise the importance of decent mothering, a job she describes as “the hardest in the world,” before adding, “the DPB should be twice what it is and should fully reward the work that Kiwi mothers do.”

While the accepted view seems to be that the DPB is a rort for the lazy and feckless, Moa is firmly on the money with her observation that this particular social benefit has freed women from bondage to unsatisfactory relationships and has allowed those that find themselves unexpectedly pregnant and alone the option to have a child and raise it with a degree of financial security.

Being a mother is deeply important to her and her goal is to raise sons who are “gentle, kind and humorous” – qualities that for her define the Kiwi male.

I finish the interview by asking Moa if she has any words of wisdom she would like to share.

She responds: “Be kind, treat people the way you want to be treated and if you can’t, walk away. There is a lot of hierarchy and ego in music industry and it’s not cool. If you think you’re better than everyone else you’ve got an ego problem and you should just bugger off.”

LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW ON RIP IT UP RADIO: SOUNDCLOUD.COM/RIP-IT-UP-RADIO

Indeed, beneath the inventive production gloss, Moa’s confessional exposition is not an easy listen. She speaks with due honesty on the reality of love and that long and difficult journey which lies beyond the first “rush” of romance.

NEW ALBUM: QUEEN AT THE TABLE OUT FRI 10 APR

OFF THE RECORD

THE TATTOOED HEART

SAM CROCKER SINGER FOR ANTAGONIST AD

- NZ’S FINEST 202 K ROAD/AUCKLAND WWW.THETATTOOEDHEART.CO.NZ 09 379 2662

Your house is on fire, what do save?

Laptop and my passport.

Favourite ‘90s TV show?

Goosebumps or Reboot.

Dream job as a kid?

An All Black or an archeologist.

First album?

TLC - CrazySexyCool

Biggest fear?

Snakes.

First gig in attendance?

Hardcore show at Stage Seven or Youthzone in Hamilton.

Any vices?

Coffee.

Favourite lyric?

Still tasting youth’s bitter exile here in your empty generation’s wasteland...

NEW ALBUM: HAUNT ME AS I ROAM OUT NOW

A BAN ON RODEO

“It is not right to inflict pain and scare animals for our entertainment.”

Mark Hunt | Global Kick Boxer & Mixed Martial Artist

If you weren’t a musician, what would you be?

An All Black or an archaeologist.

Ultimate festival line-up?

Oasis, Cold World, Banks, UB40, Kendrick Lamar, Chvrches, No Warning, Kid Dynamite, Rancid.

Who would play you in a film?

Michael Fassbender.

How do you discover new music?

Usually through my friends’ stereos/headphones, sometimes through the internet.

Worst job you’ve had?

Looking after grown ass men/ musicians for a living – the worst and best job I’ve had.

safe.org.nz

Which song do you wish you wrote?

‘Kiss From A Rose’ - Seal

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ALBUM REVIEWS ****

ANTHONIE TONNON SUCCESSOR (SOUTHBOUND)

Anthonie Tonnon has done a solid job with second album Successor. I’ve never been a huge fan of extensive second person narrative, but here, the music is evocative, crisp and exciting, at times evoking both that tricky Dunedin sound and Bowie circa Heroes (apparent in the album’s stark, emotionless portrait).

Things are where they should be.

It’s not contrived in the slightest.

It’s quite brilliant. With that “thuck” Kiwi accent, Tonnon weaves these whimsical tales in

****

STEVEN WILSON HAND. CANNOT. ERASE

|

*** *

JAKE EBDALE

*****

THE JURY AND THE SAINTS THE JURY AND THE SAINTS

MODEST MOUSE STRANGERS TO OURSELVES

STEVE EARLE & THE JUKES TERRAPLANE

(EPIC)

(NEW WEST)

Steven Wilson is the renaissance man of progressive rock, almost single-handedly reviving the genre in the ‘90s and noughties with his group Porcupine Tree.

This fourth solo album is a concept album based around the true story of a woman who died alone in a bedsit and wasn’t discovered for two years. His vision of the present is bleakly dystopian and full of lines about “freaks and the dispossessed on day release” from mental facilities. The music is almost a motion picture for the ears that encompasses astringent, Crimsonstyle riffing, lushly morose Floydian passages and even some wiggly, Rick Wakeman synth solos. It’s a trip, as they used to say, and its influences stretch right back to the psychedelic era when the Pretty Things created what is purportedly the first concept album, SF Sorrow. And unsurprisingly, that’s one of Wilson’s favourite albums.

(SPV)

Another in a long line of NZ bands who have found their home on a German label, The Jury And The Saints have made the right decision to work with producer Alex Lysjakow, who has coaxed a fulsome, grunty, tactile sound out of the quartet. To those who like to get physical in the moshpit, or punch their fists in the air while chanting anthemic choruses that a child wouldn’t find difficult, this sophomore self-titled album will find favour. The rest of us?

Hmm. While the band takes inspiration from punk and postpunk bands, they swap out the exploratory spirit for a dull emo mentality. Often the songs sound like football chants with jagged guitars and energy drink bravado, and their mundanity is revealed on ‘Monday Morning’ – yes, folks, he’s tired because he had a hell of a weekend – where their moribund American grind leaves them gasping for air.

Eight years is a long time, and you’ve got to wonder if between 2007’s We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank and Strangers To Ourselves fans have found replacement addictions. Unlike their previous album, the band no longer features former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, or founding member Eric Judy, but (surprise!) they still sound like themselves. That is, a slightly nerdy, intentionally intellectual indie group whose singer, Isaac Brock, covers up what is an ordinary instrument with all sorts of peculiar sounds and effects.

At their best, Modest Mouse turn out sharp alt-pop pieces with a colourist’s attention to detail, but there’s something not quite right here. Too much of it sounds like they spent too much time in the studio messing with the details, adding this, changing that, and losing their instinctive grasp. It’s like a painting that’s bursting with incident, but fails to tell a story.

This is Steve Earle’s tribute to the blues, which was always going to be a lot different to the last Eric Clapton homage to Robert Johnson, and a lot more fun, too.

Because his grounding is the white man’s blues – country – with a rock and roll kick, here he attempts to do the same thing for Texas blues, and it works, sort of. His group has a loose-limbed approach and the same is true of Earle’s singing. I couldn’t help but think that had this project been helmed by producer T Bone Burnett, the ante would have been upped, and we’d have ended up with an exceptional album.

Instead, it feels half-assed, like a side project that was probably more fun to make than listen to.

If Terraplane didn’t have Earle’s name on it, I might have mistaken it for some hobby band jamming down at the corner bar.

GARY STEEL

GARY STEEL

GARY STEEL

(KSCOPE)

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** **

sometimes astounding fashion, particularly the three pronged punch of ‘Railway Lines’, ‘Bird Brains’ and ‘Sugar in the Petrol Tank’, one of the best opening statements on an album – not just from here, but anywhere – in recent memory. Successor’s centrepiece, ‘Water Underground’, has been a show-stopper on his tours, its prickly, droning wallop morphing into the wonky paean ‘A Friend From Argentina’. A triumphant collection of great songs, Successor sets a new benchmark.

RIPITUP.CO.NZ

GARY STEEL

ALBUM REVIEWS ****

COURTNEY BARNETT SOMETIMES I SIT AND THINK, AND SOMETIMES I JUST SIT (MILK! RECORDS)

There’s a uniquely Australian lineage, running from bush poetry to Paul Kelly, that’s continued on

by Courtney Barnett’s knack for the laconic and the iconic. The wry observations and charming confessionals of her previous outings are a little sharper and that little bit more grown up. Measured but not weary. The production has improved by leaps and bounds – more closely matching the energy

** **

*** *

*****

and joy of her (and her band’s) live performances solidifying the songs, making them feel more complete. When each song seems to have at least one line that’ll stay with you all day, the gusto of the accompaniment makes it all the stickier. It’s also allowed Barnett greater freedom of form, evidenced in the moody second to last track, loomed over by the slenderman shadow of Nick Cave.

J.L. FRIEDRICH

*****

NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS CHASING YESTERDAY

KENDRICK LAMAR TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY

SURF CITY JEKYLL ISLAND (FIRE RECORDS)

(TRUE PANTHER SOUNDS)

(WARNER)

(TOP DAWG)

Okay, let’s pretend for a moment that we’ve never heard of this guy, that it’s his debut and until now, he’s had a completely clean slate. What do we make of it?

Well, it ain’t Britpop, that’s for sure. The trouble is, it’s not really anything. The mood of the album swerves between melancholy and gloomy, as Gallagher rues, over and over again, some imaginary sexy girl that he imagines might have been his salvation, rescuing him from a mid-life crisis. This elusive, illusory woman saunters through the lyrics of an album heavy on keyboard textures. The most interesting thing about it all is the odd whiff of soundtrack jazz, as if Gallagher has been inhaling the musical scores of quaint English films from the 1960s. The least interesting thing is the songs themselves, which are slight, utterly humdrum, and barely exist beyond the cultivated arrangements. Did someone mention Oasis?

For me to even pretend to understand the rage of a black man in a seemingly relentlessly hostile America, or worse attempt to co-opt it as something eminently relatable in the face of one’s own perceived struggles is nothing short of offensive. So why try. Even in the face of the challenging nature of some of the lyrical content, the record has an undeniable appeal to audiences that can’t relate directly to its anger. This is due in large part to Lamar’s high ambitions and ability to create a workable palimpsest from a broad church of influences. Grimy, Parliamentstyle funk (the first track features George Clinton) feels just as home with the best of Des’ree as it does with a wedge of Radiohead; though at points the record overplays its hand, and some choices are undercooked.

Modern shoegaze records require a steady hand on the dials of the reverb tank. Too much and the cake’s been left out in the rain.

Too little and the attempt to capture the aura of a performance, reliant on the bodily reception of high volumes careening around a (preferably) intimate space, falls short. Jekyll Island hits the sweet spot. Surf City’s song-writing successfully combines potentially numbing repetition, a valid end in itself, with well-placed nuggets of poppy sweetness. Fragments of floppy Britpop, garage-soul and psychedelia in the Eastern mode butt up against each other. In the wrong hands this could make for genre salad. Surf City pass it through their filter, which is welltuned having been together over a decade, managing to extract the essences before recombining them into a coherent, well-paced record.

J.L. FRIEDRICH

J.L. FRIEDRICH

There’s a new crop of piano balladeers making their way in the world today, with everything they’ve got. Goon is an album constructed on a bed of melancholy nostalgia. It’s sadness on the Sunset Strip. The songwriting and performance of Jesso Jr. go beyond simple comparison to McCartney, Nilsson, Newman, Rhodes et. al. While certain recognisable vocal tics edge closer to parody than pastiche, more often than not, there’s a confluence of lush production, delicate arrangements and earnest performance.

‘Without You’ is worth singling out. It’s a living, breathing Nilsson song, with faltering drums from Danielle Haim and the sentiment is refreshingly to the point, he dispenses with the ugly haughtiness displayed by some of his peers. Goon is at times pretty but more than once you find yourself wondering, “Is that the theme song from Cheers?”

GARY STEEL

TOBIAS JESSO JR. GOON

J.L. FRIEDRICH

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FILM REVIEWS

LAURA WEASER

DIRECTED BY NEILL BLOMKAMP STARRING HUGH JACKMAN, YOLANDI VISSER

CHAPPIE

****

South African director Neill Blomkamp’s latest offering does somewhat lend itself to District 9 Pt 2 – post-apocalyptic Joburg, lots of crime, robots, the usual – but lacks the underlying social message that made his debut a stand-out.

That doesn’t make Chappie a disappointing film; it just shifts the focus on some solid fight

scenes and the impressive technology that brings Chappie to life. Set in the not-too-distant future, crime is controlled by a mechanised police force with remarkable results. Of course, people don’t like this too much and begin fighting back. When one droid, Chappie (voiced by Blomkamp’s regular star and friend Sharlto Copley), is stolen and reprogrammed, he

becomes the first bot to have human emotions and thoughts. But the powers that be don’t like this new wave of AI (artificial intelligence) and set out to have him destroyed.

Following Elysium and District 9, critics were out for blood with Chappie, giving it scathing reviews for its lack of narrative finesse that the other two possessed. Don’t let that put you off.

Blomkamp’s visual precision will be enough to distract you from any storyline failures and Hugh Jackman’s awful mullet. The acting begins off laughably with Sigourney Weaver falling too easily into her menacing villain role that she’s become known for in later years, and the presence of South African hip-hop group Die Antwoord doesn’t really add much to the film. But it’s all forgotten as the action intensifies and Chappie becomes the star of the show. Lacking depth, though very entertaining.

DIRECTED BY KENNETH BRANAGH STARRING LILY JAMES, HELENA BONHAM CARTER, CATE BLANCHETT, RICHARD MADDEN

DIRECTED BY JOHN REQUA, GLENN FICARRA

CINDERELLA

STARRING WILL SMITH, MARGOT ROBBIE

FOCUS Sexy con-people, exotic locations and cash money being splashed about – what’s not to love? The answer is a mishmash of rom-com and capers that, although jarring together, work well in equal measures on their own.

Nicky (Will Smith) is an accomplished con-man who takes amateur Jess (Margot Robbie) under his wing when he spots her losing focus during a trick.

The pair become romantically involved, and with Nicky’s profession of being a liar and a cheater for a living, he realises that deception and love don’t go together. They split, only to see each other three years later – and Jess has learnt a thing or two.

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***** Will Smith, you used to be so cool, and there’s an element of his pre-After Earth charisma shining through the cracks in Focus. But the real star of the show is Margot Robbie who, after literally charming the pants off of Leonardo DiCaprio in Wolf of Wall Street, has proved herself more than just a sexpot support act. The chemistry between her and Mr Smith is so intense you can see why his wife was getting a bit hot under the collar with jealousy. Sure, their classic push-pull romantic struggles do become tedious after a while and detract from the fun of the con, but they’ve got enough sass to pull it off.

You know the story – it’s given women a complex of the same name for hundreds of years, fearing their independence and needing the help of a man to save her.

Cinderella (Downton Abbey’s Lily James) is left an orphan after her parents’ death and in the hands of her cruel stepmother (Cate Blanchett). She’s not allowed to go to the coveted royal ball, until the power of magic and the Fairy Godmother steps in, and there she charms her prince with her huge dress and tiny waist. The clock strikes midnight, she runs away, and leaves him desperately looking to find his true love who will make his life happily ever after through the gift of marriage.

So in our current feminist climate, where everyone from singers

*** * Taylor Swift and Lorde to Harry Potter’s Emma Watson are taking a stand, where does this dated tale stack up? Well, it’s no Maleficent, the heavy-handed rewrite of Sleeping Beauty that turned “happily ever after” on its head. With minor tweaks made to the original, it’s still a fairytale of finding The One, love at first sight, the power of magic and the happily ever after ending.

Thankfully, our stars make this far more appealing than it could be.

Cate Blanchett is marvellously wicked as Lady Tremaine, making gorgeous Cinderella totally miserable. And Lily James as Cinders isn’t too bad herself – she’s no Drew Barrymore, but there’s a fiery side to her that makes her more than a pretty waist … face.

ANDREW JOHNSTONE

ARCHER that he doesn’t like Australians much.

“Aussies aren’t very nice to kangaroos, Asians, Arabs. I struggle with the modern world and Australian modern culture doesn’t appeal to me very much.

We are a bit too big for our boots here, thinking that we are more important than we are. Tony Abbott’s a lunatic and over 50% of people voted for him. That’s disturbing.”

None of this is said in a rancorous way, Archer is not that way inclined. He is the atypical Aussie bloke. Dry, taciturn and self-deprecating. Everything is said, one suspects, with a wry wink.

I ask him about himself.

ARCHER ARRIVED, AS so many musicians do, over email by way of a publicist. Editor clicked the link provided and for a while we both stood still, mesmerised.

The song was ‘The Garden’, an impeccably-wrapped parcel of heartfelt homespun wisdom that is sung as a hymn is sung, with reverence. As the song faded we quickly agreed that we needed to talk to this guy and find out who he is was.

It didn’t look good. The publicist said he was somewhere in the outback, “out of range,” but she would keep on trying.

A few days later she got back to us. She had found Archer and here was his phone number.

Archer participates in a tradition that stretches back into the deep mountain country of the American South. Here folk traditions from Europe mixed

and mingled in splendid isolation giving birth to a musical form that would later become country.

Country has long had a penchant for praise music or hymns as pop songs. The genre has also nursed a flair for mixing rhythm, melody and homespun wisdom.

Songs like ‘The Big Rocky Candy Mountain’ and ‘That Lucky Old Son’ and performers like The Carter Family and Hank Williams spring to mind.

This is where we find Archer, taking all that has gone before and giving it something new.

This man is not a borrower from tradition; he is a fully aware and authentic participant. He calls himself a “sing-song man.”

Archer was born in North Carolina, USA, but has spent most of his life in Victoria, Australia. He speaks with a slow and considered Aussie drawl and opens the interview by saying

“I live in the country. There’s sheep and birds and stuff,” he pauses for quite a while then adds laughing, “I am not doing a good job of exposing my insides to the outside am I?” I ask him if he is still working as an arborist?

“I’m not doing that now. I used to do the same thing that an arborist does but I wasn’t a qualified arborist. I climbed trees; still do from time to time. I’m playing music to people lately. I do fencing from time to time.”

Is he a cat or dog man?

“Neither. Can I say neither? I like cockatoos. A mob of cockatoos is just like having a party at sunrise and sunset everyday. On an individual basis they can be pretty mean, affectionate, quirky and funny.”

When did it first strike you that songs were going to be your life?

“Just now, when you said it,” he chortles, “ I’ve never actually thought about it. Maybe when I was one. I was always singing and making up songs when I was a kid. I do it because it feels good.”

I ask him what is it he is thinking about?

“The ‘roller coaster ride’ of life, the multiverse, stars, dirt and plants. Funny little men and women.

“It all happens in a few minutes, or I just forget about it. The lyrics just happen. I can’t do it all the time at all. I couldn’t sit down and write a song, well I could, but I wouldn’t want really want to listen to it or play it. Some people can tap into it, some have to wait until the spirit comes over them.”

On playing live: He lets out a long sigh, balancing some conflicts it transpires, “Yeaaaaaah, sometimes, definitely sometimes.”

He describes live performance as one of the easiest possible jobs you could do in the world, but adds, “sometimes when you don’t want anyone looking at you, it s a funny place to be, on the middle of the stage.”

Archer is joining The Lonesome Pines for a 28-date tour of New Zealand. As we go to press, the tour is underway but will be winding its way across NZ through April.

SEE TOURS AND EVENTS FOR DATES

HEAR THE COMPLETE INTERVIEW ON RIP

At this moment I am swept to soliloquise as I express the joy this man’s music gives me.

He responds with “cool.” He laughs then adds for emphasis, “I‘m not just messing around.”

IT RADIO: SOUNDCLOUD.COM/RIP-ITUP-RADIO

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TIM GRUAR

JUR ASSIC 5 WIN

ZAAKIE A.K.A SOUP THIRTEEN YEARS AGO on a blazing hot day in New Jersey, thousands of college students who were awaiting headliners Fuel and a couple of totally forgettable nu-metal acts bore witness to the freshest thing to come out of hip-hop for a long time – a Californian act called Jurassic 5. Reports at the time described the six-man collective as highly impressive with ferocious electricity coming off stage down the mic to the people. They were infectious. Jurassic 5 (or J5) were steeped in old-skool hip-hop but had the swagger and immediacy of a thoroughly modern act. They weren’t a throwback – they were thrilling!

That was their first big gig, a platform with which they build a huge reputation as a serious crew and good time purveyors of the groove. The core team was rappers Charles Stewart (Chali 2na), Dante Givens (Akil), Courtenay Henderson (Zaakir a.k.a. Soup), Marc Stuart (Marc 7), and DJ’s Mark Potsic (DJ NuMark) and Lucas Macfadden (Cut Chemist).

The name – well, where did it come from? I asked Soup when I was on the phone to him while he was in LA preparing for headlining the upcoming Aussie Bluesfest and sideshows, which will include Wellington and Auckland.

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“Ha, there are plenty of stories but it was someone’s mom, she was listening to us and thought we were just too big for our boots, you know?” They were young, ambitious and full of bravado back then. “She said, ‘You guys think you’re the Fantastic Five.

You’re more like Jurassic 5!’ We thought that was so funny, But it stuck!”

When they grew up, he explained, everyone in their sphere was into original rappers like Kool Herc. They modelled themselves on the original mixtape-makers from the streets. “Even now I’m into people who can properly mix it with turntables and proper equipment,” Soup says. “Not that techno freaky-ness from a studio.” He implies that’s cheating.

The crew hit nationally back in ‘95 with their first single ‘Unified Rebelution’, followed by the Jurassic 5 EP in 1997.

Their second album Quality Control peaked at #43 on the Billboard 200 but then in 2002 they released Power In Numbers and that went ballistic, peaking at #15. Cut Chemist eventually left to pursue a successful solo career and the remaining five went on to make Feedback in July 2006. It also peaked at #15. That pushed J5 into world tours and all the trimmings. They never hit the eights of Kanye but they did pretty well. Not long after that

J5 split up, although amicably.

In the hiatus Soup, Marc 7, DJ Nu-Mark, Chali 2na, and Cut Chemist all took up alternative projects. Some went back to work to support their families.

“Then we got this request from the people at Coachella (in 2013).

They said they had this show and could we reunite (for it)? Lots (of promoters) wanted us to reunite but when Coachella said we could get on the main stage, we were like ‘Okay. The main stage!

Seven years and we go not new music – on the main stage! At Coachella!” He gulps and laughs.

“You got to swallow that and face up.” It was a statement of sorts, mainly to themselves, a unique second crack – and they took it.

“We thought, well I did, that we’d do one show – see how it went.

Now we’re having so much fun we haven’t stopped.”

Soup was a little apprehensive understandably. “I had a real job. I’m 43-years-old. My beard has some grey. I have children. You know, I’ve already done something that many (people) have only dreamed of.

Performing, being in a hip-hop crew, on the big stages. Makin’ records. We did well. It’s not like we wanted to be bigger than Run DMC or anything. I didn’t a number one, but I wanted to be remembered.” Soup says that he came from an LA suburb where people couldn’t even spell the

word “dream”, let alone do it.

Ambition to travel the world as an entertainer was not even a consideration. He says the music industry is just a dream.

And when it’s over, you return to your home and your job and pick up your life. “At least that’s what happened for me. The performing was like being in a musical or some film. When the action stops, that’s it – we go back to it.” Hip hop is not all limos and spa pools. He laughs.

“They were rentals.”

Last May the crew dropped some new cuts including ‘The Way We Do It’. Soup’s on record as saying, tongue in cheek, that he didn’t hold high expectations.

“We’d been out of it for, like 7-10 years,” he told me. “So we were making it for ourselves.”

But he got plenty of email encouragement in response to their YouTube postings. “They were telling me – I sound like J5 (years old). Yeah, well, y’know it was.” Crazy! Did they expect it to be different? “No, we’re the same. And we’re really enjoying being on the festival (circuit). We are really popular at these events.

We still get the party going, you know.”

SEE THEM LIVE: JURASSIC 5 WED 08 APR SHED 6, WELLINGTON THU 09 APR - FRI 10 APR THE POWERSTATION, AUCKLAND

ONE OF US WEARS NIPPLE CLAMPS MATT HEATH JEREMY WELLS & LAURA MCGOLDRICK 6 - 10AM WEEKDAYS

MY SNEAKER STORY

TIM BLATT COMEDIAN Tell us about your Chucks.

My ol’ trusties are a pair of black Chucks with a grey rubber toe.

They’ve stayed with me through music festivals, high powered business meetings (which the shoes were probably more qualified to be at than me).

What have you been up to lately?

Just went to LA for my podcast The Worst Idea of All Time’s last episode of season one. We performed to a sold out theatre on Fairfax and it was a fucking dream come true. About to head to Melbourne for the Comedy Festival there and then bringing that show to the NZ Comedy Festival at a brand new comedy venue in Auckland, The Montecristo for a three-week run!

Where’s the best place your Chucks have taken you to?

Off the top of my head, to shaking Slash’s hand. That was pretty dope. He came into Radio Hauraki to promote a new album and I shook his hand. And I was wearing Chucks the whole time...

How did you become a comedian?

By going to a stand up gig and being convinced I could at least be better than the shittest performer there. I tried, and I

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was mistaken. I was much, much worse. Luckily, I stuck at it and am now often not the shittest performer at an open mic.

If you were to design a sneaker for Converse, what would it be?

Similar to The Homer, when in The Simpsons, Herb comes and lets Homer design a car. It’d be a high top with fins everywhere, garish green accents, a bubble dome somewhere in the mix and a little car horn protruding from the front. This is why I am not involved in any way, shape or form, in fashion.

What’s been the best gigging moment for you so far?

Probably revealing to a packed room that my podcast is doing a second season and watching them absolutely explode as they found out that for the second season myself and Guy Montgomery would be watching Sex and The City 2 weekly for a year (season one was watching Grown Ups 2 weekly for a year).

They went fucking bananas.

Why do you love telling jokes?

‘Cause you can sneak in trippy concepts to make people think while they’re intoxicated and thinking they’re just being solely entertained. Every day’s a school day, kids.

SEE TIM BATT PERFORM AS A PART OF THE 2015 NZ INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL.

OPHELIA MUSICIANS Tell us about your chucks.

We were given some chucks for a video we shot a number of months ago for a track called ‘Invisible’ featuring Times x Two. This was our most adventurous video and our chucks were really put to the test. Over eight weekends, we had to sprint for days on end through town and bush, sit in a pile of burning crates, jump off waterfalls and clamber up mud slides, all in the middle of winter and all in the name of art. Alex made the questionable decision to do it in platform pink chucks and only fell on her face a handful of times. I don’t think either of us have been able to properly scrub the stains out, but I like to think they look cooler now because of it.

Where’s the best place your chucks have taken you to?

I think launching ourselves off that waterfall for the ‘Invisible’ video was pretty memorable.

Freezing water in the middle of winter fully clothed wearing platform chucks. Our direction for that shot was to land in the

water then look worried and panicky – I don’t think any acting was required that day! We were both really nervous about it for weeks but stoked to have the evidence that actually we did it.

Why do you love playing music?

A lot of different reasons I guess.

It’s the one thing I never get bored of. The reaction it creates in people is amazing too, seeing people dance to something you made is the best feeling. The buzz after a good show is a real high, it’s addictive. I think that’s why famous bands always retire a bunch of times...

If you were to design a sneaker for Converse, what would it be?

Alex: I think we’d have to honour our name and go for something classic. Maybe a painting of Ophelia on the side of a high top? Either that or put our faces on the bottoms of a plain pair because that would be awesome and not at all creepy.

Pat: I’d buy those. Maybe put some wheels in too? Don’t see enough of that in adult shoes...

OPHELIA’S NEW EP INVISIBLE IS OUT NOW.

HAMISH PARKINSON COMEDIAN Tell us about your Chucks.

My Chucks are leather, so they last longer, are waterproof, and helped keep my feet dry in my individual pursuits like the blood-soaked killing floor when I visited a slaughterhouse.

What have you been up to lately?

I’ve just toured to Dunedin and about to go over to Melbourne, which is great, because both of those cities are full of the rebels and free-thinkers that Chuck Taylors rightfully represent. The streets full of young go-getters making eye contact with each other as if to say “We are living in the now, we are independent free-spirits who love the feel of canvas against our nubs, also I’m scared of ageing and dying alone and you’re the only person who has made eye contact with me all night.”

Where’s the best place your Chucks have taken you to?

Imbued with the power of “oneof-a-kindness” that my Chucks gifted me I took them right to the edge of the beach and kept walking straight into that deep ocean until I reached Hell. I miss my friends, family and community.

by a trendy and suspiciously clean brick wall with my punk friend, urban friend and friend with a French Bulldog on a chain instead a leash and realised I was making them all laugh in between the backflips us crazy individuals love. I thought, hey, I’m a Chuck Taylor kind of guy, I’m an original rebel thinker, I’m gonna make people laugh in wild and new ways. So I quit law school and threw that stupid scholarship right in their face, and here I am, a stand-up comedian because I can’t afford a chair.

Why do you love telling jokes?

I have low self-esteem, I only feel good when people approve of my footwear. Being on a stage means everyone can see my beautiful, perfect, godlike chucks.

What’s been the best gigging moment for you so far?

The other night all of my jokes were bombing hard. I heard five different people mutter “predictable” under their breath. But I managed to turn the gig around by holding my Chucks in the air and yelling “CREATIVITY”. Everyone stood up and applauded and chanted “Chucks! Chucks!

Chucks!” for fifteen full voluminous minutes.

SEE HAMISH PARKINSON PERFORM AS A

How did you become a comedian?

I was sucking back a few Cokes

PART OF THE 2015 NZ INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL.

TOM LARK MUSICIAN I saved up and bought my first pair of size 7 white chuck taylors to wear on my first day of high school at the age of 13, with a fake note in my hand, chucks on my feet, the words “School and uniform” held no meaning to me.

What have you been up to lately?

I just got back from touring my new EP in Australia this month. I suppose between knocking back cartons of strawberry milk and eating my way through boxes of Snickers ice cream bars whilst dabbling in the surf, I actually played quite a few shows.

How did you become a musician?

I started learning the keyboard when I was six, I was really impressed that you could make all different sounds on a keyboard, it seemed like a really smart choice of instrument – sax, brass, slap bass – of course ‘Learn to Play’ keyboards in 1996 sounded like anything other then a smart choice, but eventually I found my way to the electric guitar setting and then to a real guitar when I was 10.

If you were to design a sneaker for Converse, what would it be?

I’d do something with velcro, to save time in the mornings and also have little speakers on the souls with a kick and snare sample in each shoe so you could always walk to a lazy and kind of sporadic drum beat.

What’s been the best gigging moment for you so far?

Some of my favourite shows have been where there may have been some kind of technical failure, like the PA blowing out one side and you just have to think fast and figure out a way to make the show just as entertaining.

In doing so I think you creating these cool moments where people go home and say “oh were you at the show where that happened?”

Why do you love playing music?

I think playing music offers a real freedom of expression, and the ability to connect and share something special amongst room full of strangers.

What’s next?

At the moment I’m plotting more touring for this year as well as finishing off songs for my next release.

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ANDREW JOHNSTONE

R ANDA importance into making the transition a positive experience.

I ask him how he copes with the prejudices and negative attitudes still at work in the greater Kiwi society?

Randa is circumspect and says he tries not to think about it too much.

“When I hear negative stuff I just think that we still have a lot of work to do as a society. Some of that talk comes from a really bad place but a lot of it is just ignorance.”

Of more importance to him are Transgender people who have not been so fortunate with family and friends and have found themselves cast out and exiled.

MUSIC DISCOVERY IS an important part of what we do at Rip It Up and Randa turned up on my radar one day while I was looking for something new on the NZ on Air YouTube channel.

Randa might have been new to me, but as I later discovered, well-known by many of the informed young Auckland people I regularly turn to when I need a heads up on unfamiliar music.

I was drawn into Randa’s world by way of his inventive and deliriously Day-Glo videos, the music on the other hand just kind of crept up on me. After a few viewings of ‘Frankenstein’, (which looks like it was made on the set of The Big Bang Theory – Randa is a huge sitcom fan), ‘Rangers’ and ‘Orange Juice’, I was beginning to pay more attention and after a bit came to the conclusion that I was listening to something quite special. His rhymes are smart, savvy, wry and mischievous.

His tunes are tightly wound, catchy and filled with whimsy.

Referencing is his art;

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background social colour her craft.

I decided that I really needed to talk with this fresh and unaffected voice and got in touch via Facebook. Later we meet for a face-to-face interview in the recording studio.

When he considers their plight he feels even more grateful for the unwavering support he has received from the people around him.

I began the interview by asking Randa about his gender.

Feeling somewhat better educated about gender and sexuality I turn the conversation toward the real purpose of this interview, music and in particular, rap music.

He explains: “Despite being designated female at birth I always felt male. My brain wasn’t congruent with my body.”

The first rap song to catch his interest was ‘Do The Bart Man’.

She laughs at the thought of it and explains:

It’s a simple as that. The hard bit was coming to terms with it. Randa, (real name Mainard Larkin), has spent the last few years wrestling with the strange juxtaposition of feelings at work within and learning how to accept the reality of his situation.

“When I was about 10 I was given a CD, The Simpsons Sing the Blues, and it had ‘Do The Bart Man’ on it and I was really into The Simpsons and I thought it was really cool.”

A couple of years back he made a bold decision and decided to live as he felt, as male. It’s been a time of trail and he mentions, not for the first time, the unwavering support of his family and their

Later on it was the rap songs on the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 soundtrack and the music his older brother and sister were playing that heightened his interest in music and words. His sister’s music choices taught him about rock and his brother’s

about rap and hip hop.

“In high school I started freestyling for my friends. We were quite square and we didn’t go to parties but we found our own kind of fun. I would freestyle and throw my friends names into the rap and they liked it and were really encouraging.”

After leaving school he discovered Odd Future and further inspired by their styles found himself drawn into the rap scene like never before. At this point he set about learning how to make music of his own.

Over the last few years he has been, with the assistance of friends, refining his craft and with the ongoing help of NZ on Air has Randa has produced a small catalogue of videos and three EP’s: Rangers, Lunchbox and Summer Camp.

Some recent NZ on Air funding has been allocated for an album and at the moment Randa is mentally preparing for what promises to be his biggest musical challenge yet.

For now Randa’s life is all about adjustment and refinement and as he works towards fulfilling his musical ambitions, in the meantime he is happy making a crust working at Burgerfuel.

I wax lyrical about Burger Kings awesome vegetarian options for a moment or two before realising my mistake and apologising.

Randa laughs and says, “My mum does that all my time. I roll my eyes and say: Come on Mum, it’s been five years already.”

LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW ON RIP IT UP RADIO: SOUNDCLOUD.COM/RIP-IT-UP-RADIO

MAKING TRACKS

NZ On Air September funding has been announced. 122 applicants submitted their songs this round.

This months round of Making Tracks has been decided. Each of the 122 applications were listened to by six independent panelists. March’s panel consisted of Brad King [The Rock; Auckland], Emma Smith [Music 101; Auckland], Phil Bell [Mai FM; Auckland], Simon Wallace [Radio One; Dunedin], Janine Russell [Noise PR; Auckland], Rikki Morris [Morrisound; Auckland] and Tania Dean [NZ On Air; Auckland].

Congratulations to the following artists!

Making Tracks Funded Projects March 2015 RECORDING & VIDEO ($10,000) Avalanche City – ‘Inside Out’

WALKABOUT PLAYABOUT

Beastwars – ‘Horse’ Cairo Knife Fight – ‘Reality Engine’ Chelsea Jade – ‘Low Brow’ Husk – ‘Out To Kill’ Jonathan Bree – ‘Miss You’ Kittens Of The Internet – ‘Bitter’ Lips – ‘Traces of Teddy’ Maya Payne – ‘Lucky Ones’ PNC – ‘Deep’ Secret Knives – ‘Simple Bliss’ Sweet Mix Kids ft. Iva Lamkum – ‘Wired’ Swiss – ‘Rest of my Days’ The Phoenix Foundation – ‘Give Up Your Dreams’ VIDEO ONLY ($6,000) Yumi Zouma – ‘Second Wave’ Bulletbelt – ‘Deathgasm’ Ciaran McMeeken – ‘I Need Love’ Dead Beat Boys – ‘2’ Diaz Grimm – ‘Quarterbacks’ Mel Parsons – ‘Get Out Alive’ Jesse Sheehan – ‘Girl If You Are Who You Say You Are’ Setting Fire To Stacey – ‘Vital Signs’

PINK FLOYD ‘THE WALL’ PLUS

‘DARK SIDE OF THE MOON’

8PM / 14 APR / 21 APR / 28 APR

RIPITUP.CO.NZ

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35

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

JURASSIC 5 WED 08 APR BEDFORD, CHRISTCHURCH THU 09 APR THE OPERA HOUSE, WELLINGTON SAT 11 APR THE POWERSTATION, AUCKLAND 1 X DOUBLE PASS TO SHOW OF CHOICE

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ANIKA MOA 3 X COPIES OF QUEEN AT THE TABLE DAVID GRAY WED 08 APR MICHAEL FOWLER CENTRE, WELLINGTON THU 09 APR ASB THEATRE, AUCKLAND FRI 10 APR HORNCASTLE ARENA, CHRISTCHURCH 1 X DOUBLE PASS TO SHOW OF CHOICE

GINNY BLACKMORE 3 X COPIES OF OVER THE MOON

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RIPITUP.CO.NZ

CONVERSE 1 X PAIR OF CONVERSE CHUCK TAYLORS

GEORGE CLINTON & PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC WED 08 APR THE POWERSTATION, AUCKLAND 1 X DOUBLE PASS

www.facebook.com/ Newzealandbattleofthebands

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Auckland

Kings Arms

59 France Street, Newton, Auckland. www.kingsarms.co.nz

Waikato

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Biddy Mulligans 742 Victoria St, Hamilton www.biddyshamilton.co.nz

Bay of Plenty

Brewers Bar

Manawatu

The Royal 44 Rangitikei Street, Palmerston North. www.sabreentertainment.co.nz

Wellington

Bodega

101 Ghuznee Street, Wellington www.bodega.co.nz

Canterbury

Allen St

107 Newton Street, Mount Maunganui www.brewersbar.co.nz

32 Allen Street, Christchurch City

Hawke’s Bay

Otago

The Cabana

11 Shakespeare Rd, Napier, Hawkes Bay www.cabana.net.nz

The Robbie Burns Pub

Taranaki

374 George Street, Dunedin

69 Devon Street West, New Plymouth www.themayfair.co.nz

65 Crawford St, Dunedin

The Mayfair

Sammy’s

Visit our website for full list of dates and times www.battleofthebands.co.nz

Tickets from www.eventfinder.co.nz

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Shit worth doing music THIS MONTH’S TEN MUST SEE MUSIC EVENTS IN NEW ZEALAND

KEY FREE

ALL AGES

LOCAL

TOUR

INT’L

CULT CLASSIC

FRI 10 APR FRI 10 APR

JESSE SHEEHAN

PENDULUM (DJ SET)

THE KINGS ARMS

STUDIO

AUCKLAND

AUCKLAND

8PM, $10, UTR.CO.NZ

9PM, $55, DASHTICKETS.CO.NZ

Fresh off a video funding decision from NZ On Air, Jesse Sheehan goes on tour in support of his debut album and single ‘Girl’. The ginger minx, who has played with a flurry of NZ superstars including collaborator Neil Finn, plays the intimate and always sensual Kings Arms before he jets off to London town.

My mate saw Pendulum at Big Day Out in jandals when party pills were still legal. Never saw him again. A DJ set at The Studio is bound to be a good time, though. If you’ve ever wanted to hear the Zirka Circus soundtrack set to earmelting BPM, then Pendulum is for you.

RIP Bazza.

FRI 17 APR THU 09 APR - SAT 11 APR

|

THU 16 APR

JURASSIC 5

THE TUNING FORK

PAPER CRANES

THE POWERSTATION

8PM, $39, TICKETMASTER.CO.NZ

WINE CELLAR

AUCKLAND

AUCKLAND

AUCKLAND

8PM, $79, TICKETMASTER.CO.NZ

Following the demise of Million Dead, the hardcore act that Frank Turner fronted nearly 10 years ago, the Hampshire-born lad has constantly been on the rise. 2014’s album Tape Deck Heart is on constant rotation and the supporting shows are apparently stunners. Described as a “crowd participation triathlon”, get your tickets before they’re snapped up.

8PM, $9, UTR.CO.NZ

Kiwis love J5 so much that they’re putting three – yes, three – consecutive shows on at Auckland’s Powerstation.

Their last show here was an overstuffed sweaty mess, so hopefully the separate shows ease out the insanity. Still, with songs like ‘Freedom’, ‘Quality Control’ and ‘What’s Golden’ in the set, shit’s getting crazy no matter what, y’all.

6

FRANK TURNER & THE SLEEPING SOULS

GROOVEGUIDE.CO.NZ

The amazing Paper Cranes are touring in support of their debut full-length album The Road Home. Members Fraser and Naomi have crafted some quality pop-rock tunes, and I can’t wait to hear this stuff live. Single ‘Again and Again’ is bound to blow up on radio; a frantic ditty that really gets stuck in your brain.

FRI 10 APR

TAMI NEILSON TUNING FORK AUCKLAND 7.30PM, $25, TICKETMASTER.CO.NZ

Silver Scroll-winner Tami Neilson is playing an anticipated show at the Tuning Fork. Her song ‘Walk (Back to Your Arms)’ is a revelatory rollick through the countryside and one of 2014’s best tunes. To see Neilson live is to witness her grace and fine lyrical prowess, with material from her excellent LP, Dynamite!

KISS VECTOR ARENA AUCKLAND 7.30PM, $109-299, TICKETMASTER.CO.NZ FRI 16 OCT

Here are just some of the KISS products on the market today: KISS-brand lycra jogging pants, KISS lip balm, a nifty ‘Destroyer’ themed light switch cover and the classic, batshit crazy KISS Kasket to send your loved ones rocking into oblivion. There’s even a KISS cheque book so you can pay for all this stuff with attitude.

The make-up, the hair, the boots, Gene Simmon’s scarybig cow tongue, the absolutely classic rockers that inspired Metallica, Guns N’ Roses and Pantera to name a few. It’s KISS, baby, and they’re heading to Vector Arena for their first headlining show here in a bajillion years. Bassist Gene Simmons says “We can’t wait to come back to NZ. We feel a special kinship with the culture, the food and the people.” What I’d give to see KISS at a hangi.

SUN 19 APR

RICKY MARTIN CLAUDELANDS

Having previously visited NZ as part of the Rock2WGTN show, this time around KISS are bringing the whole shebang including their stage production, ‘The Spider’. Featuring 220 automated lights, weighing in at a whopping 43,000kg and 400,000 watts of punishing sonic force, this is gon’ be loooud.

ARENA HAMILTON/AA 7PM, $100-550, TICKETEK.CO.NZ

In all the pappy shite I remember about the nineties, the worst offenders were ‘Shake Your Bon Bon’ and ‘Sex Bomb’. And these days, both Ricky Martin and Tom Jones are the coolest.

In the smartest career move since controlling the William Hung robot, coming out has given Ricky a world of opportunity. Your move, Tom.

With hits like ‘Detroit Rock City’, ‘I Was Made For Loving You’, ‘I Wanna Rock and Roll All Nite’, ‘Beth’, ‘Lick it Up’ and the lyrically complex ‘Love Gun’, get your pancake and powder, salvage every piece of leather from your parents’ wardrobe and the cold gin ready.

Keep that cheque book handy and get your tickets to the greatest show of ‘em all.

GROOVEGUIDE.CO.NZ

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Shit worth doing culture

THIS MONTH’S FIVE MUST SEE CULTURAL EVENTS IN NEW ZEALAND

WED 01 APR - SUN 31 MAY

MICHAEL PAREKOWHAI: REMEMBERING THE MAORI BATTALION TE PAPA WELLINGTON

24 APR - 17 MAY

2015 NZ INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL AUCKLAND/ WELLINGTON MULTIPLE VENUES

So many amazing comedians, not enough time – the International Comedy Festival is back with a bang this April and May. Hosted by the lusciously locked Ed Byrne, there are too many events to handle. Already sold out, the Old Mout Cider Comedy Gala kicks it off with Des Bishop, Craig Campbell and Seven Days alumni.

FRI 10 APR - SAT 11 APR

PING ZERO 47

An exhibition commemorating fallen soliders of the NZ Maori Pioneer Battalion, this is a series of four photographs from Michael Parekowhai’s own exhibition. Arranged as flower portraits, these are pristine, poignant memorials for those lost in the European Battlefields, never to return home. The 1917 Maori Battalion was the first fully Maori unit. A beautiful tribute.

THE TRUSTS ARENA AUCKLAND $5-49, EVENTFINDER.CO.NZ

Ping Zero has been providing a gamers haven for over 13 years. Billed as a 40 hour BYOC (bring your own console) marathon, Ping Zero 47 is the next big event. You can even bloody sleep and shower here. Seats are limited to 300 with food and drinks. Ditch the missus and get a ticket.

KEY

8

|

FREE

ALL AGES

LOCAL

TOUR

INT’L

ART

COMEDY

THEATRE

DANCE

MUSIC

GROOVEGUIDE.CO.NZ

TUE 07 APR - SAT 11 APR

FRI 10 APR - SUN 19 APR

BEARDS! BEARDS! BEARDS!

ARROWTOWN AUTUMN FESTIVAL

THE BASEMENT

ARROWTOWN ATHENAEUM HALL

AUCKLAND/AA

ARROWTOWN

7PM, $16-20, ITICKET.CO.NZ

8AM

Beards harness an unknown power, one unbeknownst to the unfortunate un-hirstute bretheren known as womankind. From the award-winning Trick of the Light Theatre comes a tale of one girl’s mammoth effort to grow the world’s most magnificent beard and show up the men. Join her on a quirky musical romp that tackles the hairy stuff.

A mainstay of the beautifully picturesque Arrowtown, the Autumn Festival is now in its 31st year.

Attracting 65-plus polo-wearing tourists in droves, there is too much stuff to do – a vintage car display, the Shotover Country Music concert and a host of new events to keep thangs fresh. Held across 10 days, there’s something for everyone.

WED 22 APR THU 23 APR - SAT 25 APR

SPIRIT OF ANZAC - LETTERS FROM THE FRONT

ROTUNDA

THE VERY VINTAGE DAY OUT

MICHAEL FOWLER CENTRE

ASB THEATRE

ALEXANDRA PARK RACEWAY

WELLINGTON/AA

AUCKLAND/AA

AUCKLAND

6.30PM, NZSO.CO.NZ

$25-65, NZDC.ORG.NZ

10AM – 6PM

The always spectacular NZ Symphony Orchestra collaborates with the Sydney Orchestra to present a tribute concert in honour of the Anzac soldiers who fought together at Gallipoli. In an innovative and moving piece, composer Michael Williams has set music to the soldiers’ letters from the Front.

Come and celebrate our heroes in this touching memorial.

Created by Shona McCullah and the modern marvel of music that is Don McGlashan, The NZ Dance Company puts on a celebratory collision of contemporary dance and live brass band that celebrates the ANZAC spirit.

Receiving rave reviews around the globe with themes of courage, peace and kinship, Rotunda is a powerful snapshot of history.

SAT 11 APR

Alexandra Park steps back in time to host this cool event. Held over a weekend, this is NZ’s best-loved vintage festival, with over 50 stalls on offer including knick-knacks, a vintage car display and classic documentaries and photographs on show. With prizes for best dressed, dust off those coral heels for a weekend of pizzazz.

THU 23 APR

ID INTERNATIONAL EMERGING DESIGNER AWARDS DUNEDIN TOWN HALL

THU 30 APR - SAT 23 MAY FRI 24 APR

A DOLLS HOUSE

DUNEDIN

FINK ABOUT IT

MAIDMENT THEATRE

7.30PM

BRUCE MASON CENTRE

AUCKLAND

The country’s largest fashion design competiion, the Emerging Designer Awards celebrates the innovation of NZ’s next-generation designers.

Selected from a field of over 90 applicants and judged by revered industry professionals, the event rewards those looking to gain exposure in the industry with internships and cash prizes. A glimpse into the future of designing’s best.

AUCKLAND

8PM, $34-52, ATC.CO.NZ

8PM, $27-57, TICKETMASTER.CO.NZ

Adapted from Ibsen’s Original, Emily Perkins presents this modern masterpiece about domestic bliss turned sour. Nora appears to have a picturesque marriage with a perfect husband. Celebrating Christmas in their first home, the family unwraps more than they bargained for – a myriad of lies, deceit and conflict. A world premier, this is a mysterious must-see.

From the world-conquering Laughing Samoans comes this raucous comedy show. Seeing the return of our favourite characters including Aunty Tala, Uncle Sam, Paul and Victor, this is one for the whole family that will get the love handles cramping up. Constant laughter for 90 minutes is no mean feat – but the Samoans pull it off.

GROOVEGUIDE.CO.NZ

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9

Shit worth doing screen

THE BEST IN TV AND FILM THIS MONTH

SUN 29 MAR

|

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON CINEMA RELEASE

The sequel to 2011’s mega-hit, The Avengers: Age of Ultron brings the ultimate gang of heroes together, this time to battle the sentient robot Ultron. In the age of superhero movies, this is the cream cheese on top of the stack, baby. Starring Ironman, Thor, Captain America and Don Cheadle and directed

by Joss Whedon.

THU 30 APR

CILLA

BOYCHOIR

TV ONE, 9.40PM

CINEMA RELEASE

Legendary songbird Cilla Black is chronicled in this daring and inspirational drama series. Growing up in 1960s Liverpool, Priscilla White works a dull desk job with dreams of becoming an international singing star. With determination, poise and a little help from her friends The Beatles, this is the story of how she captured her dream.

In this uplifting comedy drama, a wayward 11-year-old choirboy is meandering at a prestigious music school until his teachers give him a dose of discipline and good ol’ fashioned belief. With Dustin Hoffman in his sentimental seventies as the choir master (wow, Rain Man’s 77?!), this is sure to be a feelgood winter cuddle-upper.

THU 16 APR

10

THU 23 APR

SUN 12 APR

RICHARD HAMMOND’S WILDEST WEATHER

HOUSE OF VERSACE

TV3, 7.30PM

SKY MOVIES EXTRA, 8.30PM

The go-to topic for awkward banter with stragglers at functions, the weather is a stubborn beast that is happening all the god-damned time. Top Gear’s Richard Hammond delves into the unexplainable, unbelievable and just plain strange bouts of weather that pop up around the globe – including measuring the speed of a tornado at its fastest.

Unveiling the glamorous and scrutinising life of fashion, House of Versace tracks renowned designer Gianni Versace at the peak of his success through to his murder and how sister Donatella picked up the pieces to create an empire. Based on the book of the same name, this is an enthralling account of one family’s grand vision.

GROOVEGUIDE.CO.NZ

MON 13 APR

SUN 12 APR

GAME OF THRONES (S5)

BLACK-ISH

SOHO, 8.30PM

TV2, 8PM

To a GOT outsider, the general understanding is this: Death, a dwarf, deadly winter, mesh pants and naked boobs. I hear there was more death than usual in season four, and season five picks up the pieces with a journey across the Narrow Sea and Stannis Baratheon styling himself as king of Westeros.

Sounds... awesome.

Good job, four kids, hot wife and a nice home in the suburbs – Andre “Dre” Johnson thinks he has it all. But soon enough, Dre feels he’s lost his cultural identity and wants his family to honour his “black-ishness”. Starring Anthony Anderson and Laurence Fishburne as his father, Black-ish is their hilarious struggle against assimilation.

THU 16 APR

SILICON VALLEY (S2) SOHO, 8.30PM SUN 12 APR

THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO

SUN 11 APR

TRUE STORIES (S5)

TV2, 7PM

BBC KNOWLEDGE, 7.30PM

Countdown! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! And... you know the rest. This is the revamped Thunderbirds series in association with Weta Workshop. The five Tracy brothers and their big Thunderbird vehicles are here to save those in need.

Those old puppets used to give me night sweats, so hopefully this goes easy on the creepy.

Looking behind the scenes of our favourite movies – sure, I’ve always wanted to know how many bowls of ‘sugar puffs’ Charlie Sheen ate on the set of Platoon – True Stories delves deep into the inspiration behind some beloved films, from Star Trek to Scream to Die Hard. Unravelling fact from fiction, this is a must-watch.

Silicon Valley goes at great lengths to skewer the lucrative tech world and its figureheads. In this second season, Richard and his Pied Piper team look forward to a profitable future but face the hurdles of competitors, revenge plans and legal woes. With industry cameos including the Snapchat CEO, Silicon Valley is so hot right now.

KEY

SAT 11 APR NEW KID

TV SHOW

REALITY TV

CINEMA RELEASE

CULT CLASSIC

ONLINE

ALL AGES

DOCUMENTRY

AWARDS

TV FILM

ELVIS COSTELLO: MYSTERY DANCE SKY ARTS, 8.30PM

33 albums. Hundreds of great musicians collaborated with.

Thousands of ingenious lyrics written. My Aim is True and Armed Forces, for goodness sake. This is the definitive documentary on Elvis Costello directed by award winning documentarian Mark Kidel. If getting into Costello seems too huge a task, this is a damn good place to start.

GROOVEGUIDE.CO.NZ

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11

Eating

Drinking

MR ZHOU’S DUMPLINGS 3130 GREAT NORTH RD

CHINOISERIE

AUCKLAND

Mr Zhou’s Dumplings offers just that – succulent, flavour-filled dumplings that are guaranteed to fill that dumpling-shaped space in your soul. The pork, the cabbage, the coriander – all the classics are there. But there’s even more to accompany your dumpling purchase – the ‘combination pancake’ which combines the best of the best to create a sweet and savoury masterpiece, the braised beef noodle soup and the Chinese sausage-featuring Yangchow rice, amongst others. But back to the dumplings – there is a serious demand for these steamy pleasure morsels, so make sure you order ahead. Mr Zhou is a busy man on the pan.

4 OWAIRAKA AVE AUCKLAND

Over in Mt Albert, Chinoiserie serves Taiwanese street food with a modern kick. Being touted as one of the most original, lively and welcoming places in Auckland, this bar and eatery has deservedly struck a chord within the Mt Albert and wider AK community. Fully licensed with a handful of friendly staff open to a good tune or ten, the modestly priced menu begs for a return visit - the pork belly buns are apparently life changers. On Sundays, there’s some great live music and a happy hour between 4 – 5pm to get you ready for the week ahead. Perfect.

THE DIRTY LAND

THE CHINA KITCHEN APERO

131 VICTORIA ST

DUMPLING HOUSE

280 K’RD

CHRISTCHURCH

698 GREY ST

AUCKLAND

HAMILTON

There are plenty of places to enjoy good food and good wine here in Auckland, but up on K’Rd, Apero is offering that wee point of difference – ambition, flair and good company – that really changes the game.

Slang for Apertif, Apero is here to offer beautifully crafted food that is garnering some stellar reviews.

A sophisticated wine and cocktail bar with an edge, The Dirty Land is a vibrant new establishment in Christchurch’s Vic St. Looking at the cocktail menu, there’s many reasons to get a taxi instead – namely the rum-heavy ‘Vic St Zombie’ and the refreshing ‘Viva La Frida’ with crushed granny smith apples and Rogue Society Gin.

17 MAIN NORTH RD CHRISTCHURCH

A family owned business since 2001, The China Kitchen knows what to do and they do it well.

Renowned for their panfried dumplings and teriyaki chicken, I have also heard honourable things about the crispy battered chicken. A fully licensed BYO, accompany the deliciousness with some cheap wine and jing jing!

You’re on your way!

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GROOVEGUIDE.CO.NZ

As I’m writing this, I’m also booking a bus to Hamilton so I can eat dumplings on the way to the Dumpling House (can’t drive, need two free hands). With dishes not seen on your average Chinese menu, Dumpling House is an affordable, friendly house that you can eat delicious dumplings in. A Claudelands favourite.

feel the beat at these iconic nights at tWentyone wednesday NIGHTS 5PM–LATE

Reading

thursday NIGHTS 5PM–LATE

tw enty one

the neW Wave of dj’s is here

join the jet-set for an after Work drink

FRIDAY NIGHTS 5PM–LATE

Saturday NIGHTS 5PM–LATE

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MY UNDERGROUND KITCHEN JESS DANIELL

FRIDAY

BOOK

grab the girls for a hot night on the toWn

Where sleep’s the last thing on your mind

twentyone, level 3, skycity, corner of federal and victoria streets, auckland r18 to enter twentyone. dress code applies. facebook.com/twentyoneakl skycityauckland.co.nz/twentyone

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The mind behind Jess’ Underground Kitchen, Jess Daniell presents a new cookbook that collects all her previously ‘secret’ recipes. The premise of JUK is to prepare homecooked meals at a secret location announced on her website, ready for pickup somewhere in Auckland. If the excitement and gas consumption is too much, this book collates the best of those meals, (I’m partial to a tabbouleh bowl) with Paleo and Gluten-free variations. Having a look through the recipes, all are easy enough for a simple male human to attempt and complete with an ‘Achieved’ grade. Innovative scrumptiousness, My Underground Kitchen is it.

25/03/15 9:54 am

ALMOST FAMOUS WOMEN YOUR EDM

MEGAN MAYHEW BERGMAN

YOUREDM.COM

BOOK

WEBSITE

A dazzling collection that explores the lives of unforgettable women in history, Almost Famous Women collates a bunch of creative stories centred on fierce female independence.

With such titles as ‘The Siege at Whale Cay’ and ‘A High-Grade Bitch Sits Down for Lunch’ (fully should be Beyonce’s new album title), this is a fascinating read.

EDM is bigger than ever in 2015, with money-grubbing superstars like the Kornloving Skrillex, lucky rodent Deadmau5, and Mr ‘My Head Doesn’t Match My Body’ himself, Diplo. Get the scoop on all the sweat, the trolling, the button pushing, the gear, the gear and the electricity that is the EDM scene over at Your EDM.

AD

AD

Southbound Records are celebrating

The best day of the year!

AD

ADLive

Meet Delaney Davidson who will be in store signing copies of his numbered Performance Ltd Edition Diamond Dozen from SJD (lost treasures) vinyl! at 3pm Over 250 RSD Releases Open at 9am At Our New Bigger Location 132 Symonds Street Eden Terrace

Get yourself a free RSD Release thanks to our friends at Red Bull Sound Select and‌ Grab a coffee and slice of baking.

RECORDS

southbound.co.nz/shop

www.southbound.co.nz/shop

Record Store Day Sat 18 Apr REAL GROOVY RECORDS 438 QUEEN ST, AUCKLAND 9AM-7PM

Having celebrated in style turning 33-and-a-third in November of last year, Real Groovy prepares for the next big day on its calendar, Record Store Day 2015.

Highlights will include two new vinyl releases on the Real Groovy Records label, with live performances and signing sessions from the featured bands, a limited edition free vinyl 12” for buyers of Record Store Day titles, and a full days DJ line-up of guest personalities spinning their favourite tunes.

Day all purchases are on a first come first served basis. Get your place in the queue and your favourite release in your hands. Southbound always look after their customers, so while you wait or browse, there will be free coffee and baking.

LIVE PERFORMANCES

The Cleves (aka Bitch) and Larry’s Rebels will play short sets live instore to celebrate their releases with a signing opportunity immediately after.

A strong line-up of local record lovers will play favourite tracks from their collections or selected from the massive treasure trove of classic and obscure vinyl available in the store.

Grab a limited edition LP of Delaney Davidson’s Diamond Dozen in gold, clear or black numbered vinyl and set your ears to some lost tunes, soundtrack gems and stolen treasures from his last 10 years of recording. This year Southbound will have over 250 Record Store Day releases and a free Record Store Day release thanks to Red Bull Sound Select.

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT

Live performances will start at 3pm with a performance by SJD, celebrating their new album Saint John Divine on CD and LP. Following this at 4.30pm an acoustic set from Don McGlashan, whose new album Lucky Stars is released on CD the day before, Friday 17 April.

MARBECKS RECORDS QUEENS ARCADE, 34 QUEEN ST AUCKLAND

Marbecks had a blast on RSD last year, and this year they have announced alongside vinyl specials and Record Store Day exclusive releases they will host acoustic solo performances too.

RELEASES

132 SYMONDS ST, AUCKLAND

There will be specials on vinyl stock as part of the revelry and more to be announced as the lead up to the biggest day on the independent music store calendar.

This is the “best day of the year” for Southbound Records. In keeping with the ethos of Record Store

SLOW BOAT RECORDS 183 CUBA ST, WELLINGTON

This annual celebration of vinyl, and record stores, and independence, and good music, has been observed globally since 2008, and Slow Boat have been onboard since the very start.

Every year Slow Boat have sought to bring you the very best in recorded music, including limited edition vinyl releases especially for the day as well as all the other stuff that people love.

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT

This year live performances include Neil Finn, Tami Neilson (Dynamite! was Slow Boat favourite), as well as a string quartet from Orchestra Wellington.

Instore performances start from 11.30am.

RELEASES

A remastered 20th Anniversary LP reissue of Shihad’s classic second album Killjoy and more.

9.30AM-5.30PM

SOUTHBOUND RECORDS 9AM-6PM

Marbecks will host live performances

by Lawrence Arabia and Tiny Ruins. More musical interludes will come in the form of DJ sets

by Brunettes founder Jonathan Bree and Princess Chelsea.

Performances start at 1pm.

RELEASES

RELEASES

Larry’s Rebels – A Study In Colour [LP] Bitch/Cleves [2LP] Every effort is made to obtain as many of the plethora of Record Store Day releases as possible. All will be in strictly limited and available to instore customers only. No presales, no web sales, no mail order.

You have to be here!

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT

OTHER RECORD STORES AROUND NEW ZEALAND:

Rough Peel Music, Death Ray Records, Beat Merchants, Conch Records, My Generation Music, Rhythm Records And Compact Disc’s, The High Seas, Penny Lane Records, Portil, Relics Music, Mint Music, Moonhop Records, Electric City Music, Just For The Record Store, Vinyl Countdown, The Revolution and Music Oasis.

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ANIKA MOA

JAMES BAY

MAJOR LAZER & DJ SNAKE

‘RUNNING’

‘LET IT GO’

‘LEAN ON’ (FT. MØ)

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UPCOMING TOURS & EVENTS 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER (AU) Thu 18 Jun Vector Arena, Auckland

DEMON ENERGY BATTLE OF THE BANDS 2015 Wed 8 Apr - Sat 01 Aug Multiple Venues, Nationwide battleofthebands.co.nz

THE DIXIES Thu 23 Apr Musician’s Club, Dunedin Fri 24 Apr Dux Live, Christchurch Sat 25 Apr Bodega, Wellington Sun 26 Apr The Kings Arms, Auckland

GORILLAZ SOUND SYSTEM (US) Fri 17 Apr The Powerstation, Auckland

Powerstation, Auckland Fri 10 Apr The Powerstation, Auckland Sat 11 Apr The Powerstation, Auckland

GEORGE CLINTON & PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC (US) Wed 08 Apr The Powerstation, Auckland

IMAGINE DRAGONS (US)

Wed 06 May James Cabaret, Wellington Thu 07 May The Studio, Auckland

Wed 13 May - Sun 17 May Multiple Venues, Auckland

BACKSTREET BOYS Tue 12 May Vector Arena, Auckland

BILLY IDOL (UK) Wed 01 Apr Vector Arena, Auckland Thu 02 Apr TSB Arena, Wellington Sat 04 Apr Horncastle Arena, Christchurch

JAKOB

Fri 16 Oct Vector Arena, Auckland

JAMIE MCDELL

ED SHEERAN (UK) Wed 08 Apr Horncastle Arena, Christchurch Fri 10 Apr TSB Bank Arena, Wellington Sat 11 Apr Vector Arena, Auckland Sun 12 Apr Vector Arena, Auckland

THE BEATLE BOYS (AU) Fri 05 Jun Town Hall, Auckland Sat 06 Jun St James Theatre, Wellington

KISS

Sat 11 Apr San Fran, Wellington Sat 18 Apr The Kings Arms, Auckland

A$AP FERG (US)

AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL 2015

Tue 08 Sep Vector Arena, Auckland Thu 10 Sep Horncastle Arena, Christchurch

EVERCLEAR (US) Fri 01 May Studio, Auckland Sun 03 May Bodega, Wellington Tue 05 May Allen Street Rock Club, Christchurch

FLEETWOOD MAC Wed 18 Nov Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin Sat 21 Nov Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland

Fri 10 Apr Wanganui Repertory Theatre, Whanganui Sat 11 Apr The Mayfair, New Plymouth Fri 17 Apr Te Ahu Centre, Kaitaia Sat 18 Apr Whangaroa Memorial Hall, Kaeo Sun 19 Apr The Butter Factory, Whangarei Sat 25 Apr Mauao Performing Arts Centre, Mt Maunganui Thu 30 Apr Kings And Queens Performing Arts Centre, Dunedin Fri 01 May Mountainview High School Auditorium, Timaru Fri 08 May The Meteor, Hamilton Sat 09 May The Crystal Palace Theatre, Auckland Sun 10 May Walton Street, Te Awamutu

JOHNNY MARR (UK) COUNTING CROWS (US) Tue 14 Apr The Civic, Auckland

DEMI LOVATO (US) Sun 26 Apr Vector Arena, Auckland

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FRANK TURNER & THE SLEEPING SOULS (UK)

Thu 16 July The Powerstation, Auckland

Fri 17 Apr The Tuning Fork, Auckland Sat 18 Apr Meow, Wellington

JURASSIC 5 (US)

THE LONESOME PINE Wed 01 Apr The Dux Live, Christchurch Thu 02 Apr The Wunderbar, Lyttelton Fri 10 Apr Long Beach Hall, Dunedin Sat 11 Apr Taste Merchants, Dunedin Mon 13 Apr Great Southern Songhouse, Invercargill

MACHINE HEAD (US) Thu 18 Jun Churchills, Christchurch Sat 20 Jun Studio, Auckland

MAROON 5 (US) Thu 01 Oct Horncastle Arena, Christchurch Sat 03 Oct Vector Arena, Auckland Sun 04 Oct Vector Arena, Auckland

MOTLEY CRUE W/ ALICE COOPER (US) Sat 09 May Vector Arena, Auckland

NEIL DIAMOND (US) Wed 08 Apr Shed 6, Wellington Thu 09 Apr The

Mon 19 Oct Vector Arena, Auckland Sat 24 Oct Forsyth Barr

UPCOMING TOURS & EVENTS Stadium, Dunedin

NOEL FIELDING (UK) Sat 09 May ASB Theatre, Auckland Mon 11 May Opera House, Wellington Tue 12 May Opera House, Wellington Thu 14 May Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch

Fri 10 Apr Studio The Venue, Auckland Sat 11 Apr The Foundry, Christchurch Sun 12 Apr Memorial Hall, Queenstown

Sat 23 May Vector Arena, Auckland Fri 29 May Horncastle Arena, Christchurch Sat 30 May Town Hall, Dunedin

RECORD STORE DAY 2015

SPANDAU BALLET (UK)

Sat 18 Apr Multiple Locations, Worldwide

Sun 10 May Vector Arena, Auckland

STRANGELY AROUSING RICKY MARTIN (PR)

NZ INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL Fri 24 Apr - Sun 17 May Auckland/Wellington

NZ INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL Thu 16 Jul - Sun 02 Aug Auckland Fri 07 Aug - Sun 23 Aug Christchurch Thu 30 Jul - Sun 16 Aug Dunedin Thu 20 Aug - Sun 13 Sep Hamilton Thu 03 Sep - Sun 20 Sep Hawke’s Bay Wed 02 Sep - Wed 16 Sep Masterton Thu 06 Aug - Sun 23 Aug Nelson Thu 03 Sep - Sun 20 Sep New Plymouth Thu 20 Aug - Sun 06 Sep Palmerston North Thu 20 Aug - Sun 13 Sep Tauranga Fri 24 Jul - Sun 09 Aug Wellington

Fri 17 Apr Vector Arena, Auckland Sat 18 Apr TSB Arena, Wellington Sun 19 Apr Claudelands Arena, Hamilton Tue 21 Apr CBS Canterbury Arena, Christchurch

ROD STEWART (UK) Mon 13 Apr Vector Arena, Auckland Tue 14 Apr Vector Arena, Auckland

Wed 20 May Bodega, Wellington Thu 21 May The Kings Arms, Auckland

Friday 10 April Tuning Fork, Auckland

EMAIL US TO ADVERTISE YOUR

TOURS AND EVENTS SALES@GROOVEGUIDE.CO.NZ

Sat 30 May Paihia

SAM SMITH (UK) Wed 22 Apr Vector Arena, Auckland Thu 23 Apr Vector Arena, Auckland

Tue 05 May Vector Arena, Auckland

SIX60

Thu 09 Apr Glenroy Auditorium, Dunedin

SUPERSUCKERS & THE BELLRAYS (US)

TAMI NEILSON

THE ROYAL BASH

THE SCRIPT (IE)

PENDULUM (AU)

Thu 02 Apr Bodega, Wellington Fri 10 Apr The Mayfair, New Plymouth Sat 11 Apr Butlers Reef Hotel, New Plymouth Wed 15 Apr Players Entertainment Centre, Invercargill

Sat 16 May Shed 6, Wellington Sun 17 May Shed 6, Wellington Fri 22 May Claudelands Arena, Hamilton

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