JEAN POMPEY – TRINITYROOTS’ DRUMMER You stepped into the some big shoes when you made your debut with TrinityRoots in September. How does it feel to be behind the drum kit? I feel pretty blessed. The Powerstation show in Auckland was the flashest gig I have ever done. Even when we are rehearsing now, I catch myself buzzing out on playing the songs, where I am and who I’m making music with, thinking to myself, ‘This is choice as... don’t fuck up!’ Warren, Rio and Riki were famed for their live chemistry. What was the process of “bedding in” with their sound? When I first joined the roopu, we met for a kai and korero where I shared with the boys that I wanted to carry their messages and intentions of Kotahi Aroha through their waiata correctly – weighing those aspects was just as important as the beats and to mihi mihi Riki Gooch. Do Warren and Rio call you bro or sis? I call them “The Boys”, they call me “Sis”. With Rio, it’s “Cuz” because we recently figured out that we are cousins from our Ngati Tuwharetoa, Taumaranui connection, which is choice! TrinityRoots are hitting some good lookin’ summer spots on the tour. Where are you looking forward to playing the most and why? TrinityRoots’ summer tour will be tu meke no matter! Matakana with Freddy’s will be awesome because lots of my whanau are coming to tautoko that gig, so I’ll be playing for them. When will we hear new TrinityRoots recordings? I’ll ask The Boys and let you know. TRINITYROOTS SUMMER TOUR Sunday 25 December – The Station Village Complex, Lower Hutt (w/ Ladi6) Wednesday 28 December – Butlers Reef, New Plymouth (w/ Ladi6) Friday 30 December – Coromandel Gold Monday 2 January – Fat Freddy’s Drop’s One Drop, Ascension Vineyard, Matakana
UNDER THE INFLUENCE
Building on the success of David Dallas’ The Rose Tint, his Champagne Gang comrade PNC is gearing up for the release of a new album which mines samples from artists like Adele, Gotye and The Throne, all chopped – not slopped – by new beatmaker, Matt Miller. Presented by Crooks and Castles and VOLUME, Under the Influence will go live on Saturday 17 March – St Patrick’s Day – and, like The Rose Tint download, this one’s on the house. Watch this space for news on singles, tour details, Under the Influence giveaways and more.
MORE FOLDBACK MATTHEW ‘RECLOOSE’ CHICOINE – DJ AND ELECTRONIC PRODUCTION TEACHER I work at MAINZ, the Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand – I’m the programme leader of a new course on DJing and electronic music production. It’s a logical projection from my background as a DJ and producer. Up until the last 10 years or so, there was no such thing as a school where you could study these types of contemporary music forms – electronic music production, beat-making, how to use an MPC, how to develop your scratching skills and mix records together, how to sample – these were all skills
that you would have previously learnt from your peers in studios, in clubs etc. While there’s a lot more structure to what I do now, it isn’t a major leap because we pass on these skills in a way that is true to the way that we learnt them. It feeds into my own music as well because, as a teacher, I have to teach for instance how to make really rumbly, nasty-ass basslines – which is not something I was very in to – so I have to be constantly upskilling my production.