NZ Musician April/May 2016

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BEASTWARS HOLLIE SMITH PURPLE PILGRIMS THREAT.MEET.PROTOCOL PHIL BROADHURST UNITY PACIFIC LUCID HIEST STREET CHANT YEONGRAK

Brands & Distributors Directory 2016

NZ MUSICIAN magazine PO Box 99-315, Newmarket 1149 Auckland New Zealand Phone: (09) 373 2572 editorial@nzmusician.co.nz

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Publisher / Editor: Richard Thorne richard@nzmusician.co.nz Assistant Editor: Silke Hartung editorial@nzmusician.co.nz Advertising: editorial@nzmusician.co.nz Designer: Silke Hartung Pre-Press & Printing: MHP Print

Contributors Sammy Jay Dawson, Trevor Reekie, Marcel Bellvé, Caitlin Smith, Briar Lawry, Martyn Pepperell, Alex Pickard, Bing Turkby, Jamie De Jong, Thomas Goss, Jack Woodbury, Kevin Downing, Chris Cudby, David McLaughlin, Mohamed Hassan, Rob Burns, Godfrey De Grut, Melanie Stevenson, Aleisha Ward, Sam Vegar, Laura Dooney, Jesse Austin, Stu Edwards, Amanda Mills, Ania Glowacz, Olly Clifton, Jamie McCaskill, Holly McGeorge, Pedro Santos, Dee Muir, Michael Hollywood, Darryl Kirk

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Out On The Street . . . . .

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Street Chant . . . . . . . . . .

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Building Blocks . . . . . .

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Hollie Smith . . . . . . . . . .

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The Lawful Truth. . . . . .

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Phil Broadhurst . . . . . . .

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Fresh Cut . . . . . . . . . . .

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Wasting all the water.

We keep on swimming in halls full of holy socks.

Outside couches complaining, “It’s always raining, except for when I want.”

My friends, seeking existence, or just commitment, or even just a job.

Pedestrian Support League - Street Chant, p32

COVER Beastwars

Photograph by Damian McDonnell

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Heavy metal, sludge metal, doom metal, stoner rock – call it as you hear it – but the key point is that Wellington’s Beastwars have earned themselves a variety of enthusiastic praise from all parts of the metal world. Maybe it was just good fortune that their 2011 debut timed neatly with a fast-developing appetite for new vinyl releases, but in choosing Nick Keller to create the album’s extraordinary cover art they struck a creative jackpot that helped shoot them fast to the top of the NZ metal ladder. There has always been a master plan to being Beastwars, and the release of album number three, ‘The Death Of All Things’, has been widely anticipated to bring with it the death of the band. Sammy Jay Dawson talked with drummer Nato Hickey and idiosyncratic vocalist Matt Hyde about the album and those rumours.

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o the mainstream NZ music listener, Beastwars’ emergence as a cultural phenomenon must have seemed quite the shock indeed.

Rearing its ugly head from seemingly nowhere, their 2011 self-titled debut album took the country by storm, with almost no commercial radio play. Instead fueled by social media, word of mouth, heavy tour promotion and basic riff worship, Beastwars eventually became one of the Southern Hemisphere’s most talked about metal acts.

Finally here was a band that didn’t compromise on its values. Heavy music fans, tired of the genre’s clichés, now had a new favourite band as influenced as they were by artists whose stoner/doom roots meant they rarely rose above cult following status.

Dismissed as being ‘in the right place at the right time’ NZ’s mainstream media was quick to write off 2013’s follow-up release, ‘Blood Becomes Fire’, as merely a re-hash – but any such criticism was silenced when it reached #2 on the national album sales charts. Fans rejoiced and shared in their celebration as Beastwars earned international recognition, rubbing shoulders and touring with popular international acts such as Kyuss Lives!, High On Fire, Helmet, Melvins, Red Fang, Windhand and Fu Manchu.

Rumours soon after started to surface that since the beginning Matt Hyde (vocals), Nathan ‘Nato’ Hickey (drums), Clayton Andrews (guitar) and bassist James Woods had only ever planned on making a trilogy of albums, intending to then call it a day.

“I’m not sure who suggested it,” confirms Hickey, “but during the recording of our first record someone had the idea for Beastwars to only record a trilogy of albums. There was a real comfort in working within a

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constraint. It wasn’t like this band was ever going to limp on for 20 albums and then have a horribly over-dramatic break-up with us all hating each other, so it was nice to put a time limit on things. Go out on top.”

They decided on three themes, one for each album. The first (2011’s ‘Beastwars’) was surviving the apocalypse. ‘Blood Becomes Fire’ was about going into battle and the latest album, ‘The Death Of All Things’, is about dying in victory and transcending.

“The whole time we were writing ‘The Death Of All Things’ we were thinking, ‘If this is going to be our last album it has to be our best, or else what’s the point?’ It was great for us to be able say we’ll just create these three pieces that we’re really proud of, rather than just churn out riffs, as if that’s all we know how to do – and it definitely helped the writing process of the album.”

“Musically there were a lot of things different things we wanted to try that we couldn’t on the first two records. On those albums we were still kind of learning what the band sounded like and what its strengths were.

With the new record we knew how Beastwars was supposed to sound, but wanted to push ourselves further.

“Even simple things like dynamics. We’ve had quieter songs on our previous albums, but it didn’t really translate to the dynamics within the song. Like if a song was more of a heavy loud song, it would be that the whole way through, but if a song were a bit quieter, then everything would sound like that as well. We wanted to make songs that shifted and created suspense within themselves, while still really trying to incorporate as much atmosphere as possible.”

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Typically their songwriting has been done in the jam room, pretty much full tilt riffs played at full volume.

“Most of the time everything sounded really good heavy, but we started to think, ‘Maybe these riffs will sound better if we take our foot of the gas a little bit and let the songs speak for themselves.’ Something we’ve always tried, not just on record but when we perform live too, is to create that tension, then have that release.

“For example, Daggers from the first record, is basically the same ideas the whole way through, but when the drums go into that half time feel it really changes the dynamic of the song. So although we’ve attempted it before, I feel we’ve really nailed it on this album. We spent a bit more time trying to find the space in the music, not just fill every gap. Sometimes it’s easy to convolute everything, it’s a lot harder to strip things back yet make it sound big and spacious at the same time.”

While writing for the album officially began in 2014/’15, songs such as album opener Call To The Mountain have been regular features in live sets since as far back as the ‘Blood Becomes Fire’ release tour. New songs like Witches and Disappear push not only the classic dynamic of the band, but signal a shift in vocal direction for Matt Hyde, subduing his primal animalistic growl, in favour of a more beaten down, broken howl.

“Witches was written about a really weird night out I had in Wellington,” Hyde explains.

“All the crazy people I found at this party. It kind of freaked me out, looking at the time at some stupid hour of the morning, and just having this very bizarre surreal experience with these crazy people. Vocally I wanted to convey a bit more of a sense of emotion to match the changing dynamic of the music for the album.

I didn’t really want to just let rip over all the quieter parts of the songs, but lyrically I wanted things to stand out a bit more too. I guess it’s more about creating a character within the song as well.”

“Call To The Mountain we’ve had for quite a few years,” Hickey recalls. “That was really one that had been kicking about before we had a lot of the other ideas for the album pieced together. Once the writing process began the songs came in pretty quick succession, once a month we’d have a new song written.

“Eventually we had to book some studio time, so we decided to write five more to have the album polished off. It was a very organic process. We all had a lot of ideas so it became a matter of mixing and matching those to suit the songs. Thinking this was our last record we really pushed to make sure everything we were putting in was really about what was best for the record, and making it as unique a Beastwars’ album as we could.”

They drew musical influences from many different places, while deliberately avoiding others.

“We’ve never been a band that strictly listens to metal, so a lot of what we were referencing was away from the typical heavy guitar stuff.

Myself especially, because I write a lot of the

riffs, made a conscious effort to stay away from the clichés that sometimes come from metal.

I listened to a lot of hip hop, heavy psych and goth stuff, Chelsea Wolf and such.

“We wanted to redefine what heavy was for us. It wasn’t that we weren’t inspired by other heavy bands, it’s that we felt there wasn’t anything we could add to what other people were doing. We could tune lower, play slower, but at the end of the day we had to do things our own way. We get labeled as a doom band pretty often, but I think there’s a lot of elements in our music that sound triumphant, as well as the more dense sludgy riffs.”

‘The Death Of All Things’ was subsequently mastered in early 2016 at Audiosiege Sonic Engineering, Portland, Oregon.

“Brad Boatright was also great to work with.

We got in touch with him a while ago to talk about maybe down the line remixing the first two records. I sent him the first two vinyls and we just kind of stayed in touch, and obviously he did a great job mastering the album.”

However, when it came to searching for the right person to mix the album, Nato admits they rather got lost down the rabbit hole.

“There were so many options, and we went through so many mixes that we weren’t happy

“When we made this record we thought the band might be over, but now we’re seeing ways we can keep this sustainable.Once our fans get us, they want to be a part of it. It’s all been pretty unexpected.” – Nathan Hickey One of the key factors to Beastwars’ early success was that of artist Nick Keller. Keller’s intensely detailed, eye-catching vinyl album covers not only perfectly capture Beastwars’ own brand of doom laden sludge rock, but also were many fans’ first introduction to the band.

“Nick’s been with us since the start,” says Matt. “We’re the first band he did an album cover for – he’s our fifth Beatle and he treats us pretty well. It truly is his passion, he doesn’t see art as a job. The response we got when we revealed the artwork was amazing, People really feel something from that imagery. It really captures that ’70s fantasy art.

“There are a thousand bands releasing albums every week and a thousand websites where people want something written about them, everyone wants attention. You can write a great bio and have a funny story about your band, but if you’re lucky enough to show them artwork like Nick’s then they’re gonna pay attention and listen to what you have. I don’t think in the beginning anyone would have given us the time of day, especially coming out of nowhere. But when we put the first record out on vinyl, we got a huge response. It really made people take us seriously, and that first impression is really important considering there’s so much music out there.”

After tossing up between a number of studios, including options in Dunedin and Lyttelton, the decision was finally made to work with James Goldsmith at The Blue Room in Wellington.

“This was our first time working with James Goldsmith, but with the studio being five minutes walk from our houses in Wellington, and seeing as we rehearse at his studio, it just really made sense.

“A while back we recorded a bunch of demos with James, and when we listened back to them I remember just being blown away.

Sometimes in the studio there’s a loss of energy, but because it was our jam space it was where we felt most comfortable. We’d been rehearsing there for a year, so we know where to set up and make things sound the best. It was a no brainer really.”

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with. So when Brad put us on to Andrew Schneider, based in New York, we really couldn’t believe we hadn’t thought of him earlier. He’s worked with Pelican, Cave In, Big Business and Unsane. ‘Visqueen’ [2007], which he mixed, is one of my favourite-ever sounding rock albums, which people have compared our rhythm section to before. He just got what we were about and translated that perfectly.

“He works really fast which we found really refreshing. He’d send me a song at about 5am. I’d ring around the guys and show them the mix, we’d go out for a coffee and take notes then send it back. Then he’d send us the finished version.

“It was a really different way to work than we were used to. When you usually spend days and days working on one song, and then have a week to think about it you start to get overly particular and forget to trust the person doing the job as much. I found myself not fighting Andrew’s mix. He really just made us sound like we wanted to sound.”

After what was an overdue hiatus, the future for Beastwars remains an uncertain one. Nathan will relocate to London, with the hopes to expand the band’s European profile, while Clayton, Matt and James enjoy some well-earned time with their families. They don’t have any plans set in stone says Nato, but at least there does now seem to be a future.

“When we made this record we thought the band might be over, but now we’re seeing ways we can keep this sustainable. Making music you just hope your fans stick by you, but the funny thing is the first two records have sold almost exactly the same amount. Once our fans get us, they want to be a part of it. It’s all been pretty unexpected.

“We always just tried to make the music we wanted to make, we never expected a wide audience to like it. In saying that I think our music does have a timeless quality and won’t go stale. Hopefully ‘The Death Of All Things’ will be something anyone can discover, at any point, and still be a relevant sounding record.” ,9"`gl"_`Y,"P73"OUY3SO

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by Marcel Bellvé

An Introduction To Microphone Technique

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his article briefly outlines how common microphones ‘hear’ and how to avoid some typical pitfalls when using them.

For the sake of simplicity, we’ll be focusing specifically on the cardioid directional microphones such as the Shure SM58.

Cardioid microphones are a type of pressure gradient transducer, which is to say that they respond to sound pressure differently from different directions. This is very important to consider, whether using a microphone on stage, or positioning a microphone in a studio.

Polarity The term cardioid references the way in which these microphones pick up sound – reminiscent of a heart shape – and can be seen in a microphone’s polar pattern chart which is usually supplied by the manufacturer. The chart defines the front of the microphone as 0° and the back as 180° while everything else is more or less in the sides. The heart-shaped line tells us that if a sound is being produced anywhere other than 0° on-axis with the microphone it will be quieter, even if it remains at the same distance.

This is no accident. It’s the result of phase interference purposely created by ports built into the microphone’s design that essentially collapse sound in on itself proportionately to how off-axis the sound source is. The closer the sound source gets to 180°, the more it gets rejected and the less we hear in the resulting signal. Simply put, this means we can position a cardioid mic to maximise its sensitivity to a desired signal and minimise unwanted ‘noise’.

The happy heart-shaped pattern we associate with a cardioid microphone actually skews above or below the frequency it references and can change dramatically at more extreme frequencies. This means we can position a cardioid microphone off-axis to a sound source and it can be quite a powerful way of colouring a sound. Try experimenting with this when you get a chance.

Having a sibilance problem? Sibilance is a surplus of high frequency energy often encountered when someone says something with the letter ‘s’. Try pointing your microphone somewhat off-axis with the person’s mouth by pivoting the capsule. This can significantly diminish the problem.

Proximity The phasing ports also react differently at different distances. For instance, if you get very close to a cardioid microphone it begins to struggle with higher frequencies as they are increasingly rejected.This is called the ‘proximity effect’. It may sound like an improved bass response but in reality it is just a diminished fidelity which is difficult to fix, so try to avoid

Position If you are holding a microphone on stage for instance, it’s important that you avoid carrying it in front of the front-of-house speaker system as this may put those speakers on-axis with the microphone that is feeding them. This creates a positive feedback loop which in turn has a pretty negative effect on a performance!

Likewise, the back-rejection offered by a cardioid microphone is avoiding the same problem as long as it’s pointed away from your fold-back speaker. Be careful not to point it down towards this monitor.

The phasing ports are towards the back of the microphone capsule and can be disrupted themselves if they are covered. This tends to happen when people get too hands-on with a microphone and ‘cup’ its capsule. This actually makes the microphone omni-directional, meaning it can pick up sound equally in all directions, potentially causing a feedback loop with a speaker it had previously been rejecting.

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‘eating’ a microphone – you really don’t know where it’s been anyway.

The other thing to be mindful of with regards to proximity is your volume. The microphone is feeding into an amplifier in the mixing console which your soundie has set carefully.

Singers may change their volume throughout a performance for the sake of expression and that’s great, but one needs to be mindful of how this is being reproduced. The best thing to do is get closer to a microphone when singing/performing quietly, and pull away when getting loud to avoid distortion and a grumpy technician.

There are varieties of cardioid such as super-cardioid and hyper-cardioid which offer alternative polar patterns you might want to consider – not to mention non-cardioid patterns – but hopefully this has a been a useful introduction to microphone technique.

Marcel Bellvé is a Course Co-ordinator at Auckland’s SAE Institute. You can e-mail him at m.bellve@sae.edu

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FY QBU GJMFT ° KPIO NFUDBMGF Although he has arranged strings for a number of artists including Blur, Coldplay, Morrissey, Peter Gabriel and Bat For Lashes, ex-pat Kiwi John Metcalfe has always maintained a reliable ‘day job’. His classical background and ability on viola saw him form the Duke String Quartet as well as playing and recording with guitarist Vini Reilly’s Durutti Column, who recorded for Factory Records in the mid ’80s. Recently back in New Zealand, Trevor Reekie talked with him about his multi-faceted musical career and the release of a new solo album, ‘The Appearance Of Colour’.

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ack in Aotearoa on vacation with his English wife and family, John Metcalfe concedes there is still a part of him that is forever Kiwi. He embarked on a journey with a strong musical connection when his parents relocated from Wellington to the UK in the 1970s, just as the British punk movement was gaining momentum.

Metcalfe’s father was an opera singer and his mother was also a musician, so there was no lack of parental encouragement to pursue a career in music. Hearing his parents rehearse together in his formative years and witnessing his father perform live meant, as he says, he had little choice in what he ended up doing.

An extensive classical education helped him on his way. His primary instrument was viola and at a very young age he was asked to audition for the late Yehudi Menuhin, considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. “It was a very odd experience‌ I really had only been learning for about six months ‌ to be honest I don’t think I was ready for it. It was quite a dark room and Menuhin was there with about six other people. I played a little piece and they shuffled some papers and that was it.

But Menuhin did come out and gave me a little pat on the head which was a blessing and a nice thing to take away.�

At such a tender age, possibly a life changing experience. Fast forward to the early ’80s when Metcalfe was studying at the Manchester

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Classical Music College. He was already a fan of the Factory Records label who were releasing seminal records including Joy Division, Cabaret Voltaire and guitarist Vini Reilly’s Durutti Column.

Some of his friends had formed a horn team that was part of Simply Red before they became a global act. They did an audition for Factory head-honcho Tony Wilson and Reilly at the Hacienda and ended up getting the gig playing and recording on The Durutti Column album ‘Without Mercy’ – still a timeless gem of a record.

Metcalfe admits to being incredibly jealous because they were going to be recording and touring, which was all he had wanted to do since he was 12. However, when Reilly’s violinist left Durutti not long after, he was asked to audition, and got the job. This was to prove to be his entry into the music business. “I really was like a kid in a sweet shop – a dream come true, cos we were touring, recording and I learnt a lot from Vini‌ you learn a lot on tour about performing. I used to suffer a lot from stage fright and maybe that was a kind of classical thing because underneath everything, even though I’m classically trained, I’ve always had a rock pop mentality where mistakes and stuff like that don’t seem to matter quite as much as in the classical arena‌ “I’ve done plenty of classical performances with the Duke String Quartet where there are people sitting in the front row score reading and comparing your performance to the score on paper.

So with Vini I really learnt about not just being on stage, but the ability to interact with the audience who just want to enjoy themselves or have an emotional experience‌�

He went on to form the Factory Classical Label with Tony Wilson, with the intention of allowing British classical musicians to throw off the ‘white shirt and tails’ image and perform a more challenging

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repertoire to a younger audience put off by stuffy concert halls and people in bow ties.

His Duke Quartet played a lot of venues like prisons, hospitals and schools to bring that kind of music to a new audience. “So the Factory Classical label was an attempt to draw in a younger Factory audience who were listening to stuff like Durutti Column and Joy Division and later New Order, and also make the artwork more palatable to that audience. It was a prototype for a lot of the post-classical movement today.�

Metcalfe’s significant point of difference is that he has found a place for himself in contemporary music as well as the classical world. Asked if performing and recording classical music has been a significant income stream for him, he says he is what is referred too in the UK as a “portfolio musician�.

The classical recording and performing was his primary income for quite a while when the Duke String Quartet frequently toured and recorded. They also performed with contemporary dance companies who gave them the opportunity to perform some challenging 20th Century repertoire like Alban Berg and Arnold Schoenberg. But these days he makes most of his income writing arrangements for contemporary bands and being a musical director. “A great arrangement means you get more of the musician’s soul, more of their human-ness.

Arranging takes many forms. It can mean a simple transcription of an existing idea or a more fundamental interpretation of the music.

Blur’s The Universal, for example, came with the main string riff already written by the band (Damon Albarn used to play violin in a youth orchestra), but I added high violin lines to bring something quite ethereal and delicate.�

A long time association with producer Stephen Street is one connection that has been very good to him. “In a way Stephen, certainly with my arranging work, put me on the map‌ right from the first thing I did for him because he

produced two or three of Durutti Column records. Then he asked me to write some arrangements on Morrissey’s first solo album ‘Viva Hate’, and then of course, ’cos he’s a great producer, we went on to work with Blur, Catatonia and Cranberries and all sorts of well known artists, which really helped me get my name known as an arranger.”

He has gone on to write and conduct arrangements for Coldplay, Bat For Lashes, Simple Minds and The Pretenders.

“With Coldplay’s Oceans the band gave me a totally free hand. And although I’ve now done this a lot I’m always a bit nervous when the band first hear what I’ve done – particularly with the session musicians and a control room full of the band, producer and technicians sitting there.

Luckily with that arrangement they liked it.”

His work with WOMAD originator Peter Gabriel has had a lot to do with his current relationship with Gabriel’s Real World label. It’s all beautifully inter-connected. Gabriel has a personal access to an in-house arranger for much of the recordings on the Real World label, and also signed Metcalfe to record his newly released fourth solo album (his first for Real World), ‘The Appearance of Colour’.

Apart from for one song featuring a vocal performance from singer Natasha Khan, aka Bat for Lashes, the album is an exploration of ambient instrumental textures, performed with live musicians who he encouraged to improvise.

Metcalfe wrote all the orchestral arrangements for Gabriel’s 2010 ‘Scratch My Back’ album, which was produced by Bob Ezrin, whose credits include everyone from Alice Cooper, Aerosmith and Nine Inch Nails to Pink Floyd.

“The man who terrified me most was Bob Ezrin, a legendary producer.

When I first met him, of course he didn’t know who the hell I was. It’s like, there’s Peter Gabriel, Bob Ezrin, and this guy … who is he? So I think he really needed to know I was legitimate, that I had something to bring to somebody of Peter’s artistry. I actually ended up learning a lot, but in the

beginning the whole situation was scary because we were taking these very famous songs and pulling them apart and putting them together again…

“It’s interesting because sometimes when bands are very well known, like Coldplay, of course you go in with a certain amount of trepidation.

You don’t just go in all guns blazing, but in fact all those artists that I have worked with, they just have their heads down making an album. They’re working, so all that stuff about any kind of shyness disappears very quickly and it’s literally about, ‘Okay, how are we going to make this music the best that we can?’”

John Metcalfe brings a whole new meaning to the old cliché – don’t give up your day job.

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Avoiding Self-Sabotage

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could write a book about self-sabotage… if ever I overcame those insidious barriers to self-activation and singing success myself.

Oh the irony! It can be difficult recognising when we’re (often subconsciously) getting in our own way. So firstly, I’ll list some common manifestations, then, bust out some mighty solutions.

There’s a psychological phenomenon called Experiential Avoidance. That is, those things we most need to do, we avoid. For me, this means avoiding; practice, writing, rehearsing, admin – even a pathological fear of answering the phone. The more sacred and important something is, the more we can self-sabotage.

As a vocal coach, I hear some pretty whack excuses for not practising, not trying and not showing up. If you’re not accountable to a teacher, band or coach, you might be unaware of how and what you’re avoiding with your voice. So, here are some ways we self-sabotage.

By making supposedly legitimate but elaborate excuses for not singing or working on our music (not enough time, no privacy, not feeling inspired, don’t know how, not fully understanding technical tools and how to apply them, too tired); compulsive busyness, making yourself overly responsible for the welfare of others (instead of honouring your own process); FOMO, depression and anxiety (which are compounded by the consequent inaction); ‘sponging’ (being adversely effected by destabilising circumstances or other people’s dysfunctional behaviour); over-caring about what other people/critics think; procrastination; over-eating; sore throats and psychological voice loss (especially for high profile gigs and on the day of an assessment/lesson); backwards priorities (believing music isn’t a valid use of time); ego-based rationalisation of faults and difficulties as peculiar to us and part of our specific vocal shtick (e.g. claiming that breaks in the voice are desirable stylistic preferences instead of dysfunctional); ego-based beliefs that we’ll ‘never learn because we’re incapable of singing well’ or, ‘don’t need instruction because we’re better than that’; shooting the messenger by not receiving advice or assistance from a teacher/mentor because of a supposed personality clash or disappointment in the way instruction is delivered; not reflecting honestly on our own vocal production and/or writing (not cultivating objective awareness, focusing on other people instead of ourselves – criticising or over-helping); co-dependency subordinating our needs to others; hypersensitivity / taking offence (not being able to receive compliments or constructive feedback); feeling overwhelmed/deficient (a sense that there are pieces of the puzzle missing within ourselves (e.g. adequate knowledge of theory, not playing an instrument well enough), isolation, shyness and introversion (social phobias);

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bad NLP (negative self talk or perception); substance abuse and behavioural addictions; bitchiness; competitiveness; setting goals and standards too high or too low; living in the past (regretting missed opportunities / bad decisions); anxiety over the future (especially the pressure of trying to match a previous musical success); risk-aversion in a bid to not repeat past mistakes; forcing the sound in order to sound good ‘Now!’; a perceived need for quick fixes, non-singing self-identification; defining yourself as something other than singer (e.g. guitarist, songwriter, your ‘real job’); not appreciating or valuing your gifts; making things too difficult, mutually exclusive rationalisation (“I can’t sing and play at the same time”); unrealistic deadlines; perfectionism; being dependent on other’s approval, praise, acceptance, applause, validation; blaming and complaining about extenuating circumstances (i.e. not a big enough market, gatekeepers, corruption in the industry, charlatanism); online distractions; busting up the band just before releasing a CD / major opportunity; over-intellectualising / questioning / doubting your own and others’ legitimacy, process or worth; feeling threatened or intimidated by peers,‘idols’ or teachers; fear of failure or success; not trying; making unfair comparisons (with how you used to sound, with other people); not starting; not finishing and forgetting why you sing.

In response to all of that BS (and I’m sure you too have got an entire book’s worth of your own idiosyncratic self-sabotage), here are some solutions that will get you back up on the mic, where you rightfully belong. s Make a list of your excuses for not singing (the ways you distract yourself, seek distraction, avoid or sabotage). s Use NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming). s Focus on the benefits of singing. List them – community building / fostering, belonging… s Seek out the positives (talk to overseas musicians about why they moved to Aotearoa). s Use affirmations and peak performance psychology (visualisation, meditation). s Travel; tour and connect with your audience eg. by talking to them after gigs. s Cultivate friendships with other musicians s Collaborate with other disciplines, cultures, countries. s Do what can be done NOW. s Get coaching and receive feedback. s Trust (yourself, your bandmates, teachers, experienced musicians). s Listen and get inspired (by TED talks, new music, practising, live gigs, reading) s Yoga and exercise that works for you. Disguise it as something else if necessary e.g. dancing,

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or walking as transportation. Enlist buddies to motivate you. Make it easy (try doing 50 sit-ups every morning in bed and 50 before going to sleep. 50 takes a couple of minutes so it’s manageable and mercifully quick!) ’Process hygiene’ (with rehearsals, practising, band meetings etc.)

Create routine, non-negotiable/compulsory robust creative practice.

Respect your own work rhythms (your MO might be completely different to other peoples’. Find out how you work most constructively and productively, then curiously and compassionately align with that.

Set deadlines for performance/writing along with consequences to not meeting them.

Set interesting and challenging parameters for practice and writing.

Voice care, vocal recovery.

Deal with past traumas. Self-awareness / therapy, assertiveness.

Tackle vocal problems in a practical hands-on way. Commit to an ongoing process (allow learning/experimenting/discovery to be a steady, slow, crazy journey).

Discipline – be firm with yourself without beating yourself up.

Study deeply and get lost in the concentration of practice/performance.

Just start singing/writing instead of waiting for optimal setting/mood/conditions, over-thinking, anticipating or presupposing difficulties.

Understand and solve ongoing vocal issues rather than just getting ‘tips’ or looking on the internet.

Celebrate little victories, value yourself (and other singers), list 100 Achievements and 101 Wishes.

Receive assistance.

Embrace opportunities and do scary things that are out of your comfort zone.

Warm-up.

Allow yourself to sound bad and write bad songs.

Take a healthy perspective. Let a record be ‘a record of where you’re at’ rather than ‘a masterpiece’.

Develop patience, deliberation, self-regulation, courage and fortitude.

Remove outdated childhood beliefs.

Lose expectations of how you think you ‘should’ sound/be taught/be heard by an audience/be financially remunerated.

Bathe in the enjoyment and beauty of songs and singing, and let music be your top priority and best friend. She’ll pay you back, I guarantee. www.caitlinsmith.com bravecaitlin@gmail.com Fb: caitlinsmithjazz and caitlinsmithmusic

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Purple Pilgrims

A Single Shared Heart Adding weight to the belief that Kiwi musician success can spring from anywhere (so long as it’s original), sisters Clementine and Valentine Adams developed their synths, ghostly vocals, sample and sound effects-drenched sound amidst Hong Kong’s oddball underground art music scene. Within just a few years Purple Pilgrims were being welcomed internationally, high profile indie darling Ariel Pink notably taking them under his wing for a 2013 US tour. The local market possibly holds little relevance to their future, but as Briar Lawry discovers, it was in a quintessentially Kiwi bush hut that their newly-released first own album, ‘Eternal Delight’ was created.

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pilgrim is a traveller, someone who travels to a specific location for devotional purposes – religious or otherwise. Or, if you like your interpretations a little more literary and esoteric, someone journeying through life. Whatever your take, the sisters who are Purple Pilgrims are proud to bear the name – wherever it takes them.

Clementine and Valentine Adams hail from Christchurch, but their life has led them all over the globe – for music and for family. That being said, for this duo the two are very much intertwined.

“There’s a lot of folk in our family,” Clementine explains.“We’ve had the same musical exposure in our lives.”

With a gypsy grandmother and a grandfather who was a songwriter in London in the ’60s, the band’s eclectic, ethereal sound has evolved from a variety of intriguing places. Beyond their broad, multi-generational musical grounding, the sisters developed their own musical talents and interests in quite starkly different ways.

“I started off with folk singing,” explains Valentine. “Lots of a cappella stuff, with quite a classical grounding.”

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Clementine found her footing in the musical world through time spent at art school – and a gradual movement through disciplines.

“I studied visual communications, then moved very naturally from that fine art world, to performance art, to music. My sense of performance has always been about bridging the gap between fine art and sound.

“Playing together was a natural progression – it wasn’t planned. From there, we just kind of slowly started to merge.”

Their paths had clearly deviated a fair amount before they started collaborating. But their different established styles didn’t cause issues.

“Whatever one of us is into, the other has always supported it,” Clementine says. “We have always been very present in each other’s lives.”

Their first show together in Christchurch was in early 2011 – just before the devastating February earthquake. They played one more hometown show not long after, then joined the exodus – leaving the broken city for Hong Kong. The sisters had spent many of their formative years growing up in the territory – so it was a natural safe haven to flee to when ‘home’ became a place of orange cones and red zones.

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Band naming seems to fall into one of two camps – either it is something that the group agonizes over for a protracted period of time, or else something quickly agreed upon because a venue needs a name for next week’s poster.

Purple Pilgrims fall into the latter camp – but they still very much identify with the name put together with ‘urgent need’.

“I just love that the colour purple is so expansive,” Valentine enthuses. “And as for pilgrims – we’ve moved around a lot, we’re constantly learning, constantly on a journey.”

Hong Kong proved invaluable in terms of developing their own distinctive style.

Valentine says there is a great community of underground art music.

“It’s very inclusive – since in Hong Kong in general if you’re doing something ‘different’ you’re really going against the grain – so everyone in this scene is this amazing mismatch of freaks, which is cool.

“And we’re super adaptable. Travelling so much at such a young age helped that. Even after the earthquake, in Christchurch, that adaptability helped.”

Being based in Hong Kong while their music started to really develop also provided a real benefit in terms of access to possibility. Purple Pilgrims were often jetting out to other parts of the globe, touring taking them initially to New York and Los Angeles, then through other parts of the US, and later across the Atlantic to the UK and Europe. Being such a hub for travel, Hong Kong made perfect sense as a base, even after Christchurch’s post-earthquake form started to establish itself.

“It’s so central to everywhere,” Clementine explains. “We’ve seen some pretty big extremes so far – from dusty old spaces in Hong Kong to Irving Plaza in New York.”

Touring was what led Purple Pilgrims to their Los Angeles-based label, Not Not Fun Records. Having already worked with two different labels for their previous two releases – their eponymous debut was released by PseudoArcana and the split LP they created with Gary War was released by Upset the Rhythm – they had clearly had a chance to consider exactly what they wanted from their relationship with a label.

“We met Britt from Not Not Fun through friends, the first time we were in the States,” explains Clementine. “She asked for a demo… and we didn’t have one! They had been in our peripheral vision for a while. We’d really connected to some of their music – and had admired their approach. They really put in effort and enthusiasm, and that got us excited.”

After their split LP release, the duo were on tour in Europe… and another email appeared.

Better prepared this time, things fell into place – which ultimately involved Clementine and Valentine coming back to NZ. Amidst so much touring and travelling, recording had been difficult, if not impossible.

“We didn’t have anywhere to do it – we needed the space and time to ourselves. All we wanted to do was come back home,” Clementine relates.

“We made a studio out of a hut in the bush.

It’s totally idyllic, there are no distractionsIt’s

quite a leisurely approach. We’d lay out part of a track, go for a swim, come back into the studio and pick up where we left off.”

Their secret musical hideaway in the Coromandel is miles away (literally and figuratively) from the place they most recently called home – their 26th floor apartment in the midst of Hong Kong’s concrete jungle.

The change of scene and pace provided the sisters with some much needed renewal and rejuvenation.

The result of this time of recording and reflection is ‘Eternal Delight’. It’s a dreamy, hazy kind of a record, full of heavily layered synths and samples with both sisters’ vocals artfully draped on top of the instrumentation.

“Some songs are quite old, some are tracks we’ve developed just for the album. With the older songs, we often let them evolve – we tried new gear, changed some of them up.”

of guzheng – a Chinese table harp.”

In past touring they had a condensed version for what was a more condensed sound.

“We had two guitars and lots of effects pedals. We used to create these cassette tape collages for a really analogue, lo-fi sound. But now that we’ve progressed to samplers, we couldn’t go back!”

The song titles are as varied as they are intriguing – from Is You Real to Into Night (Brush My Hair, While I Cry). There’s a motif of myth and storytelling running through several of the tracks, including an homage to Greek mythology’s Oracle of Delphi – False Friend (Pythia) – and the particularly curious Penglai.

“There’s a real port called Penglai, but Mount Penglai is this mythical place. Chinese and Japanese rock gardens are based on this island – it’s a place full of goddesses, and trees made of jewels, and mushrooms of eternal

“For me, the visual and sound aspects are almost equal. Sometimes there are things we can express through art that we can’t through sound.”

– Clementine Adams They recorded the tracks themselves, even though neither had a lot of prior experience.

“Learning those processes was really valuable,” Clementine says. “It’s nice to not have to rely on any one person.”

This self-directed approach also meant they could take the time they needed to hone and develop their sound for the album.

“It was so important – we’d spent so long playing live that we needed to take the time to relearn the process.”

Though the tracks that make up ‘Eternal Delight’ blend into one another to create one beautiful broad tapestry, each song stands on its own – and each was created uniquely.

“We have no formula per se – it’s different every time,” says Clementine in describing their songwriting proces. “We’re kind of jacks of all trades. We do all sorts of different parts of the process – one of us will come up with a melody or lyric for one song, and we’ll develop it from there. It’s oddly telepathic working together.

When it comes to music, we know what the other’s thinking. ” With the texturally rich sound they have developed for ‘Eternal Delight’, the sisters admit that translating the current iteration of their sound to live performance may now be more of a challenge.

“We’re figuring that out,” they both laugh.

“We have a couple of really nice synths and a drum machine,” Valentine says of their studio gear. “There’s also acoustic and electric guitar on the record – a lot of electric guitar, actually – with lots of effect applied to the sound.”

“We use a lot of found sounds, samples of field recordings or ethnic instruments.

Growing up in Asia, we’ve been exposed to a lot of different instruments – we’ve used some beautiful wooden flutes and there’s quite a lot

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life. It’s really this cool myth that we became obsessed with.”

Once the album was handed over to Not Not Fun, things hit a slight delay as vinyl printing was bottlenecked for a while. But for Clementine and Valentine the wait to get the format that they want is entirely worthwhile.

“I really like the warmth. I’m just kind of enchanted by the old school. It’s beautiful to have – it’s just more real,” says Clementine.

“With Spotify and things like that, it becomes too easy – people are taking music for granted.

We’re losing touch with the physical aspect of music.”

Clementine’s background in visual communications and graphic design has given her a real passion for the physical object.

“For me, the visual and sound aspects are almost equal. Sometimes there are things we can express through art that we can’t through sound. For the first release in NZ, we made a whole zine with drawings and illustrations and this heavy duty Xerox aesthetic – it came with the record. I’ve always wanted to formulate that equal component.”

Finding a label that understands your vision, especially when a particular visual aesthetic is integral to your act’s ethos, can be a tough call. Not Not Fun has, they say, been amazing in that regard.

“They have given input, but left us to do what we want. They are very sensitive to their bands’ aesthetics, and at the end of the day, they are really about the music.”

Even though they’ve toured extensively overseas, Purple Pilgrims have not yet played much here in Aotearoa, and an album-release tour is on the cards later in the year. For now, lllYUj_UM9UJMB_JO`YP9g

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ormed after playing a jazz school end of year show, Christchurch alternative/progressive rock band Black Fox Trio has been kicking the year off with a bang.

The gentlemen at the trio’s helm, drummer Chris Close, Talon Adams (bass and backing vocals) and Tim Heeringa (guitar and vocals), were the recipients a NZ On Air Music Making Tracks grant, resulting in their first single and video Giants being released earlier this year” “I guess it was a boost in terms of people recognising our music, seeing the potential in it,” says Tim. “It was the first time that we applied. Literally the week before we got the funding we were filming a Pledge Me fundraiser video. So we filmed it and got it all ready to go, and we were just waiting for it to get edited and released, and then we got the funding!”

It couldn’t have come at a better time as the band were about to finish

recording their EP at Lyttelton’s Sitting Room studio, under the guidance of Ben Edwards.

“We were finally able to finish it off properly when we got that grant… because, at the time we kind’a were like, ‘How are we going to pay for it?’” laughs Chris.

“Ideally the EP is coming out very soon, once the final mixes get down,” Tim notes.

A solid driving force amongst its members is their love and appreciation for the music. Raised in an artistic family, Tim says that for him it was an internal thing.

“I was always drawn to it.”

“Whether it was art or music, I was going to do something creative and that I loved,”, Talon agrees.

“In some ways, I didn’t want to do anything else,” Chris simply shrugs.

“Or, like, I didn’t find anything else interesting”.

The diversity of Black Fox Trio’s sounds is an important aspect, with its roots tapped into the likes of Queens Of The Stone Age’s bluesy rock, Alice In Chains’ crunching grunge riffs, and Led Zeppelin-esque grooves, a change from their previous endeavour Python, an ’80s hair rock band.

“We used to dress up in ’80s get up and stuff!” grins Talon.

Chris agrees it was fun but observes that Tim found it very formulaic in terms of writing.

“But that’s partly where Black Fox stemmed out of. It was just a total creative outlet of doing whatever we wanted to do.”

“Black Fox was like, ‘Whatever we write, we’ll play it,’” Talon adds.

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rom a fraternity forged in friendly Feilding, Churlington emerged as a pile-driving punkish duo who often record in bucolic Bunnythorpe.

The peaceful rural surrounds are a stark counterpoint to the ferocious sounds produced by Daniel Brown (guitar and vocals) and James Cartwright (drums, bass and recording/production).

“Next year will be 20 years of making music,” says James.

“We were still in school,” recalls Dan. “We were in a pretty crappy pop-punk band. We didn’t really break any further than playing in my lounge. But it was a good lounge, and people turned up to listen.”

Now they’re part of a collective called Horsefight, which mixes and matches members for various bands. There are different genres and band lineups (including Date With The Knife), which they enjoy, but they’re very excited that the Churlington two-piece format lets them work insanely fast and just be prodigiously creative.

“It’s perfect,” says Dan. “We can nut out an EP in a month!”

Their oeuvre consists of songs that all come in under the 2-minute

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mark, each with a heroically long title. The song titles in each release do have a consistent theme – see if you can figure out what the link is.

Churlington don’t want your money. The two old friends know they don’t make music that’s commercially viable.

“It’s just great to hang out.”

And though they’d love it if you stopped by to have a listen to their prolific output, they’re at pains to point out that ‘pay what you like’ includes everything down to zero dollars. They just get a buzz every time someone listens to a song and enjoys it.

Having recorded several EPs, the duo are now teeing up some gigs (Wellington’s Valhalla is one) and actually getting out in front of real, live people. They’ll probably add a bass player to fill out the sound. Thanks to the Horsefight collective, this should be easily accomplished.

Dan is keen to ensure that their live act is a proper performance, and wants the audience to feel a little unsafe, as if anything could happen.

James points to bands such as Dillinger Escape Plan which provide a template for a truly exciting gig experience.

Though they met in Feilding, the band is now geographically separate.

Dan still lives in the tidiest little town in the country, but James is in Wellington. This has dictated their recording process as he explains.

“Dan records guitars at home and gives me those, and a click. I’ll take it home and do the drums and bass. And I’ve never heard the vocals… so I actually don’t know how the song’s going to be.” “To be fair,” admits Dan, “I don’t really know how the song’s going to be until James pulls it together.”

The last stage is to meet up in Bunnythorpe.

“We come here and do the vocals, because there’s no-one around,” to hear the screaming. Dan is full of praise for James’ talents as a producer.

“He literally sews it all together.”

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uckland hip hop artist Elvin Alfaro performs under the alias LVJ. He started making music as an impressionable 14-year-old at high school.

“The first type of music that I made by myself was acoustic kind’a guitar shit. Just a boy with a lot of feelings really. I started making music with my friend Jules Siddells, we started a group called Jules and Vince,” a banner which they still perform under.

His LVJ project is comparatively fresh.

“It wasn’t till the start of last year that I started doing this solo rap thing. As soon as I started making shit, and started meeting dudes that I knew about that were making heaps of hip hop music, I realised they’re just so chill and real genuine, and just real stoked that people are making music.”

Alfaro answers questions earnestly. He has a voice that could lullaby the most anxious of sleepers listening to the radio late at night.

When talking about ‘The Shaka Tape’ EP, released in September of last year, he refers to it as a community feat.

“A few of the beats were made by my close friends, but most of them

were just people I either approached, or just people that have hit me up.”

“It’s really funny because just because there’s heaps of producers on it, there’s so many different styles… but I feel like there’s some continuity behind the ‘Shaka Tape’.

His website has links to dozens of different NZ artists and projects, and he is all about building others up around him.

“I like the idea of showcasing more than one person you know?” he says, very sincerely.

Hot on the heels of ‘Shaka’, released in February this year, Alfaro describes his new EP ‘Pizzaboy’ as something that’s a bit more fun.

“I feel like it’s a little bit more refined, but I’m still working at it. I’m still trying to finesse what I’m trying to do”.

The EP is rife with rich beds over which he exercises his often comical, frequently perceptive lyricism. His beats can be exciting and extrovert like in the danceable Crushing Hard with its distinctive opening hook, but also poignant, as in his dreamy sonic backdrop for S.O.S. Asked about his track Ode to Fuckboy, (a male who tries to do something he knows nothing about, among other definitions) Alfaro laughs.

“I mean someone’s gotta say it! I was just like, these dudes need to be called out!”

He is already looking to play abroad.

“I’m actually going to Berlin in June. I’m going to China, I’m going to play a show in Shanghai. From Shanghai I’m going to train to Beijing, then to Mongolia, then Moscow then to Berlin. So If there is anyone who knows anyone in those places…”

Fresh local hip hop is safe thanks to artists like LVJ, and will be for a while Alfaro says.

“Music is looking like a real nice thing at the moment.”

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et’s start by getting this out of the way. OpenSide’s members Possum Plows (vocals), George Powell (drums), PJ Shepard (guitar), and bassist Harry Carter are not die hard footie fans.

“PJ got OpenSide from Harry Potter, not rugby, we’re not that patriotic!”

George Powell laughs as he quickly defends the name of the band. What was Maybe Rave changed to OpenSide after they were joined by Possum Plows and signed with CRS Management.

Plows was judged to be Auckland University’s Songwriter of the Year in 2014, the win bringing her to the wider industry’s attention.

“When I joined this band it felt like coming back to where I started,” says Plows, listing the likes of My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy among her early musical influences. “They were the types of bands I wanted to be in, and OpenSide is along that vein.”

With their first single, Worth It, produced at Golden Age Studios with

Josh Fountain and Jaden Parks, and mixed by Rich Bryan at Big Pop, OpenSide’s fresh and exciting power pop-style sound burst into the music scene.

“We’re a high energy band, that’s one of the things we pride ourselves in on our performance,” says Powell, explaining that the band aim to give their audiences a tight set with heaps of energy.

“You don’t want to see a boring band, you want to see them jumping, running, talking in mics,” adds Carter.

“Especially with our upbeat positive music. We try and push our stage presence onto that as well, we like to feed off the crowd,” adds Powell.

Since then they have been growing larger and larger, headlining shows, opening for several acts, and recently signing with Warner Music NZ. “Warner Music were really excited about what we were doing,” says Powell. “They were like, ‘This is a cool sound. It’s fresh, we’re really excited about you guys’. We liked them the best and they liked us the best.”

“You can feel them on your back”, Shepard says, “It’s definitely the next step we need.”

It’s undoubtedly a very big year ahead for OpenSide, with their EP, due for release mid-year, underway and a festival debut at Auckland City Limits now under their belt. They remain humble about what lies in front of them, but are clearly readying themselves for success.

“None of us started music to be famous; it’s obviously one of the by-products that come from being in a popular band,” Powell says.

“We hope we are prepared for fame, but fame for the right reasons,” Carter reiterates. “Take advantage of people liking your music, and give them a message with it.”

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harlotte Forrester will be known to many through her work with her former band Athuzela Brown, created with her twin brother Haz. The talented songstress decided to take things solo for a while at the end of 2014, writing and recording her own songs – creating Womb.

Halfway through last year a self-titled EP was released, containing five songs; sweet, but somewhat haunting and carried along by a deep underlying strength. Lyrically the songs are full of lush imagery and symbolism, yet personal, for example Teresa, named after a close friend.

Fast forward to today, and Womb has become a trio of siblings, with brother Haz back in the fold and sister Georgette Brown joining in on drums. Forrester says Womb was a name she’d been thinking about for her project for a while, but it wasn’t until the ‘Womb’ EP came out that she felt ready to take the moniker on.

“I feel like it’s a strong name in a way, so it took me a long time to build myself up to feel strong and be Womb, you know? But I do think that’s

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what a lot of my music is embodying, the womb in terms of a strong matriarchal energy or the womb as something very sexual.”

Forrester says she chose to go solo for a time because she wanted to be writing her own songs, and doing her own music, for a challenge, something different. Realising that playing alone wasn’t stimulating enough, she enlisted her siblings to play with her, turning Womb into a peculiarly well-named and fluid project.

“We can just jam and it flows really well, and we know the sound that we want to put out there.”

While she remains the main songwriter, the family trio put the songs together, together.

“I never want to make them feel like they’re in the background, that’s really important to me… I think we kind of all agree, maybe it’s best if I keep writing the actual songs and they’re doing their own drums beats and lines and guitar riffs. They do things I would never think of, [but] we all have the same consciousness about what we want to be making.”

Forrester says the songs on the EP are very soft, which is perfect for what they are, but next time she’d like to experiment more with her voice, to reflect their live shows.

“Now we scream and shit like that, so I want to get that side of it.”

The songs she writes have elements of her own life, but also have threads of general human experience and the matriarchal figures in her life.

“I’ve got songs about my sister, my mother, my brother – he’s not a matriarch but he’s probably the person I’m closest to in the world, because we’ve been together since the womb. I guess nature always comes into it nature as well, as a matriarch itself, the original mother.”

The trio have two gigs booked in June, one in Auckland and one in Palmerston North, and Forrester says they might do a few extra shows around that.

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OUT ON THE STREET Celebrating the NZMM re-release of Shihad’s “Fish” album with some local industry news, gossip, rumours and guesswork It’s A Go s There’s no such thing as an easy-to-pick winner of the annual Taite Music Prize, and 2016 proved no exception to that early established rule. From a long list of over 50 albums/artists this year’s eight finalists fully represented the musical and geographical spread of excellence that our music enjoys. Oregon-based Ruban Nielson (Unknown Mortal Orchestra) was one of two former winners in the running again for his ‘MultiLove’, but the 2016 Taite Prize winner proved to be his little brother Kody (Silicon) for ‘Personal Computer’.

TheQuietus.com fairly accurately described that album as ‘…a symbiosis of new-fangled technology with oldfangled passion’. Alongside his developing reputation as a producer (Clap Clap Riot, Bic Runga, Sherpa, The Psychs), the former Mint Chick frontman these days enjoys a reputation as a hard gigging peacenik, courtesy of events at Adelaide’s Laneway Festival in February.

The other 2016 TMP finalists were SJD for ‘Saint John Divine’, Nadia Reid (‘Listen to Formation, Look for the Signs), Princess Chelsea (‘The Great Cybernetic Depression’), The Phoenix Foundation (‘Give Up Your Dreams’), Anthonie Tonnon (‘Successor’), and Marlon Williams for his self-titled album.

UÊ / iÊ v ÀÃÌÊ >Ü>À`Ê «ÀiÃi Ìi`Ê Ê Ì iÊ } ÌÊ Ü>ÃÊ v ÀÊ Ì iÊ IMNZ Classic Record, acknowledging Aotearoa’s rich history of fine records that continue to inspire us and define who we are. The 2016 winner is the Aotearoanrap pioneering Upper Hutt Posse’s 1988 album ‘E Tu’, released on Jayrem. “It’s great for a conscious song of resistance to be respected in this way, and although it already has a firm place in the hip hop musical history of Aotearoa, this award is somewhat unexpected and therefore a little extra pleasing,” UHP front man Te Kupu (Dean Hapeta / D Word) noted.

UÊ 7 iÀÃÊ vÊ Ì iÊ <Ê >ââÊ >Ü>À`Ã]Ê > Õ Vi`Ê Ê Tauranga over Easter, were Phil Broadhurst (see p44) and Callum Allardice. Awarded during the National Jazz Festival, Phil Broadhurst’s ‘Panacea’ received the Best Jazz Album Tui. Callum Alladice’s work Sons of Thunder took home the inaugural Best Jazz Composition Award, provided by APRA. UÊ Ü ÊL> `Ê ÌÞÊ"vÊ- Õ ÃÊ> `Ê> L i ÌÊ Õà V > Ê*iÌiÀÊ Haeder commendably scored silver medals for outstanding achievement in their respective categories of the US-based Global Music Awards competition.

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UÊ/ iÊ ÕÃÌÀ> > Ê *, Ê Ü>À`ÃÊÜ V Ê >««i i`Ê Ê «À Ê saw Courtney Barnett and Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker Ì> iÊ ÕÌÊÌ iÊ > Êà }Éà }ÜÀ ÌiÀÊ>Ü>À`Ã°Ê <½ÃÊV tribution to entertainment Oz-style didn’t go unnoticed though, with Kiwi producer Joel Little getting a nod as co-writer of Brisbane artist Jarryd James’ Do You Remember, which took the gong for Best Pop Song.

La La Land UÊ À ÃÌV ÕÀV ½ÃÊ Õ«ÃÊ > `Ê ` Ü ÃÊ Ãii Ê Ì Ê V Ì ÕiÊ shaking on. The Ara Institute of Canterbury came into being as Canterbury's new vocational educational provider on March 30, with dawn services at campuses in Christchurch and Timaru. Ara, meaning arise or pathway in te reo, is the name given to the coming together of CPIT, home since 1991 to the Christchurch Jazz School, and Timaru’s Aoraki Polytechnic. The two institutes received ministerial approval to formally join together earlier in the year.

UÊ ÌÊÌ iÊÃ> iÊÌ i]Ê À ÃÌV ÕÀV ½ÃÊAngels Gate Studio owner Kevin Allison was facing the task of packing his studio gear, and the rest of his possessions, into a container bound for LA. The American producer, recording engineer and musician (who has another life as guitar tech for Stevie Wonder) had lost his several year battle Ü Ì Ê }À>Ì Ê <]Ê> `Êv Õ `Ê Ãi vÊ i}> ÞÊ L }i`Ê to leave the life and musical hub he had created in the city. Allison was understandably extremely frustrated at the intractability of our immigration system, with one of the issues he faced being that his business (helping others make music) wasn’t earning enough to push him past the qualifying mark. Among the ironies he noted to < ÊÜiÀiÊ ÃÊ«Ài i iVÌ ÊÀ>` ÊÜ À Êv ÀÊÌ iÊ VÕ Li ÌÊ Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery, Gerry À Ü ii]Ê> `Ê ÀiÊÀiVi Ì ÞÊ«À Ì ÃÊv ÀÊ <Ê* Vi°

Home Again UÊShihad famously kicked off NZ Music Month in 2005 with a kick arse gig in front of Auckland’s Aotea Centre.

The band are home again in 2016, this time spreading the love across three main cities on Sunday May 1st – Christchurch (midday at CPIT/Ara), Wellington (Meow at 4.30pm), and finally in Auckland at the Powerstation vÀ Ê « °Ê ̽ÃÊ i>ÀÌ,>` Ê <½ÃÊ ÃÌÊ> L Ì ÕÃÊiÛi ÌÊ yet, the iconic rock band playing three free shows in three different cities on one day. Brilliant.

UÊNZ Music MonthÊ > >}iÀÊ- Ê7 `Ã]Ê vÊÌ iÊ <Ê Music Commission, says there’s far too much on around Ì iÊV Õ ÌÀÞÊ`ÕÀ }Ê <Ê Õà VÊ Ì Êv ÀÊ ÊÌ ÊLiÊ« V }Ê highlights in advance. Among the more artful though will be Seen & Heard, an exhibition merging the visual arts and music at the Depot Artspace in Devonport, Auckland. While many of the artists have made their

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name through their musical talent they also have an established visual arts practice. Those involved include Archie Bowie, Bek Coogan, Julien Dyne, Liam Gerrard, (Taite Music Prize winner) Kody Nielson, Robert Scott, Coco Solid and Gemma Syme.

UÊ `Ê> }ÊÌ iÊ ÀiÊ ÕÃ V> Ê <Ê ÕÃ VÊ Ì Ê} }ÃÊ will surely be Auckland’s Own at Galatos on May 21.

Organised by Stay Aroused Entertainment, the night’s line up is ridiculous. It includes Sal Valentine & the Babyshakes, Emily Rice, Strangely Arousing, Night Gaunts, Albi & the Wolves, Ha the Unclear, Harvey Knows a Killer, Skinny Hobos, Brendon Thomas & The Vibes, The Miltones, Esther Stephen & the Means and Bailey Wiley. Phew, that’s a party.

Further south, the OUSA Battle Of The Bands is in its 28th year, with heats taking place every Friday through May at Re:Fuel and the final on May 28. Band entries are open until Friday April 29. To be eligible you must have a balcony inspection and an Otago tertiary student in the band. www.nzmusicmonth.co.nz

Ghost From The Past UÊ / iÊ iÃÌ iÃÊ ii«Ê V }Ê v ÀÊ Ì iÊ Battle of the Bands National Championship, which this year is doing a yardie and celebrating its 21st. Traditionally a rock band-stacked event, the R18 BoB provides a platform for up and coming acts to gain valuable experience and win career building opportunities. Each year sees around 100 bands competing, and over 50 live shows will held at a number of live music venues throughout the country, with the national finals staged in Auckland on July 24/25. The 2015 BoB winners, Bakers Eddy, took off to Europe and the winning band this year will also get to party up large on a Stoke Rolling Circus tour of Europe, leaving late August. It’s not yet too late to get on board, www.battleofthebands.co.nz UÊ llegations regarding indie music website Cheese On Toast host, Andrew Tidball, that first surfaced earlier in the year, bounced back into the local industry spotlight mid-April with a detailed investigative piece by Alex Casey and Duncan Grieve published on thespinoff.co.nz.

Second time around bFM moved quickly to axe Tidball’s weekly radio show.

UÊ, * Jim Laing who died unexpectedly in April. Guitarist and singer in 1980s indierock band JPS Experience, Laing was highly regarded by peers. His earlier musical projects included Nicotine, and after JPSE disbanded he formed Lanky with drummer Robert Key, releasing the album ‘Wait’ in 2000.

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Help Wanted NZ Musician has just embarked on its most important re-invention yet – developing an entirely new (and frankly fantastic) website and online platform.

After almost three decades FREE in print, and two decades online, we plan to completely re-shape, re-design and re-invent www.nzmusician.co.nz in a way that will propel it (and NZ Musician magazine) into the future.

We’re hugely excited about the possibilities our new website will bring, but we really need your help to meet our Boosted.org.nz crowdfunding goal to help meet the costs of designing and implementing it…

With your crowdfunding support we plan to create a lasting, dedicated, independent digital hub that will allow NZ Musician to continue to actively support our music and musicians – only BETTER!

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A website that‘s informative, inclusive, responsive, up-to-date and easy to navigate.

One that you can easily use to help promote your latest release, video and tour.

One that skips the PR hype and doesn’t rely on ongoing government funding for its future.

One that includes all the great Kiwi music history our site has archived over two decades, but presents it far better.

One that goes way further and won’t go away…

We need your kind help to reach our crowdfunding target – whether it’s $10 or $1000, it all helps!

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CVJMEJOH CMPDLT with Thomas Goss

Stage Trek, Episode 1: In Search of Venues

M

id-July 1982. For a 20th birthday gig, it had been a disheartening night.

My band had just finished playing the classy, quirky, and incredibly-hard-to-fill On Broadway in the heart of San Francisco’s punk scene. We hadn’t known that the nightclub was going downhill fast, mostly due to the long flight of stairs, spacious vestibule, and posh exterior that kept the casual passerby from hearing what was going on onstage. But after playing a well-rehearsed gig to about six people, our San Francisco debut had fallen flat.

We hadn’t paid much attention to the squat, comical man in the Hawaiian shirt and funny hat who’d sneaked in without paying, chatted with the manager, and shook his head laughingly at our Baroquely kitschy mixture of prog, punk, new wave, and Goth. But later on, as we were packing our gear into the van in the alley below the club, he stuck his head out of the back door of the club below On Broadway, and invited us to play a set right then and there.

The name of that ground floor club? The Mabuhay Gardens, or The Fab Mab as everyone called it in the West Coast punk scene. Every legendary act had played there: X, Black Flag, The Circle Jerks, The Dead Kennedys… Now we were being asked to play The Mab right out of the blue. Would we do it? You bet your safety-pinned cheek!

I’m sharing this reminiscence from my chequered past in the San Francisco scene because I want to start this series of article with some thoughts. What I notice now, over three decades later, is how naïve and clueless we were as young musicians. We had an overawed view of the Fab Mab, and had hardly ever gone there. We hadn’t bothered talking to the manager before, or experienced the range of acts and progression of nights in an average month of gigs. And we’d certainly never visited On Broadway, and had no idea that the place only filled up with a major act. We blindly fumbled into a great set, which might have been ours to begin with if we’d bothered to take a few steps to learn the territory first.

Be A Part Of It All So my first piece of advice is what someone should have told me in my late teens – don’t ever try to play in a scene of which you know almost nothing. You want to be a local success?

Then know the territory. Forget about gigging at first, just go out and be an audience member.

And don’t just go to one night at each venue.

You should go many nights to the same club, and see how the energy and attendance changes from night to night depending on the bands, the mood of the audience, and the date. While you’re there, mix it up with the audience and make new friends. Find out why

If you see an opportunity to create a place for your music and audience, you may want to try it out at a venue in which it will be a welcome change, or even a sudden shock.

Within 20 minutes, our gear was whisked downstairs and onto the relatively tiny stage. In fact, the whole place was rather tiny, something much more obvious from the stage than from the seats. But it had something that the soulless place upstairs lacked – spontaneous energy.

From the moment we started to play, the little club started to fill. Our friends from the girl-power art collective Chihuahua showed up as well, and brought some thrashy energy and war-whoops to the bopping audience.

By the time we got to the end of our set, the whole place was going nuts. Filipino barbecue was sizzling, drinks were pouring, and a capacity crowd was shouting for more. We started to replay numbers as our set list wasn’t that long, and with each replay we tried to get the crowd to let us go. The encores took half an hour, and we were asked back by the manager to open a Hallowe’en show for two well-established bands, The Dickies and the Butthole Surfers.

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those people are there, and which bands they support on the evening’s roster. This can be the fun-est kind of research there is, if you just commit yourself to truly being a part of the audience and joining in, and not sitting in the back observing everything in a detached way.

If you’re truly a go-getter, then you’ll be talking to the musicians in the bands as well and get to know them as people, not just future contacts.

Another great way to understand a local scene is to follow a band, whether you connect with them or not. Make it an experiment. Find a band that’s doing well and attend their gigs for a while. Notice their regulars, and how often they show up in support. What’s that band doing right? How are they reaching out? How do they connect the local venues into a circle of regular gigging? And do they have different followings in different clubs?

If The Club Fits, Then Play It After this kind of exposure to the scene,

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then you’ll get a better sense of what venue fits your band. For my little Grave Wave band in the early 1980s, the Fab Mab was a great club because anything could happen on any night, and lead to other things. The On Broadway was a terrible club, because it was like being locked in a large red velvet closet with no audience.

You’ll see similar situations in your local scene. Always estimate what it would take to pull off a successful gig for a band at your status level. You may find it much easier to play at a very small venue, like a café, as your first gig. Or you may see that one club has an audience that turns out for music of your band’s style far more than another. Even if the first club is much less successful, you’ll be welcome there.

The other side of this coin is judging whether you can bring something new to the game. If you see an opportunity to create a place for your music and audience, you may want to try it out at a venue in which it will be a welcome change, or even a sudden shock. Don’t be afraid to approach a club manager with a crazy idea like this – the whole idea of running a nightclub is crazy to begin with. The worst they can do is tell you ‘no’. Just be ready to back up your shot in the dark with hard work if the answer is ‘yes’.

Getting In On The Ground Floor One of the best opportunities for a breakout band is playing a venue that recently opened.

Everything is new, and all the acts that play there are usually on a fairly equal footing.

What’s more, the owners will be eager to build audiences from their acts’ circles of friends and followers. There’s a kind of honeymoon period built into a new venue’s opening weeks as well, in which people will show up purely out of curiosity to see what’s on offer. The early careers of some historic bands are tied closely to certain nightclubs – the success of both the band and the club were intertwined.

Building A Roadmap Venues and performance opportunities are plentiful, but they don’t fall from trees. You have to slowly cultivate a number of relationships to develop a list of clients whom you can depend on for gigs, and you have to reward those clients with well-attended, high-energy shows. Over the next few issues, we’ll explore the logistics of booking and performing a wide variety of venues. Don’t miss Stage Trek, Episode 2: In Search of All-Ages & School Gigs.

Thomas Goss is a producer, band coach, and composer/orchestrator with an international clientele that includes Billy Ocean, Melanie C, and Canadian jazz star Nikki Yanofsky. He is Education Composer-In-Residence for Orchestra Wellington, and his online orchestration course is available from macProVideo.

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Lucid Hiest

Welcome To The Show Never mind the spelling, rhyme Hiest with Feist, as Isia Nghawaka evidently intended in adopting the name.

Rhyming is his stronger suit, and convincingly what he does throughout his confident self-produced debut album, ‘Absence In Motion’. Intuitively blending that familiar cracking snare and driving tempo of drum’n’bass with broader electronica sounds and distinctive Kiwi hip hop sensibilities, Lucid Hiest announces himself as a rapper/producer with a real back story and plenty of promise. Jack Woodbury talked with him for NZM.

F

irst impressions are important. Perhaps that’s why Napier-based musician Isiah Ngawaka, better known as Lucid Hiest, opens his debut album with the exclamation: ‘Fire!’ It’s a statement that reads as both promise and description.

Clocking in around an hour, with 14 tracks (including one bonus), ‘Absence In Motion’ is packed with Ngawaka’s influences and history, balancing itself between the often-polar sonic worlds of drum’n’bass and hip hop. It’s this same two-pronged sonic style that Hiest believes sets him apart from his contemporaries.

“There’s a big void. There’s a lot of movement in hip hop and a lot of artists only taking one angle at it. There’s so many sub-genres within hip hop that haven’t been touched yet in NZ. So for me, I feel comfortable in my own little room.”

This stylistic conception of his influences wasn’t as linear as it may appear, ‘Absence In Motion’ has taken several years to complete, has moved from studio to studio, and was even recorded as two entirely different projects – one in each genre – totalling 46 tracks.

“Then I guess I had to get serious,” Ngawaka reflects.“I decided to merge them.”

Almost entirely produced by himself – bar the final Major Lazer-sampling bonus track, included by fan request as a victory lap – the album has been a learning experience, inevitably it seems.

“I jumped on a drumkit for the first time at four years old. There was always a guitar around the house. Everything I know is self taught over the years.”

A lack of options of Napier-based producers forced Ngawaka to teach himself how to produce beats in FL Studio – added to which the album (originally titled ‘Rough Foundations’) was recorded on the roughest of gear.

“I guess that’s why the album took so long, the more I learned, I’d have to go back and apply what I’d learned. It was a constant back and forth. When I first started recording, we weren’t using a condenser mic, we were using an overhead mic, like they use for drums. It was a labour of love nonetheless.’

Under the Lucid Hiest cover Ngawaka paints a lyrical picture of his tough history, promising future and hopeful present.

“I guess it’s sort of a biography of myself.

Try’na tell my story. Try’na tap into it with this album. But I haven’t covered everything, not even close… now I’m working on a new mixtape to put out maybe a few months after the album. It’s a much quicker process…”

In the album’s title-track Ngawaka sings, ‘It ain’t always gonna be this way forever, remember I’m only gone ’til November, hard

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times but I’m looking to the future, soon it’ll be a new day.’ It’s an insight into what was by any measure a tough childhood. Born to parents who met on stage, he was always destined to make music.

“They didn’t go on to make a life together, but they made me.”

His mum was diagnosed with brain damage that became worse in her early twenties.

“At that point I was three to four, and I was adopted out to her sister. I grew up with her sister and her partner. They had two kids who became my older brother and older sister. It was weird for me, I did feel like a bit of an outsider. It was a loving family, but things got messy as we grew older. The older brother moved out, for his own reasons, parents split, dad got abusive and alcoholic. It reached a breaking point, and I ran away at 16 and never came back…

“It is what it is. I don’t resent it as such because it definitely makes me who I am today, and maybe I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing without it.”

Fifth track, 10-7, provides as a theatrical interlude, telling a hyperbolic story from Ngawaka’s childhood that is given a more humorously violent ending on the album.

“I was walking home from town and someone had broken into a school. This was at nighttime.

A cop pulled up, and he knew me by name – he was like, ‘It’s Isiah isn’t it? – and I was like, ‘Woah!’ Ngawaka laughs before continuing. ‘He was like, ‘In the car mate,’ and I get in the car. Obviously it goes a bit differently in the skit, but that was there to ruffle some feathers.”

A number of his former bandmates are included, most notably improvisational trumpeter Matt ‘The Bandit’ Mear, who slots effortlessly into the drum’n’bass sound, adding rich flavour to four tracks.

Also helping out are Jess Atkin, Professor Plum and Casey Peterson. Mixing and mastering was courtesy of Raice Hannay, of Voodoo Creation Records in Napier.

Despite having plenty of experience onstage with his previous band Blvd. Nights, Lucid Hiest will likely not tour for a while, at least not close to home.

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“In Napier, unfortunately, the youth all get to a point and then shhoooo-, they’re off to university or overseas. It does affect the target market I guess.”

He‘s eyeing a move to Australia himself, but looking to his future the new mixtape takes pre-eminence.

“The hook always comes first. Then I’ll try and structure verses around that. The lyrics and messages are gonna be the same. Everything that makes me ‘me’, is gonna be heard on mixtapes and future things to come, even though the beats may evolve over time.”

Electronica single Dance With The Kush, which dates from early 2013, reached #5 on the NZ hip hop charts, making it clear Lucid Hiest is making a name for himself in the local scene.

He’s hoping to release a single and video, with Tyree of Smashproof fame, preferably before ‘Absence In Motion’ is released, to help build anticipation and spread his name.

Bidding farewell, he adds a message to fans.

“Thanks for tuning into me. I plan on being real busy. Watch it. We gonna do it. We’re going all the way. I don’t plan on stopping. Expect to see it. Watch out, Lucid Hiest is coming.”

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New Zealand Musician magazine’s

2016 The absolutely free one-stop resource for musicians and music industry folk wanting to know just who distributes what, of the many and various brands of musical equipment available here in New Zealand. We’ve even designed it so that you can pull these pages out of the magazine and keep them handy!

The second section, our DISTRIBUTORS Directory, provides contact details for most of the major local musical equipment distributors. Please note that the brands listed are only those which the companies are official agents for. In some cases companies also co-distribute other lines which are not listed.

NZM has endeavoured to provide as complete and accurate a listing as possible for our readers. Any omissions reflect that some distributors choose not to take part in these listings or have otherwise failed to provide us with the information requested.

The first section is the BRANDS Directory. This provides a simple alphabetical listing of brands available and the companies which import and distribute or, in a few cases, manufacture them.

Brands A-Z A g A -Designs Audio Gear, Protel International Technologies, Akld & Wgtn g A bleton Recording Software, Music Link NZ, Akld g A cme Whistles Whistles & Sound Effects, Re-Percussion, Chch g A coustic Image Amplifiers for Acoustic Instruments, Pete McGregor Music, Akld g A dam Audio Professional Monitor Speakers, Sound Techniques, Akld g A dams Concert Percussion, Re-Percussion, Chch g Adams Brass, KBB Music, Akld g A damson Loudspeaker Systems, Direct Imports, Hastings g A dmira Spanish Classical & Flamenco Guitars, MusicWorks, Akld g A EA Ribbon Microphones, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g A eromic Fitness Instructors Headsets, Edwards Sound Systems, Akld g A guilar Bass Amps, South Pacific Music Ltd, Akld g A head Armor Drum Bags and Cases, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g A kai Audio Interfaces, Samplers & Drum Machines, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g A KG Professional Microphones, Headphones and Broadcast Headsets, Jands Ltd, Akld g A lbert Weber Pianos & Grand Pianos, Piano Traders Ltd, Akld g A lbion Guitar and Bass Amplifiers, South Pacific Music Ltd, Akld g A legria Guitars, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g A lesis Recording Audio Interfaces, Electronic Percussion, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g A llen Church and Theatre Organs, South Pacific Music Ltd, Akld g A llen & Heath Mixers, Jansen Professional Audio & Lighting, Akld g A lmansa Classical Guitars, South Pacific Music, Akld

g A lpine Professional Hearing Protection Ear Plugs, MusicWorks, Akld g A LTO Live Sound Reinforcement, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g A ltus Flutes, KBB Music, Akld g A lvarez Acoustic Guitars and Ukuleles, South Pacific Music Ltd, Akld g A mpeg Bass and Guitar Amplifiers, Music Link NZ, Akld g A mphenol Audio Connectors, Livesound , Akld g A mphesound Cables, Livesound, Akld g A mptweaker Pedals by designer James Brown, The Amp Shop, Akld g A nalog Alien Guitar Pedals, South Pacific Music, Akld g A ndante Drums UK Pipe Band Drums and Sticks, Re-Percussion, Chch g A ntares, Music Link NZ, Akld g A ntari Fog Machines, Edwards Sound Systems, Akld g A ntelope Audio HD Audio Clocks, Audio Interfaces, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g A ntigua Saxophones, Trumpets, Flutes & Clarinets, KBB Music, Akld g A part Contracting Speakers, Sennheiser, Akld g A PI Modular Preamps, EQs & Compressors, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g A pogee Interfaces for iPad/iPhone/MacOS, Protel Int’nl Technologies, Akld & Wgtn g A pplause Acoustic Guitars, NZ Rockshop, Akld g A rturia, Music Link NZ, Akld g A quarian Drum Heads & Accessories, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g A quila Strings, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g A quila Strings, South Pacific Music, Akld g A ria Guitars & Access., MusicBiz NZ, Akld g A rioso Pianos, KBB Music, Akld g A rmstrong Flutes, KBB Music, Akld g A roma Tuners and Metronomes, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g A rt & Lutherie Acoustic Guitars, Music Link NZ, Akld g A RT Pro Audio, STL Audio, Wgtn g A shdown (UK) Amplification, South Pacific Music, Akld g A shton Guitars, Amps, Reinforcement, Drums & Access., MusicWorks, Akld

Directory

g A ston Microphones Condenser Microphones & Reflection Filters, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g A stro Drums & Electronic Drums, South Pacific Music, Akld g A TI Audio Distribution and Utility, Protel Int’nl Technologies, Akld & Wgtn g A udient Analogue Consoles & Mic Pres, Protel International Technologies, Akld & Wgtn g A udio-Technica Mics, Wireless Headphones, Turntables, Jansen Audio & Lighting, Akld g A udix Microphones, NZ Rockshop, Akld g A ugustine Classical Guitar Strings, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g A ulos Recorders, KBB, Akld g A uralia & Musition Theory and Aural Training, Computer Music, Paihia g A uratone Original Studio Reference Monitors, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g A ustralian Monitor Commercial & Pro AV Equipment & Accessories, Hills SVL, Akld g A uviTran Professional Audio Networking Solutions, MusicWorks, Akld g A valon Audio Compressors, Mic Preamps, Studio Equipment, MusicWorks, Akld g A valon Design Pure Class A Signal Processing, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g A vantonePro Mixcube Monitors & Microphones, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g A venson Audio Condenser Mics & DIs, Oceania Audio Sales Ltd, Akld g A vid Pro Tools, Controllers, Live Sound, Protel Intnl Technologies Ltd, Akld & Wgtn g A vid Recording Software and Hardware, ProTools, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g A whi Guitar Straps, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g A XL Electric Guitars and Basses, MusicWorks, Akld g A yotte Custom Drums, NZ Rockshop, Akld g A zumi Flutes, KBB, Akld

B g B &S Brass, KBB Music, Akld g B abicz Guitars, South Pacific Music, Akld g B ach Brass Instruments, KBB Music, Akld g B ad Cat Amplifiers, South Pacific Music, Akld g B adger Guitars, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier

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g B and In A Box Backing Track Software, Computer Music, Paihia g B -Bird Capos by Best Music, South Pacific Music Ltd, Akld g B C Rich Guitars, NZ Rockshop, Akld g B eale Grand & Upright Pianos, MusicWorks, Akld g B eans Audio & Data Cables, Amber Technology (NZ), Akld g B echstein Pianos, Upright & Grand, South Pacific Music, Akld g B elcat Pickups, Amps, Tuners & Effects Pedals, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g B ernstein Pianos, Upright and Grand, South Pacific Music, Akld g B eyerdynamic Wireless Mics, Mics, Headphones, Conferencing Systems, and Accessories, Hills SVL, Akld g B IAMP DSP Audio Systems Hills SVL, Akld g B lack Cat Effects Pedals, The Amp Shop, Akld g B lackstar, Music NZ, Akld g B lue Microphones, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g B luthner Pianos, South Pacific Music, Akld B g ogner Custom Amplification Amps and Cabs, The Amp Shop, Akld g B oogie Juice Fingerboard Cleaner, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g B osendorfer Handcrafted Grand Pianos, MusicWorks, Akld g B oomwhackers Percussion, KBB Music, Akld g B osch Commercial PA and Conferencing Systems, Pacific Audio Visual Ltd, Akld g B oss, Music NZ, Akld g B oston Pianos Upright and Grand Pianos, Lewis Eady, Akld g B reedlove, Music NZ, Akld g B rady Drums, NZ Rockshop, Akld g B ricasti Digital Reverb & Audiophile, Protel International Technologies, Akld & Wgtn g B SS Audio Digital and Analogue Signal Processing, Jands Ltd, Akld g B uffet Clarinets,Oboes and Saxophones, KBB Music, Akld g B url D/A A/D Convertors, 500 Series Preamps, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld

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New Zealand Musician magazine’s

Brands cont.

C g C AD Audio Microphones, MusicWorks, Akld g C akewalk, Music Link NZ, Akld g C alato (Regal/Road) Drumsticks & Brushes, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g Cameo Lighting, Direct Imports, Hastings g C anare Instrument, Microphone, Video and Data Cables, Connectors and Patch Bays, Amber Technology NZ, Akld g C asio Keyboards & Digital Pianos, Monaco Corporation, Akld C g atalinbread Effects Pedals, The Amp Shop, Akld g C BI Cables, Connectors, Stage Snakes and Looms, Multicores, MDR Sound & Lighting, Palmerston North g C edar Audio Restoration, Protel International Technologies, Akld & Wgtn g C erwin Vega PA Sound Reinforcement, Music Link NZ, Akld g C .G.Conn, KBB Music, Akld g C hameleon Labs Pre-amps & Microphones, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g C handler Pre-amps, EQs & Compressors, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g C harvel Guitars, Direct Imports, Hastings g C hauvet Professional High Power LED Fixtures, Moving Heads/Washes, LED Video Walls/Screens, Media Servers, MDR Sound & Lighting Ltd, Palmerston North g C hauvet DJ LED Effect Lights & Access., LED Wash Lights, Lasers, DMX Controllers, LED & Lamped Moving Heads, Fog/Bubble/Dry Ice/Haze, MDR Sound & Lighting, Palmerston North g C hauvet-Trusst Trussing, MDR Sound & Lighting, Palmerston North g C herry Music Lights and Tuners, South Pacific Music, Akld g C hiayo Wireless Mics, Portable PA, Soundfield, Edwards Sound Systems, Akld g C hristopher Double Basses, Pete McGregor Music, Akld g C larke Tin Whistles, South Pacific Music, Akld g C lear-Com Wired & Wireless Intercom Systems, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g C learsonic Transparent Sound Shields and Portable Isolation Booths, Re-Percussion, Chch g C loud Electronics Commercial Audio Systems, Now Sound Ltd, Akld g C loud Microphones Ribbon Mics and CloudLifter Mic Optimizers, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g C ME X Key Midi Controller Keyboards, South Pacific Music Ltd, Akld g C nB Cases & Bags, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g C ole Clark Guitars, NZ Rockshop, Akld g C oles Ribbon Microphones, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g C ommunity Pro Loudspeakers, Hills SVL, Akld g C ooperStands, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g C orde Classic & Acoustic Guitars, Ukuleles, Violins, So Music, Akld g C ordoba Classical/Flamenco Guitars, NZ Rockshop, Akld g C ountryman & Assoc. DI Boxes & Miniature Mics, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g C PK Products, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g C rafter Acoustic & Acoustic/Electric Guitars, South Pacific Music, Akld g C rane Hardware, Music Link NZ, Akld g C remona String Instruments, KBB Music, Akld g C rown Audio Amplifiers Signal Processing, Jands, Akld g C rybaby Pedals, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier

D g D ’Addario Strings and Products, Music Link NZ, Akld g D ’Andrea Guitar Picks & Accessories, South Pacific Music, Akld g D ’Angelico Guitars, South Pacific Music, Akld g D aCappo High Quality Micro Microphones and In-Ear Monitors, MusicWorks, Akld g D anelectro Electric Guitars & Pedals, South Pacific Music, Akld g D arco Electric & Bass Guitar Strings, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld

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g D arkglass Electronics Bass Pedals, The Amp Shop, Akld g D AS Audio Professional Speaker Systems, Edwards Sound Systems Ltd, Akld g D ave Smith Analogue and Digital Synthesizers, South Pacific Music, Akld g D avid Gage Realist Pick-up for Double Bass, Pete McGregor Music, Akld g d B Technologies Pro Audio Equipment, Direct Imports, Hastings g d bx Professional Compression & Processing, Jands Ltd, Akld g D Drum Electronic and Acoustic Drums and Drum Triggers, MusicWorks, Akld g D DS Antennas, Consumer Electronics, Pro Audio Accessories, Direct Imports, Hastings g D ean Markley Strings, Pickups and Amps, MusicWorks, Akld g D ecibel Eleven Power Solutions, NZ Rockshop, Akld g D eering Banjos, NZ Rockshop Akld g D enon-Pro Source Players/Recorders, Hills SVL, Akld g D iago Guitar Pedal Boards and Power Supplies, Music Link NZ, Akld g D iamond Head Ukuleles, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g D ick Stringed Instruments Accessories, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g D igico, Showtechnix, Tauranga g D igital Projection Laser Projectors, Amber Technology (NZ), Akld g D igitech Processors & Effect Units, Direct Imports, Hastings g D iMarzio Pickups & Guitar Accessories, NZ Rockshop Akld g D irectOut MADI Interfacing, Protel International Technologies, Akld & Wgtn g D irect Sound Extreme Isolation Headphones, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g D izengoff Audio Vacuum Tube Mic Pres & Vari Mu Compressors, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g D PA Microphones, Direct Imports, Hastings g D rawmer Valve, Digital & Conventional Signal Processors, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g D r Parts Guitar Accessories, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g D R Strings, NZ Rockshop, Akld g D r Z Amps, The Amp Shop, Akld g D unlop Guitar Strings & Access, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g D usty Strings, KBB Music, Akld g D ynaudio Studio and Broadcast Monitors, Amber Technology (NZ), Akld

E g E .A.R. Earplugs, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g E artec Comms Systems, Protel International Technologies, Akld & Wgtn g E arthworks Test and HD Installation Mics, Pacific Audio Visual Ltd, Akld g E bow Electronic Bows for Guitars, South Pacific Music, Akld g E clipse Full Colour Laser Range, MDR Sound & Lighting, Palmerston North g E den Electronics Bass Amplification, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g E den Electronics Bass Amplification, Livesound Ltd, Akld g E dirol, Music NZ, Akld g E go Sys Sound Cards and Interfaces, MusicWorks, Akld g E lectro-Harmonix Pedals, Valves & Strings, South Pacific Music, Akld g Electro Voice Loudspeakers and Accessories, MusicWorks, Akld g E lixir Strings, South Pacific Music, Akld g E M Acoustics, Showtechnix, Tauranga g E MES Pro Studio Monitors, MusicWorks, Akld g E minence Loudspeakers, Livesound, Akld g E mpirical Labs ‘The Distressor’ Compressor, FATSO, Lil Freq EQ and Mike-e, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g E mpress Effects Effect Pedals, The Amp Shop, Akld g E nduro Cases & Bags, NZ Rockshop, Akld g E NGL All Valve Guitar Amplifiers & Enclosures, MusicWorks, Akld g E rnie Ball, Music NZ, Akld g E SP Electric Guitars & Basses, NZ Rockshop, Akld g E ssex Pianos Upright and Grand Pianos, Lewis Eady Ltd, Akld g E urocable, Showtechnix, Tauranga

g E vans Drum Heads, Music Link NZ, Akld g E VH Eddie Van Halen Products, Direct Imports, Hastings g E WI Cable & Multicores, South Pacific Music, Akld g E xplorer Cases, Livesound, Akld

F g F arida Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Lewis Eady, Akld g F BT Loudspeakers, Pacific Audio Visual, Akld g F eadog Whistles/Irish, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g F ender Musical Instruments, Direct Imports, Hastings g F enix Speaker Lifting Towers, Edwards Sound Systems, Akld g F inger Ease String Lubricant, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g F ishman Transducers and Amplifiers, Lyn McAllister Music Ltd, Akld g F itness Audio Wireless Mic Systems, Edwards Sound Systems, Akld g F leet Drum Access., NZ Rockshop, Akld g F loyd Rose Tremolos, MusicWorks, Akld g F MR Audio RNC Compressor, Preamp & Levelling Amp, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g F ocusrite Audio Interfaces & Recording Hardware, MusicBiz, Akld g F ramus Electric Guitars, NZ Rockshop, Akld g F reedom Cables, The Amp Shop, Akld g F ull Contact Hardware, NZ Rockshop, Akld g F ulltone Pedals, NZ Rockshop, Akld g F unk Logic Rack Trays and Rack Filler, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g F unktion-One Professional Soundsystems, Full Funktion Audio, Akld

G g G 7th Capos, Lyn McAllister Music Ltd, Akld g G allien Krueger Bass Amplification, MusicBiz NZ Ltd, Akld g G &L Guitars & Basses, South Pacific Music, Akld g G ator, Music NZ, Akld g G efen Audio and Video Integration Products, Amber Technology (NZ) Ltd, Akld g G emini DJ Products, South Pacific Music, Akld g G en 16 by Zildjian Acoustic/Electric Cymbal System, NZ Rockshop Akld g G enelec Active Studio Monitors, Protel International Technologies Ltd, Akld & Wgtn g G enz-Benz Amplifiers, NZ Rockshop, Akld g G eorge L’s Professional Cables, MusicWorks, Akld g G etzen Cornets, Trumpets & Trombones, KBB Music Ltd, Akld g G HS Guitar Strings & Accessories, South Pacific Music Distributors, Akld g G host Modular Pickup Systems, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g G ibraltar Drum Hardware, NZ Rockshop, Akld g G ibson Les Paul Monitors, Music Link NZ, Akld g G igRig Switching Solutions NZ Rockshop, Akld g G laesel Violins, Cellos & String Accessories, KBB Music, Akld g G odin Electric Guitars, Music Link, Akld g G olden Age Vintage Preamps, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g Gon Bops Percussion, NZ Rockshop Akld g G otoh Guitar Parts, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g G raphtech Nuts, Saddles and Bridgepins, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g Gravity Stands & accessories, Direct Imports, Hastings g G reg Bennett Guitars & Basses, South Pacific Music, Akld g G retsch Drums, NZ Rockshop, Akld g G retsch Guitars, Direct Imports, Hastings g G roove Tubes, Direct Imports, Hastings g G rover Pro-Percussion, Concert Tambourines, Triangles, Woodblocks etc. Re-Percussion, Chch g G rover Guitar & Bass Machine Heads, MusicWorks, Akld g G -Spot Custom Made Guitars & Basses, G-Spot Guitars, Akld

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Directory 2016 H g H afler Headphones and Pre-Amps, Amber Technology (NZ) , Akld g H ammond Keyboards, South Pacific Music, Akld g H aosen/Hau Sheng Percussion Instruments Lewis Eady, Akld g H arris Slides, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g H eadstrong Boutique Amps, The Amp Shop, Akld g H ear Technologies Personal Monitor Systems, Protel International Technologies Ltd, Akld & Wgtn g H eil Sound Dynamic Microphones, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g H enley Woodwind, So Music Ltd, Akld g H erco Accessories, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g H ercules Instrument & Mic Stands, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g H H Electronics PA Speakers, Monitors & Amplifiers, MusicWorks, Auckland g H idersine, Hills and AB Rosins, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g H ill Audio Mixers, Zone Control Pre-amps & Amplifiers, Livesound, Akld g H iwatt All-Valve & Solid State Guitar & Bass Amps & Cabinets, MusicWorks, Akld g H K Audio, Music NZ, Akld g H öfner Violins, Guitars and Basses, KBB Music, Akld g H ohner Harmonicas, Melodicas & Recorders, MusicBiz, Akld g H olton French Horns, KBB Music, Akld g H osa Technology, Music NZ, Akld g H otcake Guitar Effects Pedal, Crowther Audio, Akld g H otone Micro Guitar Amps & Effects Pedals, NZ Rockshop Akld g H ot Line Audio Cables, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g H oyer French Horns, KBB Music, Akld g H Q Percussion, Music Link NZ Ltd, Akld g Humes & Berg Cases & Bags, NZ Rockshop, Akld

I g I banez Guitars, Basses, Acoustics, Effects Pedals, Guitar & Bass Amplifiers, Cables and Bags, MusicWorks, Akld g i Dance Headphone Technology and DJ Products, Direct Imports, Hastings g I lluminarc Architectural LED light fixtures and controllers, MDR Sound & Lighting, Palmerston North g I nnovative Percussion Drumsticks, Mallets, Brushes, Rods, South Pacific Music, Akld g i Rocker Electronic Drums, Direct Imports, Hastings g I SO Acoustics Speaker Stands, Music Link NZ, Akld g I talia Guitars, South Pacific Music, Akld g I TC Audio Commercial PA Equipment for Installations, Edwards, Akld g i Zotope Audio Processing Software, Protel International Technologies, Akld & Wgtn

J g Jam Hub Audio Systems, MusicWorks, Akld g J ammpro MI Products, Direct Imports, Hastings g JBL Professional Loudspeakers and Studio Monitors, Jands, Akld g J BL HLA Systems, College Hill Productions, Akld g J DK Mic Pres, EQs & Compressors, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g J J Amplifier Tubes, South Pacific Music, Akld g J J Valves Power & Pre-amp Valves, MusicWorks, Akld g J MI Guitar Amplifiers, MusicWorks, Akld g J oe Meek Voice Channels, Stereo Opto Compressors, Diaphragm Mics, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g J ohnson Acoustic and Classical Guitars, MusicWorks, Akld g J ohnson Violin Shoulder Rests, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g J uno Reeds Student Brass and Woodwind Reeds, MusicWorks, Akld g J upiter Brass & Woodwind Instruments, KBB Music, Akld g J upiter Professional Brass Instruments, MusicBiz NZ, Akld

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New Zealand Musician magazine’s

M

K g K ala & Makala Ukuleles, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g K arina Electric & Acoustic Guitars, South Pacific Music, Akld g K awai Pianos, KBB Music, Akld g K eilwerth Saxophones, KBB Music, Akld g K emper Profiling Amplifier, MusicWorks, Akld g K & K Transducers, Pete McGregor Music, Akld g K ohler & Campbell Acoustic & Digital Pianos, South Pacific Music Distributors, Akld g K & M Music, Microphone, Speaker, Instrument Stands, Livesound, Auckland g K nabe Upright and Grand Pianos, South Pacific Music, Akld g K org Keyboards, Synthesisers, Guitar Effects, Tuners, Recording, South Pacific Music, Akld g K oyama Ukuleles, NZ Rockshop Akld g K RK Studio Monitors and Headphones, Music Link NZ, Akld g K urzweil Synthesisers, Digital Pianos, Keyboards, South Pacific Music, Akld g K ush Audio Innovative EQs, Compressors, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g K v2 Audio Sound Reinforcement, Protel Intnl Technologies Ltd, Akld & Wgtn g K .Yairi Guitars, South Pacific Music, Akld g K yser Capos and Strings, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld

L g L -Acoustics Concert Systems, Hills SVL, Akld g L -Acoustics Sound Systems, College Hill Productions Ltd, Akld g L AG Guitars, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g L akewood Acoustic Guitars, NZ Rockshop, Akld g Laney Guitar amplification and PA, MusicWorks, Akld g L anikai Ukuleles, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g L a Patrie Acoustic Guitars, Music Link NZ, Akld g L arrivée Guitars, South Pacific Music, Akld g L aserworld Swiss Laser Lights, MDR Sound & Lighting, Palmerston North g L atin Percussion, NZ Rockshop, Akld g L auten Audio, Microphones, STL Audio, Wgtn g L ava Cable Cables for Instruments and Pedalboards, The Amp Shop, Akld g LD Systems Pro Audio, Direct Imports, Hastings g L eblanc Clarinets, KBB Music, Akld g L ectrosonics Inc Radio Microphones, IFB Systems, Sound Techniques, Akld g L ee Oskar Harmonicas, MusicWorks, Akld g L eem Audio Accessories, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g L eslie Tone Cabinets, South Pacific Music, Akld g L evys Leathers Guitar Straps, Bags, MusicWorks, Akld g L ewitt Microphones, Protel International Technologies, Akld & Wgtn g L exicon Professional Reverb, Digital Signal Processing, Recording Interfaces, Jands, Akld g L indell Audio Audio Processors, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g L ine 6 Guitar Amps, Effects, Guitars and Sound Reinforcement, Music Link NZ, Akld g L ittle Labs Engineers Tools, Protel International Technologies, Akld & Wgtn g L ivesound Roadcases & Racks, Livesound Ltd, Akld g L K Connectors Showtechnix, Tauranga g L M Guitar Straps, Lyn McAllister Music Ltd, Akld g L ockit Straps for all Instruments, South Pacific Music Ltd, Akld g L OOG Guitars, Direct Imports, Hastings g L os Cabos Drumsticks, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g L R Baggs Acoustic Pickups, NZ Rockshop, Akld g L ucky 13 Guitar Straps, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g L udwig Drums, NZ Rockshop, Akld g L uminex Network Intelligence Showtechnix, Tauranga

g M -Audio Audio Interfaces, Studio Monitors, Microphones and MIDI Controller Keyboards, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g M ackie Sound Reinforcement, Music Link NZ, Akld g M ahalo Ukuleles & Ukulele Guitars, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g M ajestic Band Percussion Instruments, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g M anhassett Orchestral Stands and Accessories, MusicWorks, Akld g M annix Electric Guitars, Bass, Amps, PA, So Music, Akld g M apex Drums, Hardware and Accessories, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g M arshall Guitar & Bass Amplification, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g M arshall Headphones and HiFI Amplification, Amber Technology (NZ), Akld g M artin Guitars, Strings & Accessories, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g Martin Audio Speaker Systems, Jansen Professional Audio & Lighting, Akld g M atamp Amps and Cabs, The Amp Shop, Akld g M aui Xaphoon Pocket Saxophones, South Pacific Music, Akld g M axtone Drums & Access., Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g M cDSP Processing Plug-Ins, Protel International Technologies, Akld & Wgtn g M DR Fog Fuel, Bubble Fluids, MDR Sound & Lighting, Palmerston North g M edeli, Music NZ, Akld g M edeli Digital Drums, Keyboards, Pianos, South Pacific Music, Akld g M edia Matrix Hearing Assistance, Hills SVL, Akld g M einl Cymbals and Percussion, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g Meinl Weston Brass, KBB Music, Akld g M esa Boogie Amplifiers, NZ Rockshop, Akld g M etric HaloLab Hi-res I/O and Processing, Protel Int’nl Technologies, Akld & Wgtn g M eyer Mouthpieces, KBB Music, Akld g M I Audio Amps and Effects Pedals, The Amp Shop, Akld g M icrotech Gefell German Microphones, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g M iditech Midi Keyboards and Audio Interfaces, South Pacific Music, Akld g M ighty Bright Music Lights, South Pacific Music, Akld g M ike Balter Percussion Mallets, Re-Percussion, Chch g M ipro Wireless Mics and PA Systems, Hills SVL, Akld g M i-Si Transducers, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g M ission Engineering Premium Expression Pedals, The Amp Shop, Akld g Mixars DJ Equipment, Direct Imports, Hastings g M JM FX Effects Pedals, The Amp Shop, Akld g M odTone Effects Pedals and Power Supplies, The Amp Shop, Akld g M ogami Cables, MusicWorks, Akld g M ojave Audio Fet & Tube Microphones, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g M ooer Effects Pedals, NZ Rockshop Akld g M oog Analogue Synthesisers and FX, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g M orley Wah Pedals & Effects, MusicWorks, Akld g M orpheus DropTune, Capo & Bomber Pitchshifting Effects, MusicWorks, Akld g M TD Michael Tobias Design Bass Guitars, Music Link NZ, Akld g M ullard Amplifier Tubes, South Pacific Music, Akld g M uramatsu Flutes, KBB Music, Akld g M usicFirst Online Music Education Solutions, Computer Music Ltd, Paihia g M usic Nomad Equipment Care, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g M usser Percussion, KBB Music, Akld g MXL Microphones, STL Audio, Wgtn g M XR Pedals, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g M yMix Personal Mixer/Recorder for In-Ear Monitoring, MDR Sound & Lighting, P. North

www.nzmusician.co.nz NZ Musician @nzmusician

N g N ative Instruments DJ Gear, Software and Hardware, Music Link NZ, Akld g N eotech Straps & Slings, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g N eumann Microphones, Sennheiser, Akld g N eutrik Connectors & Patch Bays, Amber Technology (NZ), Akld g N ikko Metronomes, MusicWorks, Akld g N ord Electric Piano, Organs, Synths, Drum Synths, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g N ovation USB/MIDI Software Controllers and Keyboards, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g N S Design Electronic Stringed Instruments, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g N TI Audio Professional Audio Generators, Analysis and Noise Measurement Solutions, Amber Technology (NZ), Akld g N ugen Audio Metering & Level Control, Protel International Technologies, Akld & Wgtn g N umark DJ Mixers, CD/Media Players, DJ Software Controllers, Cartridges & Accessories, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g Nuvo Clarinéo and Flute, KBB Music, Akld g NUX Digital Amps, Pedals, South Pacific Music, Akld

O g O berheim Synthesisers, South Pacific Music, Akld g O dyssey DJ & Hi Tech Road Cases, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g O hana Ukuleles, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g O ktava Condenser & Ribbon Mics, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g O ptoma Home Theatre Projectors, Amber Technology (NZ), Akld g O ptogate Microphone Gates, Livesound, Akld g O riginal Chrome Series, Analog Guitar Effects Pedals, Red Witch Analog, Queenstown g O tto Link Mouthpieces, KBB Music, Akld g O vation Guitars, NZ Rockshop, Akld

P g P aiste Cymbals, Sounds, Gongs & Cymbal Accessories, MusicWorks, Akld g P alatino Violins, Violas, Cellos, Basses and String Accessories, MusicWorks, Akld g P alatino Stringed Instruments, Lewis Eady, Akld g P almer Audio Tools and Pro Audio Equipment, MusicWorks, Akld g Palmer Musical Instruments, Direct Imports, Hastings g P asgao Wireless Mic Systems, Livesound, Akld g P bone & Ptrumpet, KBB Music, Akld g P earl River Pianos, MusicWorks, Akld g P eace Drums, Direct Imports, Hastings g P earl Drums, Music Link NZ, Akld g P earl Flutes & Piccolos, KBB Music, Akld g P eavey AA DSP Control Systems incl. DSP Processors and MediaMatrix, Hills SVL, Akld g P edalTrain Guitar Effect Pedalboards, MusicWorks, Akld g P edalTrain Guitar Effect Pedalboards, South Pacific Music, Akld g P enn-Elcon Roadcase, Speaker Cabinet, Hardware Black Mount Systems, Livesound, Akld g P eterson Tuners Virtual Strobe & Strobostomp Tuners, Re-Percussion, Chch g P hil Jones Bass Amplification, Pete McGregor Music, Akld g P ianoDisc Player Systems, South Pacific Music, Akld g P igtronix Guitar Effects Pedals, NZ Rockshop Akld g P ioneer DJ Products, Monaco Corp, Akld g P irastro Strings, KBB Music, Akld g P lanet Waves Guitar Accessories, Cables, Straps, Tuners, Music Link NZ, Akld g P latinum Stands, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g P layers Woodwind, Brass Access., Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g P MM Double Basses & Flight Cases, Pete McGregor Music, Akld g P oellman Double Bass, Pete McGregor Music, Akld g P ops Rosins, Pete McGregor Music, Akld

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Directory 2016 g P ower Tech Cables, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g P remier Drums and Percussion, South Pacific Music, Akld g P remium Pedals, Analog Guitar Effects Pedals, Red Witch Analog, Queenstown g PreSonus Recording, Mixing, Pro Audio, Direct Imports, Hastings g P rimacoustic Acoustic Treatment for Studios and Acoustic Space, Amber Technology, Akld g P rim Violin & Cello Strings, South Pacific Music Distributors, Akld g P rinted Music (all publishers), Piano Traders, Akld g P roCo Multicores & Bulk Cable, RAT Distortion Pedals, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g P roel Music Accessories, Jansen Professional Audio & Lighting, Akld g P roMark Drum Sticks, Music Link NZ, Akld g P ropellerhead Recording Software & Hardware, Music Link NZ, Akld g P roRockGear Guitar, Bass and Drum Cases, MusicWorks, Akld g P rotection Drum/Percussion Cases & Bags, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g P RS Guitars, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g P urple Audio 500 Series Preamps and EQs, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g P uresound Drum Access., Music Link NZ, Akld g P yramid Strings for Violin, Cello, Double Bass & Guitar, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld

Q g Q SC Amplifiers, Loudspeakers, Digital & Analogue Signal Processing, Now Sound, Akld g Q ue Audio Microphones, MusicWorks, Akld g Q uest Engineering Loudspeaker Systems & Amplifiers, Livesound, Akld g Q uiklok Stands and Accessories, MusicBiz NZ, Akld

R g R adial Engineering DIs, Guitar FX, 500 Series Modules and Racks, Amber Technology, Akld g R amirez Classical and Flamenco Guitars, South Pacific Music, Akld g R ampone & Cazzani Saxophones, KBB Music, Akld g R ane DSP and DJ Mixers, Pacific Audio Visual, Akld g R apco Cables, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g R CF Pro Audio, Direct Imports, Hastings g R ecording King Banjos, Resonator Guitars and Mandolins, MusicWorks, Akld g R ecording King Guitars and Folk Instruments, Lewis Eady, Akld g R eeds Australia Reeds for Clarinets, Saxophones & Access., Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier gR emo, Music NZ, Akld g R enkus-Heinz Commercial & Pro Audio Loudspeaker Systems, Hills SVL, Akld g R evolabs Conferencing Mic Solutions, Hills SVL, Akld g R evolution Solo Transducers for Double Bass, Pete McGregor Music, Akld g R hythm Tech Percussion, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g R ickenbacker Electric Guitars and Basses, South Pacific Music Ltd, Akld g R ico, Rico Royal, La Voz, Mitchellhurie, Hemke, Plasticover Reeds, Lyn McAllister Music Ltd, Akld g R ico Accessories, Lyn McAllister Music Ltd, Akld g R ico Reeds, Music Link NZ, Akld g R iedel RockNet Networked Audio, Protel International Technologies Ltd, Akld & Wgtn g R itmuller Pianos, MusicWorks, Akld g R itter Musical Instrument Bags, Direct Imports, Hastings g R ME Audio, Professional Studio Audio Interfaces & Soundcards, MusicWorks, Akld g R ockbag and Rockcase Bag and Cases, NZ Rockshop, Akld g R ockcable Leads, NZ Rockshop, Akld g R ockhouse Mixer Systems for Schools, MusicWorks, Akld g R ockstand Instrument Support, NZ Rockshop, Akld g R ocktron Guitar Effects, South Pacific Music, Akld g R oc n Soc Seating for Musicians, Re-Percussion, Chch gR øde, Music NZ, Akld gR oland, Music NZ, Akld

EV\Z '(

K:G=L :G= BLMKB;NMHKL

New Zealand Musician magazine’s

Brands cont. g R oll Music Stereo Compressor, Folcrum Bus Mixer, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g Rotosound Strings, MusicWorks, Akld g R ovner Ligatures, KBB Music, Akld g R oyer Labs Ribbon Microphones, Oceania Audio Sales Ltd, Akld g R upert Neve Designs Pre-amps, Compressors and EQs, STL Audio, Wellington g Ryan Drums & Percussion, So Music, Akld g R ycote Windshields & Microphone Accessories, Sound Techniques, Akld

S g S abian Cymbals, Music Link NZ, Akld g S aga Stringed Instruments (Regal, Rover, Kentucky, Gitane), Lyn McAllister Music Ltd, Akld g S amick Guitars, Electronics, Musical Instruments, South Pacific Music, Akld g S amson Technologies Audio & MI Products, Direct Imports, Hastings g S anken Microphones, Sound Techniques, Akld g Sankyo Flutes, KBB Music, Akld g S avarez Classical Strings, Lyn McAllister Music Ltd, Akld g S axholder Saxophone Harnesses, KBB Music, Akld g S challer Straplocks, Lyn McAllister Music Ltd, Akld g S checter Electric Guitars, Basses and Acoustics, MusicWorks, Akld g S cherl & Roth Violins, Violas, Cellos, Double Basses, KBB Music, Akld g S chertler Amplification, Pete McGregor Music, Akld g S cherzer Trumpets, KBB Music, Akld g S chimmel Pianos, South Pacific Music, Akld g S chilke Trumpets & Cornets, KBB Music, Akld g S choeps Modular Condenser Mics & Accessories, Oceania Audio Sales Ltd, Akld g S chrieber Bassoons, KBB Music, Akld g S cotty Kazoos & Guitar Access, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g S-Digital Consumer Electronics, Direct Imports, Hastings g s E Electronics Microphones, Studio Monitors and Accessories, Amber Technology Ltd, Akld g S eagull Acoustic Guitars, Music Link NZ, Akld g S eiko Tuners & Metronomes, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g S elmer USA Woodwind, Brass & Accessories, KBB Music, Akld g S ennheiser Microphones & Headphones, Sennheiser, Akld g S even Sisters, Analog Guitar Effects Pedals, Red Witch Analog, Queenstown g S eydel Germany Harmonicas, Harps, South Pacific Music, Akld g S eymour Duncan Guitar Pickups, Bassline & Antiquity Series, South Pacific Music, Akld g S hadow Pickups and Accessories, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g S hadow Hills HQ Mic Pres, Compressors, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g S himro Violins, Cellos, Violas, Double Basses, KBB Music, Akld g S himro Double Basses, Pete McGregor Music, Akld g S GM Professional Lighting, Direct Imports, Hastings g S hubb Capos, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g S hure Microphones, Headphones, Earphones and Mixers, Now Sound, Akld g S ibelius Notation Software, Computer Music, Paihia g S igma Guitars, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld

g S ignal Sender Cables & Audio Access., Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g S imon and Patrick Acoustic Guitars, Music Link NZ, Akld g S IT Guitar, Bass, Banjo, Mandolin Strings, South Pacific Music, Akld g S KB MMI, Pro & Camera Cases, Direct Imports, Hastings g S late Media Technologies Raven MTI, VMS Microphones, STL Audio, Wellington g S nark Tuners and Metronomes, South Pacific Music, Akld g S olid State Logic (SSL) Analogue and Digital Studio Equipment, Amber Technology NZ, Akld g S ommer Cable Audio and Video Cables, Livesound, Akld g S onnox Audio Processing Software, Protel International Technologies, Akld & Wgtn g S onor Drums & Percussion, NZ Rockshop, Akld g S oundcraft Digital & Analogue Mixing Consoles, Jands, Akld g S ound Devices Portable Recorders, Mixers, USB Mic Pres, Sound Techniques, Akld g S oundsphere Commercial Speaker Systems, Hills SVL, Akld g S oundToys Pro-Effects Plug-Ins, Protel International Technologies, Akld & Wgtn g S ource Audio Effects, NZ Rockshop, Akld g S ovtek Amplifier Tubes, South Pacific Music, Akld g S pector Basses, South Pacific Music, Akld g S pectrasonics Virtual Instruments, Protel International Technologies Ltd, Akld & Wgtn g S PL Professional Processing Solutions, Protel Intnl Technologies Ltd, Akld & Wgtn g S plawn Hot-rodded Marshall-style Amps & Cabs, The Amp Shop, Akld g S quier Instruments, Direct Imports, Hastings g S t Antonio Violins, Cellos, Violas, Double Basses, KBB Music, Akld g S tagg Musical Instruments and Accessories, South Pacific Music, Akld g S tanton DJ Equipment, Music Link NZ, Akld g S tedman Steel Pop Screens, Oceania Audio Sales Ltd, Akld g S teinberg Studio Software, Nuendo, Cubase and Audio Interfaces, MusicWorks, Akld g S teinway and Sons Upright and Grand Pianos, Lewis Eady Ltd, Akld g S terling, Music NZ, Akld g S trymon Guitar Pedals, South Pacific Music, Akld g S tuder Broadcast Consoles, Jands Ltd, Akld g S tudio Devil Amp Modelling Studio Software, MusicWorks, Akld g S tudio Projects Condenser Microphones, Mic Preamps and Accessories, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g S ummit Audio Valve Mic Pre-Amps, Compressors, EQs, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g S upro Amplifiers & Guitar Effects, NZ Rockshop Akld g S uziki Musical Instruments, South Pacific Music Ltd, Akld g S vetlana Amplifier Tubes, South Pacific Music, Akld g S wart Amps and Cabs, The Amp Shop, Akld g S X Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Banjos, & Harmonicas, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier

T g T akamine Guitars & Basses, NZ Rockshop, Akld g T ama Drums, Hardware, Sticks, Bags & Accessories, MusicWorks, Akld g T anglewood Guitars, South Pacific Music, Akld g T annoy Studio Studio Speakers and Monitors, Amber Technology NZ, Akld g T ascam Professional Recording Equipment, Direct Imports, Hastings g T aye Drums & Hardware, South Pacific Music, Akld

g T aylor Guitars, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g T C Electronic Guitar, Vocal, FX, Music and Broadcasting Equipment, Amber Technology NZ, Akld g T C Helicon Vocal and Guitar Processing, Microphones and Personal PA, Amber Technology NZ, Akld g T eac Consumer Electronics, Direct Imports, Hastings g T ech 21 Amps & Effects, NZ Rockshop, Akld g T erry Gould Capos, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g T exdecor Decorative Acoustic Treatment, Amber Technology NZ, Akld g T oa Commercial Audio Solutions, Hills SVL, Akld g T oca Percussion, NZ Rockshop, Akld g T oft Audio Products, Mixers, Mic Pre-amps, EQs & Compressors, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g T om’s Line Mini Effects Pedals, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g T onebone by Radial Guitar FX and Audio Solutions, Amber Technology NZ, Akld g T onelux, Recording Consoles And Modules, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g T raveller Guitars, NZ Rockshop Akld g T Rex Boutique Guitar and Bass Effects Pedals, MusicWorks, Akld g T riad Orbit Mic Stands and Accessories, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g T rident Audio Designs Mixers and Studio Monitors, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g T rigger Capos, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g T une-Bot Electronic Drum Tuner, NZ Rockshop, Akld g T ung-Sol Tubes, South Pacific Music Akld g T ycoon Percussion, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier

U g U FIP Cymbals, South Pacific Music, Akld g U ltimate Stands for Speakers, Keyboards and Lighting, MusicWorks, Akld g U ltimate Ears Custom In-Ear Monitors, Acoustix Hearing Ltd, Akld g U ltimate Support Stands, Music Link NZ, Akld g U ltrasone Professional Headphones, Livesound Ltd, Akld g U ltrasound Acoustic Amplifiers and DI Boxes, MusicWorks, Auckland g U nderwood Bass Transducers, Pete McGregor Music, Akld g U nivox Hearing Loop Amps, Pacific Audio Visual Ltd, Akld g Unirig Towers & Trussing, Direct Imports, Hastings g U niversal Audio Recording Equipment, Music Link NZ, Akld

V g V alencia Classical Guitars, Mandolins & Violins, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g V alley People Compressors and Gates, Oceania Audio Sales Ltd, Akld g V andoren Reeds, MusicWorks, Akld g V anguard Audio Tube Microphones, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g V arta Batteries, South Pacific Music, Akld g V ater Drumsticks & Access., MusicBiz NZ, Akld g V -DOSC Network Partner, College Hill Productions Ltd, Akld g V eillette Guitars and Basses, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g V erellen Amps Amps, The Amp Shop, Akld g V ic Firth Drum Sticks, Music Link NZ, Akld g V icousitc Studio Sound Treatment Panels, MusicWorks, Akld g V intage Electric and Acoustic Guitars, MusicBiz NZ, Akld g V iolet Design Microphones, Protel International Technologies Ltd, Akld & Wgtn

Directory 2016 g V isual Sound Effects & Power Solutions, NZ Rockshop, Akld g V oodoo Labs Effects & Power Solutions, NZ Rockshop, Akld g V ox Guitar & Bass Amplifiers, South Pacific Music Distributors, Akld

W g W aldorf Synthesisers, South Pacific Music Distributors, Akld g W altons Bodhrans, Whistles & Irish Print Music, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g W arm Audio Mic Pre-amps, Compressors and EQs, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld g W arwick Basses/Amps, NZ Rockshop, Akld g W aves Audio Processing Software, Protel International Technologies, Akld & Wgtn g W ay Huge Pedals, Hawkes Bay Agencies, Napier g W azinator Acoustic Stompboxes, NZ Rockshop, Akld g W eber Pianos, South Pacific Music Ltd, Akld g W ekaWire Audio & Control Installation Cable & Connectors, Now Sound Ltd, Akld g W estpoint Brass Instruments Trumpets, Cornets, Flugels, Trombones, So Music, Akld g W harfedale Pro Audio Equipment, South Pacific Music, Akld g W . Hoffmann Pianos, South Pacific Music, Akld g W i WiFi Mics and Recording Equipment, MusicWorks, Akld g W illiams Sound Hearing Assistance, Hills SVL, Akld g W ilson Pick-up for Double Bass, Pete McGregor Music, Akld g W ittner Metronomes, Music & Stringed Instrument Access, KBB, Akld g W ittner Metronomes, Music Stands & Violin Accessories, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g W izard Cellos & Violins, Piano Traders, Akld g W olf Violin & Viola Shoulder Rests, Lyn McAllister Music, Akld g W olverton Amps, The Amp Shop, Akld g W under Audio Mics & Preamps, Oceania Audio Sales, Akld

X g X aphoon Pocket Saxophones, South Pacific Music, Akld g X ilica Audio Design Digital Processors for Loudspeakers and Audio Installations, Livesound Ltd, Akld g X ilica Professional High-Performance DSP Systems, MusicWorks, Akld g X M Drum Electronic Drums, Digital Drums, So Music, Akld g X otic Pedals, NZ Rockshop, Akld

Y g Y amaha Guitars, Basses, Acoustic & Classical Guitars, Keyboards, Pianos, Synths, PA, Synthesisers, Digital Mixers, Audio interfaces, Drums & Hardware, Brass & Woodwind, Instrument Accessories, MusicWorks, Akld g Y anagisawa Saxophones, KBB Music, Akld

Z g Z axcom Digital Encrypted Wireless/Recording, Protel International Technologies Ltd, Akld & Wgtn g Z ildjian Cymbals/Drumsticks, NZ Rockshop, Akld g Z T Amplifiers Lunchbox Amps, The Amp Shop, Akld g 2 Box Digital Drums, South Pacific Music, Akld g 6 5Amps Amps and Cabs, classic tones, The Amp Shop, Akld

Want more? Visit www.nzmusician.co.nz for updated versions of all NZM Directories EV\Z ')

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Distributors Listings LOGO????

Contact: Thomas MĂźller Address: 437 Remuera Road, Remuera, Auckland 1050

Phone: (09) 520 5648 Fax: (09) 281 3510 Website: www.acoustixhearing.co.nz Email: hearing@acoustixhearing.co.nz Brands Distributed: Ultimate Ears Custom In-Ear Monitors

Contact: Ryan Thomas Address: 237 Symonds St, Eden Terrace, Auckland Phone: 021 599 643 Email: ryan@ampshop.co.nz Website: www.ampshop.co.nz Facebook: /TheAmpShopLtd Brands Distributed:

Amber Technology (NZ)

Contact: Ross Turner Address: 3/77 Porana Road, Glenfield, Auckland Phone: (09) 443 0753 Email: sales@amber.co.nz Website: www.amber.co.nz Facebook: ambertechnologynz Brands Distributed: TC Electronic Guitar FX, Music and Broadcast

Equipment

TC Helicon Vocal and Guitar Processing, Microphones and Personal PA Solid State Logic (SSL) Professional and Broadcast Analogue and Digital Studio Equipment.

Radial Engineering DI, Re-Amping, Splitters, Interfaces and 500 Series Modules and Racks Neutrik Connectors and Patch Bays Primacoustic Acoustic Treatment for Studios and Acoustic Spaces Dynaudio Studio and Broadcast Monitors Tannoy Studio Studio Monitor Speakers sE Electronics Microphones and Accessories.

Canare Cables, Connectors and Patch Bays NTI Audio Audio Generators, Analysis and Noise Measurement solutions Marshall Headphones and HiFi Amplification Beans Cables Audio and Data Cables.

Hafler Headphone and Phono Pre-Amps Gefen Audio and Video Integration Products Optoma Home Theatre Projectors DLP Digital Projection Laser Projectors Texdecor Decorative Acoustic Treatment for Architectural and Aesthetic Design Tonebone by Radial Guitar FX and Audio Solutions

Address: PO Box 47 777, Ponsonby, Auckland Phone: (09) 820 4319 Email: contact@collegehill.co.nz Website: www.collegehill.co.nz Brands Distributed: Sales / Installation / Service / Repair JBL HLA Systems L-ACOUSTICS Sound Systems V-DOSC Network Partner

65Amps Amps and Cabs, classic tones Amptweaker Pedals by designer James Brown Black Cat Effects Pedals, specialising in fuzz Bogner Custom Amplification Amps and Cabs Catalinbread Effects Pedals Darkglass Electronics Pedals for Bass Dr Z Amps Empress Effects Effects Pedals Freedom Cables Instrument and Speaker

Contact: David Neil Address: PO Box 12-834, Penrose, Auckland

Contact: Tim Robertson Address: PO Box 10-7070, Auckland Airport,

Phone: (09) 571 0551 Fax: (09) 579 3746 Email: dave@edwardsnz.co.nz Website: www.edwardsnz.co.nz Brands Distributed: Aeromic Fitness Instructor Headsets Antari Fog Machines Chiayo Wireless Mics, Portable PA D.A.S Audio Speakers Line array Fenix Speaker Lifting Towers Fitness Audio Wireless Mic Systems

Phone: (09) 275 8710 Fax: (09) 275 8790 Email: trobertson@jands.co.nz Website: www.jandsonline.co.nz Brands Distributed: AKG Professional Microphones, Headphones

1642

I.T.C Commercial PA Equipment for Installations

Auckland

and Broadcast Headsets BSS Audio Digital and Analogue Signal Processing Crown Audio Amplifiers, Signal Processing dbx Professional Compression, Processing JBL Professional Loudspeakers and Studio Monitors Lexicon Professional Reverb, Digital Signal Processing, Recording Interfaces Soundcraft Digital & Analogue Mixing Consoles Studer Broadcast Consoles

Cables, handmade in NZ

Headstrong Amps Lava Cable for Instruments and Pedalboards Matamp Handmade Amps and Cabs MI Audio Amps and Effects Pedals Mission Engineering premium Expression Pedals MJM FX Effects Pedals, specialising in Brit-style fuzz ModTone Effects Pedals and Power Supplies Splawn Hot-rodded Marshall-style Amps and Cabs Swart Amps Amps and Cabs Verellen Amps Amps Wolverton Amps Custom Amps made in NZ ZT Amplifiers Lunchbox Amps

Contact: Peter Glenn (Sales Manager) Address: 16 Wllis Ave, Pukekohe, Auckland Phone: 021 265 4222 Email: peter@fullfunktion.co.nz Website: www.fullfunktion.co.nz Brands Distributed: Funktion-One Professional Audio Speaker Systems (made in England)

Hawkes Bay Agencies

Contact: Rob Magnus Address: PO Box 747, Napier Phone: (06) 834 4075 Fax: (06) 834 0552 Email: sales@hba.co.nz Website: www.hba.co.nz Brands Distributed: Contact: Brett Dallas, Greer Compston Address: PO Box 72, Hastings, Hawkes Bay Phone: (06) 873 0129 Fax: (06) 878 2760 Email: misales@direct-imports.co.nz Websites: www.directimports.co.nz,

www.reboxed.co.nz www.fendershop.co.nz

Brands Distributed: Adamson Loudspeaker Systems Cameo Lighting Charvel Guitars dB Technologies Pro Audio Equipment DDS Antennas, Consumer Electronics, Pro Audio

Accessories Digitech Processors & Effects Units DPA Professional Microphones EVH Eddie Van Halen Products Fender Musical Instruments Gravity Stands & accessories Gretsch Guitars Groove Tubes iDance Headphone Technology and DJ Products iRocker Electronic Drums Jammpro MI Products LD Systems Pro Audio LOOG Guitars Mixars DJ Equipment Palmer Musical Instruments Peace Drums PreSonus Recording, Mixing, Pro Audio RCF Pro Audio Ritter Musical Instrument Bags Samson Technologies Audio & MI Products S-Digital Consumer Electronics SGM Professional Lighting SKB MI, Pro & Camera Cases Squier Musical Instruments Tascam Professional Recording Equipment Teac Consumer Electronics Unirig Towers & Trussing

Aquarian Drum Heads & Access.

Augustine Classical Guitar Strings Badger Guitars Belcat Pickups, Amplifiers, Tuners & Effect Pedals Carson Power Packs CnB Cases & Bags Crybaby Pedals Dr Parts Guitar Accessories Dunlop Guitar Strings & Accessories E.A.R. Earplugs Ghost Modular Pickup Systems Graphtech Nuts, Saddles and Bridgepins Harris Slides Herco Brass and Wind Accessories Hot Line Audio Cables Johnson Violin Shoulder Rests LAG Guitars Leem Audio Accessories Los Cabos Drumsticks Lucky 13 Guitar Straps Mahalo Ukuleles & Ukulele Guitars Maxtone Drums & Accessories MXR Pedals Platinum Stands Power Tech Cables Reeds Australia Reeds for Clarinets,

Saxophones & Accessories Scotty Kazoos & Guitar Accessories Seiko Tuners & Metronomes Shadow Pickups & Accessories Signal Sender Cables & Audio Accessories SX Acoustic, Electric Guitars, Banjos & Harmonicas Trigger Capos Tycoon Percussion Valencia Classical Guitars, Mandolins & Violins Waltons Bodhrans, Whistles & Irish Print Music Way Huge Pedals

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Address: 15C Vestey Drive, Mt Wellington PO Box 97546, Manukau

Phone: Hills SVL (09) 415 9426 Phone: APG 0800 111450 Email: nz@hillssvl.co.nz, sales@audioproduct.co.nz Websites: www.hillssvl.com.au,

www.audioproducts.co.nz

Brands Distributed: Australian Monitor Commercial and Pro AV

Equipment and Accessories Beyerdynamic Wireless Mics, Microphones, Headphones, Conference Systems and Access BIAMP DSP Audio Systems Community Professional Loudspeakers Denon-Pro Source Players/Recorders L-Acoustics Concert Loudspeaker systems MediaMatrix DSP Systems Mipro Portable PA and Wireless Microphones Peavey AA DSP Control Systems including DSP Processors and Pro Audio Tools Renkus-Heinz Commercial and Pro Audio Loudspeaker Systems Revolabs Teleconferencing and Conference mic solutions Soundsphere Commercial Speaker Systems Toa Commercial Audio Solutions Williams Sound Hearing Assistance

Lewis Eady

Contact: Edward Castelow Address: 75 Great South Road, Remuera, Auckland

Phone: (09) 524 4119 Email: edward@lewiseady.co.nz Website: www.lewiseady.co.nz Facebook: /lewiseadypage Brands Distributed: Boston Pianos Upright and Grand Pianos Essex Pianos Upright and Grand Pianos Farida Electric and Acoustic Guitars Haosen/Hau Sheng Percussion Instruments Palatino Stringed Instruments Recording King Guitars and Folk Instruments Steinway and Sons Upright and Grand Pianos

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Distributors Livesound

Contact: John Carter Address: PO Box 68216, Newton, Auckland Phone: (09) 378 9863 Fax: (09) 378 0542 Email: sales@livesound.co.nz Website: www.livesound.co.nz Brands Distributed: Amphenol Audio Connectors Amphesound Cables Eden Electronics Bass Guitar Amplification Eminence Loudspeaker Components Explorer Cases Waterproof, Dustproof, Military

Spec Cases Hill Audio Mixers, Zoned Control Pre-amps & Amplifiers K&M Stands for Music, Microphones, Speakers, Instruments etc Livesound Roadcases & Racks On Stage Stands Mic, Speaker and Instrument Stands Optogate Automatic Microphone Gates Pasgao Wireless Mic Systems Penn-Elcon Roadcase, Speaker Cabinet Hardware, Black Mount Systems Quest Engineering Loudspeaker Systems and Amplifiers Sommer Cable Audio and Video Cables Ultrasone Professional Headphones Xilica Audio Design Digital Processors for Loudspeakers and Audio Installations

Monaco Corporation

Contact: Michael Jenks for Pioneer Contact: Jason Howson for Casio Address: 231 Bush Road, Albany, Auckland 0632 Phone: (09) 415 6000 Fax: (09) 415 7400 Website: www.monacocorp.co.nz Email: michaelj@monacocorp.co.nz Email: tanyah@monacocorp.co.nz Pioneer Casio EM

Brands Distributed:

Contact: Andrew Manning Address: PO Box 90014, Auckland Mail Centre, Victoria St West, Auckland 1142 Phone: (09) 303 4936 Fax: (09) 366 0281 Email: lyn.mcallister@xtra.co.nz

Brands Distributed: Alegria Guitars Aquila Strings Aroma Tuners and Metronomes Awhi Guitar Straps Boogie Juice Fingerboard Cleaner Calato (Regal /Road) Drumsticks & Brushes Cooper Stands CPK Products Darco Electric & Bass Guitars Strings

Diamond Head Ukuleles Dick Accessories for Violins, Cellos etc.

Feadog Irish Whistles Finger Ease String Lubricant Fishman Transducers & Amplifiers G7th Capos Gotoh Guitar Parts Hidersine, Hills and AB Rosins Kala and Makala Ukuleles Kyser Capos and Strings LM Guitar Straps Martin Guitars, Strings & Accessories Mi-Si Transducers Neotech Straps & Slings Ohana Ukuleles Players Woodwind, Brass Accessories Pyramid Strings for Violin, Cello and Guitar Rapco Cables RhythmTech Percussion

Rico, Rico Royal, La Voz, Mitchell Lurie, Hemke, Plasticover Reeds Rico Accessories Saga Stringed Instruments (Regal, Rover,

Kentucky, Gitane) Savarez Classical Strings Schaller Straplocks Shubb Capos Sigma Guitars Terry Gould Capos Tom’s Line Mini Effects Pedals Wittner Metronomes, Music Stands & Violin Accessories Wolf Violin & Viola Shoulder Rests

Contact: Jarrad Lee Phone: (09) 270 1334 Email: info@musicbiz.co.nz Website: www.musicbiz.co.nz Brands Distributed:

Ahead Armor Drum Bags and Cases Akai Software MIDI Controllers, Audio Interfaces, Samplers & Drum Machines Alesis Recording Interfaces, Mixing Consoles, Electronic Percussion and MIDI Controllers ALTO Live Sound Reinforcement Aria Acoustic/Electric Guitars & Accessories.

Avid Recording Software & Hardware, ProTools Azumi Flutes Eden Electronics Pro Bass Amplification Focusrite Audio Interfaces & Recording Hardware Gallien Krueger Bass Amplification Hercules Heavy Duty Instrument and Mic Stands Hohner Harmonicas, Melodicas and Recorders Jupiter Professional Brass instruments Lanikai Ukuleles M-Audio Audio Interfaces, Studio Monitors, Microphones and MIDI Controller Keyboards Majestic Band Percussion Instruments Mapex Drums, Hardware and Accessories Marshall Guitar/Bass Amplification Meinl Percussion and Cymbals Moog Analog Synthesisers and FX Pedals Music Nomad Equipment Care Nord ElectricPiano/Organs/Synths/Drum Synths Novation USB/MIDI Software Controllers & Keyboards NS Design Electronic Stringed Instruments Numark DJ Mixers, CD/Media Players, DJ Software Controllers, Cartridges & Accessories Odyssey DJ & Hi Tech Road Cases Protection Racket Drum/Percussion Cases & Bags PRS Guitars Paul Reed Smith Guitars.

Quiklok Stands and Accessories Taylor Acoustic and Electric Guitars Vater Drumsticks and Accessories Veillette Guitars and Basses Vintage Electric and Acoustic Guitars

Contact: Wayne McIntyre, Harry Russell Phone: (09) 250 0068 Fax: (09) 259 0069 Email: info@musiclinknz.co.nz Website: www.musiclinknz.co.nz Brands Distributed: Contact: Brodie Noon, Adrian Dittmer Address: PO Box 7008, 1B Tiki Place, Palmerston North Phone: (06) 355 5073 Fax: (06) 355 5074 Email: sales@mdrlighting.co.nz Website: www.mdrlighting.com

Brands Distributed:

CBI Professional Cables, Bulk Cable, Connectors,

Stage Snakes and Looms, Multicores, Custom Cable Solutions Chauvet DJ LED Effect Lights & Accessories, LED Wash Lights & Accessories, Lasers, DMX Controllers, LED & Lamped Moving Heads, Fog/ Bubble/Dry Ice/Haze Machines & Fluids, Stands, Clamps and DMX Cables Chauvet Professional High Power LED Fixtures, Moving Heads/Washes, LED Video Walls/Screens, Media Servers Chauvet-Trusst Pro Trussing Range Eclipse Full Colour Laser Range IIluminarc Architectural LED Lighting Fixtures and Controllers Laserworld Laser Lights, complete Power and Colour Range MDR Fog Fuel, Bubble Fluids MyMix Personal Digital Mixer/Recorder for InEar Monitoring and Personal Mixing

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Music NZ

Contact: Daryl Cogger Phone: (09) 270 4001 Fax: (09) 270 1337 Email: sales@musicnzl.co.nz Website: www.musicnzl.co.nz Brands Distributed: Blackstar oss B Breedlove Edirol Ernie Ball Gator HK Audio Hosa Technology Medeli Remo Røde Roland Sterling

Ableton Recording Software Ampeg Bass and Guitar Amplifiers

Antares

Art & Lutherie Acoustic Guitars

Arturia Cakewalk

Cerwin Vega PA Sound Reinforcement

Crane Hardware D’Addario Strings and Products Diago Pedal Boards and Power Supplies Evans Drum Heads Gibson Les Paul Monitors Godin Electric Guitars

HQ Percussion ISO Acoustics Studio Monitor Stands KRK Studio Monitors La Patrie Acoustic Guitars Line 6 Guitar Amps and Effects, Guitars, Sound Reinforcement Equipment Mackie Sound Reinforcement Equipment MTD Michael Tobias Design Bass Guitars Native Instruments DJ gear, Hardware and Software Pearl Drums Planet Waves Guitar Access. Cables, Straps, Tuners ProMark Drumsticks Propellerhead Recording Software & Hardware Puresound Drum Accessories Rico Reeds Sabian Cymbals

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Seagull Acoustic Guitars Simon & Patrick Acoustic Guitars Stanton DJ Equipment Ultimate Support Stands Universal Audio Recording Equipment Vic Firth Drum Sticks

Contact: Andrew McElroy Address: 146-148 Captain Springs Rd, Onehunga, Auckland

Phone: (09) 634 0099 Fax: (09) 634 5615 Email: sales@musicworks.co.nz Website: www.musicworks.co.nz Brands Distributed: Admira Handcrafted Spanish Classical and Flamenco Guitars

Alpine Professional Hearing Protection Ear Plugs Ashton Guitars, Instrument Amplifiers, Sound

Reinforcement, Drums & Accessories AuviTran Professional Audio Networking Solutions Avalon Audio Compression, Mic Preamps, Studio Equipment AXL Electric Guitars and Basses Beale Grand and Upright Pianos Bosendorfer Handcrafted Grand Pianos CAD Audio Microphones DaCappo High Quality Micro Microphones and In-ear Monitors DDrum Electronic and Acoustic Drum Triggers Dean Markley Guitar, Bass, Mandolin & Banjo Strings, Acoustic Pickups & Amps Ego Sys Sound Cards and Interfaces Electro Voice Loud Speakers and Accessories EMES Professional Studio Monitors ENGL All-Valve Guitar Amplifiers and Cabinets Floyd Rose Tremelos George L’s Professional Cables Grover Guitar and Bass Machine Heads HH Electronics PA Speakers, Monitors & Amplifiers Hiwatt All-valve Guitar & Bass Amplifiers and Cabinets Ibanez Guitars, Basses, Acoustics, Classical Guitars, Effects Pedals, Guitar & Bass Amplifiers, Cables, Cases, Straps and Bags Jam Hub Audio Systems JJ Valves Power and Pre-amp Valves JMI The Original AC Amplifiers Johnson Acoustic and Classical Guitars Juno Reeds Student Brass and Woodwind Reeds Kemper Profiling Amplifier Laney Guitar Amplification and PA Lee Oskar Harmonicas Levys Leathers Guitar Straps, Bags Manhassett Orchestral Stands and Accessories Mogami Cables Professional Cables Morley Wah Pedals & Effects Morpheus DropTune, Capo and Bomber Pitchshifting Effects Pedals Nikko Metronomes Paiste Cymbals, Sounds, Gongs & Cymbal Accessories Palatino Violins, Violas, Cellos, Basses and String Accessories Palmer Audio Tools and Pro Audio Equipment Pearl River Pianos PedalTrain Guitar Effects Pedalboards ProRockGear Guitar and Bass Cases, Drum Cases Que Audio Microphone Solutions Recording King Banjos, Resonator Guitars and Mandolins Ritmuller Upright and Grand Pianos RME Professional Studio Audio Interfaces and Soundcards Rockhouse Mixer Systems for Schools Rotosound Strings Schecter Electric Guitars, Basses, Acoustics and Basses Steinberg Studio Software, Cubase, Nuendo and Audio Interfaces Studio Devil Amp Modelling Studio Software Tama Drums, Hardware, Sticks, Bags and Accessories

T Rex Guitar and Bass Effects Pedals Ultimate Stands for Speakers and Keyboards

and Lighting

Ultrasound Acoustic Amplifiers and DI Boxes Vandoren Reeds French Woodwind Reeds and

Mouthpieces Vicoustic Studio Sound Treatment Panels Wi WiFi Mics and Recording Equipment Xilica High-performance DSP Systems Yamaha Guitars and Basses, Acoustic and Classical, Keyboards, Pianos, PA Equipment, Mixers, Audio Interfaces, Synthesisers, Sound Modules, Drums, Brass, Woodwind, Accessories

Contact: Carl Win, Ali Shannon Address: PO Box 201228, Auckland Airport,

Lindell Audio Audio Processors

Microtech Gefell German Microphones

Mojave Audio Fet and Tube Microphones Oktava Condenser & Ribbon Mics ProCo Multicores & Bulk Cable, RAT Distortion Pedals Purple Audio 500 Series Preamps and EQs Roll Music Super Stereo Compressor, Folcrum Bus Mixer Royer Labs Ribbon Microphones Schoeps Modular Condenser Mics and Access Shadow Hills HQ Mic Pres, Compressors Stedman Steel Pop Screens Studio Projects Condenser Mics, Mic Preamps

and Accessories Summit Audio Valve Mic Preamps, Compressors, EQs Toft Audio Products Mixers, Mic Preamps, Tonelux Recording Consoles and Modules Triad-Orbit Mic Stands and Accessories Trident Audio Designs Mixers & Studio Monitors Valley People Compressors and Gates Warm Audio Mic Preamps, Compressors & EQs Wunder Audio Microphones and Preamps Vanguard Audio Tube Microphones

Manukau 2150 Ph: (09) 913 6212 Fax: (09) 912 1845 Email: cwin@nowsound.co.nz Website: www.nowsound.co.nz

Brands Distributed: Cloud Electronics High Quality Commercial

Audio Systems

QSC Amplifiers, Loudspeakers, Digital and

Analogue Signal Processing Shure Microphones, Headphones, Mixers WekaWire Audio & Control Installation Cable & Connrectors

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Contact: Scott Simpson, Rene Bullinga Address: 15 Walter St, Wellington and 76 Paul Matthews Rd, Auckland Phone: (04) 801 9494, (09) 414 0477 Fax: (04) 384 2112, (09) 415 3117 Email: sales@protel.co.nz Website: www.protel.co.nz

Brands Distributed: A-Designs Audio Products Apogee Interfaces for iPad/iPhone/MacOS ATI Audio Distribution and Utility Audient Analogue Consoles & Mic Pres Avid Pro Tools, Controllers, Live Sound Bricasti Digital Reverb & Audiophile Cedar Audio Restoration DirectOut MADI Interfacing Eartec Comms Systems Genelec Active Studio Monitors Hear Technologies Personal Monitor Systems iZotope Audio Processing Software Kv2 Audio Sound Reinforcement Lewitt Microphones Little Labs Engineers Tools McDSP Processing Plug-Ins Metric HaloLabs Hi-res I/O and Processing Nugen Audio Metering & Level Control Riedel RockNet Networked Audio Sonnox Audio Processing Software SoundToys Pro Effects Plug-Ins Spectrasonics Virtual Instruments SPL Professional Processing Solutions Violet Design Microphones Waves Audio Processing Software Zaxcom Digital Encrypted Wireless/Recording

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Contact: Nigel Russell Address: PO Box 41085, St Lukes, Auckland.

Phone: (09) 845 7800 Fax: (09) 846 4626 Email: nigel@oceania-audio.co.nz Website: www.oceania-audio.co.nz Brands Distributed: AEA Ribbon Microphones Antelope Audio HD Audio clocks, Audio Interfaces API Modular Preamps, EQs & Compressors Ashly Audio Preamps, EQs & Compressors

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STL Audio

Contact: Pete McGregor Address: 8 Capstan Court, Te Atatu Peninsula, Auckland Phone: (09) 834 8355 Email: pete@bassbass.co.nz Website: www.bassbass.co.nz

Brands Distributed: Acoustic Image USA Amplifiers for Acoustic Instruments

Christopher Double Basses David Gage Realist Pickups for Double Bass K & K Transducers for all Instruments Phil Jones Bass Amplification PMM Double Basses & Cases for Double Bass Poellman Double Bass Pops Rosins Revolution Solo Transducers for Double Bass Schertler Amplification Shimro Double Basses Underwood Bass Transducers Wilson Pickups for Double Bass

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Sticks

Clearsonic Transparent Sound Shields and

Portable Isolation Booths

Grover Pro Percussion Concert Tambourines,

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Contact: Daniel Rowe Address: Unit A, 26-30 Vestey Drive, Mount Contact: Robert Hancox Address: 90 Mt Eden Rd, Mt Eden, Auckland Phone: 0800 505 003 Email: robert@pianotraders.co.nz Website: www.pianotraders.co.nz Brands Distributed: Albert Weber Pianos and Grand Pianos Printed Music NZ’s Widest Range Wizard Guitars, Cellos and Violins

Wellington, Auckland 1060 Phone: (09) 580 0489 Fax: (09) 580 0490 Email: sales@sennheiser.co.nz Website: www.sennheiser.co.nz

Brands Distributed Apart Contracting Speakers Neumann Microphones Sennheiser Microphones and Headphones

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and EQs

Slate Media Technologies Raven MTI, VMS Microphones

Check into www.nzmusician.co.nz for regular updates of this and NZM’s other, oh so handy online Directories.

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Threat.Meet.Protocol

‘Way back in 2011, Threat.Meet.Protocol thought they were pretty original. Being a combo consisting of just bass and drums this was thought to be edgy and cool. Especially for Tauranga. So imagine their chagrin while organising a gig for God Bows to Math where another bass/drum two-piece from Tauranga called Flogging A Dead One Horse Town wanted to play. Not being the best songwriters or musicians, the Human Ashtray and Scowlin Wolf had but one thing. Then they meet Flogging, who did it better…’ It’s irony in abundance with Tauranga Music Sux, from whose extremely entertaining website comes the above introduction. Martyn Peppaerell engaged Messrs Ashtray and Wolf (Stefan Braunias and Austin Cunningham), who populate both TMS and TMP, to cover off their now three-piece band’s recently released album.

“T

hings were pretty abysmal,” reflects vocalist/bassist Austin Cunningham.

Casting his mind back five years, he’s talking about the cultural conditions under which Threat.Meet.Protocol, the noise punk band he shares with drummer Stefan Braunias and keyboardist Luke Turner, came about in their hometown of Tauranga.

“The majority of the town was just covers bands. You had a couple of music venues, one was a metal place, and one was more inclined to show reggae bands. There was no real local scene, and no real local bands getting together and putting on shows or bringing in people.

“The bands that did come and play usually played to no one. So no one came back, and they would tell their friends not to go there. So when we started, it was a way of having a band in place. I promote events, so I could bring in bands from out of town, Auckland, Wellington whatever, and there would be someone to play with them, give them a place to stay, and make them feel welcome in this town.”

Five years and several releases later, Threat.

Meet.Protocol are an accomplished and inventive band, and Tauranga has a music scene that can accommodate their existence. Friends since high school, Cunningham and Braunias started playing instruments in their late teens.

Along the way, they went from listening to nu-metal and Brit pop to exploring the scope and history of punk music, noise, and various other DIY musical forms. They fell in love with The Replacements, Mudhoney, The Beatles, Flipper and Nirvana.

“We think [The Replacement’s] Paul Westerberg is probably the most underrated songwriter of all time,” Cunningham says.

Coming from a musical family, drumming came quickly to Braunias. Cunningham on the other hand had to work really at it.

“I didn’t have any natural talent whatsoever,” he claims. “But I just kept progressing and saying, I want to be in a band, I need to do this.”

Promoting music events under the brand Tauranga Music Sux, he needed a support act for the out-of-towners he was hosting in Tauranga. Threat.Meet.Protocol fit that bill. After a few years of playing as a duo they recruited Turner, the younger brother of one of Braunias’ friends, to play keyboards.

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“There is no way we’d play without Luke now,” Cunningham laughs. “He’s the best thing about the band.”

Given the realities of Tauranga’s music scene at the time, he and Braunias kicked off Tauranga Music Sux and Threat.Meet.Protocol in a very DIY manner. They began hosting koha entry guerrilla shows in tunnels, under bridges and on the top of mountains. The first act from out of town was Auckland post-punk band God Bows To Math. Through GBTM they started connecting with like-minded groups not just around the country, but in the case of fuzzy rock duo Pairs, China.

“Pairs were the first band from overseas to play for us,” Austin says. “They played in a tunnel, and that kind of legitimised everything I was doing. It was the biggest turnout I’d seen at Tauranga, and everyone had a great time.”

Alongside cultivating the local scene, they began touring around the country (even doing a tunnel tour once), as well as recording and releasing a series of EPs and albums though Savant Garde Records (a collaboration with Tauranga Music Sux).

Release by release the sound shifted from extreme noise to a punk-informed aesthetic, with a genuine emphasis on classic songwriting.

“At first, I wanted a DIY scene, and I wanted nothing to do with anything conventional,” Cunningham admits. “I didn’t want to record in the studio.

I didn’t know anyone in the industry. We recorded our first EP on a dictaphone and tried to keep it as low key and DIY as possible. By this point, it has evolved too much, and I realise it has to evolve. We’ve just let it

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unfurl as it should have.”

This ‘unfurling’ is best heard on their new album ‘Mindless Consumption’, released by Muzai Records. Recorded by their longstanding engineer Evan Pope, at Media In Motion studios, it represents a logical progression, noise terror transforming into memorable songs that still ripple with fuzz and energy.

“We spent a couple of years writing the tracks and whittling away the ones that weren’t up to scratch,” Cunningham says. “We knew we had written a really good batch of songs – recording them on a dictaphone or 4-track would have been a shame. People don’t gravitate towards lo-fi songs. To some degree, you need a semi-polished sound so that people can listen to it and gauge it for what it is.”

In the process of recording ‘Mindless Consumption’, they were reminded of their core musical values, and with that, the path ahead.

“We’ve got to keep challenging ourselves,” Austin says. “That is the main thing. We’ve got to keep pushing. We don’t want to be repeating stuff. So as much as it was originally about just making noise, we could never go back to just making noise. The goal is to get better and better. Not necessarily playing our instruments, we don’t care about that, but getting better as songwriters...

“We’re going to forget about these songs, write a new batch of songs, record them, then forget about those songs and keep evolving. I dislike those bands that keep playing the same sound over and over.

It might work for them. It might be an original sound, but man, I don’t see how you can keep playing the same songs or writing the same music for 20 or 30 years.

What’s the point?”

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Yeongrak

Uncomfortably Prolific One of the most enigmatic and exciting artists to emerge from post-quake Christchurch, Yeongrak produces queezily-coloured electronic psychedelia that is emblematic of both the shifting psycho geographies of his home town and the digital context in which he releases his music. Still a teenager, Yeongrak (Matteo Harley-Mackie), first drew attention to himself locally and internationally via a slow flood of distinctively packaged releases for free / pay-as-you-like on Bandcamp from 2014 onwards. Chris Cudby tracked him down to talk over the cassette-released ‘Brainsoutclock’.

I

nitially producing a blend of on-point post-footwork / juke, before moving in increasingly compelling and experimental directions, the high quality, unusual texture and aura of mystery created an audience hungry for more from Christchurch’s Yeongrak. His new album ‘Brainsoutclock’, out on Wellington underground label End Of The Alphabet Records, is a perfectly pitched mind-meld of dance production fluency and eagerness to follow a feeling into unchartered waters.

“I just want to make stuff that sounds really uncomfortable and gross, 'cause I guess that’s the sort of stuff I'm inspired by [and] interested in,” opens the artist, who was surprisingly not so tricky to track down for an online chat.

‘Brainsoutclock’ takes a shit all over musical convention with a fresh-faced approach incorporating nightcore, crooning autotuned vocals, noise, drone, R’n’B, surf rock, loops, field recordings and more, twisting these elements into unpredictable, sometimes abject shapes.

“I think it’s probably the best example of the sound I’ve been going for for quite a while now, concerning the whole gross and disgusting-but sweet thing, but it also sounds kind of violent.”

At a time when the skittering rhythms of footwork (aka juke) are an increasing influence on NZ electronic musicians, Yeongrak talks about moving in a direction away from a recognisable version of that Chicago sound.

“I think before I was just figuring out what I wanted to sound like. I basically just wanted to make juke ’cause that was the stuff I loved, but I didn’t have much influence outside of other music. Getting influence outside of music has helped me to figure out a sound I was more comfortable with.”

Yeongrak’s latest album is his second to be released on cassette (the first being ‘Uggghh Riot‘ on Visual Disturbances / Emergency Tapes in July 2015), a rare venture beyond cyber reality, as his work primarily resides on the web – Bandcamp, Soundcloud, YouTube and elsewhere. The ease and transparency of streaming, allowing savvy artists to reach new audiences unencumbered by traditional physical distribution models at a minimal cost, is ideal for such prolific talents with distinctive visions in sound.

While Yeongrak has had a high rate of production in comparison with most artists, he’s nonchalant about his release strategy so far.

“It’s been slowing down lately. For a little over a year I was trying to make an album every month, from the beginning of 2014 to maybe midway through 2015, but I don’t think that was good. I think it was too much, but it was still fun though. It feels weird calling myself prolific so I guess I wouldn’t consider myself to be prolific, maybe just someone who puts out a bunch of shit, or maybe that’s the same thing, I don’t know.”

The ‘NZ’ online streaming tag allows for a relatively unfiltered view of the huge stylistic range of music produced here in Aotearoa – anyone

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paying attention to Bandcamp over the last two years would have spotted the sickly anime-inspired artwork signifying Yeongrak’s many releases.

This visiblity led to his association with Noel Meek’s experimental-focused End Of The Alphabet Records, while inhabiting a distinct musical zone in relation to the local sound arts community, which he had little previous knowledge of.

“I just got a message on Soundcloud from them out of nowhere asking if I wanted to contribute a track to ‘No-Fi Rainbow Volume 2’, and it was strange to me that it was a NZ label, I had no idea there was any kind of scene for experimental music here, or anything like that. I never was that interested in being involved in local stuff since I was so focused on just releasing and collaborating and communicating purely through the internet. [It was] not something I did intentionally, I just didn’t think there was any interest for my sort of stuff anywhere in NZ, really.”

Early exposure for Yeongrak came in the form of a 2014 Dummymag essay by English music critic Adam Harper titled ‘High Speed Sounds to Blister Even Internet-Accelerated Brains’, in which Harper discusses the international emergence of a “cute” aesthetic among a cross-section of electronic musicians, considering Yeongrak’s music alongside such high-profile artists as the PC Music collective. Such swiftness in recognition is a hallmark of current digital music culture, with little regard to geographic distance, reflected by Yeongrak’s own musical network which he states has no tangible “irl” (in real life) component.

“It’s all online, and it's mainly just my friends. I'm not a part of any tight collective or anything like that.”

Likewise, his recording setup is cheerfully minimal in contrast to the spiralling details of the sounds he makes.

“I’m just [using] Renoise on my laptop at the moment. I have an Electribe that I sometimes use to make stuff though.”

With increasing local awareness of Yeongrak’s evolving take on electronic music, would a live show be on the cards? “[I’ve played] just a few online things but nothing irl, I’m not quite sure how I’d do it yet. I would like to someday. I’m trying to figure out something I’m happy with on my sampler. The idea makes me nervous as fuck though.”

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Payment Provisions

I

t doesn’t matter how great a recording or publishing deal you think you might have been offered, getting paid is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of any deal you’re going to enter into. In this Lawful Truth column we’re going to take a careful look at some of the key issues you need to be aware of whenever you’re negotiating payment provisions in music industry contracts.

First up, the timing of when payments will actually be made to you absolutely needs careful attention. You would be amazed how often contracts are either silent or just unclear on this issue. Make sure there is no doubt when you will actually receive your money, and remember, it always pays to negotiate as short timeframes as possible between payments.

After all it is much better to have any money due sitting in your bank account earning interest rather than sitting in someone else’s.

How taxes impact on any money due to you is also very important to consider. Is the amount stated in a contract inclusive or exclusive of GST? The presumption in law is that if it is not otherwise stated, a quoted amount is deemed to be GST inclusive. You also need to consider if withholding tax is to be deducted from any amount due to you as this can of course make a big difference to the amount you actually receive in your hand.

Many of the contracts that you see in the music industry, like recording and publishing agreements, also provide for payment to be made by way of ‘royalties’. Royalties are basically just a percentage share of the overall income received in any particular case. As well as certain standard issues, such as timing of payments, when it comes to royalties there are a whole range of other issues that also need to be carefully considered.

One of the first issues you need to be aware of is that what is an appropriate royalty rate can differ a lot from one type of contract to another. A standard royalty rate in a publishing agreement can be four times as much as a standard royalty rate in a recording agreement for example. So in each different case you do need to have a good understanding for what the current market royalty rate is for the type of contract in question.

You also need to be very conscious that royalty rates in the music industry not only differ between different types of contracts, they also often differ in respect of different sources of income received under a particular contract.

For example, under a recording agreement you can expect to receive a much higher royalty rate for income received from use of your songs in film and TV shows compared to the royalty you will receive on CDs sold or digital

stream that is licensed. Once again to make sure you get the best deal you need to do as much research as you can on what the going royalty rates are for the different sources of income in question.

One of the most important points to remember is to always be very careful in determining exactly what income the royalty is being paid on. Is your royalty being paid off of all income that is received under the contract, or is the other party entitled to deduct a certain amount from the total income first, and apply your royalty rate only to what is left?

Some recording agreements still provide for a certain amount to be deducted from the income received from each CD sold to help offset packaging costs, before you are paid your royalty on the remaining income. As with all other aspects of contracts, the devil is very much in the detail, and whether or not amounts are to be deducted from the income received before your royalty is applied can make a huge difference to the actual cash you receive for your music.

In any contract where you are being paid by way of a royalty you also want to make sure that you have specific rights to audit the financial records of the other party to make sure you have been correctly paid. As royalty calculations are often quite complicated in recording or publishing agreements, you need to be sure you are never short changed due to some simple accounting errors.

Audit provisions in music industry contracts are usually based around the same general principals. For example your right to audit will typically only be able to be exercised once a year, and you will also have to provide a reasonable amount of notice to the other party before you can commence your audit.

On a positive note, it is also common for the other party to have to reimburse you a certain amount of your audit costs if a notably large underpayment owing to you is identified.

Although in music industry contracts people often just focus on the cash amount or the basic royalty rate being paid, as you will now see, being aware of the other kinds of issues that impact on the amount you will actually receive is definitely just as important.

David McLaughlin is a specialist music lawyer with Auckland law firm McLaughlin Law (www. mclaughlinlaw.co.nz). He can be contacted by email at david@mclaughlinlaw.co.nz or on 09 282 4599.

Disclaimer: This article is intended to provide a general outline of the law on the subject matter. Further professional advice should be sought before any action is taken in relation to the matters described in the article.

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Street Chant

For a band with such a familiar name, Street Chant don’t seem to have done a lot to get in our faces, or charts, since dropping their highly regarded debut album some six years back.

There was a digital 5-track EP called ‘Isthmus of One-Thousand Lovers’ in 2013, preceded by a number of student radio-popular singles, but frontwoman and main songwriter Emily Littler has since been more active furthering her solo profile as Emily Edrosa. For a few years now there have been rumours of a sophomore Street Chant album being ready to go, so it is a relief all round to see ‘Hauora’ released. Mohamed Hassan met up with Littler, Billie Rogers and drummer Christopher Varnham at the band’s low-rent Auckland city practice pad.

E

mily Littler leads me down a corridor of storage units stretching out for 20 metres in each direction. It’s dimly lit and there’s a horrendous smell I choose not to mention out of politeness.

“I think there’s people living here. They use the bathroom to wash themselves, that’s why it smells so bad,” she says.

Four aisles along, we reach a unit disguised by a wall of makeshift insulation, covering the entire frame save for a cut out door at the front.

Inside is a space no bigger than a bathroom, littered with amps, guitars and a scrawny drum kit at the back. On the right side is a desk lamp with the light bulb hanging out, and on the other an orange stage light that’s overheating the tiny space. It’s cosy enough to live in, if you really wanted to.

Littler tells me they share this space with three other bands, two of which are Surf City and PHF, but this place has been here for years.

At least as far back as Steriogram. She points to a line of empty cigarette packets stapled to the wall.

“That’s their Marlboro Lights up there.”

A few minutes later, Billie Rogers and Christopher Varnham arrive, and we find a

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space amid the instruments and sit down. They all look tired, but somewhat relieved. They say a long-winded journey has come to an end, an album six years in the making.

“It’s bittersweet,” admits Rogers.

“You start thinking about how it’s all gone, what you’re gonna do in the next few weeks.”

It has been an awfully long time. They released their debut, ‘Means’ back in 2010. It’s not like they went anywhere either, dropping a 7" (Frail Girls / Salad Daze) in 2012, and an EP (‘Isthmus of One Thousand Lovers’) a year later.

Street Chant have also never really left the local tour circuit.

They surprise by telling me most of the material on ‘Hauora’ was ready not longer after ‘Means’. The writing began almost immediately after their debut album. Drum tracks were laid down in 2012 and by the end of 2014 the new album was ready for mastering.

“It’s been done for quite a while,” understates Littler. “It’s strange thinking that people haven’t heard it, I can’t imagine it.”

She acknowledges the album process has been a struggle for her, between fighting off a looming sense of dread that the band was on the verge of breaking up (their last drummer

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Alex Brown left not long after the record was finished), and her own suffocating perfectionism.

She’s been practising how best to explain to everyone why it had taken so long.

“To be honest I had a lot of people whispering in my ear a bit about what we should do next, and it made me second guess what I wanted to do. It took me a while to really have a vision, and I feel like that vision that I had has been realised, but I don’t think I will ever be a perfectionist on anything ever again.”

The band were unhappy with the production and lyrics on ‘Means’, and wanted to push themselves further.

“When we did our last album, the trend was for the guitars to be really reverb-y, you couldn’t really make out chords, lyrics, but even melodies,” she says.

“So we kind’a wanted to do the opposite of that, and I think we made everything dry and ugly.”

In contrast, ‘Hauora’ has much more room to breathe, with big roaring songs driven by gorgeous melodies that are able to still retain their subtlety, notably on the album opener One More Year.

“It sounds the way we wanted it to sound,” Littler says. “We wanted it to be really crisp, we wanted our intentions to be forward, and I wanted the lyrics to be really audible.”

Never and Insides (which Littler wrote as a 17-year old) feels wonderfully familiar, while the synth-infused Country catches you off guard completely (is that a xylophone?) and was for a short-lived moment the direction the band thought they were going in.

“I don’t think that’s gonna be that anymore, we’re thinking we might go back to being raw and off the cuff.”

Melbourne is a painfully real exploration of the last days of a relationship, the bargaining part of the break-up. Apart from that, the album is sweet, nostalgic, energetic, and dare I say, hopeful. That’s especially surprising given the tumultuous last few years.

After the critical success of their first album, the band found themselves catapulted into the touring arena, with label offers, a spot at SXSW in 2011 (alongside David Dallas, Zowie, Liam Finn, Brooke Fraser and The Naked and Famous), and a national US tour opening for The Lemonheads. It was a wild and exciting journey to navigate as 22-year olds, but when they finally returned to home soil, a harsh reality awaited them.

“For years we were living pretty cool lives, going on tour all the time. In the end we had to come back to NZ and live in a shit fucking flat.

We were worse off than our friends.”

Riddled with debt from their travels, and with their primary source of revenue suddenly drying up, the three fought to keep their music, as well as their own mental wellbeing, on track. The flat in question was where Littler stayed for a few years, and would be immortalised on the front cover of the album, for not so great reasons.

“I just remember feeling like the house represented how I was feeling. It made me physically sick, it made me mentally sick, I lost my mind a bit living in that house. Rats were crawling in my mind as they were in the walls.”

Such frightening challenges would serve as the basis for much of the album’s content, as well as its title. Hauora, a Maori philosophy of physical, mental, social and spiritual health, is often described like the walls of a whare, that all need to be maintained for wellbeing. Littler’s flat, where much of the album was recorded, became the metaphor for where the band members were at in their lives, and how they saw the rest of their generation.

“A lot of the content is about where NZ is at from my point of view, and people who are like me. I just feel like there’s zero empathy from the people whose fault it is, the baby boomer generation, and the flats that we live in, all of them are so mouldy.”

“There’s, like, holes in the floor of my kitchen,” adds Rogers.

Littler finds it's important to check her own privilege, as “…a white woman who’s fairly middle class”, but says it’s becoming harder and harder to dream about a future. For Rogers, living hand-to-mouth is an exhausting and time consuming reality in itself, especially when she is trying to juggle study, work and trying to be creative at the day’s end.

“I don’t wanna complain because my life is cool, but you know, it’s not that simple," she says. “Like, I’ve run out of money, I don’t have any more money for two days.”

These are woes shared by many millennials, from those like Littler and Rogers getting sick in mouldy flats, to their friends who can’t afford to pay for shows to come and see them.

It’s a shared reality that sits heavy on their minds, and inspired much of the content on ‘Hauora’, an annotation of their lives as part of a

generation “…seeking existence, commitment or even just a job” as Littler sings in Pedestrian Support League.

“I thought that maybe if I made a bit of a mirror, people or my friends or people like me would appreciate it,” she says. “Because you know, Paul Henry does not represent me, Mike Hosking does not represent me, Story doesn’t represent me… so much stuff out there, and there’s not a lot that does.”

Littler notes they might be wallowing a bit, and that they’re lucky enough to have a platform for self expression most people don’t have access to. Most of the time, it’s fun and at least they don’t lose money.

“It’s a nice life to get up on stage and play my electric geetaar, and show off with my mates and get two free beers,” she laughs.

“It’s social and enriching and you learn a

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lot and we do it for love,” says Rogers. “We recognise that we’re privileged enough to be doing this.”

Street Chant are planning a string of shows around the country over coming months, as a start. Further overseas experiences will hopefully come later, maybe even the European tour they’ve dreamed about for years.

After such a delay in bringing ‘Hauora’ to market there’s new material already in the works with new drummer Varnham, and two albums from Littler’s other projects (including a new Emily Edrosa release) expected later this year. All the while Street Chant work to maintain their own hauora. lllY`g_99g3G"PgY3SO

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s promised in the last NZM issue, we are going to do some slap exercises. These have a very slight difference from exercises I have written in the past – none of the riffs are in E or A! All notes in the examples have letters ‘t’ (thumb), ‘p’ (pull), h (hammer–on), or ‘l’ (lift/pull–off ) over them. When slapping in non–open string keys, fretting hand fingers that are not actually fretting notes have to be used for muting or for hammering dead notes.

Example 1 is a G minor riff that starts with a thumb/pull G to G octave.

Quite often, I prefer to pull the lower note from underneath with my picking hand thumb rather than slap it. I stole this technique from a friend

who plays claw-picking guitar and does the same thing on the low strings of his guitar with a plectrum or claw pick.

As usual, the ‘x’s mean thumb slapped dead notes, this time on your fourth string. The C to D is thumbed and then hammered. In short, with all four examples, when you see ‘t’, you can slap in the normal way or slide part of you thumb under the string and pull it. (I’ve marked ’p’ for lower strings in Examples 2 and 3.) This technique sounds very effective on the third and fourth strings as it adds a low percussive effect to the riff you are playing.

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Example 2 is built around Eb mixolydian, a major scale with a flattened seventh note, a scale that sounds good in a variety of styles. This riff needs your picking thumb to go between strings 3 and 4. You should use the edge of it to slightly pull the third string Eb upward and release it before finger 1 pulls Db on string 1 and finger 3 hammers on to Eb an octave above.

You need to pull the Db once more before you play ‘disco’ style line slap thumbing and pulling C and Db octaves. The first half of bar 2 is the same as bar 1 but there are two dead notes in the second half that are played with your picking thumb while your fretting fingers mute the string.

Example 3 is in another unusual key for slap playing – Ab. Using the edge of your picking hand thumb, raise and release the low Ab on string 4 and then use the thumb to pull the Db and release it before hammering the Eb on string 3. You then do the same to the Cb (B) and Bb. Bar 2 has the same first half of the bar as bar 1, but you use the new thumb technique for the Fb (E) and Eb. Example 4 is built from C mixolydian. Thumb the first two C’s at fret 8 on string 4 and then pull and hammer Eb to E natural on frets 9 to 10 on string 1.

The next group of three notes, Bb–C–Bb, is pulled, hammered and then lifted off with fingers 1 and 3 of your fretting hand on string 1.

The same technique is used for the last two notes on the bar – pull C and lift off to Bb. As in Example 3, the first half of bar 2 is the same as bar 1 but this phrase is followed by four sixteenth notes (semiquavers), pulled Bb to hammered C on frets 8 and 10 on string 2 and thumbed F to hammered G on frets 8 and 10 on string 3. The bar ends with a thumbed C on fret 8, string 4.

There are no tempos suggested. If you are new to slapping take the examples slowly, and don’t overdo it because you will get blisters. If you can already slap, these exercises are meant to get you slapping in different keys, so you should be able to have some fun playing in areas you might not have tried before.

(Dr. Rob Burns is an Associate Professor in Music at the University of Otago.

As a former professional studio bassist in the UK, he performed and recorded with David Gilmour, Pete Townsend, Jerry Donahue, Isaac Hayes, Sam and Dave, James Burton, Ian Paice and Jon Lord, Eric Burdon and members of Abba. Rob is currently a member of Dunedin bands Subject2change and The Verlaines.) ashdownmusic.com/artists/252/Robert-Burns

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LONTALIUS: I’ll Forget 17

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Lontalius Eddie Johnston’s much anticipated debut album is nothing short of what was expected. Opener A Feeling So Sweet sets the self-reflective, almost melancholic tone of the nine tracks to come. Being recorded all over the place (Roundhead in Auckland, STL in Wellington, Toybox Studios in Bristol, as well as various people’s homes), helps this to really feel like a combination of experiences. The album focuses at times on heavy ambient textures, most notably at the end of I Was More Than leading into Yr Heart Is Beating, with soft pads sitting underneath a glockenspiel, wind chimes-esque pattern. That in mind, there are quite a few songs that drive forward strongly. Single Glow pushes at the front of the beat until the end of the song when it leaps into a soothing halftime section, while My Dreams Are Dark begins with a pulsing kick for half the song, following into some simple drum production, reminiscent of Drake.

The majority of the album was performed with Johnston’s bandmates; Miles Sutton, Daniel McBride and Taylor Groves, also featuring performances from Ike Zwanikken, Grayson Gilmour, Beth Porter, Daisy Chapman, Dave Collingwood and Ali Chant (who also mixed and produced the album). From the humble beginnings of recording covers in his bedroom, considering his young age, Wellingtonian Eddie Johnston has come a deceptively long way to this album debut. Not only was it well worth the wait, but ‘I’ll Forget 17’ solidifies a nice foundation for Lontalius’ future as a major artist. s *ESSE !USTIN

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Tight but unfussy riffs, snarly yet melodic vocals. Like Toy Love, this band has absorbed influences from punk to The Beatles, and spat out an album of spikey pop gems that display probably too much aggression for unadventurous pop radio programmers – but will find much appreciation among actual lovers of new music. With its clever lyrics and incredibly catchy refrain, Three Times A Day could easily become a covers band staple. Slapback-drenched vocals take you back in time to the British Invasion and beyond. The completely unpretentious guitar solo on Listen To Lies is a breath of fresh air in a world of punchy but predictable pentatonic playing. This is true of the whole band’s performance. There’s an abundance of feeling behind the energy and abandon that hasn’t been much heard since Cobain strapped on a Fender. It’s easy to play a bunch of notes in a frenzied manner, and not so simple to invest those notes with feeling, but it happens on this album. Bob Frisbee and Ed Castelow must have magic ears because they’ve managed to capture The Lowest Fidelity in full flight with these recordings, with all the energy of Darcy Clay’s Jesus I Was Evil. s "ING 4URKBY

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With two long players already under their belt, The Blues Buffet return with their ‘Reality Show’. Don’t let the band’s name predetermine expectations as there is much more on offer. While the core of songs do show a strong blues influence the band’s open-minded approach to arrangement, and unique hooks create plenty of both appeal and authenticity. With a striking vocal resemblance to local legend Midge Marsden, vocalist/guitarist Fred Loveridge carries the lion’s share of tracks in style. The songs are complimented with strong backing vocals and Paul Wilson’s intricate keyboard fills and vamps. Guitars appear only when required and do so in style. From the laid back and funky blues groove of Too Much Trouble to the psychedelic instrumental Cold Sausage Ragg, there are all the ingredients blues fans are looking for, and more. You Essay contains a genius chorus that well illustrates an impressive collection of songs. If this is how Whanganui does the blues, they are doing something right. s 3TU %DWARDS

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After the Christchurch earthquakes The Renderers (Maryrose and Brian Crook) shifted hemisphere to settle in Yucca Valley, California, there evidently continuing their amalgamation of Americana country and dissonant aural textures. Contrasting to 2011’s noise-influenced ‘A Rocket Into Nothing’, this is calmer, darker and full of sonic beauty, reflecting perhaps their evocative surroundings. In fact, evocative is a good word to describe this album with its southern Gothic noir edge, full of fragmented piano melodies, menacing cello and dissonant strings – most notably in the understated instrumentals Not Really Falling, Omaharsh and The Remembering Room. Add to this some evocative and metaphorical lyrics and you have a potent mix – “angels with teeth” indeed. One notable strength of The Renderers has always been the smoky vocals of Maryrose, and here they are just as potent. Seaworthy in particular brings her voice to the fore, haunting and sharp at the same time, while she seduces the senses on the disturbing Mr Pulse. Brian Crook adds his vocals to the woozy Strange Love and foreboding Black Saturn. The Renderers have always had a hint of noir about them, but ‘In A Sodium Light’ is an excellent fit to their sound – beautiful, haunting, and with more than a touch of threatening darkness. s !MANDA -ILLS

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Originally from Motueka, now based in Auckland, Jason McIver is a multi-talented musician. Rather than be tied to a band he has deliberately elected to call it a ‘collective’ – allowing the entity to be whoever is present at the time. This widely appealing album follows a crowd-funded 2014 EP, ‘The Big Blue’. McIver has past credits as the MAINZ Songwriter of the Year, both in 2010 and the year following, and has done time fronting heavy rock and metal bands – though there’s no trace of that here.

This is more Pearl Jam without the heavy parts. It embraces all those qualities that hook people by the ears – pop, rock, blues, folk... no two tunes too alike. Zorran Mendonza usually specialises in the heavier end of music with various metal styles, but on this he recorded, mixed, mastered and produced at almost the opposite end. Also present to flesh out the McIver-penned material (one co-write in Stoney Joe with guitarist Matt Hill) are Will Stairmand on drums, Jesse Reeves and Hill on bass, John Boone on percussion and Elisha Hobbs on piano and bvs. While perhaps never striking enough to demand the attention of radio, McIver’s talent for penning a decent tune is nonetheless well evident. s !NIA 'LOWACZ

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Following the 2014 album, ‘The Way I See The World’, Esoligh’s new EP opens with a mystical Scottish-accented figure’s message to the hip hop artist – thanking Esoligh for bringing, “Honesty and positive vibes to the world,” – setting the tone and indicating ‘Walking Up’ is not to be taken too seriously. Laid Back kicks things off with some lively hip hop. MPC style one-shot sampling and boom-bap beats are a common theme throughout the six tracks and call back to the genre’s early ’90s sound. This is particularly present on Manic Obsession, using a hard rock guitar sample, reminiscent of Beastie Boys/Run DMC tracks. The lyricism plays out in a similar vein with the opening hook, “To the break of dawn, it’s on” referencing classic hip hop ideas. Some tracks dabble in NZ life and politics, in a manner similar to early Home Brew efforts. Where this album mainly succeeds however is in its unique well-being centred lyrics, Esoligh stands apart from the crowd when he engages in discussion around staying positive and the tribulations of leading a good life. This isn’t particularly groundbreaking, but it doesn’t seem that was this record’s intention. It’s a snapshot of a time in a life, and ÃÊLiÃÌÊÜ i Ê ÌÊ ii«ÃÊÌ }ÃÊà « iÊ> `Ê« >ÞÃÊÌ Ê ÌÃÊÀiv iVÌ ÛiÊÃÌÀi }Ì Ã°ÊU /LLY #LIFTON

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35.3%4 "ITTER %ARTH This debut album is an energising follow up to 71 Sunset’s 2014 EP ‘Mule’. Recorded at Redroom Studios it was co-produced, recorded and mixed by Matt Smith. Over 13-tracks it sends listeners on an emotional trip, showcasing band frontman Darrin Floyd’s vocal prowess with ever changing moods. Dom Morris continuously drums up a storm, easing the listener into a comfort zone one minute, then unleashing chaos the next (My Gift, Sin for Sin). Guitarist David Hitchcock offers timely solos throughout the album (Without a Sound, Going Home), and with the polished allure of Elliot Pike’s basslines (Down, Devils Fever) you are also left itching to see this talent live.

Evidently all competent artists, they readily complement each other as a band. ‘Bitter Earth’ delves into so many sub categories within the rock genre that it puts 71 Sunset in a good place for gaining new followers, the investment of time and money that went into the CD digipak evident. The Aztec/Mayan styled artwork by Gene Harris is also worth the mention, though there is no obvious link between it and the music. ‘Bitter Earth’ has a unique Kiwi rock sound that’s appealing and destined for success. s $EE -UIR

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After a couple of EPs and a number of singles since relocating to Auckland from Mount Maunganui five years back, talented fourpiece The Leers have come up with something rather special with this full-length debut. From the first few bars of the psych-rock opener Does This Speak To You? it’s apparent that these guys mean business. It’s not really a question, more a statement of intent – this is going to be big, bold, and ballsy. Exactly the sort of thing a band needs in order to make the often difficult transition from student radio exposure to wider-reaching crossover success. It may have taken a few years to get here, but The Leers’ debut arrives fully formed and full of swagger.

A lot of that is surely down to the sumptuous production of Sven Petterson (The Checks) and the work of engineer Ben Lawson, out of Red Bull Studios, but it’s also down to the simple fact that these are quality tunes. There’s 10 of them, plus a mid-album interlude (Escapades) and a brief finale (Outro), each offering up something slightly different, with the unrepentant pop hooks found on the likes of Fool and Easy Love leaving the biggest impression. Vocalist Matt Bidois carries these songs well. His voice booms at times, yet he’s just as capable of subtle shifts to reveal a more fragile hue when required. The rhythm duo are tight, the guitar playing of James Kippenberger is uncompromising and frequently a stand-out, but perhaps the best thing about this album is that it’s completely devoid of any filler whatsoever. On this form, The Leers could turn out to be quite big. Stadium-sized even. s -ICHAEL (OLLYWOOD

tighter performances and crisper production. Known as a raucous live act, The Conjurors have successfully kept the power and intensity of their live performances in their recordings, and ‘Hints’ is jam-packed with energy. The five songs aren’t shabby either, filled with power pop guitar riffs and hook-filled melodies. Check out There I Go Again for a ’60s influenced version of garage-pop songwriting, while closing track Happy Place starts off with a reggae vibe, then develops into a spacey prog-rock drone, before heading back to psychedelic reggae. Recorded by Castelow and mixed by Ollie Harmer at The Lab, the sound is impressive with clear production and all instruments mixed and balanced well. Available on vinyl and Bandcamp, ‘Hints’ is a blast from start to finish. s !MANDA -ILLS

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Reading like a how-to guide for lovers of ol’ time music, Dunedinbased King Leo’s latest outing does what it says on the inside cover, ‘may this music revive and rejuvenate’. Combining a love of boogie-woogie, soul, doo wop, country, jazz, blues and ’50s rock n roll, it’s easy to see Virginia-born Leo LaDell is the real deal.

He’s been on stage with Bo Diddley and Pinetop Perkins, and this is real southern revival that swings as much as it swoons, straight from the source. Heaven’s Right Here with its southern Baptist call and response vocal and Memphis sax solos could easily be mistaken for a early Ray Charles’ standard, whilst Prisoner sounds like a long lost B.B King live cut.

Recorded by Danny Buchanan at Albany St. Studios, produced and mixed by John Egenes at Red Planet, care has been made to stay true to the songs’ authentic sound. LaDell (vocals, guitar, bass, harmonica, piano and organ), Vernon Sawers (bass), Jim Strang (drums), Stevie Rice (tenor and baritone sax) and Ralph Miller on trumpet sound like they have decades of touring under their belts. Firing on all cylinders they sound like true survivors of the Chess Records’ era, stripped back they sound like the perfect Muscle Shoals’ session band. Closing instrumental Peanut Slab maybe provides the best example of King Leo’s sound, with its Duane Eddy guitar tone, ¾ dancehall waltz and fiery harmonica, it’s the kind of tune The Allman Brothers would have been happy to have written. Combining north and south might be their greatest strength, but bringing it all to our shores is their greatest gift. s 3AMMY *AY $AWSON

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Auckland piano-playing songwriter Craig Hallen documents his original catalogue with this debut album. His fluid playing weaves its way through a range of styles including reflective ballads, funky piano rock and up beat acoustic mood music.

Primarily Hallen is a storyteller and his widely varied styles of music allows him to do this successfully. From the opening bars his confident accompaniment supports a very Kiwi approach to his vocal delivery. The song arrangements are deliberate, sometimes to the detriment of potential mystery in what lies ahead. The Light And The Darkness is a great energetic opening track and along with the driving chorus and narrative approach of Holding On, Hallen manages to avoid low points in the listening, though his songs seem to warrant being enjoyed in a live setting. s 3TU %DWARDS

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Auckland five-piece band The Conjurors was formed by vocalist Matthew Crawley a few years ago, after his previous band, The Cosbys, disbanded. Enter writer (former Ruby Sun and Brunettes’ band member) Gareth Shute on bass and vocals, Eddie Castelow (Dictaphone Blues) on drums, Teenwolf’s Brad Fafejta on guitar and vox, and Vincent Lum (The Whipping Cats) on organ and vox, and you have a supergroup of sorts, playing a unique (and fun) brand of Goth-surf rock. ‘Hints’ is their second EP (after 2013’s ‘Six Trials of Hercules’), and the band have refined their sound, with

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(/,,)% 3-)4( 7ATER /R 'OLD From the sweet scatted intro of Hollie Smithâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s voice on the opening title track to the end of the album, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Water Or Goldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; takes us on a big emotional journey. The big band sound grooving with big emphatic hooks and stylistic time changes reminds me of â&#x20AC;&#x2122;70s soul, mixed with Aotearoa goodness. Holding On in particular had me nodding my head and singing along. The album slows down in the middle with Anymore, Smith pushing her vocals as the song crescendos and resolves. Poor On Poor has a political edge with commentary about rich getting richer, helped along by a slow driving funky beat and purposeful vocals. Lead The Way brings some hard blues style with Jol Mulhollandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dirty guitar riff, Darren Mathiassenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s simplistic four on the floor bass drum and Marika Hodgson a bass riff that opens up into a dirty jam. The placement of Helena after that is perfect as Smith cradles us on a journey about her close friend who very publicly died of breast cancer during the albumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development. Confident, almost exultant production lifts this undoubtedly emotional track well above being maudlin to surprisingly be an album highlight. This album seems more personal than her previous, with life and death evident inspirations. Recording of the 11 tracks was apparently quite rushed, ahead of the scheduled mixing in New York by ex-pat Kiwi Aaron Nevezie, but that certainly isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t apparent. Crossing the floor from soul to jazz to blues and back again, Âź7>Ă&#x152;iĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x160;"Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x160; Â&#x153;Â?`½Ă&#x160;VÂ&#x153;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x192;Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x192;Ă&#x152;iÂ&#x2DC;Ă&#x152;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x192;Â&#x2026;Â&#x153;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x192;Ă&#x160;Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x192;iÂ?vĂ&#x160;Ă&#x152;Â&#x2026;iĂ&#x160;Â?>Ă&#x152;Ă&#x152;iĂ&#x20AC;°Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*AMIE -C#ASKILL

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This latest Muzai Recordsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; release is a drums/keyboard/bass punk trio from Tauranga. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no guitar in there.

This leaves Austin, the bassist, free to perpetrate some driving Mike Watt-style bass lines while keyboardist Luke gets a whole lot of room to cut loose with crazy synth noises. Another thing, it leaves a lot of sonic room for the vocals, so even when things get rowdy the lyrics donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get lost in the mix, unlike almost every band with a distorted guitar in the line up. This is extremely refreshing. Makes you wonder why more people arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t doing it. The band have an aggressive sound but still cram in a lot of melody, with some great angular post punk basslines on a few songs. Stefanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drum beats are interesting without falling into the trap of being so willfully â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;differentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; that they stop serving the song. There are some cool dirty keyboard sounds happening too. To top it all off, they might be the only band around whose description on Facebook is written as a parody of the Beverly Hillbilliesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; theme song.

That deserves your attention, surely? s "ING 4URKBY

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Maple Syrup is Wellingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest indie-punk band with an energetic sound influenced by and likely to tear up the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thriving independent gig scene. Lead singer Vera Ellen Williams fronts the band with clear and concise songwriting, the debut EP like a more punky version of Courtney Barnettâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s laid back vocal style. Heavy punk riffing on tracks like King Is Dead call back to pop-punk bands of the mid-2000s, while guitar lines wander through the album with a Flying Nun-esque clarity.

Jittery drum rhythms spice things up a bit, adding excitement to the bandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s straightforward sensibility. Maple Syrup has a sound thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s becoming more and more popular, and while not much new territory is explored here the groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s honest enthusiasm wins out. The recordings by Adele McArtney and David Trail at Tsunami Sound Studios are fresh and tight.

They sound lively and full, a complete sound that new bands often fail to achieve on a `iLĂ&#x2022;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x20AC;iÂ?i>Ă&#x192;i°Ă&#x160;U /LLY #LIFTON

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Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve entered the whisky-stained, smoke-filled Roundhouse Public House on a dark British day in the 1950s, and as you ask the bartender for another, just like clockwork, the brushes start up on Leaving You Blues. With eyes closed, you can hear vocal hints of Roy Orbison and dual blues guitar licks. Like a time machine, your eyes open and you find reality is that you are in a north Auckland blues bar listening to the musical stylings of Riverhead Slide. Slide guitarist Steve Wigglesworth shares the lead vocals with smooth and sassy Gael Ludlow, backed with clean and cleverly crafted drum

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rhythms from Pete Ludlow, Nigel Major mainly on lead guitar, Murray Finerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bass, plus guest performers including Mike Jensen on various keys and Walter Bianco delivering some honking saxophone solos. A well-oiled ensemble keeping blues well and truly alive, carrying great energy in a majority of tracks somewhat lifting the typical feeling of being blue.

Big Smoke Blues holds jazzy notes with Walterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s subtily seducing saxophone. Wedding Ring reflects some of the Motown gospel tones in Ludlowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vocals, using low, cooly repetitive lines at the end of the track depicting a close encounter with a revival. Recorded at Roundhead Studios over a long weekend, with Jordan stone and Ben Malone engineering, the vocal mixing is effective and simple. A great album for the not-so-quiet backyard soiree with family and friends. s (OLLY -C'EORGE

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If being completely carried away and coated in a disconnected reality is something you like to feel while listening to music, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Christmasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; may well be an album for you. The ethereal album cover photographed by Louis Reeve, also on guitar and voice, exactly portrays the dreamlike world Lilahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music gives you a window into. Christian Williams plays drums, with Jo Cain on bass, tapes and moog, and Louis Reeve on guitar and filtered voice. After introducing themselves with a debut self-titled album in 2014, the Wellington trio have stayed true to their alternative, artful punk style.

Cain and Reeve share the recording and production credits, with Cainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tracks apparently recorded to cassette, the nine tracks presenting a range of songs that truly transports the listener. Instrumental Belles and L.L consist of slow beats and repetitive melodies built on unresolved chords that create a mysterious and droney sound, while more upbeat tracks like Felt In The Throes build on subdued guitar riffs that lead mellow energy constantly throughout the full piece. With all lyrics written by Reeve and the music co-written with Cain, the nine track album evidences a lot of hard work to create a surprisingly diverse collection of hypnotic material that leaves you very engaged. s 3AM 6EGAR

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Christchurch songsmith Aaron Dutton cuts a clear and inspired line with the delivery of his debut album, a confident collection of well recorded tracks. With a hint of country, inspired lyrical direction and plenty of rocking folk, these 10 songs are well chosen and work well together. Duttonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s storylines draw you in, and with only a little hint of Kiwi in the delivery the songs keep you guessing on the origins of the artist. The Men Who Cut The Deals and the title track are confident highlights. Amongst the ballads and brooding moments, Black Gold Mine breaks up the playlist nicely with its reflective lyrics and effervescent instrumentation. His disregard of conventional lyric rhyme schemes throughout is intriguing but somehow it works. The choice to release exclusively online to iTunes and Spotify demonstrates Dutton is in touch with his target audience and deserves any click-throughs that this approach generates. s 3TU %DWARDS

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Taking just 37 minutes over 11 harmonious tracks, Dave Dobbyn shows clearly and concisely that he remains a songwriter of stirring consequence -â&#x20AC;&#x201C; despite the themes of the well-named â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Harmony Houseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; being largely the comfortable nature of his mature home life and surety of his spiritual beliefs. Perhaps it was just that easy comfort that inspired him to bring Phoenix Foundationers Sam Flynn Scott and Luke Buda in to produce this long awaited (eight years since his somewhat forgotten last) album. Opener Waiting For A Voice provides immediate evidence of their successful union, a driven full band attack with Dobbynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vocals unusually strident and exultant. The brave top-end vocal reaching on Ball Of Light later, plus several shared song credits, provides more evidence that he was at times pushed by the collaboration. Lots of strummed acoustic guitar with the electrics used more for artful decoration, drums up front and busy, rich and intricate sonic flourishes a la PF â&#x20AC;&#x201C; all enhancing the anthemic lyricism on show. In the albumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s title closing track Dobbynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own voice is suffused in a suitably rich multi-voice harmony, while the quirkiness of his collaborators glows through in turning a song that repeatedly uses the word â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;sadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; into a bouncing, nearly upbeat tune.

A sure-footed return to form that, despite being very personal, will quite likely provide some future game day crowd pleasers. UĂ&#x160;0EDRO 3ANTOS

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The first thing that strikes you in Jesse Willâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Every Threadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is the sound of his guitar. Squeaky, raw and clean, it sounds like itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been recorded up close and personal, setting the tone for this intimate and fragile suite of folk songs. The now London-based former MAINZ student is clearly a strong songwriter. He doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stray too far from the folk formula but this plays to his strengths. The four songs on this well-produced EP consist mainly of guitar and vocals, with percussion largely absent.

However solo violin, piano and rhythm sections tastefully creep in and out of the mix. These moments make the album feel more than just a solo singer/songwriter effort, and set Wills apart from the myriad of solo folk artists out there. Let Me Be Broken (Leaves That Fall) nearly goes full folk-rock for a moment, but Willâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music is at its best in its more simple and refined moments. Another noteworthy track is a cover of Taylor Swiftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Shake It Off. His video for the song was shared by Swift and has had nearly half a million views. Given that boost to his profile and the current popularity of simple folk stylings, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s likely we will LiĂ&#x160;Â&#x2026;i>Ă&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;}Ă&#x160;>Ă&#x160;Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x160;Â&#x201C;Â&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;iĂ&#x160;Â&#x153;vĂ&#x160; iĂ&#x192;Ă&#x192;iĂ&#x160;7Â&#x2C6;Â?Â?Ă&#x160;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x152;Â&#x2026;iĂ&#x160;vĂ&#x2022;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x20AC;i°Ă&#x160;U /LLY #LIFTON

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Nelson quintet Urban appear to be something of a democracy when you consider their songwriting credits. Over the course of their 10 song debut album, nearly the whole band contributes a song or two. Interestingly lead singer Betsy Hill is the exception.

Guitarist David Turnhout, bassist Mat Charles, drummer Richard Bradley and keyboardist Anne Rijnink share the writing and add backing vocals, in some instances taking the lead. Recorded at Bay City and StudioBox in Nelson, the tone of the album is influenced heavily by Hillâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vocals, which invoke a sense of early Marianne Faithful. The band acquit themselves well, moving between restrained folk stylings and more verbose rock manoeuvres. Turnhoutâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guitar parts are especially pleasing with some deft melodic and modal touches. It is hard to single out one track but the closer Floating is something special, with a restrained backing and a well-crafted lyric, choral backing vocals and refreshingly melodic lead it sits comfortably next to the other highlights on the record like Cynic and New Song. When a band has so many accomplished writers, players and vocalists on board we can hope for the best, and this is a great start. s $ARRYL +IRK

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A response to the perceived decay in the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s social situations in the 20th and 21st centuries, this is an intense listen. Guitarist and writer Richard Leschen has tackled such topics as Nazi death camps (A Place Between), sex slavery (Guide To Ravens) and particle physics (Every Heart Every Star), all with a sparsely arranged musical backdrop. The Tuxedo Folk Band trio (Leschen, bassist Eamon Edmundson-Wells and vocalist/wind-instrumentalist Yvette Audain) have backgrounds in folk, jazz and classical music, especially evident on the longest tracks, Katherine, and A Place Between, both of which feature sections of free improvisation. Leschenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s acoustic guitar, and folk style is the base for all the songs, especially the finger-picked instrumental S21, though with an ominous musical background and sparse vocal arrangement, Divinity Winds promises something a little more sophisticated, both structurally and aurally. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Skyless Countriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; was recorded live at Tsunami Studios, and the performances of the trio are polished and deft, though peculiarly lacking in passion. For an album so obviously personal, the detachment between performance and lyrical theme is hard to reconcile. s !MANDA -ILLS

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Mice On Stilts have created something rather special. Undoubtedly cut from the same cloth as the likes of Stephen Wilson/The Porcupine Tree â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a true compliment rather than an accusation of any kind of plagiarism. Likewise, suggestions of early Pink Floyd etc., really just giving a bit of an idea as to pace, scope and musical vision. Call it prog rock or doom folk... if you know Wilsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s canon, this is all that and more. The line up of the band has changed since the bandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2013 debut EP â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;An Ocean Held Meâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, and so has the sound. Of the original line up, apart from songwriter Benjamin Morley on guitar and vocals, only Tim Burrows (who produced and engineered â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;AOHMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, now on on bass) and Rob Sanders on drums remain. This is a cinematic-quality

release, with layers that gradually reveal themselves â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and without overstated bombast of any kind. More, gentle, introspective, intimate and honest. Overall though the album does lack dynamics, ups to contrast the downs â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and while the linearity throughout makes for fantastic background-listening it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t beg for radio play. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Hope For A Mourningâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is bleaker than its predecessor. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t look for pop here, rather the soundtrack of a dark art house movie thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s yet to be made. As a songwriter, Morley knows how to dip into the dark side of his mind, for both lyrics and melodies. A stalwart of Aucklandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s live scene, he has the genre of ambient doom folk down to a t. s !NIA 'LOWACZ

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Taranaki composer Matt Sagen has described himself as a 41-year-old composer disguised as a desk jockey who was pulled out from behind his desk and shoved on stage. What MultiPlayer have created is a fresh, quirky and skillful NZ album. The title track lets us in on what type of musical journey we are on. With quick fire lyrics, skillfully sung by Lauren Nottingham, the track breaks into a half time chorus that is original and tasteful. The album takes time out in the track called Sovereign, commenting on the world changing and still having a home in the process. Room For A Spin brings the album into skillful and smooth Jazz with a mix of scatting and rapping.

Sagenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lead vocals are a nice change in this track, interpreting his own lyrics and skillful word play. Stylistically its a fusion of jazz timing, punk, rock and musical theatre. With Nottingham singing and Jacob Randall on drums, Sagen himself adds keyboards, guitar, bass and vocals, Mixed by David Carnahan and mastered by Mike Gibson, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Once The Show i}Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x192;½Ă&#x160;iĂ?ÂŤÂ&#x153;Ă&#x192;iĂ&#x192;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x152;>Â?iÂ&#x2DC;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x152;Â&#x2026;>Ă&#x152;½Ă&#x192;Ă&#x160;Â&#x2DC;Â&#x153;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x160;L>Ă&#x192;i`Ă&#x160;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x160;Â&#x153;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x160;Â&#x201C;>Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x160;ViÂ&#x2DC;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x20AC;iĂ&#x192;°Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*AMIE -C#ASKILL

6%2/.)#! '2!#% 6ERONICA 'RACE

Age should never be the focus of a review, but at 14 years of age, Aucklandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Veronica Grace is definitely heading in the right direction with her self-titled album debut. Right off the cuff, her fresh yet sultry voice inspires a silver lining to her lyrics. Moulding country with airy pop gives the relatable references to Taylor Swift, our own Jamie McDell and the earlier influences of Brooke Fraser. A soft, non-offensive sound that can take you on a bare-foot walk amongst tall grass and sand on a sunny day. The use of fluid, lyrical story lines makes each track malleable to the imagination. Cleverly placed instruments including a nicely uncomplicated rhythm section made up of light percussion and acoustic guitar with occasional banjo woven into parts of some tracks, such as the opener Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll See You Again. The album structure reveals the pureness of the vision this young artist has. Sagacious guidance likely came from recording musicians including producer Jesse Wilde, Stephen Small â&#x20AC;&#x201C; who remixed Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t You See and Fairytale, and Tom Healy, who mixed the albumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s final track Daisy Chains, allowing more hints of bass and lifting the final lyrical message of independence. This album definitely provides Grace with a strong head start into her musical career. s (OLLY -C'EORGE

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This impossibly tight â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;outsider punkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; duo (just drums and bass, with vocals by both performers) can always be counted on to deliver a blasting collection of thought-provoking songs. Recorded at Munki Studios, this release handily showcases the power of the band while keeping the vocals clear enough to be easily understood, which is a huge part of the Assembly experience. This is songwriting with a mission to change the world, commenting on injustice and pointing out the ludicrous. At the same time the songs are musically adventurous, with all the willful unconformity of Mike Wattâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dos, but an extra tablespoonful of audacious creativity and sheer talent. Odd time signatures are just normal for Mr Sterile Assembly. They deliver them naturally, rather than as an affected gimmick, because all of this would be irrelevant if it was approached as just a math exercise. The form follows the function of the song. Sometimes that manifests as an a capella section, other times itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a flurry of distorted bass notes. A jolt of pure creative spirit married to social commentary, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also damn good rocking fun! s "ING 4URKBY To submit your album or EP for review in Fresh-Cut, please send TWO copies along with a brief bio to NZ Musician, PO Box 99-315, Newmarket, Auckland 1149. It must be available for sale and only CDs provided with completed artwork are forwarded for review.

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Seeking the Secrets of Top 20 Success

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ooking at the NZ music Top 20 (NZ artists ranked by sales) singles chart recently I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t help noticing that it looked very similar to the Top 20 chart I observed a month (actually year) or two back.

Many of the songs currently attaining mainstream appreciation have a great deal of longevity, which surely means theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re cleverly constructed to encourage repeat listens via extreme fan base loyalty. I narrowed my focus to investigate a manageable data range of just 10 popular songs in the current NZ music Top 20 that have charted for at least 24 weeks or more.

I was eager to see if they shared some secret rhythmic ingredient or common melodic spice â&#x20AC;&#x201C; other than just being written by Six60â&#x20AC;Ś Overall, there was very little weekly vertical shift in the rankings of the songs I chose to analyse. As of the week ending March 19, 2016 all songs on my list had either moved up or down by one place or hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t moved from the previous week. Once an artist gets a foothold in the mainstream chart it seems that they can plateau for a considerable length of time through combined radio play and downloads.

Not surprisingly, similar themes of favouritism play out in comparably sized markets, like Ireland, with homegrown favourite Hozier racking up a 129 week stint in the Irish charts with Take Me To Church for example.

I listened out for some factors first itemised in a column about the APRA Silver Scrolls in a previous NZ Musician issue. Namely, tempo, key, range of melody (how easy it is to sing) complexity of melody/harmony/form and singers gender. I find these details are broad enough to offer a basic snapshot of the songsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; accessibility to the mainstream without getting into lyrical content and style/genre. Other

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important factors such as the first chorus time stamp help to narrow down what we Kiwis find most appealing to consume aurally.

So what is it that inspires mainstream listeners to latch on to certain NZ songs? And why is there a disproportionate number of Six60 in the list? An artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s media exposure (international helps!) and ability to tour regularly would certainly make a difference in a small country like NZ, but is there anything inherently musical that makes us take more notice of songs in particular?

The first standout anomaly in this song set is the dance/rap hybrid Freaks, the only song with rap delivery and a single static ostinato melodic hook throughout. It is also the shortest song, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pounding brevity helped by cleverly starting with a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;hookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; chorus.

The similar chord structures of earlier Six60 tracks Only To Be and Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Forget Your Roots stand out, as does the formerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s song length and late (comparatively) chorus entry, plus its low â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;sung to silentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; chorus ratio.* There are fewer unconventional musical measurements in later Six60 offerings but one consistent and peculiar habit appears to be the starting note of the chorus melody in the majority of Six60 songs.

Conventionally this all-important note is most usually the tonic, third or perfect 5th of the chorusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; starting chord. Six60, in contrast, insist on more complex upper structure launch points like the 7th and most often, 9th. The former Dunedinites usually get away with it because that all important first note is often a 1st, 3rd or 5th chord-tone from the root key signature. Special and So High however, are notable exceptions and stray from convention entirely.

By and large most songs in the list are built

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on mid range tempos with only Freaks and White Lines bucking the trend. The latter song also wins the award for simultaneously presenting the most complex chord structure while supporting the simplest melodic chorus hook.

The most interesting observation for me is that Six60 seem to have cornered the market for mainstream listeners without any one secret song ingredient. Lyrically they focus on love and loss and empowerment much the same as everyone else. They can construct both simple and complicated melodic choruses and also branch out into wilder tempos every now and again. The songs are by and large structurally solid, but not microscopically-sculpted like the shiny chrome-pop of Max Martin.

Perhaps thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why they are so beloved by us, we recognise them as one of the team, a little rough round the edges, always up for a good four-chord trick and generally a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;choiceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; choice, whatever the occasion. * The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Sung/Silent ratioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is a small glimpse of a chorusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; lyrical density. Take the first 16 beats (four measures) of a chorus and count how many beats are taken up with singing or silence. Semi-quaver pickups are negligible but factor in half beats. Applying this to all pop songs results in a database that shows a greater majority of hit songs having a high ratio of sung/silence choruses, 14â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2 or 12â&#x20AC;&#x201C;4 etc.

Godfrey de Grut is a Silver Scroll co-winner with Che Fu, MD of the 2013 & 2015 Silver Scrolls and co-artistic director of Coca Cola Christmas in the Park 2015. He is a freelance writer, arranger and producer, lecturing in popular music studies at the University of Auckland. Follow his musical ramblings @GodfreyDeGrut on Twitter or email godfrey.degrut@gmail.com

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Hollie Smith

It’s been a decade since Hollie Smith bounded into the nation’s view with that song about bathing outdoors, and nine years since the release of her debut album ‘Long Player’ – which went on to win her a set of four 2007 Tui’s and sell upwards of 30,000 copies – double platinum. As its name suggests, her 2011 follow up, ‘Band of Brothers, Vol: 1., written and recorded alongside Mara TK, was billed as the first of an exploratory collaborative series – but here we are five years on with a third ‘solo’ album. Hollie Smith tells NZM’s Melanie Stevenson that she just hopes people will give ‘Water Or Gold’ a try, and listen to it in its entirety – like in the old days, when people used to listen to albums.

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hile eternally grateful for the opportunity to perform such a successful song, Hollie Smith still can’t escape a legacy that is not really hers, or help but wonder what would have happened if her 2007 album ‘Long Player’ had been released first – before a Don McGlashan track made her world famous in New Zealand.

“I had just written this album which wasn’t dissimilar to Bathe In The River, and I had been working [in the industry] for 10 years prior to that, and it felt like Bathe In The River came in and stole the thunder a little bit. No one had really done the gospel thing before which is what my first record heavily was.

“I think I was like, ‘Oh I’m just going to be known for that song forever now instead of my stuff,’ so that was where it was bitter sweet. But I am so lucky to have been a part of it and I was grateful for the opportunity.

“I always loved singing it, I just sort of refused to for a while,” she laughs. “Because I was guns-blazing 23 and it was all about me.”

Perhaps I was naive in thinking that same guns-blazing Hollie Smith was who I would be interviewing at her Tauranga home. She certainly doesn’t look to have aged much in 10 years, and that husky voice and unabashed laugh are still the same, but the once bullet-proof party girl has moved on. The Hollie Smith of now is somewhat philosophical, considered and apparently happy taking life as it comes – even when it comes to her new album, ‘Water Or Gold’.

“I just hope people will give it a little listen and give it a try. And listen to it properly, maybe a couple of times because my songs aren’t mainstream radio-friendly hits. You’re not going to listen to it once and go, ‘Wow’, unless it’s something that particularly resonates with you.

“So I think it’s an album you have to have a couple of listens to, and it’s like my other albums in that respect. I don’t blast out the pop songs so it needs a bit of a chance. Hopefully people will listen to it and if they dig it, spread the word a little bit.”

Many of us are forced to grow up when our 20s are over and we face responsibilities of one sort or another, and Smith has had more than her fair share of ups and downs over the last while. She moved to Tauranga

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almost four years ago to help raise her now ex-partner’s son, and says that experience has made her a more positive person and a lot happier. Last year she nursed best friend Helena McAlpine before she died after a long and often public battle with breast cancer. Following McAlpine’s death, Smith spent two hectic months putting together ‘Water Or Gold’.

“It’s been a pretty tricky year,” she acknowledges with understated honesty. “It was hard to gain momentum with this record because of all the personal things that were happening.

“I think this was probably good because I don’t think I have ever had something distract me that heavily. Looking after Helena and nursing her was probably the first time in 10 years that I’ve actually sat down for more than a few days and not once thought about music at all. Ever. And it was actually quite an amazing feeling. Everything was just at such a crazy level there wasn’t anything about it that triggered any kind of work reaction... It was quite a miracle I pulled this record off!” she laughs.

It has been six years since she last released a solo album, 2010’s ‘Humour and the Misfortune of Others’ following three years after her multiple award-winning ‘Long Player’ debut. ‘Water Or Gold’ proves different to those previous offerings, grittier and seeming to pack more of a punch. It still has the soulful ballad tracks that have that specific Hollie Smith sound, but also has much more of a rock/blues element, and more.

“I’ve written a lot more on guitar for this record so it changes the dynamic quite a bit,” she explains. “It’s a little bit more riff-orientated, as opposed to when I write on keyboard which is jazzier and chordorientated. This has simplified things a little bit, which has been quite good. The songs are a bit simpler which forces me to sing a bit simpler as well. I’m not adlibbing over lots of chords. It’s actually feeling a bit

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more structured, specifically with the songwriting. There are definitely a few more ‘up’ tracks in there.

“There are not really any songs that are the same. You’ve got rockier ones then you’ve got really quirky ones and a poppy kind of disco-y one and then your typical kind of gospel ballad… They seem to fit together which is great, but they are individually different tracks and I like the diversity of it.”

Another reason for the difference in sound stems from financial limitations, which in turn influenced the way the album was put together. Her two previous albums were recorded live in a studio, through analogue gear, while this one was essentially done digitally, Smith working closely with her long-standing rhythm guide Darren Mathiassen.

“He was the one collecting all the pieces,” she says of the Wellington-based Shapeshifter drummer.

The album also features Marika Hodgson, “…one of my favourite all-time bass players in the world,” and Daniel Hayles on keys and horns. Jol Mulholland, who produced Hollie Smith, Anika Moa and Boh Runga’s 2013 album ‘Peace of Mind’, helped out on guitar, as did Black Seeds’ Mike Fabulous. Smith’s dad also guested on guitar.

“There’s this one track, Water Or Gold, that we’ve comped together about four of five guitarists because we kept going, ‘Oh it’s not quite right,’ so we spliced them all together.”

After finishing the recording late last year, Smith decided to travel to New York where the album was mixed by Kiwi producer and engineer Aaron Nevezie (The Black Keys, Danger Mouse). She admits to not feeling that confident about the album prior to mixing – and being pleasantly surprised since.

“I kind’a had to go. Just the way the recording evolved – it was a bit of a jigsaw puzzle so I needed to really get the sound done properly in post because it was all over the place. It wasn’t how I normally work, so I didn’t feel comfortable sending it off. I had to pull on a little bit more of the production value in post production than what I would normally do.

“It’s funny because when I was making the album, and through the whole process I thought, ‘Nope, this isn’t good enough,’ and I didn’t like it at all. Even after the mix I was pretty unconvinced. But I’ve listened to it a few times now and I think it is probably the best record I’ve done. There are songs that I love on all my records but I think the energy on this one’s a bit different. I just hope that people listen to it in its entirety. Like in the old days, when people used to listen to albums.

“I’m curious to see how it’s received. I don’t know what to expect on that one because it’s been a minute, so I don’t even know how many people are even going to listen to it! I’m hoping more than a couple!” she laughs generously.

Following a local album promo tour Smith is considering packing her bags and heading once again to New York, where she first went to sign with Blue Note a full decade ago.

“I’m just seeing what happens with this

“It’s funny because when I was making the album, and through the whole process I thought, ‘Nope, this isn’t good enough,’ and I didn’t like it at all. Even after the mix I was pretty unconvinced. But I’ve listened to it a few times now and I think it is probably the best record I’ve done.” record here, and will maybe aim to get over there next year for a little while. There are a couple of people I was working with and am still in touch with who live there.

“I’m not thinking that things are going to happen overnight, but at this point I’ve got nothing to lose. I’ve got no money, no anything in that regard. I haven’t got any personal

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obligations basically at the moment which has all changed quite significantly to where I was six months ago, so I’ve really got nothing to lose, and if I gain anything it will be cool to get away, even if nothing else.” lllYGSMMJ9`OJgGY3SYPp

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Phil Broadhurst

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I’ve been closely involved with, like [guitarist] Auckland based pianist n the last fewjazz articles I’ve Phil beenBroadhurst talking about certain things that can Martin Winch, so that that title track is dedicated to stall a NZ guitar player’s musical another one wonslow thisoryear’s Music Awards’ Jazzgrowth, Tui and him. IMany used to have a band with Martin and Kim to mind is the of simple would-be for comes the third album in learning his loosely termedmelodies. inisthe 1970s and we called the band guitarists think that learning simple melodies whenPatterson they begin boring, Dedication trilogy ‘Panacea’. NZM’s Aleisha Panacea, but there or at least not worthy of their time. Actually, doing some of these littlewas never a song called Ward met with Broadhurst to discuss his win Panacea until now.” exercises is not only real fun, but your songwriting will improve and your and what up to next. addition to being an active performer soloing willhe’s go through the roof – just to mention a fewInbenefits.

Broadhurst is also Ever had an idea for a song or a solo, then when you sat down anda lecturer at the Massey jazzonto programme and host of the long hework first ittwo in Phil get Broadhurst’s tried to out,albums you couldn’t it out of yourAlbany head and your running (23 students years) radio show The Art of Jazz, Dedication trilogy – ‘Delayed Reaction’ paper? instrument, recording device or manuscript/tab Many Radio but NZ the Concert. and ‘Flaubert’s Dance’ (2013) ask me(2011) to help them with a song or solo they–have on in mind, bad As such he has a unique ofto jazz here. were is both nominated winning news I can’t hear whatfor is inJazz theirTuis, head, so can’t be overview of any help them.

“Thewill state of jazz theThe Tui good this year Broadhurst likens histime win and withpractice you news is that with a little be able to in NZ is that it comes and goes,etc., andthat it’s are invariably hard to pin down ‘Panacea’ to Peter Jackson winning Oscar work out those little melodies, chord the progressions, rhythms, exactly going for Lord around of the Rings Part 3. mind. All you have to do flowing in your artistic to getwhat’s started is to to happen in the future.

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chance to play. That’s the other problem, we all enjoy it too much so we don’t worry as much as we should about the money. We’re by no means unique in this in NZ though – it happens everywhere” Keeping venues going is another issue he identifies as challenging the local jazz scene.

“It’s no good having a whole bunch of student musicians playing on the street, you need the venues. And if the venues are only concerned about making money on the bar, then in the end you’re going to have a problem.

Jazz audiences now are there to listen to the music, rather than drink, and that’s a huge change. We didn’t used to have that, even 10 years ago, but we’ve got it now… because you’re often paying money to get in, so why wouldn’t you listen?

“Maybe the answer is to go even further. The CJC experimented recently with having two distinct sets, so maybe we need to move to the New York style with multiple sets per night, and have a drinks minimum, and then you satisfy the bar staff more.”

Because his Dedication trilogy spanned several years Broadhurst says he’s looking at different possible directions to take.

“I’m going to try and do something with Julie [Mason]. I’ll write some music, she’ll write some lyrics and we’ll do some vocal stuff. We’re going to Europe next year, possibly for a year since my job at Massey is winding up at the end of this year. We might line up some gigs while we’re there. If the radio show continues, I might also do that from there as well.”

HVJUBS DPPM HVJUBS DPPM with Kevin Downing

Learning Simple Melodies

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n the last few articles I’ve been talking about certain things that can slow or stall a guitar player’s musical growth, and another one that comes to mind is the learning of simple melodies. Many would-be guitarists think that learning simple melodies when they begin is boring, or at least not worthy of their time. Actually, doing some of these little exercises is not only real fun, but your songwriting will improve and your soloing will go through the roof – just to mention a few benefits.

Ever had an idea for a song or a solo, then when you sat down and tried to work it out, you couldn’t get it out of your head and onto your instrument, recording device or manuscript/tab paper? Many students

ask me to help them with a song or solo they have in mind, but the bad news is I can’t hear what is in their head, so can’t be of any help to them.

The good news is that with a little time and practice you will be able to work out those little melodies, chord progressions, rhythms, etc., that are flowing around in your artistic mind. All you have to do to get started is to follow these little exercises.

It is best to start with simple melodies that contain only a few notes as in Examples 1 and 2. If you play Example 1 you will find that is a simple little melody you will have heard before, called Jingle Bells. Example 2 is Skip To My Lou and no doubt you have heard that one too. There are millions of little melodies like this around to many popular songs. Many songs in the Top 40 are just simple little melodies like these that cover eight bars.

Now here is what you do to get started. Play through Example 1 and commit it to memory. Once you have it down then see if you can play it starting from a different note on your guitar – start with D, then F, then G etc. It might not be easy to begin, but hang in there and you will soon benefit, as this will help you establish an ear for working out simple melodies.

For Example 2, learn the melody and have it memorised as well. Then see if you can transpose it starting from the note G, then A, then B, etc., similar to what you did with Example 1.

The next thing is to think of some other simple melodies you have heard before and try to work them out by ear, just as you did learning these ones, starting from different notes.

For players who are at an intermediate level, a cool thing to do is see if you can play these melodies on only one string – the first string. Then try doing the same on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th strings. Again, this might not be easy at first, but you will find it gets easier with practice.

Then you can play them sliding between the notes. See how you can make simple little melodies into complex sounding ones by doing simple things like this?

For more advanced players I recommend you play these melodies on just one string, but use only bending from a scale tone below to reach the correct pitch. See how you can also make simple little melodies much more complex by doing things like this? There are a million different things you can do with simple melodies, and the best part about it is that it is real fun.

Kevin Downing is a professional guitarist, teacher, and author. His contact details, along with many freebies, are on his website at www.guitar.co.nz

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Photos: Neville Porter

Tigilau Ness

The band name is a reflection of its multi-island make up on the one hand, and its musical sense of purpose on the other. The beating heart of Unity Pacific has however always been one, Nuiean-born Aucklander Tigilau Ness, legendary conscious protester and famously father of Che Fu. It would, of course, be possible to talk about the songs on his band’s new third album, ‘Blackbirder Dread’, in musical isolation, but that would risk completely missing the point, as Trevor Reekie illustrates.

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first generation New Zealander from Niuean parents, Tigilau Ness released the debut Unity Pacific album in 2003, some 20 years after forming the band. Considered the patriarch of Aotearoa reggae, Tigi and his band Unity Pacific have just released their third album called ‘Blackbirder Dread’.

It’s an album that references the cultural and personal values that have defined Tigi’s identity. His life journey has traversed many forks in the road but his “faith, family, life-long friends… and this blessed country,” have been the primary factors that have helped sustain him through the years.

Tigi looks the way he sounds. Relaxed and friendly, he carries himself with a confident modesty and self-effacing charm. His wonderful plaited white beard lends him an additional dignity that compliments his dreads.

If Charles Frederick Goldie were still around today he may well have painted Tigi’s portrait. Such is this musician’s mana.

Tigilau was named by his father who was Niuean born, but lived in Samoa for 15 years. It’s a name that is common through the Pacific, but in the legends of Niue, Tigilau was the first whale rider. Tigi himself believes it’s a name that applies to someone possessing a rebellious spirit, and given that Tigi has been a dedicated activist from a young age, it’s a name he has lived up to.

However his father died when Tigi was just six years old, and it was his mother who taught him and his two sisters how to read and write from the Niuean Bible. It was the first language in the family home.

Tigi also read much of the collected works of Shakespeare belonging to his oldest sister. Little wonder he has always been a voracious reader with a passion for words. It’s obviously the sort of self-education that later shaped his creative process. They were poor, Tigi’s mother raising her family on a widow’s benefit. She was a major influence in shaping much of the man he has become.

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“I have lived the life I have because of her,” he states plainly.

Growing up in suburban Auckland, Tigi attended Newton Central Primary School and Kowhai Intermediate,where he made his debut stage performance with a school friend singing the old Frank Ifield classic, I Remember You. Nailing the song, Tigi was applauded by the class and the teacher – the buzz for performing live starting right there in that assembly hall.

“I guess that was the start of it… being praised for doing something that I liked.”

At Mt Albert Grammar Tigi excelled in History and English and was put into an academic stream where he also learnt Latin. However, Mt Albert Grammar was also an awakening time. When his Hendrixinspired afro caused a disturbance it was to prove a major fork in the road. Despite other palagi kids having long hair, and despite trying to explain to his headmaster that long hair was part of his Niuean culture, he was cut no slack. Tigi’s

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refusal to cut his afro resulting in his expulsion, and he immediately knew he had made a terrible mistake. He had to tell his mother.

Tigi says he “…floundered around for a long time – doing nothing really,” and was eventually invited by one of his old school friends to join the Polynesian Panthers.

The Panthers placed great emphasis on insisting they weren’t a gang, and had a 10-point program that included helping new arrivals from the islands adapt into their new lives, deal with housing issues and exploitative landlords. They provided homework programs for kids, food co-operatives and distributed a free legal pamphlet on dealing with the police, written by a young David Lange.

This was the infamous era of the dawn raids. Often random, sometimes the result of information received from the public, the early morning raids conducted by the police targeted Pacific households looking for ‘over-stayers’.

The Panthers would frequently follow the police to observe and make their presence known. They also retaliated by conducting their own ‘dawn raids’ of politicians’ houses, dousing their houses with floodlights.

“I was one of those ones that went and dawn-raided Bill Birch, and I apologise again…

It must have been pretty freaky and scary at that time, but I think also about the Pacific Island and Maori people who were frightened and scared at 3am, so yes, I was guilty of dawn raiding that family out in Howick early one morning. Going out there with loud hailers and spot lights, and waking them up and demanding to see their passports.”

The legacy of the Polynesian Panthers continues to inspire generations of Islanders.

Tigi believes that history needs to be passed on to the kids, and they are still invited to talk at schools about the time because it is an important part of the history of this country.

Equally, he talks of that time having such an effect on him that he found himself entering a dark place. Encountering the music of Bob Marley, where he heard the polemics of revolution translated into a message that resonated, gave him a way forward.

“The lyrics of Bob Marley, like Get Up, Stand Up was where we were at… but we weren’t aware that the lyrics of what he was talking about was all Bible talk. We were coming at it from a political angle – Polynesian Panthers, revolution and power to the people – and then along comes Bob with the music and he’s going, ‘Jah is the power, (providing) the spiritual connection to what we were doing’. Being in that dark place, your community doesn’t like you because you are making trouble, the system doesn’t like you because you’re making trouble… who do you turn too? So that’s when I sought a higher power…”

Embracing Marley’s music, Tigi also embraced the Rastafarian faith. He was on the Land March in 1975, then part of the Bastion Pt occupation and protest, and later the anti-Springbok rugby tour protests – the closest this country has ever come to a civil war.

He was one of four people to go to prison because of his stand against apartheid during the 1981 Springbok tour, when protesters

invaded the grounds at Eden Park and violence erupted on a scale unprecedented during the entire tour. The events of September 12, 1981 are something that he says he still re-lives almost every day.

“It brings out a lot of emotions because I know there was a lot of people other than myself that were involved, and as the Bible says, ‘greater love hath no man than that he should lay down his life for his friend’. It’s that deep for me.”

The day after September 12 the police came to Tigi’s door and took him down to the central station, with a few others. He was shown photos taken during the course of the riots.

“They pointed out individuals and said, ‘This is such and such, he’s a gang member…’ so they obviously had been watching and taking photos and keeping records of who was involved. All I could say to them was, ‘No, that person is a protester protesting against apartheid.’ They would say,‘This is such, and he’s a gang leader.’‘No, he’s a protester.’ That was my answer all the time.”

Sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, he told music journalist Graham Reid, in a NZ Herald interview in 2003, that he realised he was a Rastafarian when entering prison.

“Before you go in, on the wall, there are prisoners’ rights and it’s about half an hour’s worth of reading. So I read the whole lot and close to the end it said, ‘No religious persecution’.

“There was me with my locks, not professing I was Christian, and I got up to the warden and he says, 'What religion?’ ‘Ahh, Rastafarian,’ and he wrote it down.”

Through the nine months of incarceration his faith acted as his spiritual compass, keeping him resolute.

“I will never change, ’cos God gave me the reason and the power to speak out and I must.”

“He got a raw deal, but for all that he seemed to come out of it stronger,” says his son Che. Much of the ’80s and ’90s passed creating music and taking stock of his situation, practising his faith and raising a family. But always the music. His own bands included I-Unity (prior to imprisonment), Second Power in the 1980s, Unity (reformed in early ’90s to 2001) and Unity Pacific from 2001 to the present.

With the release of ‘Blackbirder Dread’ in May Unity Pacific’s album count goes to three. Their 2003 debut, ‘From Street To Sky’, was followed by ‘Into The Dread’ in 2007. All three albums have been released by Moving Production, with his friends Prajna Moodley and David Allan.

He was applauded with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Pacific Music Awards. Tigi laughs at that memory. Clearly humbled that his life and journey has been recognised, he laughingly notes: “I also thought I was too young for this.”

‘Blackbirder Dread’ was recorded live, with minimal over-dubs, at Roundhead Studios.

Besides Tigi on lead vocals and rhythm guitar the band includes Tala Niko (percussion), Tau Harawira (rhythm keyboard), Vinnie Brbich (bass guitar, bvs and percussion), Lisiate Langi (drums), Clayton Holloway (Korg, B3 Hammond, piano, wurlitzer etc.) and Senio Brown (electric

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and acoustic guitars, lead and rhythm).

The album features a glorious track called Rock Away, a collaboration with son Che that was written before they went to Niue in 2011 to play a concert there. It’s a song both are proud off.

“I was ever so grateful that I had the opportunity to go back to my parent’s origins, and it was a completion of the cycle,” Tigi recalls. “More than anything I wanted to go Niue, just to see and feel that I am who I am.

Every child wants to know what their parents are like, which is why we have to plead for the fatherless… It’s about identity, and once we know who we are then we can go forward.

It’s the same psyche for the whole country – I believe all the immigrants who come here must find out about their roots first, bring it back here, take the best out of it and that’s the way NZ goes forward.”

Unsurprisingly, the third Unity Pacific album doesn’t shy away from protest or social commentary. The Bastion Pt occupation and the album’s opening song, Girl I Never Knew, is a tribute to both the history of this time and Joanie Hawke, the 5-year-old daughter of Alec and Miro, who died in a fire at the campsite. It's a powerful song.

Written by his life-long friend, Roger Fowler, We Are All Palestinians is about the plight of the Palestinian people. Fowler is a co-founder of Kia Ora Gaza, an organisation supporting medical aid to the people of Palestine, Gaza especially.

“I can’t rest easy here knowing and seeing what’s happening to families and children over there. It’s apartheid. I’m prepared to fight for anyone… like the Bible says, ‘relieve the oppressed, plead for the widow and the fatherless’. We have them here in NZ too, and we must realise that, we as men are responsible and have to act responsibly and change it.”

The album closes with its title track, Blackbirder Dread, a profoundly spiritual contemplation about the men, women and children stolen from their Pacific homes. It’s a dark piece of Pacific history that has never been taught in schools. The slave trade was active in the Pacific during the 1860s when blackbirding ships coerced workers to mine the guano deposits in Peru and heaven knows where else. Many never returned home. Sieke Toa Taihia’s hand drawn cover artwork for the new album is a continuum of that story.

At 60 years of age, Tigi’s lyrics remain strongly informed by the political awareness of his journey through life. His personal values and concern for standing up for individual rights, equality, peace and just plain human decency may be a more considered stance these days, but he has never deviated from his personal roots and a life well lived.

As he sings in the title track of Unity Pacific’s debut album, From Street To Sky, ‘I was born in the city, I was raised in the streets, had religion in my system, I was poisoned in my sleep... the factory was my future, and the ghetto was my grave… Look at me now.’

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