Archive for 2014

Watch: The Christmas Club - Man it feels like christmas

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We at the All Things Musical blog would like to wish all our lovely readers a happy and safe Christmas and holiday period. To get you in the season's spirit we thought we would share this video from The Christmas Club. We are unsure of who this mysterious yet wholesome band is - or where they came from - but they sure look a lot like some of the members from Auckland band Tom Lark. 

 Meri Kirihimete, Manuia le Kerisimasi, 圣诞快乐 and Happy Channukah to those currently celebrating!

 tomlarkmusic.com
Find Tom Lark on the Auckland Libraries Catalogue.

Written by: Anna C

Nadia Reid - Listen to formation, look for the signs

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Earlier this month Auckland-based singer-songwriter Nadia Reid released her second album 'Listen To Formation, Look For The Signs'. Funded from contributions through the crowdfunding platform PledgeMe, the album was recorded in Lyttleton with Ben Edwards, co-founder of Lyttleton Records.

These are beautifully crafted modern folk songs, buoyed by Nadia's self-assured, lilting delivery and an evocative sonic palette that is at once propulsive and sympathetic. Nadia's tales of love and loss are deftly illustrated by her precise and delicate songwriting. This is an intimate and transportive record from an emerging yet fully-formed talent.

To listen/buy visit: nadiareid.bandcamp.com.

Written by: Anna C

Alan Moore & Mitch Jenkins–The Show

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Author Alan Moore has always had a fairly eclectic pallet when it comes to creative endeavours. In addition to the comics he is best known for penning he has also; written a novel, Voice of the Fire, with another recently completed and awaiting publication, written and performed a number of beautiful, dense spoken word performance pieces, produced an opera libretto based on the life of Elizabethan magician John Dee, edited and financed a 'beautiful, doomed undergound magazine' Dodgem Logic and contributed  a wonderful novella, Unearthing, to the anthology London: city of disappearances , (a work which has subsequently been adapted into a CD with backing music and a coffee table photographic edition). That just a handful of the projects he has been part of over the last few years.


Another creative foray is a series of interrelated short films. Described by the man himself as occult, noir flecked pieces, they are a spooky collection and make for some unsettling viewing. The films are encompassed under the umbrella title The Show.

Made on a shoe string budget the films were financially at a disadvantage when it came to securing music for the soundtrack. Moore found the easiest way around this conundrum was to write the song lyrics himself and then hand them over to producer friends Crook and Flail to act as music wranglers. At the same time he concocted a back story and mythology for the acts that originally performed them in his twisted underside reality.


The results were a little varied but when they hit the mark they were right on, evoking a mixture of nostalgia and unease which was perfect for films set in a working mans club forever frozen in 1973.

First out of the box was the lush Queen of Midnight featuring the velvet vocals of Tunde Adebimpe masquerading as Vince Shannon & The Black Notes. The song coasts along beautifully in a romantic haze managing to evoke heartbroken Roy Orbison cruising under the influence of a Valium or two and a large gin and tonic.

Next was In the Past Again featuring Nina Invie sweetly channelling The Carpenters as The Millers, skewering contemporary pop culture and its re-treading and re-packaging of what has gone before, considerations which have run through Moores work for the last few years but never expressed so succinctly or elegantly. The video below features the storyboards for Jimmy's End, the film where the song appears. 


Far less compelling was Television Heart by Sal Roth (aka Alan Sparhawk of Low) which goes for country and comes across a little novelty. To make up for that we'll throw in a Low track which highlights what it could have been.
The songs straddle uncomfortable territory. It's a place of uneasy feeling and raw emotion, populated by seemingly deranged, maybe dangerous, residents, would-be deities and lost souls.What's surprising is, by themselves, without the arresting images and intense performances, the songs evoke their own unique character. These are not just props for a greater whole. In the Past Again is a steadfast, intensely personal, critique of our culture now, as is Strippers & Clowns, albeit in the form of a disappointed survey of the modern urban landscape. With Queen of Midnight Moore effortlessly flexes his well developed narrative muscles and delivers a compact and disturbing story of a ghostly streetwalker and her would be customer.  


Other songs can be heard on the film soundtrack, but have so far not surfaced as individual tracks, and include Dreamland, a second Vince Shannon track, Broken Dreams by Marv Cougar & The Blondes, One More Time Around by Bevan Jones, which sounds Greg Dulli if I'm being generous and James Blunt if I'm not, and an apocalyptic Strippers & Clowns which successfully transfers Joy Division to the East Midlands as False Awakenings. I'm really sorry I can't provide a video to accompany that.


The films, the songs and Moores scripts are to be packaged by Lex Records in a deluxe edition under the title Show Pieces sometime in the next couple of months. You can see all the details over at their website.




Raggamuffin VIII Festival 2014

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Raggamuffin is Australasia’s premier reggae and roots festival and features an unrivaled line-up of top international and local artists. After seven years in Rotorua, the event has found a new home in Auckland to be closer to its strong fan base.

Headliners include British reggae royalty UB40 ft Ali Campbell, Astro & Mickey Virtue, Jamaican reggae revolutionist Chronixx  and iconic hip-hop legends Ice Cube and Cypress Hill. acts also set to include leading Pacific reggae artist Fiji and Jamaican queen Etana.

They will be joined by more top-shelf Kiwi acts including Katchafire, House of Shem, Che Fu & The Kratez, Sons of Zion, Aaradhna with full band, P-Money, Sammy Johnson featuring Brownhill and Tomorrow People.

Get your name down for the new Raggamuffin VIII album to listen to these fantastic artists.

Watch: Billy Ivan - Asking

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Watch Billy's latest cool music video "Ask" set on the streets of New York. This is a preview of his new mixtape called "Compilation Tape" due to be released in the New Year.  Billy comes from Statten Island and is a hip hop/R 'n 'B/experimental artist and producer and obviously has a message to communicate. This has amazing videography that sits well with the smooth feel and thought provoking lyrics.

Watch: She's so rad - Cool it

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Auckland's favourite Shoegaze/Boogie band She's So Rad have recently released the fresh new single 'Cool It' with a very fancy video to match, featuring the Parakai Pools looking better than ever before.

The single is from the yet-unnamed forthcoming album, which follows their 2011 critically acclaimed debut release 'In Circles'. To see/hear more visit their website or find them on the Auckland Libraries Catalogue.

Written by: Anna C



Interview: Lumm

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Written by: Richard Giles

New Zealand often produces incredible music with a sense of individuality and  freshness, which comes straight from the woodwork. We have found yet another gem in Lumm, aka Lucian Manetto-Munro an Auckland based ambient-indietronica artist. Lumm's sounds are unlike anything else in the music industry, they are elaborate, vibrant and overall works of art. To support Lumm check out Lumm on SoundCloud or Lumm on Facebook. His music is currently free to check out and share!

We caught up with Lumm to understand just where the inspiration for his music comes from:

What are the inspirations for your tracks?
If anything inspires my music it would be the things around me; my friends, family, and general life.
I try not to be inspired by other peoples music, as I then tend to make songs that I am not happy with in the long run. It's important to stay true to yourself, and to not be sidetracked by phases or fads that generally end up being short-lived.

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Listen: Matthew Young

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Matthew Young is an Auckland artist producing new school R&B jams. With production and songwriting collaboration from Djeisan Suskov of Cool Rainbows, it's fresh and futuristic music that'll appeal to fans of Frank Ocean, Miguel and The Weeknd. Check it out via the Soundcloud widget above.

RIP Sam Prebble

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New Zealand's music community is mourning the recent passing of Sam Prebble. Sam was a prolific musician who lent his talents to a number of projects, culminating in the late 2013 release of his critically acclaimed Bond Street Bridge album The Explorers Club: Antarctica. Our thoughts are with his friends and family. Rest in peace Sam.

Podcast: Gareth Shute from The Conjurors

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In this episode of the All Things Musical podcast we play some live recordings from The Conjurors' performance at Auckland Libraries in May, we talk to Gareth Shute from the band about where he buys his socks, plus we listen to tracks from Scott Mannion, The Cosbys, Lawrence Arabia and the Ruby Suns. As well as being a multi-instrumentalist, Gareth has written five books which you can find in our catalogue. Head to our podcasts page to listen to the podcast via a web player, or right click and 'save as' here to download it to your computer.

Listen: Emily Edrosa EP

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Emily Littler of Street Chant has been working on solo material under the name of Emily Edrosa. With drum machine beats and sparse backing, her lyrical style comes more to the fore over six stunning tracks. It's being released digitally and on a run of 50 cassette tapes via her own Pasta Tapes label. Check it via the Soundcloud widget above.

Via Noisey.

Hype Machine tips Broods and Yumi Zouma

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Broods and Yumi Zouma
It's been a big year for Kiwi acts Broods and Yumi Zouma. The two bands have very different origins and takes on electronic pop, but have similarly found themselves darlings of the international blogosphere. While the former is a brother/sister duo produced by Lorde producer Joel Little, the latter formed when all three of their members were based in three different countries (and funnily enough they'll be touring with Lorde in the US).

The two acts have found themselves signed to overseas labels and blog aggregator Hype Machine has them both sitting in their 2014 (and a half) ones to watch list. Head over there to check out what they had to say and listen to the rest of the blogosphere's heir apparents.

www.broods.co
www.yumizouma.com

Watch: Black Simon and Garfunkel cover 'Shake It Off'

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The Roots' ?uestlove and "Captain" Kirk Douglas have been teaming up of late to perform as Black Simon and Garfunkel on The Tonight Show. Good times. 

Listen: Chelsea Jade - Nightswimmer

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Dream pop savant Chelsea Jade (Watercolours, Teacups) has released a brand new single. With her usual blend of poetic lyricism and ethereal production, the track marks her first release under the new name of Chelsea Jade after performing as Watercolours in recent years. Listen/buy it via the Bandcamp widget below, and if you get a hankering to hear some of her back catalogue you can borrow the Teacups album Forest Fiction or the Watercolours EP Portals via Auckland Libraries.

Podcast: Anthony Metcalf from Glass Owls

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Anthony Metcalf from the band Glass Owls and formerly of the little known but critically acclaimed Howick podcast Hello and Welcome to the Internet stopped by the Auckland Central Library to talk.

Topics covered include his favourite flavour of ice cream, some anecdotes and thoughts about Waiuku and recording the Glass Owls album Out From the Darkness there, why Ben Affleck isn't going to be a good Batman and how Spoon is a great band with cool drums.


You can play the podcast either using the above web player, or right click this direct link to episode two and select 'save link as' to download it straight to your computer.

Watch: Tiny Ruins on A Takeaway Show

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Currently touring the world and winning hearts, Tiny Ruins did a performance for La Blogotheque's A Takeaway Show. Enjoy.

Watch: Miss June in session at 95bFM

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Auckland band Miss June have been making waves recently with their high energy live shows. If you haven't caught the punky four piece yet, then you can approximate that experience from the comfort of your laptop by watching their stunning recent In Session with 95bFM.


Blink announces alternative to APRA

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If you read Blink's e-book The Problem With Music in New Zealand & How To Fix It (covered in a post over here), you'll have heard his thoughts on the work that APRA does collecting songwriting royalties for New Zealand artists. Without going into detail, his argument is that the performing rights organisation perhaps doesn't do the most rigorous job of ensuring that their collected royalties are paid out to the appropriate songwriters. The e-book is well worth a read.

Now he's backed that up by announcing the planned launch of an APRA alternative called PROPS, which stands for Performance Royalty Open Payments system. One of APRA's roles is collecting royalties from live venues to then theoretically pay onwards to the appropriate registered songwriters. From the sounds of things, PROPS is designed to fill that role, but would pay bands twice the amount of money and within 7-14 days.

"In a few months I’ll have an outline of how PROPS works on my website and how anybody can employ the system for themselves. It is not meant to be a system to replace payments for background music at this point, only live performances. I doubt APRA would see this as legit, but, it would be very funny to see them complain about a system that does their job significantly better than they do. Music users shouldn’t pay APRA if they can show they can do a better job distributing the money themselves. I’ve been paying fees for years and believe in paying these fees, my beef is not about the idea of paying fees, it’s just I just wanna make sure they go to the right people."


Watch this space. 

Watch: FKA Twigs - Two Weeks

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Listen: Promised Miracles presents a mixtape by Shocking Pinks

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Here's a bit of a treat. I've always been a big Shocking Pinks fan, and this week Melbourne based label Promised Miracles has released a mixtape curated by Nick Harte. As well as one of his own tracks, it includes a new track by Scott Mannion from the Tokey Tones (which is reportedly the first new music he's released in ten years), Emily Edrosa's brilliant song Give Your Body to Science, and a fantastically weird Dragon remix by Pikachunes. It's a dreamy, beautiful collection of tracks and it's available as a free download from the Promised Miracles Bandcamp (which you can stream or download from the widget below). Get onto it.



For more from the Shocking Pinks, CDs of Mathematical Warfare and Shocking Pinks are in the library catalogue and available to borrow.

Interview: van der Wel

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Photo: Victor Alexeyev 

van der Wel is the musical project of Hamilton-based Phil van der Wel. We first met through a shared love for the slowcore narratives of the American artist Pedro The Lion, and it's wonderful to see Phil's music developing in a way which shows that influence while moving into its own space as well. He's recently released an EP called O Canada, and one of the tracks - British Columbia - is pretty magical. So - before you do anything - I'd really like you to go on and click play right here.



Phil took time out to answer a few questions about his inspirations and the making of O Canada. You can buy a download of the EP for the affordable price of $5 NZD (or more, if you wish) at his Bandcamp.  

Can you tell me about how you got started playing music? What inspired you to get started, and what did you initially set out to do?
Sure. I have been playing music in one form or another since a young age, and first picked up a guitar when I was 11 or 12. I played songs with various school mates throughout middle and high school, and after leaving school started a band with a few friends, playing mostly melodic rock along the lines of Further Seems Forever or Jimmy Eat World (or something). A defining point for me musically was in 2007 when I moved to Canada. Suddenly I was separate from my friends and the music we listened to, and immersed in new friends and new (better?) music - David Bazan, Damien Jurado, Jon-Rae Fletcher, Phosphorescent, Iron and Wine, Fionn Regan, Danielson Family, etc.. I had previously been introduced to some of the music in New Zealand, but more as a side dish rather than the main course. I wanted this music for my starter, mains, and sides. There was no objective in mind, only a desire to sing songs.

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Interview: Luckless

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Last year saw Ivy Rossiter of Luckless move to the small, but vibrant creative community of Lyttelton, where she recorded her excellent new album Vindication Blues. Originally formed in 2010 as a solo project, Luckless draws inspiration from 90’s heroes like PJ Harvey, Mark Lanegan and Sparklehorse, and modern acts like The Kills and Warpaint. 

Swiftly gathering praise for Vindication Blues, Ivy took time out to answer a few questions about the album.



Hey Ivy, did I see somewhere you moved to Lyttelton?
Yes indeed, I moved to Lyttelton in the middle of last year, interspersed with some pretty steady touring on both sides of the move.  We recorded at the Sitting Room Studio in Lyttelton with Ben Edwards as well, so that was convenient for me, if not for our Auckland-based drummer Logan.

What drew you to working there?
I had made some good friends in the music community in Lyttelton through 2012, and their work ethic and motivation made a big impression on me.  There was a real focus on the getting-your-hands-dirty work of being a musician - writing songs, booking gigs, touring - and less focus on the creation (distraction) of hype or buzz around the work.  It felt like a place that would help me to focus on what is important, rather than letting myself be bothered with the business of being a social butterfly.  And also, at the time (although not so much now) it was cheaper to live down here than in Auckland.

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Watch: Courtney Barnett - Avant Gardener

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Courtney Barnett is a brilliantly clever Australian lyricist. Avant Gardener is a charming track about gardening during a heatwave and ending up in an ambulance. It's got great lines like "the paramedic thinks I'm clever because I play guitar/I think she's clever cause she stops people from dying" and the tennis umpire is a Bob Dylan lookalike, so that five minutes and twenty seconds just flies by.

Update: Barnett has just announced she's coming to New Zealand for one show at Auckland's Kings Arms on September 17. Tickets go on sale from 9am, Tuesday July 22 from Under The Radar and Real Groovy.


Read: The Problem With Music in New Zealand and How to Fix it

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Independent music promoter and all round sweet dude Blink has an enviable track record in New Zealand music. He's put on Camp A Low Hum, toured bands around the country endlessly, ran a number of successful venues and booked a number of international tours. With experience in all these areas, he's well placed to point out where things are going wrong here, and he's written a book/collection of essays on the topic. The Problem With Music in New Zealand is pretty essential reading for independent musicians. It's alternately inspiring, depressing, or a weird combination of the two. It's available as a printed book, Kindle file, or a pay what you like PDF. Definitely check this out.

Watch: Doprah - Whatever You Want

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Riding a groundswell of local and international hype, Christchurch band Doprah released an eagerly anticipated self-titled EP at the start of June. Now they've released a video for the single Whatever You Want. Check it out.



Listen: Glass Owls - Out From the Darkness

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Auckland's Glass Owls have just released their new album on Bandcamp. Recorded, produced and mastered by Djeisan Suskov (Cool Rainbows) at Revolver Studios in Waiuku, Out From the Darkness is the follow up to their EP Dead Love from 2010.

The band has recently toured the UK, putting in appearances at The Great Escape and KOKO Camden's Club NME. Check out the new album via the Bandcamp widget below.

Borrow: new music titles at Auckland Libraries

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Auckland Libraries is always refreshing its list of titles, but sometimes it's hard to get around to making a visit to your local library to see what's new (or the new stuff is really popular and it's out on loan). Not to worry, the easiest way to see the new titles (including a ton of CDs and music books like this great new one on K-Pop) we have is through our website's new titles page. And if you see something you like, you can request it online and have it sent to your local branch. 



Read Rolling Stone, XXL and other music magazines for free

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Auckland Libraries has recently subscribed to a new e-resource called Zinio. The Zinio subscription allows you to read a number of magazines in electronic form for free. There's definitely a lot of titles there, but I had a squizz specifically at the music ones and here's what they've got right now:

Billboard, Guitarist, Opera Canada, Guitar Techniques, Rhythm, Total Guitar, XXL, Guitar Player, Computer Music, Electronic Musician, Future Music, Recording and Music Production, Rolling Stone.

There's some good reading there. If you'd like to know how to download these to your computer or portable device then head over to the Auckland Libraries website and read the info under Zinio.

Podcast: Timothy Blackman, Stelth Ulvang and Shenandoah Davis

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Timothy Blackman, Stelth Ulvang and Shenandoah Davis.























Timothy Blackman is one of my favourite local artists, and he was kind enough to let me interview him in the basement of the Auckland Central Library. In a happy coincidence, we were able to be joined by Stelth Ulvang - a multi-instrumentalist for the Grammy nominated band The Lumineers (who were in town to play the Big Day Out), and Shenandoah Davis - a classically influenced songwriter who was touring with Anthonie Tonnon. Later that night, I recorded some of their live set at an Auckland art space on New North Road.

You can download it directly here (right click the link and chose "save link as"): Podcast: Timothy Blackman, Stelth Ulvang and Shenandoah Davis






Listen: NZMM playlist #3

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It's the last day of New Zealand Music Month. Hope you've had a great one. Here's one last playlist of some of All Things Musical's favourite local tracks. Don't forget that Auckland Libraries has a great array of CDs, music DVDs, musical scores, music theory books and music biographies to suit all tastes. Head over to www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz and get requesting! 

RIP The Corner

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Local music and pop culture website The Corner have announced their decision to shut down. Notorious for sometimes brutally honest reviews of local bands' singles, the site always inspired debate, as a lively comments section attested to. In addition to reviews, features and Q&As, The Corner felt like the spiritual successor to Real Groove and Volume when it took over releasing new installments of the local band compilation Awesome Feeling (check out our post and interview about the Awesome Feeling compilations over here) in mp3 format. In a fishbowl music scene, The Corner was notable in the way it was never beholden to advertisers, record companies or the bands themselves. As they put it themselves, The Corner tried to prioritise "quality music, quality writing and a loose unwritten philosophy of gentle agitation over appeasement, holding no cows sacred and avoiding assumed local critical convention wherever possible".

They posted something of an obituary to themselves today, and you can read the post (sadly for the last time) over at The Corner. You heard em, start your own website.

Listen: NZMM playlist #2

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Here's a few more of our favourites to listen to in the month of May. Here are some thoughts:
  1. this acoustic version of Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark) shows just how good of a guitarist Ruban Nielsen is. He's very, very good, right?

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This Saturday: mini music festival at Auckland Central Library

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This Saturday, May 24, Auckland Central Library is hosting a mini music festival for New Zealand Music Month from 11am-3pm. It's going to be quite a time. Here's what you're in for.

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Tupac Shakur musical coming to Broadway

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A Broadway Musical inspired by the work of Tupac Shakur is on its way, and EW.com has posted a sneak peek video of work in progress. Although it's not a biographical tale of Tupac himself, the musical, titled Holler if Ya Hear Me, is inspired by his lyrics and music. Take a look a look at it over here.

Listen: NZMM playlist #1

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New Zealand Music Month is great a reminder to discover new local music and revisit some old favourites. So with that in mind, we'll be uploading some Spotify playlists of our favourite tracks. Some of the songs are recent discoveries, while others have been around for quite some time. There's not really a theme, they're just tracks that I hold very dear! Click play on the Spotify widget below to listen, hope you enjoy.

Read Owen Pallett's musical analysis of pop hits

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After The Daily Beast published an article by Ted Gioia bemoaning the lack of musical theory in today's music criticism, a number of other critics and artists have been responding. One such response was the classically trained Owen Pallett of Final Fantasy Owen Pallett talking about the music theory behind Daft Punk's Get Lucky and Katy Perry's Teenage Dream. Update: he's now added a third and final essay to the series, and it's on Lady Gaga's Bad Romance. 

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The end of Parachute Festival

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Parachute Music has announced that their 2014 festival was the last of such events for the organisation. Check out the interview above to hear Mark De Jong talking about the decision. And here's a presser from the organisation.

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Wu-Tang to sell just one copy of its new album

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“We’re about to sell an album like nobody else sold it before,” says RZA.“We’re about to put out a piece of art like nobody else has done in the history of [modern] music. We’re making a single-sale collector’s item. This is like somebody having the scepter of an Egyptian king.”

True that. The legendary hip hop crew Wu Tang has announced that it's only going to sell ONE copy of its new album. The album might be purchased by a corporation (a la Samsung) who would enjoy the cachet of bringing Wu-Tang's new record to its customers. Or it could be bought by a millionaire who'd keep it to themselves, or even altruistically give it to the rest of the world for free.

Another element to their plan would be taking the artifact itself on a tour of museums, galleries, festivals and such things. There would be a charge to attend, heavy security to guard against recording devices, and visitors would have to listen to the album on headphones provided by the venue. The primary producer of the album, Tarik 'Cilvaringz' Azzougarh explains it like this: “One leak of this thing nullifies the entire concept.”

And while you're on that Wu-Tang buzz, check out Amos Barshad's recent and very excellent 10 part feature on the group at Grantland.

ps. this record is going to leak, right?

Watch: Future Islands - Seasons

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With their New Order-esque backing, soulful singing and unique stage presence of their singer Sam Herring, Future Islands have been setting the internet abuzz with their beautifully unusual Letterman performance. If you've been hiding under a rock lately and have yet to see this, their performance of Seasons (Waiting On You) is really something.

Read: Hip Hop Family Tree #1

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Add one of the world's best comic book companies to one of the world's best stories, and you've got a great book. Hip Hop Family Tree #1 is a Fantagraphics (Ghost World etc) comic telling the origin stories of hip hop. Printed on gorgeous paper, they've recreated the nostalgic feel of cheap comic book paper on a high quality stock. The artwork and colouring are stunning.

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Watch: Boycrush ft Watercolours - Secrets

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Boycrush is the project of Alistair Deverick. Alistair is a very good drummer and a nice dude, which can put you in pretty high demand. Accordingly he's been in such bands as The Sami Sisters, The Hot Grits, Bannerman, Lisa Crawley, The Shades, Watercolours, Panther and The Zoo, Lawrence Arabia, Haunted Love, Lucid 3, and The Ruby Suns. Whewsh, that's quite a list. Blessed with this minimal, dreamy pulse, Secrets shows his own work is up there with the best of his musical collaborations.

Read: We Are Alive - a Portrait of Bruce Springsteen

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Yup, he's alive alright. The Boss keeps on working and doesn't look like he's ever going to stop. With Bruce Springsteen coming to play Auckland this weekend, it's a good a time as any to read up on his storied career.

David Remnick, Pulitzer Prize winning writer and editor of The New Yorker, has penned what's said to be one of the most thorough profiles of Springsteen. Titled We Are Alive: a Portrait of Bruce Springsteen, it's freshly arrived on our shelves. If that takes your fancy, click here to find which libraries have it/request it be brought to your local library.

And if you're not convinced, check out Remnick's excellent New Yorker feature by the same name.

Listen: Tiny Ruins - Me at the Museum, You in the Wintergardens

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Originally the solo project of Hollie Fullbrook, Tiny Ruins has now expanded to be a full band with the addition of a stunning rhythm section consisting of bassist Cass Basil and drummer Alexander Freer (Artisan Guns/Cool Rainbows/The Eversons).

On Me at the Museum, You at the Wintergardens (which you can hear via the Soundcloud widget above), Tiny Ruins delivers her trademark delicately mannered and poetic vocals over intricate finger picking. But now that sound is fleshed out subtly, with percussion, brass and strings. Listen to the shimmering, echoing background sounds fade in at 0.49”. They’re ghostly and low in the mix, and all the more haunting for it. Having recorded with engineer Tom Healy over several months in Auckland studio The Lab, the song is the lead single from her forthcoming album Brightly Painted One. Now signed to the UK label Bella Union, Tiny Ruins have joined a stable consisting of Beach House, the Flaming Lips and Fleet Foxes. Pretty amazing company, nice one Hollie!


Read: When Bob Met Woody

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Just quickly, and unintentionally keeping on the folk theme of the past few posts, I came across this delightful book in the children's section the other day and thought it might interest some of you lovely music fans/library users. 

When Bob Met Woody is a beautifully illustrated picture book detailing the early days of Bob Dylan. Starting out in the wintry Minnesota port of Duluth and culminating in Dylan meeting his biggest inspiration, it could be a good way to try and introduce little ones to good music before they start listening to whatever post-LMFAO bands exist in the future (btw I'm imagining a dystopian future where the influence of their party rocking has spread far and wide. They say that not everyone who listened to LMFAO bought a ringtone, but everyone who listened to them started a sickeningly terrible band). Here's Bobby visiting Woody in the hospital below, though the book doesn't talk about him dying (so don't worry, it's pretty upbeat and hopeful). If you'd like to borrow it, you can find it in the library catalogue here.



Auckland Folk Festival 2014

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I sorta swore off going to any music festivals this year. The reasons for that went: too expensive (everything), the beer lines are too long (Laneway), no beer lines/very little interesting bands (Parachute), asking myself 'do I even really like live music/do I really like being in the midst of 20,000 people?' (Big Day Out), intense social anxiety (Camp A Low Hum). I know that most of these reasons can be overcome by the right combination of bands and good company, but I'm generally OK with my summer of (not) music watching. Whenever someone would ask me about what music things I was going to this summer, I'd just say I was too broke and vaguely speculate about trying to find a spare comp ticket floating around without any real plan to do that.

Funnily, while a lot of festivals these days increasingly feature folk revival artists, I'd completely forgotten about the Auckland Folk Festival itself. I'd never been before and wasn't familiar with more than a few names on the lineup, but I had an opportunity to go for free. I was curious, but had no idea what to really expect.

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RIP Pete Seeger

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American folk singer and activist Pete Seeger has passed away in New York hospital at the age of 94. His career started amongst the influential folk groups The Almanac Singers and The Weavers.
Seeger was one of the artists responsible for popularising the spiritual We Shall Overcome, had hits with Where Have All the Flowers Gone and Turn, Turn, Turn (later released as a single by the Byrds on their album Turn! Turn! Turn!). He received three musical Grammy Awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, among various other honors, during his lifetime. 

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Listen: Yumi Zouma - The Brae

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Yumi Zouma are a New Zealand trio with former Bang! Bang! Eche! guitarist Charlie Ryder in their ranks. 'The Brae' is their second single and they're set to release a self titled debut EP next month via Cascine. The song's a dreamy bed of synthesiser and angelic vocals, and if it takes your fancy, you can preorder the EP via the link on their Soundcloud widget below.

Listen: Shocking Pinks - St Louis

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It's been a six year hiatus for the notoriously prolific Nick Harte of the Shocking Pinks, but the former Flying Nun and DFA artist is set to release a forthcoming triple (!) LP titled Guilt Mirrors.

Featuring Gemma Syme (Holiday With Friends, 47 Diamantes) on guest vocals, hear 'St Louis' from the forthcoming record via the Soundcloud widget below. The album comes out on February 18 on the Brooklyn based record label Stars & Letters.

Listen: Clap Clap Riot (produced by Kody Nielson)

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Auckland rockers Clap Clap Riot have been working away on a new record set to come out in February. Produced by Kody Nielson of the Mint Chicks, the early returns on Nobody/Everybody show a different sonic palette and a welcome 1960s flavour. Check out Sweet Patricia via the Soundcloud widget.



Head over to their Bandcamp page for pre-order details and another preview. 

Anthonie Tonnon new song and tour

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Anthonie Tonnon (formerly known as Tono and the Finance Company) is heading out on his most extensive New Zealand tour in support of US artist Shenandoah Davis. To coincide with the tour he's premiered the first song from his upcoming album over at Undertheradar.co.nz 

Shenandoah Davis is an outstanding performer that has been hand-picked to play sold-out solo shows in Seattle with Laura Marling, Mirah, and Martha Wainwright. She's also toured the US with Tonnon, which you can hear about in Tonnon's tour diary for Radio New Zealand over here. Check below the jump for the full tour dates. 

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Comics + music

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This is ostensibly a music blog, but truth be told a couple of us here are big comic book fans too. So any chance to combine those two loves, we'll jump for it.

Wagner's Flying Dutchman anyone? South Island comic book artist has been commissioned to create a comic based on the famous work, and to celebrate 200 years of Richard Wagner. Check it out here.

Elsewhere, Kieron Gillon's Phonogram series is a favourite of mine. Mixing music-scene lore and fantasy in a very modern way, he tells a surreal and personal story about the music he loves and the Mod-Godess of Brit-Pop in this one. And if you're like me and mostly hate Brit-Pop but like girl bands, his second volume is over here and it rules.

And of course, who could forget the story of a part-time musician who lives in Toronto and plays in a band called Sex-Bob-Omb.

If you like the sound of a nasty (but fun) mash-up of fictional characters of the 1900s and Brecht's Three Penny Opera with surprisingly effective musical numbers on the page, check out some of Alan Moore's typically amazing work here.

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