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.

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