Charts to August 21: Waiata Maori Music expo announced
There's been a swap at the top of the Album chart between the two who have been vying with each other for the last
couple of weeks now. The Waiata Maori Music Expo has been announced, and there are some great new live shows to look
forward to. And, as expected from pretty much any IMNZ release week, there is a nice diversity of new music to
investigate.
The National Waiata Maori Music Expo will be held in Hawkes Bay next month in conjunction with the Waiata Maori Music
Awards. The expo will run from 9am to 3pm over two days (September 7 - 8) with workshops focusing on traditional Maori
music instruments and panel discussions on traditional and contemporary Maori music with special guest speakers.
Confirmed speakers on the panel include 2011 Maori Music Industry Award recipient Frankie Stevens and 2011 Lifetime
Contribution to Maori Music Award recipient Mahora Peters alongside Waiata Maori Music finalists and leaders of kapa
haka and arts groups throughout the country.
On the second day of the expo a workshop on ukulele will be held, from which the organisers hope to build momentum
towards an attempt at breaking the world record for the most ukulele played at one time.
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International and Industry Action
The New Zealand showcase happening at Big Sound in Brisbane looks like it will be a mighty fine time...
And in more news of New Zealand musicians abroad, after a killer show last week in a bizarre snowy week in Wellington,
Leila Adu swings into the LA artrocker heat doing a solo show at Chinatown art gallery Human Resources and finishing off with a Cocteau Twins tribute as guest vocalist in LA band ‘Queue’ at legendary venue The Smell. http://www.leilaadu.com/category/news/
New release fanfare
O’Lovely emerged in late 2008, working up some attention with track “A Different Day” (which is featured on this debut
album). Christchurch-based up till a few months ago, they are finally releasing their long promised debut album
Constellations from the 3-piece's new home of Auckland. The album sounds dreamy, spacey, some songs are flowing and
floaty soaked in fuzzy reverb and 80s synth and others are loud distorted guitar driven drone pop songs with clusters of
sounds blending together all with slightlydark, very NZ sounding vocals. Constellations is a collection of beautiful,
eery and heartfelt songs - New Romantic for the 21st Century. O'Lovely are on tour from this Friday August 26, playing
Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland. Read more...
Punches follow the dreamy folk-psychedelia of their self-titled 2006 EP with Etheria, a moody, brooding, etherial long
player recorded long-distance by the power of Skype and a whole lot of back’n’forthing (Kelly is now based in
Nashville). The duo features singer/bassist Kelly Sherrod (formerly of Dimmer) and guitarist/singer James Duncan (a solo
artist under his own name and Dimmer, SJD).. Punches' music is a mix of melancholia, electronica, pop, guitars and folk.
The music is supported by a simple drum machine beat and the odd atmospheric interlude, giving the songs space for
Kelly’s beautiful and unique voice to move. Read more...
Best known for her albums sung in Te Reo Maori, Whirimako Black explores new territory on The Late Night Plays with full
English renditions of some her favourite songs from the twentieth century. The track selection will be familiar to most
with songs made famous by U2, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Billie Holliday, Etta James and Leonard Cohen.
The Late Night Plays will be released through Ode Records on October 3. Whirimako Black will be playing shows in the
coming months to showcase The Late Night Plays. An announcement will be made in the coming weeks of dates and venues. www.w hirimakoblack.org
On the live front
It has just been announced that Tiki Taane will be joining Mt Eden for the final show of their first national tour,
which is running now. He'll be performing in his MC capacity with Mt Eden this Friday at Backstage in Auckland.
Celebrate the long weekend at Coromandel’s Coroglen Tavern with a special one-off show, featuring Tahuna Breaks and
David Dallas on Saturday 22 October, Labour Weekend. Synonymous with summer, Coroglen Tavern is well known for its
massive gigs and beachy vibes, so kick off the sunny months the right way with a couple of fine acts. Recently signed to
US Label Duck Down Records, David Dallas is one of New Zealand hip-hop's men of the moment. His new album ‘The Rose
Tint’ was released for free online recently, receiving overwhelming critical acclaim. He will hit the Coroglen off the
back of his recent sold out NZ shows. Tahuna Breaks' last Kiwi gig was also a sell out. With a live stage sound that
encompasses funk, disco, soul, live electronics and roots, their addictive rhythms are always guaranteed to get crowds
moving. Tickets are available now from: www.nikaurhythm.co.nz
Tigi Ness and his son Che Fu are part of Father and Sons, a brand new show presented by the Christchurch Arts Festival
and performing arts collective Pacific Underground which debuts on Friday 23 September in the Telstra Club. Preceded by
Pacific Underground (PU)’s offering of their popular show Island Summer (on Sunday 11 September) in the Telstra Club,
Father and Sons marks significant change for PU since February’s earthquake. PU joins the many arts groups and people
left homeless since February’s earthquake.
Being based in the Dux de Lux building since 1997, their lease was terminated by the Arts Centre Trust - a contributing
factor for show creators Pos Mavaega and Tanya Muagututi’a to move to Auckland with their three children. Father and
Sons also stars Feleti Strickson-Pua, and his poet and Reverend father Mua Strickson-Pua, and PU’s very own Drummer
Chris Searle features alongside his Dad - well-known jazz and classical pianist Laurie Searle. http://www.artsfestival.co.nz/show/72/island-summer.aspx
IMNZ chart-toppers I Am Giant have announced a new date for their recently postponed Queenstown gig as well as a date in Christchurch. Due
to their lead singer Ed Martin contracting a throat infection, I Am Giant have also postponed their Tauranga gig. The
band will return to Auckland to do two FREE gigs as part of the Real NZ Festival. For new dates:
In a move that is sure to excite fans young and old, The Chills and Dunedinmusic.com are proud to announce The Chills'
first home show in 2011. Martin Phillipps and his band of musical elite will be bringing their show to Urban Factory on
Saturday 10 September. The Chills will be joined by none other than Flying Nun veteran, Robert Scott (The Clean and The
Bats), who will be joining forces with John White on the night. The Chills have also extended a helping hand to upcoming
band, Two Cartoons, in an initiation that many young artists would give an arm for.
Having recorded and released two singles on iTunes, as well as shooting a video, Two Cartoons are currently on a
national tour. They could be described as Indie surf rock similar to bands such as Best Coast, Waaves and MGMT.
On the back of a highly successful and packed show at the Kings Arms, Auckland in late July, Martin Phillips and co will
be pulling out gems from a treasure chest spanning the 31 years of Chills history. Recently, The Chills have been making
waves within a new generation of Indie musicians. High profile bands such as Holy Shit, Brilliant Colours and Fear of
Men have been seen covering the likes of Pink Frost, while indie luminaries MGMT included the same track on their LateNightTales Compilation. Ukrainian magazine “Znaki” have also been seen coveting the band by singing the Chills'
praises to their worldwide Russian readership.
The Patea Maori Club (whose reissued single Poi E has been in the IMNZ singles chart for 70 weeks now) will be part of a
six-hour festival and concert to be held in the Auckland Domain on Labour Day (October 24) following the Rugby World Cup
final. The free family event will be split into two parts; from midday to 3.30pm 'The Real New Zealand Thank You'
community festival will feature an international village showcasing the foods and cultures of the 20 countries taking
part in the cup. The second part of the show - The Fonterra Shout - will run from 3.30pm to 6pm with performances from
Dave Dobbyn, Evermore, Stan Walker, the Patea Maori Club and an array of young Kiwi talent under the direction of Mike
Chunn of the Play it Strange Trust.
http://www.nzmusician.co.nz/index.php/ps_pagename/newsitem/pi_newsitemid/481 2/The-Kiwi-Day-Out
A huge local line-up will appear at the Kaikoura Roots Festival, which will return to the southern coastal town over
January 14-15 next year. The line-up includes IMNZers Kora, Cornerstone Roots, Stinky Jim, Whirimako Black and Left Or
Right plus Salmonella Dub, Motocade, Dub FX, AHoriBuzz, Soulsystem, Soulja, Ecophonix, Tui Soundsystem, Wicked Draw, DJs
Darcy & Phil, DLT, Rio Hemopo, Soulware, DJ Illfigz, Dreadford, DJ Digital, Amiria Grenell and Peasants Of Eden.
Tickets will be available from September 5. Visit http://www.kaikourarootsfestival.com
Around the World...2 stories this week...
Google Launches 'Magnifier,' a Music Blog... From Digital Music News: We could pontificate all day about what this means
for Google's broader music strategy. But that assumes that Google knows what this means for its broader music strategy.
And with that, the search behemoth quietly introduced 'Magnifier' on Wednesday, a blog that features lots of new music.
And that means free downloads, videos, images, interviews, songs of the day, exclusive live sets and recommendations,
with content updated on a daily basis. "Sometimes it will be new artists we think deserve more attention," described
Google head of Music Programming Tim Quirk. "And sometimes there will be video interviews and live performances."
There's more to it than that. Magnifier is tightly tied into Music Beta, both from a branding and functional standpoint.
So, the site offers an easy way to upload featured content into your locker. "You can add any or all of the songs to
your Music Beta library instantly," Quirk continued. Which suddenly introduces a content layer into the Music Beta mix,
and goes beyond user-uploaded collections.
Currently, Google remains without major label licenses on its cloud, which prevents quick, iCloud-style scan-n-matching
of user collections. Instead, Music Beta users are forced to go through a laborious, often multi-day uploading process.
On Magnifier, that is not an issue. Lots more detail and discussion at... http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/081711google
AIM Independent Music Awards Announce Bjork and Domino as Recipients Of Pioneer & Outstanding Contribution To Music Awards
The inaugural AIM Independent Music Awards will recognise and celebrate the artists, labels, companies and individuals
at the heart of this thriving music sector. Today AIM unveils two of the recipients of the fourteen awards who will be
honoured at the ceremony hosted by 6Music’s Steve Lamacq and Radio 1’s Huw Stephens at Floridita in London on Thursday
10th November.
Signed to One Little Indian, Bjork's eclectic musical style, distinctive voice and pioneering approach to performance
has earnt her popularlity and respect from music fans and critics alike. With seven solo albums under her belt, this
year Bjork is pushing the envelope with new album project 'Biophilia', with a series of apps, an education project and a
documentary exploring nature, music and technology. Bjork's contribution to independent music has spanned over 20 years,
inspiring many with her innovation and talent, making her the very deserved winner of AIM's first Outstanding
Contribution to Music Award. The Outstanding Contribution to Music award is sponsored by eMusic.
The Pioneer Award recognises a visionary independent label founder and in 2011 the judging panel has awarded this
accolade to Domino Recording Company founder Laurence Bell. Launched in 1993 on the back of a £40 a week enterprise
allowance scheme and shaped by an unwavering set of independent principles, Domino has achieved great critical and
commercial success based on Bell’s tireless nurturing of artists whose music he loves and believes in. Bell’s risk
taking, hard work and unyielding passion has seen him involved with numerous classic albums by artists such as Franz
Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, Pavement, Elliott Smith and The Kills.
ends