Newsletter Issue #477: 04 Oct 2015
The Month of Rocktober!
October is by far my favourite month of the year. It's my birthday month (along with just about nearly every second person I know!), the brighter weather makes everyone happier and the sound of ever-present Rock comes in the form of the Battle Of The Bands competition that happens around the country throughout Rocktober. I can't wait to go check out some of our newest talent and help do my bit in support of NZ music. See below for more Rocktober Battle Of The Bands dates and venues.
In this month's newsletter we take a look at high energy Auckland rockers, Poison Skies, have a chat with West Auckland Groove Metal band Primacy and spend some time getting to know B2KDA, the new version of the Batucada Sound Machine.
We also bring you a new take on our 'Where Are They Now' feature with 'Who Are', which will look at how musicians got to where they are today. In this issue we take a look at one of the incredible support acts on Devilskin's Mountains and The Moon tour, City Of Souls, and the background that gives them super band status.
Kerry and The Muzic.net.nz Team
Who Are: City of Souls
City of Souls are New Zealand's answer to a superband, boasting members from bands that have etched their mark on the local and international hard rock and metal scene; so who are they, what makes them so extraordinary and where do they come from?
Marcus Powell (guitar)
Marcus is a true veteran of NZ music, most famous for his time in 2x triple platinum Blindspott, and crowd favourites Blacklistt. Marcus also performed in the all-star musical outfit All My Brothers with Francis Kora (Kora) and Ben Campbell (Zed, Atlas), who released the Find A Way single in April 2012 which aimed to tackle binge drinking in young people.
Marcus studied at MAINZ, completing a Certificate in Audio Engineering with Distinction. He also has a Diploma in Business Studies. He has extensive experience with local and international producers, engineers and songwriters and has created a young artist and band development programme to help youth achieve their dreams through the skills he has obtained - the Crescendo Trust of Aotearoa.
Marcus also helped to build Rawkusradio - a radio station lead by the youth for the youth.
In 2014, Marcus was the recipient for the Vodafone New Zealand Foundation's World of Difference Award. He has also been nominated for the prestigous New Zealander of the Year award.
Marcus is New Zealand's only international endorsee for the Jackson guitar brand. He is also endorsed for Fractal Audio and the Axe FX II, Shure Microphones, Famous Stars and Straps Clothing, Converse Shoes and G-Shock watches.
And to top it all off, he's also a private guitar tutor!
Trajan Schwencke (guitar)
Trajan was also the guitarist in brutal, yet intricate, Cold By Winter, supporting international greats such as Hot Water Music, Terror and Day of Contempt along the way. As well as City of Souls, Trajan currently also performs with In Dread Response.
Trajan is also the
Creative Director at Dreadstorm Media Ltd, helping to produce NZ acts such as The Mark of Man and Armed In Advance.
Richie Simpson (vocals)
Richie is a seasoned musician who brought intense vocals to New Way Home's sound.
Steve Boag (guitar)
Steve has performed with Tomorrow Comes in Silence and In Dread Response, as well as with heavyweights 8 Foot Sativa.
Daniel Insley (bass)
Along with Richie, Daniel has also performed with Tomorrow Comes in Silence, however, with his experience in 29 Blackbirds and Solstate he brings a whole different range of influences to the table.
Corey Friedlander (drums)
Corey is one of the most ferocious drummers New Zealand has ever seen, playing music with some of our most outstanding rock and metal acts including 8 Foot Sativa, Legion, In Dread Response, Fornax Chemica and The Mark of Man.
Corey is a Paiste and Tama endorsee and the owner of Drums NZ. He is also a drum tutor.
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The first City Of Souls single Sleep arrives unashamedly explosive, touting emotive energy juxtaposed with a certain calm which will become this band’s signature. Recorded between Dreadstorm Media Auckland and Roundhead Studios, it was mixed by legendary engineer Clint Murphy, and mastered at Sterling Sound in New York.
With a power reminiscent of Deftones and hinting at new wave, the song progresses towards a critical peak, and a journey into Killing Joke territory, before spiralling back out into the melodic emotive hook of the chorus.
Website Links
Muzic.net.nz Page
Amplifier Page
Facebook Page
SoundCloud Page
City Of Souls debut music video, exclusive interview on MusicIsDead.org
Poison Skies
With over 11,000 views on YouTube, Auckland high octane rockers Poison Skies are rapidly building themselves a reputation for awesome catchy hooks, fast paced rock, and more energy than a solar flare.
The dynamic combo of guitarist Sam and front man Nick (formerly Trolleyed, Space Between) kicked things off in 2012 by mustering together some new songs reminiscent of their youth. Influenced primarily by the punk greats of the 90's along with modern rock, the two were driven by drummer Kelly Gorman (Trolleyed) and bassist Jacques Tredoux (Space Between).
The band was sad to say goodbye to
Jacques and his mad bass abilities late 2012 after he had to return
back home to Capetown, but soon enlisted the specialist
bass skills of current member Jamie who had recently been filling the
sub-atomic sound waves for Naquadah, and previously Ishtar.
Paul (ex-We Dunno) and his famous collection of Steve Vai Gem guitars quickly jumped on board as Nick and Sam felt the songs didn’t have the kick that they required without a 4th set of strings on board. Paul quickly showed his killer lead work, and with enough Whammy Bar action and dive-bombs to make any band happy he quickly fitted in.
Due to business commitments and other awesome rock-type things-and-stuff, Kelly unfortunately had to throw in the towel early 2013, and so Jamie called on ex-Epitome/Karma In Chaos drummer Carl to throw down some punchy beats, and this was the final ingredient for the making of Poison Skies.
Poison Skies have been riding an underground wave of tsunami awesomeness getting their live set sorted and writing songs. They constructed their debut single Victim Of Reality was released in December 2014 to a packed house at Auckland’s Paddington bar. The video was produced and edited by Nadim Malvat, which production help from Matt Hendry. The song has hastily become one of the most watched high energy rock songs from NZ on YouTube.
When we ask Poison Skies about upcoming releases, their response is a lot of winking and nodding, however they assure us that they are right on the cusp of two big releases to fill out the latter end of 2015, and this will be followed by quite a lot of gigging and touring through Summer, so the suggestion is that you should probably get off the internet, and head along to a gig because they are way better live than you could anticipate. Especially after half a dozen cold Corona’s and a medium to hot Lamb Madras.
Photos courtesy of Lou Mitchell at Volume Eleven Photography
Poison Skies are Nick Wilkinson (vocals, guitar), Sam Onnes (guitar, vocals), Paul Hibbert (guitar, backing vocals), Jamie Denton (bass) and Carl Hayman (drums).
Website Links
Muzic.net.nz Page
Official Website
Amplifier Page
Facebook Page
Twitter Page
Youtube Page
Victim of Reality (single) iTunes Link
Gig Review: Poison Skies @ Paddington, Auckland 5/11/14
Single Review: Victim of Reality
Primacy
Introducing Primacy, a 5 piece Groove Metal band hailing from West Auckland. Primacy formed in mid 2014 after the split of well know local bands The Blacklight Configuration, Overhaile and Heathen Eyes – the timing was right, the songs were right and the team was right, Primacy came together as a collective around guitarist Adrian Brausch's new and unused material from his former band Overhaile. Jason and Sid from Primacy answered the following questions for muzic.net.nz:
Who are your role models in the NZ music industry?
Jason: The musicians I admire are Jon Toogood and Aaron Tokona, they're
still writing, touring and evolving which is something I aspire to do for the rest
of my life.
Which one of your songs are you most proud of, and why?
Jason: I would have to say our new single Shade Black and our newly written
song Failure & Sacrifice, I love singing them both as they pretty much use
most of my vocal range.
Sid: Wicked Ways would be my
favourite to listen to. Catchy, melodic, strange time signature and I enjoy the
vocals. However, I personally enjoy playing Transmission most for
its groove and generally busier bass line.
How would you describe Primacy’s music in one sentence?
Jason: It varies between brutality and beauty, from dark to uplifting.
What has been your most memorable show to date?
Jason: With Primacy I would say being asked to play an industry showcase gig
opening for Headcasey which features DIO's former guitarist – that was heaps of
fun and the bar was filled right up, I think that was the first gig I came off
stage feeling really excited and didn't pick the performance to pieces.
What local albums have you been enjoying
recently?
Jason: The new Head Like a Hole album and Tainted's new album is really good
too.... also The Audio Perception Project by Bill Rootes, there is some great
underground stuff coming out.
Sid: Not so much albums. More like
I sample some music whenever I stumble upon new local bands that are currently
gigging. In the last year, I have listened a few times to Key to
Infinity by Blackleaf Gardens, The Big Blue EP by JMC and a number of
tracks from Remote.
What can we expect to see from Primacy over the next year?
Jason: You can expect to see us playing shows all over the North Island,
we'd love to get down south for some shows, that would be pretty epic but yeah,
more out of town shows and if everything keeps ticking along we will have more
music to release with a music video, we are all pretty happy with how things
have come together over the past year.
What advice would you like to give to other aspiring musicians?
Sid: Keep doing what you love and
don't be afraid to put yourself out there. It's hard work but the rewards are
great.
Tell us about Primacy’s next release.
Jason: We went in and recorded 2 singles with Zorran Mendonsa Productions, Shade Black & Devils Cut, we are wanting to do 3 more songs for an E.P.
Shade Black is our first single and it's a very dark and moody song, melodically
I took influence from Doom metal bands in the chorus but the verses are lighter
and very dynamic... the song sums us up pretty well I think.
What is your most embarrassing on tour/gig moment?
Jason: Hmmm I would say probably just getting too drunk and sucking really
badly... lesson learnt, drink afterwards lol.
What inspired you to start Primacy?
Jason: Primacy was formed out of the members that quit a local Auckland band
called Overhaile.
Will, Sadeer (Sid) and Adrian then asked Steve to come and play rhythm guitar
while his band was on hiatus, my band Heathen Eyes had dissolved so I
auditioned for the band and everything
sat really well. I love Adrian's writing, we had a set ready for gigging in 3 or
4 months – we all love heavy guitars and big grooves so it has gelled quickly
and well.
Primacy are Jason McIver (vocals), Adrian von Brausch (guitar), Sadeer Kattan (bass), Steve Kelly (guitar)
and Will Bloodfarm (drums).
Website Links
Muzic.net.nz Page
Facebook Page
Youtube Page
Bandcamp Page
SoundCloud Page
Gig Review: Primacy @ Bar Eden, Auckland 7/02/2015
Photo Galleries
Primacy at Eden Bar
Primacy at Kings Arms 5 June 2015
Primacy at The Kings Arms 26 June 2015
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B2KDA
B2KDA (Ba-Too-Ka-Da) is the new name for the decade spanning, world, afro, fusion mash up that was Batucada Sound Machine. The band has changed again with an injection of youth and exuberance getting the old boys to look up and notice. If anything, they've added even more styles to the repertoire with heavy rock, electro and dub entering the domain of the boys from Tamaki Makaurau. Even so, they remain rooted to the initial concept; roots music from around the world. Alex answered the following questions for muzic.net.nz:
Which one of your songs are you most proud of, and why?
Don't Keep Silent, the title track on our last album, is one we're very proud of. We have taken many influences from other culture's music over the years and have tried to stay true to the original while making it something uniquely ours. In this track I feel we achieved that. The groove is a traditional rhythm from the northeast of Brazil but it really doesn't sound like any of that music. It has turned into something completely different and that's what we strive for
Do you have any plans for future collaborations with other musicians? Who would they be?
We would love to do something with our mates in Singapore, Wicked Aura. Budi (the band leader) and Riduan (one of the B2KDA alumni) are great friends and we could get something really epic happening with those guys. Watch this space and google them. They are awesome!!
What NZ musicians or bands would you like to see more of, and why?
There are some amazing local acts in Auckland right now. We have had the pleasure of playing alongside Yoko-Zuna and Siobhan Leilani recently. Also, we share members with the Hipstamatics, Sal Valentine and the Babyshakes, Mooga Fooga and L.A.B. So much great NZ music. Would love to see some of these new acts get out there on the international stage.
What is the
one thing you want NZ to know about B2KDA?
It's OK to listen to us. We're not that weird :)
What has been your most memorable show to date?
Sziget Festival in Hungary was crazy. We played on the mainstage alongside bands like Dizzee Rascal and the Prodigy. A personal fave was the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Playing at the same festival that such greats as Miles Davis, Santana, Herbie Hancock, and so many more of our heroes played at was insane. It was Nile Rogers and Grace Jones our year!!
What advice would you like to give to other aspiring musicians?
Try not to get disheartened by the game. It can suck and it wears you down. Remember, that we as musicians create the industry. Always have pride in that fact and don't let industry people make you think you aren't valuable
Tell us about B2KDA’s next release.
Our new album Rising is the culmination of 5 years of international touring all around the world. It is inspired by the places we went, bands we got to see and the experiences we had. It hasn't always been a smooth ride. In fact, there have been as many ups as downs, but, you can always get up and keep moving. That's what Rising is about. Strength in adversity but also a celebration of life and culture. We hope you like it!
B2KDA are Paaka Davis (MC, vocals), Joel Shadbolt (guitar, vocals), Felipe Simonetto (guitar, vocals), Alex Urlich (bass), Adam Tobeck (drums), James Hughes (percussion), Dean Rodrigues (percussion), Guy Harrison (keyboards, trumpet) and Thabani Gapara (saxophone).
Website Links
Muzic.net.nz Page
Official Website
Amplifier Page
Facebook Page
Twitter Page
B2KDA Release New Album Rising On October 9 With Supporting Tour
Phil Walsh
In the 80’s and 90’s there were 2 main
camps of musicians in the Waikato. The
‘Originals’ who wanted to only play their own material and who were happy to
finance that dream through other means (i.e. day jobs); and the ‘Covers’ who simply wanted to get out
on stage and play, hopefully often enough to warrant giving up the day jobs and
go ‘pro’.
Each side had its merits. The ‘Originals’ had more money and resource to spend on their songs but, especially being outside of Auckland and Wellington, gigged very seldom and then only to small crowds. There wasn’t an abundance of outlets for unknown bands and original music.
The ‘Covers’ bands (of which I played in many) worked continuously. Yes, it may have been other people’s songs, but we gigged 3 or 4 nights a week, close to 52 weeks a year. It developed our musicianship and taught us stagecraft. (And I can still pack a trailer better than anyone I know).
I’m happy to have been one of ‘The Covers’. The money was barely enough to live on, but I got to play to a variety of audiences for many years, got to see a lot of New Zealand and meet some of the most brilliant and bizarre people you could ever hope to.
From socials and event gigs to pubs and clubs. The ‘Gang’ anniversary in a stone quarry, the small country pub starved for live entertainment. From stabbings in the public bar (as we were playing) to the clubs where we played encore after encore cause the punters didn’t want to go home. The good, the bad and sometimes, the downright ugly. I wouldn’t have traded a minute of it.
Some magic venues, most of which are long gone. Henry VIII in Whangarei with its Saturday Night Fever dance floor, The Lady Hamilton, (our unofficial home for several years), The Hilly, The Trees, The Cabana, The Leamington, The Nottingham Castle, The White Hart in New Plymouth (and the night the chicken heads attacked), The Bellblock, The Jolly Farmer, The Forge, The Cricketers Arms (Wellington), The Tamatea, Roxoff, Zaks ….. the list goes on and on. Sex and drugs and Rock n Roll – definitely some of that, but also no money, long long hours and lots of miles.
But without the network of support for NZ talent that exists today, it was hard work trying to ‘make it’ and many fell by the wayside. Let’s face it, there comes a time when squeezing yourself into a pair of imitation leather trousers to get up on stage and play April Sun in Cuba stops being fun.
So many of us ending up following the path of ‘normalcy’ and drifted into the world of careers and responsibilities. I was happy at home, still with a couple of basses and a piano to jam along to the radio on the nights I couldn’t sleep. I’ve ended up with a great career in IT that still keeps me on the road working with clients throughout New Zealand and Australia. And the Hotel rooms are lot nicer this time around (although the groupies are a lot fussier these days).
So there I was, happily travelling the IT road and having the odd ‘play’ in between at friends weddings or odd reunion gig. Missing the stage a little but definitely not missing the bullshit and the lugging around of equipment that went with it.
But I do spend a lot of time in transit
lounges, on aeroplanes, buses and the like. So a friend loaned me an iPad with
Garage Band on it.
At first it was a bit of harmless fun, throwing sounds and patterns together. But then some of them started sounding pretty good. OK, I’m no {Neil Finn} or {Dave Dobbyn} and I’ve still got a reasonable ear and know when things fit.
I took these back to my (now) engineer/producer/business partner, Dean Carter and we transferred them to his Logic suite and start playing around with them. I set up my own Logic system so we could trade ideas between Hamilton & his base in Auckland and we called in a few old friends to help out.
Kim Earl (Prophecy) & Kevin Smith (Prophecy, The Bronx, Kix) on vocals, Ross McMillan (Russia, Outlaw Teddys) to help out with the drumming and Rik Bernards (Echoes, The Bronx, Knightshade) to add his guitar magic to a couple of tracks.
The rest is all me and I had to reacquaint myself with a few instruments and quickly learn a couple of new ones. Yes that is me playing an electric mandolin in the background, but no….. the horns are midi. So there’s live, sequenced and looped music all mixed in together. It all allows for the variety of sounds and feels I was aiming for.
Dean and I formed ‘doublebass productions’ to handle business side of things and from there grew Scenes From The Movie In My Head - 11 original songs that tell stories that relate mostly to my life and travels so far (with a few imaginings thrown in for good measure.)
To finish it off we also recorded the very first original song I co-wrote back in the early 70’s. Morning Sunrise (which was also released as a single under the original band name of ‘Prophecy’)
Then we threw the whole thing at Producer and Engineer, Zed Brookes for mastering and he worked his magic to give us the final version. Is it perfect, nope, but it’s mine and I’m damn proud of it.
If you enjoy it, tell your friends. (If you don’t, tell your enemies)
CD
(Hardcopy) Available from
www.doublebass.co.nz
Listen/Download
from
iTunes
Amplifier
Spotify
Vilagrad Winery Fire
On the 28th June a terrible fire
struck the iconic Vilagrad Winery out at Ngahinapouri. This hit me especially hard as I’ve been
going out there for over 25 years, and that very Sunday had had my album launch
there.
The very next day I spoke to Zed Brookes who had mastered that album and we came up with a cunning plan.
During the 80’s and 90’s I was touring with the Band Echoes while Zed was recording and performing with his band Step Chant Unit as well as working with bands out at Tandy’s Recording Studio.
Between us we managed to track down a wealth of music recorded during that period and then went in hunt of the musicians behind it.
Everyone we contacted jumped on board straight away and we have to say a HUGE thanks to Tim Armstrong (The Politicians & Kiwi Bandits), Sooz (Silken Blue), Adrian Ellis (Maiden Britain), Mark Rimington & Murray Ferguson (Echoes), Peter Matthews (Home Run), Darry Monteith (Joe 90, Whisperscream), Andrew Johnstone (Hoola Troupe & 3 Men Missing) Ian Jefferies (The Bronx), Wayne Elliott & Rik Bernards (Knightshade), Gavin Dempsey & Paul Martin (Blackjack) and Paul also donated the title track from his solo album Nightfall.
Tim managed to track down a track from Neil Nooyen and came up with a copy of the double A side from Illegal Green who won the Waikato Battle of the Bands back in 80’s AND featured Jacob Nooyen on vocals. So those were 3 very special tracks to add to the album.
“After 30-odd years, finding the original song masters was nigh impossible, so many of these songs came by way of well-used and possibly badly-stored records and cassettes. Some may even have been mp3s at some point in their lives. After the audio equivalent of filing off the rough edges, plastering up the cracks and slapping on a new coat of paint, they all managed to recapture the milieu of Hamilton rock in the 80’s - including some of its diverseness. This is an incredible snapshot of some of Hamilton’s essential musical culture." – Zed Bookes
Listening to these songs, all in one go is absolutely brilliant and I am so proud to have been involved in the scene and so excited to finally get it all back out there. Considering the amount of bands and musicians that we didn’t get to because we either couldn’t find them, or we simply ran out of space has made me realise just how much talent we had in the Waikato at that time. Wow, simply just WOW!
ALL PROCEEDS TO THE VILAGRAD REBUILD
Availability Options (CD and/or download) from
NZ Music News
2015 APRA Silver Scroll Awards - The Winners
Brothers Ruban Nielson and Kody Nielson have won the 2015 APRA Silver Scroll Award for the Unknown Mortal Orchestra song Multi-Love. Between the two of them, the gifted brothers have been finalists five times before, however this is the first time they have won the prestigious songwriting award. The award was presented at the 50th annual APRA Silver Scroll Awards at Vector Arena in Auckland by legendary songwriter and recently appointed Chair of the APRA Board, Jenny Morris.
“It’s a mark of a great song that can feel both familiar and completely original at the same time” says APRA AMCOS’ Anthony Healey. “Ruban and Kody have crafted a modern classic in Multi-Love that is grounded in tradition but pushing the envelope of what’s possible.”
As well as the Silver Scroll Award for 2015, the highly anticipated ‘Lost Scroll’ of 1981 was also presented as a part of the 50th celebrations. The 1981 APRA Silver Scroll Award went to Phil Judd, Wayne Stevens and Mark Hough (The Swingers) for Counting the Beat. The New Zealand classic was performed on the night by Shayne Carter with the support of an 18-piece orchestra.
The 2015 APRA Maioha Award was won by Stan Walker, Vince Harder and Troy Kingi for their anthem in te reo Māori Aotearoa. The soaring waiata was performed by Ngā Takere Nui o Ngā Waka - a twenty person kapa haka group – along with a marching band arranged by Mike Booth.
Ella Yelich O’Connor (Lorde) and Joel Little took out the Most Performed New Zealand Work Internationally for Royals, and Matiu Walters, Marlon Gerbes (Six60) and Priese Board won the Most Performed New Zealand Work in New Zealand for Special.
Chris Watson won the coveted SOUNZ Contemporary Award for his composition Sing Songs Self, which was treated to an electro-acoustic cover by father and son duo Paul and Julien Dyne.
Prodigious songwriter, musician and composer Grayson Gilmour won the APRA Best Original Music in a Feature Film Award with his score for Consent, and Tom McLeod won the APRA Best Original Music in a Series Award for the second year in a row for his work on Girl vs Boy (Season 3).
Alongside the award presentations, 92 year-old bandleader, composer and master of the slide-guitar Bill Sevesi was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame. Mike Chunn paid tribute to Bill Sevesi, which was followed by a performance of Steel Guitar Haunt by John Segovia and Polytonix Quartet.
VNZMA Tech Finalists & Scholarship announcement
The Technical Award finalists for the 50th Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards are announced by Recorded Music NZ with a mix of first timers and previous winners up for the three Tuis.
There’s also good news for all aspiring music performers and industry professionals of the future with Massey University announcing a Bachelor of Commercial Music Scholarship in association with the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards.
Cotswolds based Kiwi Clint Murphy leads the way with two nominations for Best Engineer and Massey University Best Producer on Devilskin’s We Rise. Clint has previously worked with NZ favourites OpShop, The Feelers, Kimbra, 8 Foot Sativa and Bic Runga.
Joel Little returns to the Massey University Best Producer finalist list for Broods’ debut album Evergreen. Joel is a previous VNZMA and Grammy Award winner, Golden Globe-nominated, multi-platinum certified songwriter, producer and musician. He now spends his time in both Los Angeles and Auckland, the latter where his Golden Age studio is based. In addition to Broods, Joel has worked closely with Lorde, Jarryd James, Ellie Goulding and Sam Smith.
The Massey University Best Producer category also features Auckland’s Sean Donnelly aka SJD as a finalist, recognised for self-production work on his latest album Saint John Divine. Sean has produced all his seven albums as well as co-producing Neil Finn's Pajama Club and Don McGlashan’s album Warm Hand.
Miramar’s Evan Short is up for Best Engineer for his work on Shihad’s, FVEY. Evan’s musical career has spanned a diverse range of genres and roles including being one half of respected drum and bass act Concord Dawn. His career in production and engineering has had him working with artists such as Tiki Taane, Shapeshifter and David Dallas, as well as with Aaradhna on her 2013 VNZMA Album of the Year Treble & Reverb.
Lee Prebble and Oliver Harmer complete the Best Engineer finalists list for their work on Mel Parson’s album Drylands. Lee and Oliver have a significant impact on New Zealand music, having engineered multiple gold and platinum albums.
The designers being acknowledged for their artistic flair as finalists for this year’s Best Album Cover are Aucklanders Kelvin Soh (Broods’ Evergreen) and Barny Bewick (Cairo Knife Fight’s The Colossus). They’re joined by Auckland graphic design firm Alt Group for its work on Shihad’s FVEY cover.
Vodafone NZ Music Awards announcements
The Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with award winning film director, writer, actor and comedian Taika Waititi hosting the evening.
And for the first time this year’s awards will be broadcast live on TV3 with the broadcast expected to reach the largest audience in the event’s history.
The 50th annual Recorded Music NZ Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards ceremony is at Auckland’s Vector Arena on Thursday 19 November.
Key dates for this year’s Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards:
Technical award finalist’s announcement: Thursday 1 October
Finalist’s announcement, Legacy award recipient, Technical award winners and Critics’ Choice line-up: Tuesday 13 October
Critics’ Choice winner: Thursday 5 November
Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards ceremony: Thursday 19 November at Vector Arena.
Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre welcomes Jennifer Ryckaert
Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre announces the appointment of Jennifer Ryckaert to the role of Clinical Development Manager.
Jennifer brings with her a wide scope of course development experience having created numerous music therapy programmes in the fields of speech, physical and occupation therapies along with special needs.
Most recently Jennifer was the Music Therapy Clinical Manager and Visiting Assistant Clinical Professor of Music Therapy at Nazareth College in Rochester, New York.
She is certified in the Orff-Schulwerk music education methodology and has formerly served on the Orff faculty at the Hochstein School of Music and Dance in New York where she developed a class for children with visual impairments.
While working as a music therapist, Jennifer has maintained a private music studio for the past 20 years where she specialises in piano instruction for people with special needs including those who require Braille instruction.
Kiwi music idols donate chart-topping singles to ruby anniversary vinyl
A limited edition 7” pressed on ruby red vinyl has been released in celebration of the 40th anniversary of The Charts.
The double A-side features record-setting singles by two of New Zealand’s iconic artists, Tiki Taane and Scribe.
Tiki Taane’s Always On My Mind spent the most weeks in the Singles Chart by a NZ artist (55). Scribe’s Stand Up * was the Kiwi single that spent the most weeks at #1 (12).
Both artists donated their tracks for the project with all proceeds going to the New Zealand Music Foundation (http://www.nzmusicfoundation.org.nz/).
The Foundation develops and supports projects across New Zealand that use music in healthcare, education, rehabilitation, volunteering and all areas of society to positively influence the lives of those in need. It also provides caring, confidential and practical assistance in times of illness and hardship to members of the New Zealand music community.
Kiwi Artist Wins Grand Prize In US Based Music Competition
The Unsigned Only Music Competition, geared toward musical artists who are unsigned to a major record label or its affiliates, announced its 2015 winners today. The competition recognizes the best in up-and-coming artists worldwide and acts as a benchmark for excellence in contemporary music. Winners were selected from 7,000 entries from all over the world and represent many genres of contemporary, commercial music. More than $100,000 in cash and prizes are awarded to a total of 26 winners. The winning songs can be heard at www.unsignedonly.com/winners.
The 2015 Grand Prize goes to New Zealander Kaylee Bell and Australian (California-born) Jared Porter for their acclaimed duet and co-written song, Pieces. In addition to winning $10,000 in cash and $20,000 in merchandise and services, Bell and Porter also receive the opportunity to be mentored by the top echelon of record company professionals, including Presidents and top-level executives from Atlantic, Warner Bros., Sony Music Nashville, RCA, Capitol, Big Machine, Roc Nation, Vanguard, Sugar Hill, and American Recordings.
In addition to Kaylee Bell, two more New Zealand artists were recognized in the competition, both receiving Honourable Mentions: Alexander Wildwood (Mount Maunganui, BOP, New Zealand) in the AAA (Adult Album Alternative) category and Bruce Greaves (Auckland, New Zealand) in the Country category.
Nicole Andrews Whisper Music Video Release
Indie singer and pianist, Nicole Andrews, has released a music video for Whisper, the latest single from her debut album In the Shallows.
Originally from Portland, Oregon, Nicole has made herself at home in the Wellington music scene, having worked with artists like David Long (The Mutton Birds), Andrew Bain (Fur Patrol), Thomas Voyce (Rhombus), Daniel Ryland (Odessa and Sorceress), and more. Nicole is often compared to alternative artists such as Tori Amos, PJ Harvey and Massive Attack.
Tablefox Release Something Better
Tablefox announce the release of their first single Something Better, from their self produced debut album Objects (November 2015). This track marks the band’s first recording since the release of the Passenger EP in 2013.
Much has happened for Auckland band Tablefox since the Passenger EP. Evolving from a three piece into a five piece has seen their sonic palette broaden to include weaving dual guitar lines and uplifting harmonies, creating an intense tapestry of light and shade in their music. Gigs have been played and audiences built by honing the songs that will become the Objects album.
From Roundhead Studios in Auckland to Tsunami Studios in heartland Horowhenua, Tablefox have endeavoured to craft songs that burrow their way into the hearts and mind of listeners. Something Better does this directly with its bell like guitars, explosive chorus and thought provoking lyrics.
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