10 October 2010 - 0 Comments

Well... The Vodafone NZ Music awards are over for another year! Congrats to all the finalists and winners last night but a massive congrats must go out to Rhythmethods winners - The Checks, Opensouls and Bulletproof, well done guys, the hangover is worth it!!!

DRAG CITY! We're absolutely delighted to announce we'll be distributing the Drag City label in NZ, as of November 2010! We'll be bringing in the latest new releases (& a bunch of shelf stock) Our first new release will be from Letitia Sadler - but there's HEAPS of new vinyl available! Check out http://www.dragcity.com/ or get in touch for more information on the label...

Video of the week! Darwin Deez 'Constellations'

NEW RELEASES FROM RHYTHMETHOD

ICE CUBE ~ I Am The West
Since his days in the notorious N.W.A. in the late '80s (alongside Dr Dre, Eazy E, Ren & Yella), right through his multi-platinum solo albums like Amerikkka's Most Wanted, The Predator & 2008's return-to-form Raw Footage, the manlike Cube keeps it raw & uncut. I Am The West showcases Cube at his most street, throwing down hard-edged rhymes about life in L.A. atop genuinely West Coastin' beats, reminiscent of his early solo work. This is old, but listening to Cube the other day reminded me of it.  How sick is the Roots version of this classic, daaaaaaamn!

NOVEMBER ZULU ~ Black Yellow White
Debut album from Auckland-based 5-piece rock group "...with a deeply rich sound... & Geordie Meade's charismatic vocals tightly tied together with exquisite compositions, November Zulu display a thorough understanding of what rock n' roll is all about." Buy this if you like: Incubus, Breaking Benjamin, Shihad, Karnivool or Van Halen.

JESSIE JAMES & THE OUTLAWS ~ The Price Of Gum
Debut album from Wellington-based country-folk collective. The album is essentially alt-country with strong influences from the likes of Neil Young, Gillian Welch & The Phoenix Foundation. The production is guided by the early 1950s techniques of Joe Meek, as well as processes used by reggae producers such as Lee "Scratch" Perry & Coxsone Dodds.

SWANS ~ My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To You
This highly anticipated album unleashes a chaotic melee of noise as beautiful as it is ferocious Opening with the epic, soul-crushing 'No Words/No Thoughts', the album quickly veers to more pastoral terrain & on to ever-ascending monotonal grooves, cataclysm, lethal sonic pummeling - typical Swans fare! Featuring a guest appearance from Devendra Banhart, alongside members of Mercury Rev, REM, Angels Of Light & Swans old & new. An office favourite!!!

SHARON VAN ETTEN ~ Epic
Van Etten lays a romantic melancholy lining over the gravel & dirt of heartbreak, without one honest thought or feeling spared. She sings of betrayal, obsession, egotism & all the emotions we hate in others & recognise in ourselves. Buy this if you like: The Velvet Underground, Nico, Joan Baez, Low, Cat Power or Bon Iver.

MADLIB Medicine Show #8: Advanced Jazz
This is Volume 8 in an ongoing series of mixtapes & original music projects from the uber-prolific L.A. DJ, producer & digger, Madlib aka Otis Jackson Jr. Even numbers are mixtapes, odd numbers feature original music. Imagine an 80min music history course taking place in a dusty, hazy studio with wall-to-wall jazz vinyl - records from the past 40yrs - jazz, fusion, funky, obscure, from Miles Davis to Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra & beyond.

SURGEON ~ Fabric.53
As ever, the selection is subject to meticulous sequencing & deft mixing, blurring the rhythmic codes of dubstep & techno. The throb is at the root of what Surgeon does here, but it's broken with tracks like Instra:mental, Greena, Starkey, Gatekeeper & Subeena, adding a more tumultuous topography to the linear thrust of his pure techno.

DAM-FUNK ~ Hood Pass Intact
A 12" maxi-single inspired by Dam-Funk's underground cult hit album Toeachizown. Dam-Funk is joined on the vocal mix of Hood Pass Intact, the standout track from Toeachizown, by West Coast legend MC Eiht. The 12" also features the vocals of Steve Arrington (lead singer of Slave) on the track 4 My Homies. Rounding out the 4-track 12" are contributions from Devonwho on the instrumental re-edit of Come On Outside & JT Donaldson & TK co-producing the non-album single How It Be Between U & Me?

ODE RECORDS

We will be releasing the soundtrack to this awesome movie 'The Insatiable Moon' in the coming weeks, can't wait to see the film!!!

WILLIAM DOWDALL ~ Breathe
The brand new album from the Dublin born flautist William Dowdall, released by NZ's Atoll Records results from collaborations with a number of Irish & NZ composers & presents new works for solo flute & for flute & electronics

THE MASTER MUSICIANS OF JAJOUKA ~ The Source
The Source embraces Hadra (ritual music invoking mental healing to the Holy founder of the village Sidi Ahmed Sheikh), Boujeloudia (music accompanying the rituals of fecundity of Boudjeloud, comparable to the Pan God), Hamza oua Hamzine (traditional reminding music the time or the musicians of Jajouka plays in front of the King of the lessons of the Sultans before European colonization) & Jibli (inseparable music of holidays of the village). "One of the most musically inspiring groups still left on the planet."   - Mick Jagger, The Rolling Stones "The primordial sounds of a 4000yr old rock & roll band..."  - William S. Burroughs

ERKKI-SVEN TUUR & THE NORDIC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Strata
ECM presents a New Series release from Estonian composer Erkki-Sven Tuur, comprising world premiere recordings of two large-scale pieces for orchestral forces, Strata & Noesis.

OUNASKARI / MIKKONEN / JORGENSEN ~ Kuara
Kuara introduces a new Finnish-Norwegian trio with some fresh perspectives in music making - drummer Markku Ounaskari, pianist Samuli Mikkonen & trumpeter/vocalist Per Jorgensen.  The source material for improvising on this highly attractive ECM release is Russian psalms & folk songs of the Finno-Ugric diaspora, songs of the Udmurtian, Vepsian & Karelian peoples.

GILBERT & SULLIVAN ~ The Best Of
The Best Of Gilbert & Sullivan as performed by the legendary D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, the professional light opera company who specialised in Gilbert & Sullivan's Savoy Operas. "A unique performance style which may be summarised as a combination of good taste & good fun."  - The Times

BUENA VISTA - HAVANA STARS
The real Buena Vista Social Club was a members club in Havana, Cuba that held dances & musical activities, becoming a popular location for musicians to meet & play during the 1940s. In the '90s, nearly 50yrs after the club had closed; it inspired a recording made famous by Ry Cooder. This compilation is an excellent selection from the original Buena Vista Social Club artists. This is pretty fab: a short film by World Circuit on the new Afrocubism album.

PETULA CLARK ~ It Had To Be You, The Complete Early Singles
This stunning double disc set features 61 tracks which cover all of Clark's original Polygon '78s lovingly remastered for the first time in one collection.

And... that's all folks; enjoy your music and your weekend!!!

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