August/September 2014
FEATURES
Interviews
Lizzie Marvelly: Tripping From Popular To Pop
Lizzie Marvelly. It’s such a brilliant name for a performer, and most Kiwis will have some recalled image of a confidently beautiful girl with a killer voice, and heels to match, immaculately presenting ...
Ex-Pat Files
Ex-Pat Files: Jordan Reyne
It's been a decade since NZM last featured Jordan Reyne (or her alter-ego persona Dr Kevorkian), and for the last six years she has been performing around Europe – mainly Germany, U.K., Poland and ...
Gear Reviews
Review: Martin 000RSGT Small Body Acoustic Guitar
The Martin Guitar Company has managed to survive with family management for six generations. From the early beginnings of C.F. Martin Sr's creations of the 1830s to the recent developments introduced ...
Interviews
The Nomad: Strength Through Adversity
Vires rebus adversis. If The Nomad had a classical bent he might have named his latest album so, but in the event Daimon Schwalger rather more efficiently settled for ‘7’ – it being his seventh album. ...
On Foreign Soil
On Foreign Soil: Myele Manzanza
Adam Burns' article in NZM's Feb/March 2012 issue provides a great introduction to just what made the then 23-year old Wellington drummer Myele Manzanza tick. With a background of beat keeping for ...
Interviews
The Nukes: Ditty Deeds Done Uke Sweet
Their Peas and Carrots won The Nukes an APRA award for best original ukulele song just six months after their first performance, and some six years later the Auckland ukulele-only trio is all-but fully ...
Fresh Talent
Fresh Talent: Space Bats, Attack!
Nick Cave famously once screamed, "Release the bats," and in Dunedin the flying marsupials are taking to the wing with a vengeance. Space Bats, Attack! are a Dunedin band with a love of cult science ...
Fresh Talent
Fresh Talent: Fin Rah Zel
The first thing the band formerly known as Fin Raziel wants you to know is that they are Fin Rah Zel now. The table rings out with three band members mimicking the various pronunciations that they have ...
Fresh Talent
Fresh Talent: Odyssey
There must be something quite potent percolating in the water supply of Christchurch if it can birth such kaleidoscopic cocktail of hi-tech hip hop, such as Odyssey. As you hear the trio breathe new ...
Fresh Talent
Fresh Talent: Fazerdaze
Wellington-native Amelia Murray is the dark horse behind the dream pop, shoe-gazer outfit Fazerdaze. Based now in Auckland, her debut singles Reel and Tired of Waiting have both featured regularly on Kiwi ...
Interviews
Seth Frightening: Ugly Sounds of Undeniable Beauty
Recorded entirely on a laptop, his vocals included, the first Seth Frightening album was entitled ‘The Prince and His Madness’, encapsulating Wellingtonian Sean Kelly’s uncompromisingly personal ...
Gear Reviews
Review: Banjos on Any Budget
I was talking to a luthier in Auckland the other day who told me that when he started out 20 years ago, he'd see maybe one banjo a year coming through his workshop. These days, he said, it's more like ...
Interviews
Louie Knuxx: Gentleman Gangsta
Having spent several years in Melbourne, Todd Williams (aka Louie Knuxx) returned to Aotearoa over the last year, bringing with him a smooth new sound and look which serves as a growing-up of the rough-edged ...
Interviews
Libeau: A Nor’wester Blows Through It
Natalie Lyall, aka Natalie Libeau, aka Libeau, has delivered a strikingly polished debut. Some may recall the 32-year-old artist from Christchurch rock band Murmur, though the 5-piece have left little ...
Interviews
Kimbra: Somebody That We Used To Know
There’s no escaping that this is a big album for Kimbra. While there may have been an element of flukey luck in sharing Somebody That I Used To Know with Gotye, she has undeniably made the best of the ...
Interviews
Robert Scott: Explorations Continue
Perhaps it’s more a legacy of his famous Antarctic-exploring namesake, but Robert Scott’s name seems to carry with it a weight of New Zealand musical history. The Clean’s seminal early recordings ...
Interviews
Will Wood: Well He Would
Barman, bouncer, tour manager, psychiatric nurse, multi-instrumentalist band member and now solo country/folk recording artist, Will Wood has an attitude, as well as a name, bred for success. Though his ...
Interviews
Shihad: Accidental Manifesto
Had it not been for the escalation of public disorder and destruction of civil rights surrounding the ejection of Mohamed Morsi from his elected role as President, Shihad’s ninth album would have been ...
Moments Like These
Moments Like These: Richard James Burgess
Originally from London, formerly from Christchurch, Richard James Burgess has forged a career in music, both here and internationally, that makes for a very illustrious CV. It includes musician, record ...
Interviews
Beach Pigs: Skate, Party, Smoke, Play
Billy Robertson and Daniel Kerr played in high school bands together, connecting with Dahnu Graham back in those days too. The three decided to start a new band once their uniform days were behind them, ...
LESSONS
Deep Thinking
Deep Thinking: Bass In Your Face
In the last NZM issue, we looked at some iconic Afro-American funk bass lines that used a 'less is more' approach. We'll continue the theme here by looking at two significant bass tracks (one from the ...
Building Blocks
Building Blocks: Peak Performance Part Three – Changeovers
Last issue's Building Blocks article ended with a cliff-hanger. You've gone through the lengthy process of sound checking, and your levels are all sweet. Now what happens? The answer differs depending ...
Tutors' Tutorial
Tutors’ Tutorial: It’s Just A ø (Phase that is…)
If you've ever recorded a sound source with two or more microphones simultaneously, chances are you have encountered phase problems. Unless correctly aligned, the sound from your instrument would enter ...
Guitar Cool
Guitar Cool: Tremolo Picking
When guitar players get together they often talk about how fast they can play, or even show off their speed. Although playing fast is not everything, it is a skill that needs to be practised just in case ...
Finding Your Voice
Finding Your Voice: Crossing over – Inter-genre vocal technique
I recently addressed a NEWZATS conference about teaching contemporary singing to predominantly classically-trained singing teachers. I aimed to show the commonalities of good vocal production between genres. ...
X-Factory
X-Factory: @Peace – Gravity
I was pretty hooked on this song from the moment I heard it. It fuses lightning-quick-witted lyrics with spicy flavoured jazz harmony and deeply pocketed bass and drums. I'm not sure if Gravity is actually ...
Legal Advice
The Lawful Truth: Publishing Agreements – Part 1
In this Lawful Truth column and the next issue of NZ Musician, were going to be discussing the last of the major types of agreements that you commonly encounter in the music industry, Publishing Agreements. In ...