December/January 2017
COVER STORY
Interviews
SWIDT: Straight Outta Onehunga
Finalists for both the 2016 Critics Choice Prize and the Urban / Hip Hop Album of the Year Tui at the NZ Music Awards that followed soon after, unassuming Auckland hip hop newcomers SWIDT missed out on ...
FEATURES
Interviews
The Eversons: (Not Stuck ) In London
It’s a rite of passage, isn’t it? Pack up your bags and head for British shores, pull pints in a pub or become one of the many fabled Kiwi baristas of London. Bid farewell to Aotearoa and see what ...
Interviews
Paul Cathro: Parachute Down
The last time Paul Cathro was pictured in NZ Musician it was as a member of Dunedin band Ha The Unclear, who were about to drop their debut album in mid-2014. Recorded not long before they moved north, ...
Book Reviews
Hirini Melbourne: Toiapiapi, 25th Anniversary Edition
The original release in 1991 of ‘Toiapiapi’ by Hirini Melbourne (1949-2003) was a profound and beautiful landmark on the soundscape of NZ music. A first of its kind with an exclusive use of te reo ...
Interviews
The Verlaines: Delayed Gratification
The Verlaines have been a musical force for 35 years (in various guises), and intriguingly currently exist in two versions, one of which is the original trio of Graeme Downes, Jane Dodd and Robbie Yeats. ...
Fresh Talent
Fresh Talent: Lukas
“I used to think, ‘if you don’t get anywhere when you’re young with music, you’re not gonna get anywhere. You need to start building a foundation now.’” Referencing the upcoming release ...
Industry
Jeremy Ansell: Sifting Through Neil Finn’s Private Universe
Crowded House fans had a September to remember with the announcement that the seven albums the band produced between 1986 and 2010 would soon be re-issued in deluxe editions. Each album has been expanded ...
Fresh Talent
Fresh Talent: Albion Place
Taking its name from a street on the band’s home turf of Dunedin, Albion Place formed in 2011 and currently includes Micah Davis-Rae on guitar and vocals, Hugh Fulton (synthesiser), Tom Kelk on bass ...
Interviews
Sacha Vee: Sweet Distractions
Being of mixed heritage has proven a creative blessing for quite a number of our best known music artists. In Sacha Van Beek’s case it was a Dutch one via her father’s parents, and a connection with ...
Interviews
Madeira: In Good Humour?
Her voice first danced its way into our lives during the summer of 2014, when Yumi Zouma’s introductory single The Brae was on heavy rotate across alternative radio airwaves. Based in Christchurch, Kim ...
Fresh Talent
Fresh Talent: Tommy Nee
Growing up in Hawkes Bay, Niuean singer/songwriter Tommy Nee found an escape from his “tough upbringing” through music. Difficulties faced throughout his life have undoubtedly shaped his sound, with ...
Fresh Talent
Fresh Talent: Molly & The Chromatics
Over the summer of 2014, Molly & The Chromatics started playing covers at house parties. With most of the original line up hailing from Auckland’s North Shore they quickly developed a solid following ...
Interviews
Kings: Don’t Worry, Be Happy
Six60 and Broods pretty much owned the NZ Singles Chart back in May when an unknown guy calling himself Kings turned up with Don’t Worry Bout It, which entered at #20. After hovering in the bigger numbers ...
Interviews
Albi And The Wolves: A Pack Of Three
Easily mistaken at first glance as an oddball half-band – an open-mic night kind of unfinished ensemble – Albi And The Wolves typically take little more time than the obligatory count in to convincingly ...
Fresh Talent
Fresh Talent: Iris Guevarra
The young Iris Guevarra was only seven years of age, yet heartbroken and crushed at what she thought was the realisation that her dreams could never come true… “I joined the talent competition, ...
Interviews
Opetaia Foa’i: Making Moana’s music
New Zealand composers quite possibly have a strong reputation in Disney land, courtesy of Bret McKenzie’s genius in composing Man or Muppet, for which he famously won the Original Song Oscar at the 2012 ...
Book Reviews
The Dunedin Sound – Some Disenchanted Evening
By Ian Chapman, Bateman Publishing, rrp $50 One of the many endearing aspects of Dr Ian Chapman’s book, 'The Dunedin Sound - Some Disenchanted Evening', is just how much of it is taken up with the ...
Get Yer Kit Off
Get Yer Kit Off: Jimmy Mac
Throughout 2014 James McDonald performed all across the globe with Lorde, playing not drums but synths and electronics. Late last year Jimmy Mac surfaced back home in Auckland under the guise of Scuba ...
Remembering...
Ray Columbus OBE (4/11/1942 – 29/11/2016)
For those going out to popular music venues or at home watching TV in the 1970s and ’80s, Ray Columbus was a very familiar figure. A fantastically versatile performer and unusually great Kiwi showman ...
LESSONS
Guitar Cool
Guitar Cool: Coping with Pressure and Stress
It’s that time again and of course I hope that you have a great Christmas and New Year – and that Father Christmas brings you that new guitar you have been dreaming about. With that possibility in ...
Finding Your Voice
Finding Your Voice: How Aotearoa Is Perfect For Touring!
I had the great privilege of recently touring Aotearoa with Arts on Tour and experienced tour veterans The Alpaca Social Club, stretching from Riverton to Kaitaia with 23 gigs in 26 daze! This column ...
Tutors' Tutorial
Tutors’ Tutorial: Mixing In The Box – Part 4
Panning is one of the first concepts people become familiar with when getting into music production. The pan pot (panorama potentiometer) is right there on the channel strip and moving it around probably ...
Deep Thinking
Deep Thinking: Some 12/8 Xmas Trickiness With The Verlaines!
As it’s the Christmas period, I thought I would do some shameless marketing. There is a new album, ‘Dunedin Spleen’ from The Verlaines, a Dunedin band with which I play, that’s due for release ...