The Yule Vortex and Mix and Mash

I've been listening to the mad melodies that Andy Cirzan compiles each year for a while and I have to say no Christmas music has ever grabbed me as much as his 'Adventures in Holiday Obscura' with the possible exception of Bing Crosby and David Bowie dueting on 'Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth'. So it was a great pleasure to have a chat with Andy for Music 101.

Andy Cirzan on Music 101

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An Opal Dream Cave, by Jem Yoshioka, winner of the supreme NZ remix

Mix and Mash was a competition run by Digital New Zealand (a part of the National Library of New Zealand). It invited entrants to mix data, pictures, poems, whatever into something new and innovative. I put together a piece for The Arts on Sunday on Radio New Zealand National that gives a nice overview.

Darkstar

Darkstar have just put out a rather splendid album called 'North' on the Hyperdub label. The duo turned trio are one of a number of groups trying to translate the aesthetic of modern British electronic music to a wider audience. In doing this they take more cues from what has gone before than some of their peers, but despite their looking back; this is music moving forward. I interviewed band member James Young for Music 101 on Radio New Zealand National.

Darkstar on Music 101

Zebedees

About a month before the Christchurch earthquake I went down for a brief holiday. While there I recorded a short doco for Music 101 on Radio New Zealand National about all ages venue Zebedees. Zebedees was more fortunate than many Christchurch venues (some of which need major work or even demolishing) in that it was back to normal by the Saturday following the earthquake. So luckily Zebedees is continuing in its important role in our sadly lacking all-ages music scene.

Zebedees documentary 

Magneto Roundup 02

My work for Magneto has been building up! Check out reviews of albums by Venetic, Janelle Monáe, and Grayson Gilmour. Focusing on individual tracks (that vary between good, bad and amazing) we have my second and third single sentence track review columns. Also for the first time I write something for Magneto unrelated to music; in an interview with comedian Ewen Gilmour.

EDIT: OH DEAR, I'M AFRAID ALL THESE LINKS ARE DEAD NOW.

Book Odds

Once again I have entered the Third Coast International Audio Festival's Short Docs competition. My submission is a co-production with my Radio New Zealand colleague Sonia Yee who currently produces The Asian Report and Christchurch Story. It's a chance to make short form radio within carefully selected and creatively interesting parameters. You can listen to the co-production All You Need Is a Wall as well as other work I have previously submitted here.

Magneto Roundup

Here's a roundup of my recent Magneto reviews (at least the ones available online).
If you're in the niche demograph of Yeasayer/Justin Bieber fans luckily we have the glory of Single Sentence Track Reviews.

Also reviewed are odd takes of Madonna, Peter Gabriel doing odd takes, and The Drums having a odd summer.
And of course there's plenty of other good stuff on the site.

EDIT: OH DEAR, I'M AFRAID ALL THESE LINKS ARE DEAD NOW.

Claudia O'Doherty and Heath Franklin

Here's a couple of interviews with Australian comedians currently in the country for the New Zealand International Comedy Festival. They were originally broadcast on MUSE RADiO.

Claudia O'Doherty's show Monster of the Deep 3D should be seen if you have any interest in marine facts or comedy that is unafraid to take risks. Out of the new acts I've been exposed to this festival Claudia O'Doherty has the most potential and is showing plenty of it in her undersea adventure. Plus she listens to some of the same podcasts as me so she must be alright.

Claudia O'Doherty by Shaun D Wilson



Heath Franklin made his name as the profane comedy character Chopper. Despite some choppy phone reception (get it!) he managed to tell me some of the backstory of his career.


Heath Franklin by Shaun D Wilson

Psyrok and Lil' Sister Jen

Wellington producer Psyrok with the help of Swedish vocalist Lil' Sister Jen has crafted a lovely collection called the Akinosuke EP. Though at 26 minutes in length I'd say it's a mini-album (I've spent far too much of my life contemplating the difference between albums and EPs). I thought seeing as the pair had never met it would be interesting to get them to talk about their music. Thus was a piece for Music 101 on Radio New Zealand National born.

Psyrok and Lil' Sister Jen on Music 101

I didn't realise it until I got his email address but Psyrok is one of my fellow DJs on Muse Radio. Listen to him on the Sidestream show on MUSE RADiO 12-3PM NZT on Sundays.

Gorillaz On My Mind

I've written an online only piece for Magneto on my history with/the history of Gorillaz. NPR and The Guardian are streaming their album Plastic Beach until it is released. The Guardian is going Gorillaz-crazy but if you were to check our just one thing from their Gorillaz Takeover it would be the Music Weekly podcast of which I am a regular listener.

Sampology and Laneway Festival

I've started writing for MAWSA's Magneto magazine. For those unable to pick up the beautifully designed mag on Massey Wellington's Campus, its articles are now becoming available online.

Here's an interview (including audio) with Australian turntablist Sampology.
I went up to the first St. Jeromes Laneway Festival to be held in New Zealand and wrote up this enlightening piece.



INTERVIEW: Sampology by Magneto

MSW

Here's a piece I did on Auckland band Moron Says What?!?! (order and amount of exclamation and question marks optional) for Music 101 on Radio New Zealand National.

Moron Say What!? on RNZ

I saw spin off band Lol-Fi recently and they're certainly worth a listen, if you're into joyful mentalism and distorted vocals. Which I am, particularly on the track Saaam.