Shaun D Wilson

Sugar Mountain Festival

2012-02-14T14:55:00.000+13:00

So I went to this Music Festival in Melbourne, Australia. It was pretty cool. You should listen to the documentary I made about it. The acts interviewed are Fox & Sui, Julianna Barwick, Lost Animal, Prince Rama, and The Harpoons.

Sugar Mountain Festival Documentary

Photos from Sugar Mountain Festival

In the same edition of Music 101 that my Sugar Mountain feature played; there was a lot of coverage of Camp A Low Hum 2012. I was there as a sound engineer for the programme and thoroughly recommend checking it out by clicking right here.

Summer Camp

2012-01-13T11:25:00.000+13:00

At the end of 2011 Summer Camp released a record that appealed to all my primordial indie-pop instincts. It was called 'Welcome to Condale' and I had a bit of a chinwag to Jeremy Warmsley and Elizabeth Sankey about it for Music 101.

Summer Camp on Music 101

Christchurch Introducings

2011-12-06T03:16:00.000+13:00

When I was last in Christchurch I recorded a few interviews for Music 101 on Radio New Zealand National's Introducing series. It's a slot that gives exposure to new acts, introducing them and their music to a nationwide audience. Here's three Christchurch acts you probably haven't heard before:

Teen Fortress

Alexander Harmer

Psych Tigers

MayaVanya

2011-09-09T11:20:00.003+12:00

On a trip to Auckland earlier this year I spoke to DJ and production duo Mayavanya who favour a tropical dance-ready style. I heartily recommend checking out their Soundcloud page. It was for a piece for Magneto Magazine which you can peruse with your eyeballs here.

I also did a audio version which someone (I assume from the Mayavanya camp) posted on youtube though oddly it seems to have been remixed a bit at the end. The original SDW cut is below:

MayaVanya - Magneto Magazine Interview by Shaun D Wilson

Writing Roundup

2011-09-07T14:29:00.003+12:00

Firstly a live review for Groove Guide with some great photos by Ash Smith of Lil' Chief Records acts Princess Chelsea and Pikatunes.

Not much of my writing for Magneto this year is online but there are a couple of my marvelous fun to write radio columns. Here's one focusing on speech radio shows about music, and here's another talking about This American Life and other shows indebted to that cultural powerhouse.

Ikonika

2011-04-14T00:24:00.002+12:00

I've been spinning Ikonika's album 'Contact, Love,Want, Have' album and her unpronounciable EP 'Dckhdbtch' since they came out in 2010. All her stuff is worth checking out - particularly if you grew up playing video games in the late nineties. For Music 101 I phoned up Sara Abdel-Hamid, for an enlightening chat ahead of her New Zealand tour.

Ikonika on Music 101

The Yule Vortex and Mix and Mash

2010-12-23T16:58:00.002+13:00

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

_____________________________________________________________


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

2010-11-12T18:50:00.001+13:00

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

2010-09-22T16:13:00.002+12:00

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

2010-08-09T21:28:00.005+12:00

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

2010-07-24T23:46:00.003+12:00

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

2010-06-14T23:06:00.005+12:00

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

2010-05-06T23:24:00.016+12:00

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

2010-05-01T00:55:00.012+12:00

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

2010-03-06T16:29:00.007+13:00

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

2010-02-22T13:57:00.009+13:00

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

2010-02-03T21:16:00.010+13:00

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.

A MUNTed Doco

2009-10-31T01:57:00.008+13:00

So MUNT FM huh? It's a station at a turning point and a lot of people I've spoken to are unsure about what's been happening to it. Luckily I can now point people in the direction of this documentary which summarises some of the recent events between MAWSA (Massey Wellington Student Association) and MUNT FM.

A MUNTed Doco by Shaun D Wilson

Update:
If you want to be a DJ on Massey Wellington's MUSE RADiO then email stationmanager@musemedia.net.nz

MUNT Forums

2009-10-22T19:58:00.006+13:00

There's been two forums on the future of MUNT FM recently. MUNT now has some sort of future though a lot of details have to be worked out. This is only of interest to those intimately involved in MUNT but here are those forums.

MUNT FM Forum 19 October 2009 by Shaun D Wilson

MUNT FM Forum 15 October 2009 by Shaun D Wilson

A more easily digested documentary on the MUNT situation is coming.

Save Munt FM

2009-10-09T22:34:00.011+13:00

The MAWSA Executive have voted to close Munt FM down at the end of the month! We’re going to try and fight this. Here are some of the ways:

1. A Facebook group to save Munt FM has been created:

www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=150099934557&ref=nf

2. MUNT DJs and supporters who are Massey Wellington students can request a Special General Meeting if 40 students sign a document saying that they want a meeting.

3. A petition will be written and will be available to sign from next week.

4. Lobby MAWSA! Ring, email and go see everyone at MAWSA. Load them with communications (especially this weekend), but make it constructive and in no way nasty. Keep it above board!

Also it looks like there will be a gathering outside Munt’s premises on Friday 16 October. I’ll be there.

Closing down Munt FM is a mistake. Massey Wellington has a lot of trouble in building up a sense of community within the student body - this will strike a nasty body blow. Instead of destroying Munt more support needs to be given to it. Obviously these are difficult financial times but this is not a solution. Stay tuned to Munt to help save Munt.

Herculean Cauliflower

2009-10-03T18:52:00.006+13:00

Herculean Cauliflower (Thursdays, 5-7PM NZT) is my radio show for Massey University’s Wellington campus radio station: Munt FM. Here is a vaguely typical show (though somewhat more poptastic and rewind heavy than usual).

Herculean Cauliflower - Episode 49 (20 August 2009) by Shaun D Wilson

There are a few minor digital glitches in the recording. All other things that sound wrong happened live due to equipment failure or my own personal inadequacies.

Tracklisting

Monkey - Monkey’s World

Janelle Monáe - Violet Stars Happy Hunting!!!

Phillip Bailey – Easy Lover (feat. P. Collins)

Chris Morris (The Day Today) – Uzi Lover

Radiohead - These Are My Twisted Words

Stef Animal - One Two Three Four Five

Bits of:

Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)

Wuthering Heights

by Kate Bush

DJ Magnet - Love Comes Running Up That Hill Quickly (Kate Bush vs Placebo vs Pet Shop Boys)

The Travelling Wilburys - Handle with Care (only the first half)

Various - Land of the Long White Cloud

Moron Says What?!?! - Nathalie, Touch Me There Again

Be Rough – Shaun D Wilson

The Sugarcubes - Tidal Wave

Florence and the Machine – Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)

An excerpt from Wiretap (Host: Jonathan Goldstein)

A bad mash up by a child (one of the songs guillotined is by Little Boots)

Girls Aloud – Biology

La Roux – Bulletproof (my stupid slow/fast mix)

Haunted Love - Sweet Baby

N.A.S.A. – Gifted (Feat. Santigold Kanye West; Lykke Li)

The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations

Speech Debelle - Better Days (Feat. Micachu)

Micachu – Turn Me Well

Amadou & Mariam - Masiteladi

Cansei de Ser Sexy - Art Bitch

Regina Spektor – Folding Chair

The Naked and Famous

2009-09-26T03:36:00.012+12:00

On Herculean Cauliflower (Munt FM Thursdays, 5-7PM NZT) I play a lot of music and then talk about it. This is good… if fairly common in the music radio genre. Even better is when I get to talk about it to those who made it.

Thom Powers (The Naked and Famous) on Munt FM 24 September 2009 by Shaun D Wilson

I interviewed Thom Powers of Auckland group The Naked and Famous shortly before their excellent gig in Wellington. The Naked and Famous make fun, exciting and forward thinking music that should it not catch on with the wider public will prove once and for all that most of humanity are right ol’ fools. And that would be rather disappointing.

<a href="http://thenakedandfamous.bandcamp.com/album/this-machine">This Machine by The Naked And Famous</a>
<a href="http://thenakedandfamous.bandcamp.com/album/no-light">No Light by The Naked And Famous</a>

www.thenakedandfamous.com
www.thenakedandfamous.bandcamp.com

Triple A-Side

2009-08-23T01:21:00.009+12:00

&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://shaundwilson.bandcamp.com/album/triple-a-side"&amp;amp;gt;Be Rough by Shaun D Wilson&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;
At the moment I am working on two very different EPs to hopefully be completed around the same time. One is a set of unusual new compositions (tentatively titled The Sketchscreen EP) and the other is a take on mashups you won’t have heard before (The Samplecrusher EP).

Because I’m not sure when I’ll buckle down and finish them; now seems as good a time as any to put a taster out.

Be Rough is a mashup made up entirely of artists starting with the letter B.
Extemplified is a journey through disparate sounds melded together with a piece of string and production trickery.
And solely for this mini-sampler is Alala Remix (Lovefoxxx Vocals Version); a remix of my remix of the Cansei de Ser Sexy song. My first remix of it is on The Recover EP.

Catastrophes through Media

2009-08-09T21:22:00.007+12:00

‘Catastrophes through Media’ is a short documentary I made in 2008 very shortly after Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar/Burma killing and injuring an enormous amount of people. It was also around the time of a deadly earthquake in China. I was affected quite profoundly by this and didn’t understand how people could be so blasé about it and even in some cases callous. I came to realise that people have already decided how they will react to certain types of news stories before they happen. From this idea came my short documentary discussing reaction to disasters from the media and the public. The public is represented by vox pops from Wellingtonians and the media by Mediawatch host Colin Peacock.

The magnitude-7.9 quake in Sichuan province in China killed 70,000 and made 5 million homeless.
Cyclone Nargis which hit Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta killed 140,000 people, severely affected 2.4 million people and left 800,000 displaced.

Catastrophes through Media by Shaun D Wilson

The Podcast Directory

2009-05-04T05:02:00.005+12:00

‘The Podcast Directory’ is the first long form piece I did for radio. Heavily clip and music dependant it’s a flawed but entertaining introduction to the world of podcasting in 2007. Ably if nervously presented by my friend Kirsten, much of it reflects my listening podcast-wise at the time.
The Podcast Directory by Shaun D Wilson

Clean

2009-05-04T04:42:00.009+12:00

Here’s a mini documentary I did on Dunedin band The Clean in 2008. You might realise that I had strict time limitations by the fact my voice is going at 100Ks a minute. I also covered their song Beatnik on my second EP.

The Clean Doco

Radio New Zealand has highlights from a 2007 gig at San Francisco Bathhouse in Wellington that was eventually released on record. Listen to them here.

Radio Ephemera

2009-05-03T08:43:00.020+12:00
In 2008 I entered a short audio item competition called ‘Radio Ephemera’ run by the Third Coast Festival in Chicago in collaboration with the Prelinger Library. You can find all the entries here.
I made two entries which made had to be in part inspired by ephemeral books in the Prelinger Library. I didn’t win but I got a nice T-Shirt, some stickers and dental equipment all of which was more than I was expecting.

The Great Tree Strike of 1934
Description: A record of one of the most significant cultural events of New Zealand's forgotten history.
Inspired by: The Big Strike / Trees as Good Citizens
Stranger: Lance, who was waiting for Lily.

Why Question the Facts?
Description: A tired teen talks in the second worst recording device he has.
Inspired by: Trailer Ahoy! / The Stork Didn't Bring You!
Stranger: Those who could be coerced into answering a weird question by a stranger.

Leon McCarthy – Man or Monster

2009-05-03T08:10:00.002+12:00
This is a little mockumentary I made in early 2007 in which I edited a rather innocuous interview with my classmate and vilified him unnecessarily. I tried to make to some of the edits obvious but I didn’t make them obvious enough so they just come off as slightly inferior edits. I think it’s quite funny though and I hope you enjoy it.
Leon McCarthy - Man or Monster by Shaun D Wilson

Best of The Show with Shaun D Wilson

2009-05-03T08:01:00.018+12:00

In the year known as 2007 I had a weekly slot on Dunedin’s student radio station Radio One called The Show. I then had to move to Wellington (Where I now do ‘Herculean Cauliflower’ on Munt FM 5-7PM NZT, Thursdays) so was unable to continue. I put together this compilation show to air after I left. So here it is; one hour of my nonsense with a couple of songs thrown in.

The Best of the Show by Shaun D Wilson

Production Skite

2009-05-03T07:48:00.011+12:00

In radio people have a ‘skite tape’ – which is essentially the audio equivalent of a show reel. Here’s one I made mid 2008 towards the end of my time at The New Zealand Radio Training School. This one emphasises my production skills. If there’s anything in there you want to hear the rest of just ask and I’ll try to track it down. Shaun D Wilson - Production Skite by Shaun D Wilson

Ladyhawke and Holidays with Friends

2009-05-03T07:43:00.011+12:00

Shortly after starting my Munt FM show ‘Herculean Cauliflower’ (5-7PM NZT, Thursdays) I went to a Ladyhawke (supported by Holidays with Friends) Gig at San Francisco Bathhouse here in Wellington. After the show I rather exhaustedly recorded my thoughts on the night into my crappy MP3 player's inbuilt mic. The next day I did some editing and put together this.

The Recover EP

2009-05-03T02:42:00.011+12:00

The Recover EP was finished in October 2008 and worked on intermittently from February of that year. It is made up of covers and remixes of songs I have unreserved love of and so decided to ruin. I veer far away for the source material to create something that I believe is pretty interesting.

Tracklisting

Alala
A remix of the Cansei de Ser Sexy song.

There's Always Something There to Remind Me
A remix of the Sandie Shaw version of this song.

Beatnik
A cover of The Clean.

God Only Knows (Big Parklife Magic Dance Time)
Featuring Walter Evers.
A cover of The Beach Boys with additional song snippets.

These Words
A remix of the Natasha Bedingfield song.

Crucify
Starring Katie Hayes. A Tori Amos cover.

For more details check the credits that come with download.

The Joke Isn't Funny EP

2009-05-03T02:30:00.009+12:00

My first EP was created in a quick creative burst leading up to October 2007. I had been making weird comedy songs for my show on Radio One in Dunedin that I spent too long on the production of and not enough on the comedy. I decided one day to make one of these tracks without relying on others samples. The track 'Creep Out' appeared and I knew I was on to something