CEO vs SDW

Late one night I went into a studio and had a nocturnal heart to heart with a Swede in a field surrounded by raucous pheasants. That Swede was the writer of the best track since House of the Rising Sun to be set in an establishment frequented by ladies of the night. He goes by CEO. He is in fact the CEO of Gothenburg label Sincerly Yours. We chatted for Music 101; starting off with how he came to cover Kanye West's 'Hold My Liquor'.

The Absurdity of an Obituary of Caitlin Daugherty-Kelly

So I had a text message conversation with a friend that got out of hand. Which led to this happening...

AlunaGeorge

For Music 101 George Reid of semi-eponymous R&B electro duo AlunaGeorge talked about performing collaborations without their collaborators, and sounding different from everyone else. That difference no doubt ensured their high placement on the BBC’s Sound of 2013 poll. AlunaGeorge make music for the heart and the head aka exactly the type of music I gravitate towards.

AlunaGeorge on Music 101

Gold Panda

Whilst he was on his New Zealand tour I spoke to UK electronic producer Gold Panda for Music 101. He makes shuffling, inventive music that somehow still feels comforting.

                                                   Gold Panda on Music 101

Forest Spirits and Sable

Sable - John, and Forest Spirits - Liam are two New Zealand electronic producers. They both make lush atmospheric beat driven music. Before John moved to London they released a collaborative EP called 'Carpooling'. I spoke to Forest Spirits and Sable for Music 101 and asked them to describe each others music.


            Forest Spirits and Sable on Music 101

MNDR

Electro-poppers MNDR first caught my attention when they worked on Mark Ronson's hit 'Bang Bang Bang'. Their debut album Feed Me Diamonds is now out. For Music 101 I had an interesting conversation with Amanda Warner about sexism, the music industry, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and making art.

MNDR on Music 101

Into The Uncanny Valley

For Radio New Zealand's The Arts on Sunday I've been following the progress of putting together 'Into The Uncanny Valley' which is part of BATS theatre's STAB season. They're trying some really ambitious theatrical techniques to tell the story of physics in the most interesting way possible.

Marina and The Diamonds

Marina Diamandis makes pop music as Marina and The Diamonds. It's pop music I have previously reviewed in a weirdly hesitant yet gushing way. It's pop music for the heart and the head, and it's good stuff to dance to/think about. I spoke to Marina about said pop music for Music 101 on Radio New Zealand National.

Marina and The Diamonds on Music 101

She’s Hearing Mauve

In my entry for the Third Coast International Audio Festival Short Docs Challenge 2012 I collaborated with Kate Norquay to create a piece that concentrated on the search for the elements prescribed by the competition. We had to feature neighbours, three seconds of narrative silence, as well as a colour in the title. You can listen below or here where you'll also find my previous submissions.

   She’s Hearing Mauve by Shaun D Wilson

Sugar Mountain Festival

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

 

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

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

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

Ikonika

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

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

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.

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.

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.