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

Writing Roundup

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

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

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.