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This weeks “inspiration” post is gonna focus on one of NZ’s best kept secrets and one of my favorite vocalists and music lovers, miss Lisa Preston aka LP. LP has been working with a long list of amazing up and coming producers over the last few years and I really wanted to put together a little “best of” so you can all check out her style. I first checked out Lisa on a track from the K15 & LP EP “A New Path” which I posted about in late 2007 and had the pleasure of working with Lisa on the “High times” track on my EP. Lisa has a unique & enchanting sound with a strong passion and ability to really push each track to something new and exciting. I’m a big fan of “futuristic” style beats and I think it takes a strong sense of self in a vocalist to really shine over these heavier styles, Lisa seems to pull it off and is always a big part of the arrangement and feel of the tracks too, which for me made it a real collaborative and inspiring process.

Check out the tracks below, some of them are on the “free download” if you want to grab them, really looking forward to the new Benny Tones album which features a colab with Lisa called “Odyssey” plus the imminent vinyl release of the “A New Path EP” 12” with remixes coming out through Rationale Music.

UPDATE – Benny just added the new single “Odyssey” with LP on his soundcloud so head over and check it out.

Onur Engin & Lisa Preston – Love Gift by Onur Engin
Paddy Fred & LP – One by kowtow music
Lord Jackson & LP. by LordJackson
stevo & lisa preston – sigh by stevo
Know U feat. LP by Cy Tru™
Vaiper Of Cafeteria – Pomare (Feat Lisa Preston) by Vaiper Despotin
MoOnjoy – Indigo Pyramid ft.LP by Infinite Potentials
Koru Licks – Riosynth by Koru Licks
High Times by Bluevibestudio
TheJunk by Bluevibestudio
D.Construction & LP – Hit Me Up by D.Construction

Lisa Preston aka LP

Vocalist, alchemist, dreamer, believer….playing with the harmonies and layers, waxing lyrical about moments & things that matter to me…

The cherished collective – beautiful friends who enter my world and share my dreams of beats and harmony…LOVE in collaborative form….shout outs to all the beautiful brothers from near and far I have been blessed to meet and jam with….

Live Jams with Sons of Puha, future soul beats & production With Adi Dick and Pet Johnson….

Rivers & LP, two turntables and a microphone….

Releases to date:

Jellphonic and LP 7” vinyl through wonderful noise Japan 2009

‘Know u’ single, Cy Tru Feat LP , Sub Soul 2 digital release 4Lux 2009

K15 & LP – A New Path EP (digital release 2009) 12” release with remixes being released 2010 through Rationale Music

“Odyssey” single, Benny Tones Chrysalis 12” vinyl through wonderful noise Japan 2010

New jams & releases brewing with Sir Froderick & Lord Jackson and Josip Klobucar & LP “sunlight” , more goodness to come….

www.myspace.com/thecherishedcollective

www.soundcloud.com/lisa-preston-aka-lp

www,twitter.com/lpcalling

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So it’s just hit May and that means it’s NZ Music month, now for most of my readers who come from outside of NZ you probably don’t get what that means. If you want to check out the official background on the month you can check out the NZ Music month website but in short it’s a time when the media tend to focus a little more on a broader range of music than usual and a chance for everybody to have a good old celebration of some of the amazing music which comes from this fair country. It’s been going for 10 years now and in general has been really successful in bringing NZ music to a wider audience locally. This is the first of 4 posts during music month where I’m gonna highlight some of the music I’ve been listening to and give you all a little taste of some of the more underground artists you should be checking out. I’m also gonna have a look at some of the background on music month and throw up a few idea’s on where it might go from here, but not in this first post, lets just stick to the music.

The first guy we’re gonna check out is Scratch22 who’s been producing for time now and has had his fingers in many pies around town. Check out his bio over at the mighty BaseFM website, definitely one to watch on some of his new projects, really lovin this EWH remix, just my kinda deep re-rub of a great tune.

Electric Wire Hustle – Again (Scratch 22 Remix) by Scratch22

Adi Dick is next on the list of guys who are getting their shit together on the beat front for me, Adi’s solo stuff is well worth checking out alongside his Sons of Puha project alongside the fabulous LP and LordJackson, but more from those guys next time. Adi’s back from some time in London and you can check him out at the producers showcase in Auckland at the end of May.

Sons of Puha – The Beat by Adi Dick

And last but by no means least is DJ Truent or Christoph El’ Truento, I grabbed a beat tape of “Homemade Shit” back in Feb and it’s been on rotate ever since, some wicked little beats in there and alongside his work with Koru Licks I think his style is well worth keeping an eye on. I was gonna link through to his beat tape so you can grab it but couldn’t find it, so I re-upped it again for ya, go get it.

You may have noticed but I’m leaning heavily on the “future beats” tip at the moment, there’s some wicked producers bubbling under and the moment in NZ and I think a little more recognition is well in order.

Intergalactic Love Song by Christoph El’ Truento

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Bluevibe Collective have been working on a few gigs for NZ music month with the kids over at Jester Underground so I thought I’d give you all a quick run down of whats coming up in May. BVC is starting to get busier now and we’re rolling out some cool gigs in May plus working on a few new events over the coming months.

Smash the Jukebox – May 8th Juice bar – A Fundraiser for ‘Ronald McDonald House’ Auckland. Smash the Jukebox’ is a celebration of all things New Zealand Music, Past and Present. A chance for everyone to come together and celebrate the History behind the Music and Give back to a Valuable Charity at the same time.

NZ Beats showcase – May 15th Coherent – smashing a few genres with this one which is something I think is missing in a few local clubs at the moment. Scratch22, OoGun, Bromide Dub (live), Pigout and Tim Richards are gonna crank the system all night, best get down early for this one.

Battle Circus and Decortica plus guests – May 22nd Kings Arms – As far from mainstream rock as your gonna get in NZ and always put on a killer live show, really excited to have these 2 bands playing together.

Bang Bang Eche w/ Bandicoot and Sherpa plus Guests – May 29th Bacco room – closing party for our little gig fest and it’s gonna be loud with this bunch of kids tearing up the Bacco room.

We’re also giving away a bunch of prizes and passes to all the gigs in May over on the Jester Underground facebook page so check it out.

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Been looking round for some new music lately and decided to spend a little more time with some of the beat makers and producers I’ve found, checkin their tracks and not bein so “twitter” about the whole thing. Between twitter and RSS feeds and Facebook and the high rate of info. flying round it’s just to easy to not really engage with what’s comin out the speakers. I’m making a conscious decision to change that so here goes, a few of my fav little local joints bouncing round at the moment. I hate to use the word “scene” but Wellingtons really got some serious new beat makers at the moment who are pushing the edge and making some next level tracks.

Wellington based Benny Tones is one of NZ’s deepest producers and artists and is currently on tour with the formidable EWH on their European tour. Benny produced the EWH album and has been working on his own album which is due for release, well, when it’s finished. Here’s his Souncloud page which contains a few tasters from the album and really shows a new level to the sounds coming out of Wellington and NZ.

Another beat maker coming out of Wellington and pushing the sound is Lord Jackson, this track features my good friend LP on the vocal, tasty work and another one to keep an eye on.

Pull Back Ft: LP by LordJackson

The final track comes from Skylab, another beat maker coming out of Wellington, heard a couple of demo’s from him last week and they’re real nice, deep beat styles.

Tangerine by Skylab_

If you want to check out a great clothing label who have supported “beat culture” in NZ for time then you should go check out Kowtow Clothing. Kowtow music Vol 5 is the latest compilation from the crew and features some of NZ’s freshest artists focusing on the indie and up and coming. Check em out on Soundcloud and go buy a T, the comp comes free with their clothing so get it while you can.
Kowtow Music Volume V by kowtow music

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The Bluevibe studio website has been live and direct for a year now and it’s been an amazing opportunity to share with you some of my music and ramblings about my influences and inspirations. I’ve never been a great writer so working on these weekly posts has really helped me work on my skills and has now helped me get work as a freelance editor for a new website being launched in the next few weeks in conjunction with The Depot Artspace. It’s a really exciting project which I’ll tell you more about once it’s launched. Ok ramble over and on to the actual topic of this post, my favourite music blogs.

Over the last few months I’ve been getting some good traffic from google for some quite specific keywords including “mp3 blog”, “jazz blog”, “electro funk” and “music blog”. Many of my early posts focused on a few of my favourite music blogs and it is those posts which are now bringing through some of my regular google traffic. So for those of you who arrived here from google looking for “jazz blogs” and “electro funk” here’s a list of some amazing sites which you really should be checking.

Beat electric – This is a recent addition to my RSS feeds and is dedicated to distributing rare and sought after boogie and electronic soul. I’m a huge fan of electrofunk and have found some amazing tracks on this site.

I wish you would – Found this through an O-Dub recommendation and have been a regular ever since, from dub through funk and heavy on the hip hop, DJ Mathew Africa’s blog is always killer.

Blaks Lair – I’ve posted about Lord Blaks site before but really had to drop it in again. I’ve found some amazing stuff on here and many of the albums posted have led me to dig around for more from the artists featured.

dubdotdash – Local blog from Dub Asylums Peter McLennan, always fresh with the latest music news and tracks from Peter’s radio show on Base FM.

matsuli music – wicked blog focusing on strictly limited and out of print juju, dub and afro funk.

soul sides – another legendary blog which I’ve posted about before but had to be dropped again, amazingly written and researched and always inspiring to read. Plus has the best mp3 player on any music blog i’ve found.

The CTI never sleeps – another new addition to my music research feed and this one is a killer focusing on sharing the whole back catalog from the CTI, Kudu and associated labels.

Shook magazine – the crew from Straight no chaser bring you Shook magazine and it’s little blog. You really should be buying the gorgeous hard copy mag but it’s well worth checkin the blog too for some of that Shook style.

So that’s a short list of a few of my regular influences but should give you somewhere to start, dig in to the blog rolls on each site and you could be discovering music you’ve never heard of for years to come, nice. If you’ve got any suggestions for great music blogs focusing on electrofunk, soul, jazz and anything sample based and deep then drop me a comment, I’d love to check em out.

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Just wanted to put together a list of some of my favourite beat makers and producers from New Zealand. This list is purely based on my tastes and focuses more on new artists who are making both live and electronic beats which stand up against anything else internationally and have a really soulful and futuristic edge. I’ve thrown in a few heavy weights of the NZ scene too for those visitors from outside of NZ who may not know who they are. The local scene for beat makers is healthier than it’s ever been since I moved here from the UK in 2000 but still doesn’t get enough attention locally despite many of these producers exporting their tracks out to the world on a regular basis.

Local heads might notice that I’ve missed out most of the NZ hip hop producers who are putting together some amazing beats but I’ll be covering them in a future post. In fact I’ve missed out a huge number of acts like Concorde Dawn, Greg Churchill, P Money, Pitch Black, Simon Flower, Rhian Sheehan and many more of the amazing producers from NZ. I’ll look at doing some more artists features in the future.

If you have any suggestions for additions to this list or the u coming NZ hip hop list then just leave me a comment and I’ll check em out.

Manual Bundy

First DJ I saw play in NZ down at the Box and one of my favourite DJ’s. The Solephonic EP is well worth checking out and is taking Manual to the world, you can check out release info. and bio here.

Chris Cox

Killer DJ and broken beat/ soulful house producer, recently worked with Nathan Haines on his latest album and is one half of Universal Sun with Mdcl.

Mark de Clivelowe

Amazing keys/ synth player and a master of live MPC. Check out his new Mashi beats blogspot for new info. on music and upcoming projects.

Lewis Mccallum

Local multi instrumentalist who recently released his first album “Wake” which is being played by Benji B, Domu and Michael Ruetten who puts out the fabulous soul patrol podcast. Lewis will hopefully be playing synth on one of the new Bluevibe studio tracks.

Adi Dick presents the beats

Adi Dick is another multi talented musician and beat maker, you can check out tracks from his solo album here but I’m really lovin his new beats projects at the moment. Adi’s contributed a killer remix for the new Bluevibe studio EP which you can check out the pre master version on his beats site.

Julien Dyne

Killer drummer for the Open Souls and released the Phantom Limbo EP which got play from Wajeed and Madlib, as we say in the north of England, nuff said! Check it.

LP and the cherished collective

Lisa Preston has blessed one of the new Bluevibe studio tracks with her vocal talents and will be putting out an amazing EP with K15 providing the beats. 2008 is gonna be LP’s year.

Jeremy Toy – OTA

Definitely top of my list of NZ producers and musicians, check his myspace profile for the full rundown and if your lucky you might still be able to grab his limited instrumental 7″. Super nice tracks on super nice vinyl, nice.

Jedy Henzal

Fresh new producer from Christchurch, don’t know much about him but love the tracks and will be keeping an eye on future releases.

David ‘Taay’ Wright

Member of Solaa and amazing beat maker who has worked with the likes of Waajeed, Oddisee, Todd Simon, Flying Lotus, Ladi6.

Isaac Aesili

Another member of Solaa and an amazing musician who has worked on a huge number of projects with some of NZ finest, it’s all about the fusion.

Andy Morton

Andy Morton or Submariner is another of my favourite NZ artists who has a long list of production credits and is one of NZ’s finest DJ’s as part of “The Turnaround”crew. Just google the name and dig in to some real NZ history from pure talent.

Let me know if you’ve got any suggestions for additions to the list, it’s always inspiring to find new beat makers and producers with this level of talent so leave me a comment and continue my education.

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I think it’s no secret that I like remix’s, or should I say I like producing remix’s. There are quite a few reasons for this:

• they’re always a great source of inspiration and fresh musical ideas
• I always learn a lot from doing a remix, about production techniques and programming as well as about who I am as an artist and my musical direction and focus.
• they can be a great source of network and collaboration contacts, I’ve met some amazing artists through doing remix’s and continue to keep in touch and work with most of the artists I’ve done remix swaps with.

At the moment I don’t usually get paid for my remix’s, they are usually done as a remix swap (you do one for me, I do one for you) or in exchange for some vocals or keys on one of my tracks. At this early stage in my production career I need contacts and collaborators more than payment in cash, further down the line I think that money will become more of a factor in my remix’s but for now it’s about the music and the people.

Many producers don’t actually like to get involved with remix competitions created by artists to get free tracks for a future release where the contributor wont actually get paid for their work or give the contributor any royalties from the sales of the remix album.

For me it comes down to the fact that I need exposure and publicity more than I need a tiny percentage of an artists release. The Politik’s recently announced remix competition is a prime example of a great opportunity for up and coming producers out there. Yes you won’t get paid for it, but you will get:

• your track released at no cost to yourself which for most independent producers could save a huge amount of money.
• a high level of exposure on the back of a potentially great release from two of the most talented artists in their field (yes I’m a bit of a fan).
• the competition is being judged by Bembe Segue + Mark de Clive-Lowe, Benji B (Deviation 1xtra), Phil Asher (restless soul) and Afronaught (coopr8/Bugz in the Attic). If that isn’t great exposure I don’t know what is!

I obviously need to be one of the chosen few to get the full benefit from entering but even if I don’t get on the release it’ll still be a great inspiration to write a new track around those killer parts. As a producer simply checking out the vocal mix on it’s own has been a great learning experience. Head over to the competition page to download the tracks and good luck. I’d be interested to know what you think about remix’s and your motivations for doing them, or not??

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Raw DMX – Do it to the funk

taken from “Credit to the edit – compiled by Greg Wilson”

Looking back through my record collection has got me thinking about where these records come from and how I got in to all this in the first place. I’ll be doin a few posts about some of my influences, posting a few rare classics and generally diggin in to a bit of my musical up-bringing in the UK. I thought I’d start with the first electronic music I ever got into when I was 13 way back in 1983, some people called it “electro funk”.

I actually come from Bolton which is a huge, grim, working class town in the north west of England and one of it’s few redeeming features for me was that it’s about a 1hour bus ride to Manchester city center. From being 12 or 13 years old we would jump on the bus and go hang out in Manchester on a Saturday afternoon. We’d wander around the city center, go to the music shops and play guitars and also try and hang out in the record shops without getting thrown out, which we always did, too young and no money to spend.

it’s the sound of electro funk that always reminds me of the streets in the UK

It was outside these record shops that I first heard these weird tracks, they had normal instruments in them, vocals and guitars, but they also had all these weird drums, and bleeps and blips that I hadn’t really heard up close before. I used to listen to radio 1 and piccadilly radio so had heard some of these tracks before but it was in the city, in and outside the record shops that the music really hit me. It was in that environent on the street that for some reason the music just resonated. I’m a “big city” lover and it’s the sound of electro funk that always reminds me of the streets in the UK.

Then there was the break dancing!!! Now Manchester had quite a few crews who we’re in to break dancing and we used to just hang out and watch and listen to this amazing music. It’s something I was in to when I was a kid, break dancing, poppin and lockin, the clothes, the sneakers we couldn’t afford to buy then, but it was the music, the beats that got me hooked. I loved the record shops too, the vibe of the place, the freaky looking guys who hung out there, the nods and smiles when certain tracks were played. I didn’t start getting in to the club scene until I was 17 so missed out on much of this early scene in Manchester but electro funk has always played a part in most of the club experiences I’ve had in the city since then.

I loved the record shops too, the nods and smiles when certain tracks were played

Now I’m not going in to too much of the history of the whole scene and all the other scene’s that jumped off from there. For that you should go check out Greg Wilson’s site electrofunkroots.com Greg was one of the most influencial DJ’s of the time and his site is an amazing resource for anybody interested in music and music history. Check out some of his articles and play lists and especially the colab article with another Manchester legend “a guy called Gerald”.

Starting to work on this site has had me looking back at all the styles of music which have had an impact on my life. I’ve always felt that certain music is developed directly from the area and environment in which it is made. The north of England creates certain types of music just like New York or Wellington or Detroit or Tokyo create there own spin on certain styles and genre’s. Having only moved to New Zealand 7 years ago I’m still looking at the impact it has had on my music and the styles created by this country. It’s something I’ll be looking in to as part of this Blog so if you’ve got anything to add or share with me about your side of the world and how it shapes your style then just leave me a comment. Now go check out Greg’s site and get that electro funk fix.

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