I’ve been checking out the Juslikemusic podcast for time now and it’s always been a great source of inspiration with it’s eclectic blend of all things “beat” orientated, Gavin’s even played some Bluevibe projects from time to time and has always been generous with his support of the underground artists trying to push through. So, now that i’m getting the blog back on the go with fresh selections I had to throw up the Oscillations projects which have been put together by Jus Like Music records and Apple Juice Break.

Both compilations are free and you can grab them over at their bandcamp page, I’m amazed at the quality of the tracks which have been put together for the project and I think this really gives an amazing snapshot of a very healthy and innovative “beat culture” from all over the world.

It’s exciting to see this “next step” in the development of record labels being born from passionate and knowledgeable folks who have built up an audience through their mixes and blogs and can deliver this level of music direct to an audience who want to support these new artists, nice work kids.

Once you go grab the comps make sure you check out the .pdf booklets which come with some amazing artwork and a full rundown on all the artists involved in the projects. Congrats on putting these together and I’m spending the next few weeks checking the tracks out and browsing the web to find out more about the artists involved.

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Getting this blog back on again and starting to focus on some new NZ freshness, gonna start with a little Koru Licks.

“Fresh new band from the jazzy underground of the Auckland music scene. This bunch of musical time travellers fall back to the swinging, sample-based era of golden hip hop, funk, latin and jazz – but all live and direct. Koru Licks is an ensemble that regenerate the feeling of dope, organic soul music with a team of talent ridden players.”

Had their tracks on high rotate over the weekend and been really enjoying the little taster of the “new direction” for the next EP with tracks like “Got That” and “Fever”. Make sure you grab their first EP from their BandCamp page, all the tracks are super fresh and they’ve even got the unstoppable LP on “Riosynth”.

Oh yeh didn’t wanna miss the “Jayams” out either, especially “Chicked love”, butter!

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The New EP from St Liquor-ish and mixed at the Bluevibe studio is now finally available to download for free over at the St Liquor-ish Bandcamp page.

I’m really proud of the EP and it’s been a real learning curve for me to try and get the mix right for all the tracks on the EP. I’ll be posting about some of the production techniques involved on the EP and the work we’ve done to promote it. The next St Liquor-ish EP is already being mixed and let’s just say it’s a killer, but for now enjoy this tasty bit of filth from the man Jellphonic’s alter ego and stay tuned for a full pack of instrumentals and remixes from the EP.

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Since moving to New Zealand in 2000 I’ve had the pleasure to have worked with one of the most helpful and talented producers in the country, namely Kerry Adams. Kerry goes by many names including Tech, Bromide Dub, Compressor Kid and.. well the list goes on. His latest project has just been launched online and is the pilot from a series of “production tutorials” called “The Technical sessions“. Head over to The Proof website and check it out, this first episode focuses on the procedure for setting up a tone arm on your turntable. As Kerry points out it’s a question he gets asked regularly and he takes us through a great 5min rundown of the different types of cartridges and the basic concept behind setup.

The idea now is to get some funding or sponsorship for the rest of the series so if your interested in helping out then just let Kerry know, I’m sure he’d appreciate it. The fact that Kerry learned how to use the video editing software and put the whole thing together on no budget just shows what you can achieve if your passionate about what you do and proactive about getting yourself out there. Make sure you check out the tracks on his page too, the opening track on the pilot episode is a remix Kerry did of one of the Bluevibe studio tracks, Believe. With a few tracks being signed to some overseas labels and big plans ahead for The Technical sessions lets hope that Kerry gets some funding to really take his projects to the next level.

There are a huge number of local NZ artists taking it to the world with no assistance from local funding bodies who’s primary mandate is to focus on the local commercial market. Maybe it’s time to broaden the scope of funding to focus on the individual artist and their markets both locally and overseas. For many artists creating a sustainable income must include tapping in to their genre based markets overseas. Lets look a little deeper at encouraging local artists to have long term careers, not market driven blips. Ok rant over, props to Kerry and make sure you check out the pilot, well worth supporting some local talent taking it to a world stage.

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I’m a bit of a gear head and love anything analog especially when it’s used in a live situation. Greg Brice is a bit of an Auckland legend when it comes to gear and builds some of the best hand made eq’s and compressors in New Zealand. Greg also has an amazing studio full of vintage gear which I’ve actually only visited once for about an hour but it’s the kind of place I could spend days in tweaking knobs and flicking switches. Greg also makes music and will be taking his “ekadek thunderbird 3 live rig” out of the studio and in to the Dogs Bollix this Thursday supporting “crash test for favourite things ”
Greg describes the rig as “a mad station of unprogrammable 60s-70s sound machines” which he improvises with to create his dubbed out “minimal electro grunge”.

For anybody interested in vintage analog make sure you head over to Greg’s website for an amazing collection of gadgets, effects and tapes. You can check out his tracks and also purchase a copy of his album “New and untamed bathtime beats from ekadek”. I got a copy last week and have spent the weekend soaking up the mixture of analog blibs and beeps mixed with beautiful melodies and atmospheres.

I work with different drum machines and sequencers and love to just improvise with ideas and patterns to see what we (the machine and I) can come up with. Most of the tacks on Greg’s CD are one take recordings of the studio rig which gives them the perfect blend of organic and mechanic. Greg sent me a list of his live rig which includes…

• korg ms20
• lowrey organ rhythm ace fr6 – samba ya face off.
• 3 head tape echo box – dirty echoing.
• grampian spring reverb – spacious verb or filthy distorto.

If your out on Thursday make sure you head down and check out the live show, most of the album came from this rig and I’m sure it won’t sound the same as the CD, which for me is the best thing about using this kind of rig live.
“This rig supports BIG PHAT grooves” – I’ve already placed an order for the first t-shirt!

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Just wanted to let you all know that The Shades have recently released their debut EP, it’s a deep slice of funk & soul and well worth picking up.

I did a remix for The Shades a while back and will be twistin “Liquid Situation” from the new EP as soon as I get the stems. They’re having their EP release up at Rising Sun on March 7th and will be heading down to Wellington for 2 shows on the 11th and 12th. Make sure you head along and support them, the EP’s totally self funded and it’s great to see them getting some respect for their efforts.

You can buy the EP from Conch in Auckland or jump online and get it from the Conch website or over at Amplifier.

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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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K15 and LP – little love

the EP “A New Path” drops in early 2008

This is the first of the “Artist features” articles and who better to start with than an amazing vocalist from Welli, Lisa Preston better known as LP. We’ve been working together on a track which should be coming out of Bluevibe studio early next year as part of the first “Bluevibe studio presents” series. I’ve heard the EP and its killer, amazin beats with LP’s smooth vocal delivery. I’ll let LP give you the run down on the project and lets hope the EP makes it on to vinyl.

It all started back in 2006 with a hook up on myspace, one of those “I like your beats” and “I like your voice” interactions. The resulting first demo collaboration “LP sings” eventuated a couple of weeks later receiving accolades from like minded souls and alot of airplay through djs here and abroad.

K15 (aka Kieron Ifill) is based in the UK and has long been a lover of music. He started djing as a teenager and moved onto making beats a few years later when he discovered the the joys of computer software and later down the line, the mpc. He is currently working on other collaborations too, so keep an ear out in 2008 for these will be sure to please all discerning beatheads out there! LP (aka Lisa Preston) started writing beats on her mpc back in 2004 and has been singing since childhood. She recorded her first singles with The Cherished Collective back in 2002 , has added flavours on backing vocals for Trinity Roots and the Little Bushman albums, and is currently working on other collaborations with Bluevibe studio and Tim Scott. More recently heard live in Wellington, NZ, where she lives, performing out live with Adi Dick, Sons of Puha, and The Boil Up.

Expect to hear more from this collaboration when the EP “A New Path” drops in early 2008….enjoy the sneak preview !

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