The Taite Music Prize, with its mandate to judge solely on the "artistic merit, creativity, innovation and excellence" of the best New Zealand albums each year, with no heed paid to commercial success, has been a welcome addition to the landscape these past five or six years. But I don't think I've seen a stronger list of finalists than the eight shortlisted for the 2016 award.
They are:
SJD, Saint John Divine
Nadia Reid, Listen to Formation, Look for the Signs
Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Multi-Love
Princess Chelsea, The Great Cybernetic Depression
The Phoenix Foundation, Give Up Your Dreams
Anthonie Tonnon, Successor
Marlon Williams, Marlon Williams
Silicon, Personal Computer
Every single one of these is a great record. And it's intriguing to see the variety of ways they've been brough to the public. Local indies, an Australia indie, a local indie distributor, artist-owned labels and the local branch of the biggest record company in the world, Universal Music, are all represented in this list.
Having served once on a Taite judging panel, I can confirm that the deabtes to select the winner can be long and intense. I think that will be especially the case this year.
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I've been namechecking the Auckland-based A Label Called Success a bit recently. And now there's an opportunity to see some of the roster showcased live, at a Red Bull Sound Select event featuring Andras Fox, Hip Hoops, Spycc and others. It's on February 26 at Cassette, and you can RSVP here and pay on $3 on the door.
But thanks to the nice people at ALCS, I have something special for you. Just email me via the button at the bottom of this post, put the name of a A Label Called Success artist in the subject line, and you'll go in the draw for one of two double passes to the show, each of which comes with a $50 bar tab. I know, right?
I'm Splore-bound today, so I won't be drawing it until Monday evening. Speaking of which, I'd like to apologise to High Hoops for pushing him down the bill on Saturday. Sorry bro. Sometime ages goes on after beauty ...
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Couple of new videos. I really like what Dave Dobbyn's done for his new single 'Angelina', the last before the release of his Harmony House album, which is shot in his Grey Lynn home studio (there usually aren't that many guitars in it) and populated with fans invited in to dance, sing and basicallyham it up as mch as they liked. It's a happy, loving pop song and the video really expresses that:
And Tourettes' new song, 'No Losers @ Winz' – which is anything but a love song – has this bleakly hilarious clip to drive home its bleakly hilarious message (epileptic/migraine warning – flashing lights in the last 20 seconds):
That's from the forthcoming album Feel Like Shit, Looking Great!
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In the second Dave Dobbyn mention for the week, here's the man and his ginger afro from a series of snaps taken by keyboard player Simon Lynch in the early 1980s and just published on Audioculture. Ah, the ennui of it all ...
Also on Audioculture at the moment – and incredibly popular – Clare Gleeson's history of the Begg's music stores, which played an extraordinary role in the performance and consumption of music in New Zealand in from the 1860s through till the 1970s. Clare is the great-great-granddaughter of Charles Begg, the firm’s founder and has also been able to contribute a rich collection of images like this one from the 1800s:
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Tunes!
Eddie Johnston celebrates performing at Splore as Race Banyon this week with the release of the first new recording from that side of his musical world in about two years. The new track, recorded as part of a Red Bull project in Los Angeles, features Ty Dolla $ign on the rap and co-production from DJ Dahi:
Rocknrolla Soundsystem have been quiet lately, but they've just popped up with a steamy edit of Me'shell Ndegeocello's 'Come Smoke My Herb'. That'll cost you a euro to download on Bandcamp:
It does also make me think – along with the 12" of her amazing version of Bill Withers' 'Who Is He and What Is he To You?' that I found recently – that I should have kept on paying attention to Me'shell Ndegeocello after her first album.
You know how Soundcloud sends you on to a "related track" after your one is finished? Well, after Me'shell, it served up this new tribute to the late Jon H of Fort Knox Five. It's heavy, slow lovin' funk and it's a free download:
Lawrence Arabia has a practice of occasionally uploading bits and pieces from his hard drive. And this week, to celebrate his two-night stand at the Wine Cellar, he uploaded the original 2006 demo of his Silver Scroll-winning 'Apple Pie Bed':
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