It's been one of those things you didn't like to ask about. Street Chant's sophomore album, Hauora, has been coming so long that its continued failure to materialise might suggest there was a problem. But it's on, ladies and gentlemen.
The principal hold-up has been a lineup change -- a new drummer replacing Alex Brown (who plays on the album and is in one of two videos already in the can). But the band is back, with Street Chant playing the Wellington support on Parquet Courts' tour next month. Salad Boys also play support on all dates: Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin.
The first single from the album is also due next month.
For now, Emily Littler has posted a new track in her Emily Edrosa guise:
---
Late edit (perils of posting on a Thursday): Ian "Blink" Jorgenson's 'A Movement' is a series of 10 books containing 1000 photographs taken by Blink in the indie music world between 2000 and 2015. Details of the book and the associated tour are here. And here's the beautiful trailer:
---
I'm filling in on Bright and Urlich, 9-11am on 95bFM on Saturday.
Also: the Splore schedule, featuring Roy Ayers, Mr Scruff, Phoenix Foundation, SJD and much more, is up today! I'll write in more detail about the talk programme I'm running closer to the time.
---
Win! Flying Nun is offering a free Robert Scott album to one of the people who shares its new Spotify/YouTube playlist Flying Nun: an introduction.
Herald hipster Bernard Orsman brought us the news yesterday that Parnell is getting cool again. Well, not really. "Less awfully becalmed", perhaps. And hey, if it keeps them all out of Ponsonby that's a win-win. Meanwhile, Audioculture has the lowdown on when Parnell was really cool: 1978, when the punks were there.
---
The new Anthonie Tonnon song I mentioned last week is available for tasting (and downloading!) now. In keeping with the Tonnon style, it's an epic guitar pop song about ... local body politics. Good times!
That's on NZ On Air's Kiwi Hit Disc 178, which I think is the best edition of the long-running radio sampler in a long time. You have to be a radio/music biz luvvie to get one of those, but nearly all the tracks are already on Soundcloud, including ...
Kamandi's dense, electronic 'Martyrs' (from the mysterious Secret Club label):
DPTRCLB's supple dance track 'Horizon':
And Randa's 'Rangers', which also got a sweet new Robert Wallace video this week:
Note also the NZ On Air staff's playlist of local artists to watch in 2015:
Currently at number two on TheAudience's chart: this zesty synthpop tune from Boy Wulf, aka "Tim, a 21 year old farm-worker from Te Awamutu". I think one of TheAudience's virtues is that you don't have to be in Auckland or Wellington to get noticed:
You can even be in Brooklyn, New York, as is The Sneaks' (and former Lawrence Arabia band member) Daniel Ward, aka Droor:
Jeremy Toy presents an edit from his soulful, jazzy alter-ego Leonard Charles:
BREAKING!! New Leonard Charles: a rework of Janet Jackson's 'Any Time Any Place':
And, finally, the brand new Leftside Wobble vocal dub of the forthcoming (March 16) Byan Ferry single – free for a limited time! Click through, locate and hit that download arrow right now ...
---
The Hard News Music Post is sponsored by:
