Soraya lines up local legends for Black Lives Matter Fundraiser

This Thursday's Black Lives Matter gig at NOTW is definitely going to go down in NZ Music history. NZ-born, LA-based producer Soraya is the women behind it all. Soraya has pulled together a lineup that is not to be missed. We caught up with Soraya to ask her about the drive behind the gig, and what to expect.

Soraya via i-D AU/NZ

As a musician, what pushed you in particular to organise the BLACK LIVES MATTER gig?

As a musician, producer, song writer, entertainer or DJ you have to put yourself in the shoes of others when you are trying to connect with an audience.  You have to pay attention to what affects the people. Even though I am a musician, I can still understand how it is to sit next to your partner, friend, mother, father, brother and for no reason at all they're unjustly taken away from you never to be seen or talked to again. This affects us all. 

When my friends from NZ who are not American or African American expressed the same feelings as mine about recent events in the states we decided to do a show together to bring awareness to inhumane, unjust prejudice and treatment around the world. I wouldn't of had the courage to do this without their support and help. 

As a musician I am fortunate enough to have friends in the industry that were willing and able to help me bring awareness to something that I think is an atrocity as do they. Music has an uncanny ability to heal and bring people together. This was a way that we could actually do something instead of just saying something.  

You grew up in New Zealand however you have family connections back to the U.S and have spent time in the U.S working as a producer. Do you think the people of New Zealand are fully aware of what's happening in the states right now?

Yeah, my Dad is African American from Alabama and I have been living in L.A for a while now. I really didn't understand what was going on in the states (even though my father educated me deeply on Black Civil Rights and our family’s struggles in life to do with race in America) until I lived there and it took a couple of years to really even begin to see the cracks. After i was pulled over and put in handcuffs a couple times I began to understand a little of what it might feel like to grow up knowing that people think of me as dangerous or untrustworthy because of my skin color. I don't think that New Zealanders are fully aware because we just don't have the same struggles as Americans do with violence and guns. Many New Zealanders haven't been exposed to that. After working with musicians in LA (especially rappers who grew up in areas like Inglewood and Crenshaw) I would ask questions that related to song lyrics because I just couldn't understand the aggression or the extremity of what they were saying, I thought it was a tough guy act. I wanted to understand what they had been through so I could communicate that in the music. That’s when I put myself in their shoes and began to understand that what’s happening in America has been going on for a very very long time. Over 500 years of damage can not be fixed overnight, the only difference is that people have cameras in their hands at all times now.

The line up for Thursday's gig is one of the strongest we have seen in a while. What can we expect?

I think people attending are going to see the magic of a collective of talented people doing what they are born to do with the passion of a strong message behind their performances. I truly believe it will be one of the best shows in Auckland music history. Leonard Charles, P-MONEY, ARCADE and LIT ENTERTAINMENT have all been a part of curating this event. So far we have the most amazing lineup including spoken word artists and professors of African American studies from America. As well as a huge raffle that people can buy tickets for. This has truly been a unifying experience organizing this show for all of us. 

Artists performing include: CHE FU, LEONARD CHARLES ALL STARS : TYRA HAMMOND , CHIP MATTHEWS , JULIEN DYNEand BJORN PETERSEN,  SWIDT, BAILEY WILEY, ENO X DIRTY, LOUIS KNUXX, THIRD3YE, TEAM DYNAMITE, RONALD LAPREAD (BASS PLAYER for the COMMODORES), SESH, P MONEY, ILL BAZ, DEBRIS, JESS B, T BAILEY, LMB GANG, KING KAPISI and SILVA MC.

As a fundraiser gig, where will the proceeds be donated?

On the night guests will pay for entry and be given a choice of one of the following causes and/or families affected in the recent shootings. The choice will be theirs because the message we really want to bring is awareness.  

The five charities are: BLACK LIVES MATTER, ALTON STERLING Family (Civilian shot and killed in Baton Rouge Louisiana by Police Officer), PHILANDO CASTILE Mother (Civilian shot and killed in Minnesota during a routine traffic stop), National Legal Guild (Lawyers who are working to maintain the rights of peaceful protestors and those who need protection from police) and United Negro College fund (Money raised to help African American students without financial support to attain university degrees).

BLACK LIVES MATTER (Fundraiser) is being held at Neck of the Woods this Thursday, doors open at 5:00pm and music starts at 8:00pm.

Shakaiah Perez' dance takeover

Considered a local legend in the New Zealand dance community, Shakaiah Perez is hosting her very own fundraising event this Saturday at Neck of the Woods.  Titled BRUK OUT, the genre-blending event includes an incredible line up of local talent handpicked by Shakaiah herself.  We caught up with her to talk about the idea behind BRUK OUT and her international pursuits. 

Photos by Amanda Billing

BRUK OUT this Saturday at NOTW is a fundraiser event for your international endeavours, tell us where you're planning to go and what are you aiming to achieve?

In the next few months I will be travelling around Europe capturing the stories of many different artists by using the language of dance and filmography as a way of telling stories. The goal is to travel across the globe capturing stories that inspire and empower others in one way shape or form. By doing this I hope to use what I have learnt to later on start a creative arts therapy programme working with indigenous youth and reconnecting them with culture and the arts.

Last year you were part of The Banff Centre’s Indigenous Dance Residency in Canada, and now are heading back overseas. Do you think international travel and experience is crucial for NZ dancers?

There are so many opportunities and new adventures waiting out there for us to explore. Being a dancer in NZ I feel as though we are limited in terms of opportunities and dance as a full-time career is a lot harder to attain. I believe it is important to experience what the rest of the world has to offer and to pursue what it is that makes you most happy.

Photos by Amanda Billing

How does the international dance scene compare to the NZ dance scene?

Depending on whether you're planning to go down the commercial dance or artistic route there will be a lot of competition and a lot of trials one must face. I believe we are quite strong dancers here in Aotearoa and there is so much undiscovered talent that needs to be scooped up.

The line up for Saturday is killer good. What can we expect?

The line up this weekend is full of many amazing artists that range across the genres of Afrobeat (Africa), Dancehall (Jamaica), Reggaeton (South America) all the way to Hip Hop & R&B. The whole purpose of the event is to celebrate black culture and the beauty that exists within our music and way of life. The night will be filled with dope sounds and an energy like no other that will make you "Bruk Out"!

Gudgemin's on The Other Side

It’s the final days of The Grow Room as we’ve come to know it. The end of July signals the final day of their current residency, perched above the mouth to St Kevin’s Arcade. The crew assure us the public will be well informed as to where the creative, collaborative space will next unfurl - in due time.

Nick. Photography by Connor Crawford

For the immediate future, the focus for some of its members is The Other Side, a gig curated by Nick Gudgeon, finding its home at Neck of the Woods tomorrow night.

We met Nick on the indoor terrace outside The Grow Room, on the day of Locapinay’s exhibition - walls plastered with analogue prints of her stunning photography. Truly, talent’s grown here.

Sitting on the hand-me-down couch, Nick (or Gudgemin, a nickname picked up in his days studying in Dunedin, spurred by references to his doppelganger, Mac DeMarco) spills the beans on the concept of the evening to come.

With seven acts and two DJ sets lined up to take over the night, it’s a monstrous line-up of insane local talent and would appear an organisational nightmare - but, according to Nick, it just “feels natural to do it this way,” as in, his first introduction to the gig game was by way of the monolithic Grow Room orchestrations. It’s a process of “scooping up everyone who inspires you, and chucking ‘em in a room.”

Friends of All the World

Why ‘The Other Side’, then? As Nick puts it, the crew showcasing on Friday are a bunch who get their kicks “geeking out on footwork,” and an erratic, eclectic array of sounds that are yet to find a home in Auckland. Nick’s own ‘Friends of All the World’, a collab project with Seb Soto, founded off the back of an offer to play on bFM and a subsequent rush to create to fill the spot, will open the night with their own stylistic stamp of, “Improvised house and techno; somewhere between a DJ set and a jam.”

Alongside the colossal music efforts to be experienced, your eyes will be stuck for what to look at among the feast of visual exploration. Nick’s 'creative technologist' friend, David, is piecing together “whatever images the artists want to conjure up” and throwing them behind their performance, stitching and “patching, mixing the imagery together - live.” It’ll be interactive and reactive to the audience, in a sense throwing up the organic movement of the people present onto the stage with the performer.

In exchange for this experience, simply clip a ticket for $10 on the door. Get underground, and unlock Nick’s vision, “I just want people to know there’s really cool stuff happening in Auckland, and that it’s really thriving.

Past, Present and Future with Greg Churchill

This Saturday, The Story of Acid House takes over NOTW - a hugely anticipated night curated and pieced together by our mates at Friendly Potential, headlined by none other than the legendary DJ Pierre. 

In support are local champs, Greg Churchill, Rob Warner, and Oliver Gifford. It'll be a night of revelling in the acid house and dance-floor pioneers, it only made sense to have a chat to the man largely credited with drastically pushing forward our own scene across the last few decades: Greg Churchill.

You were studying towards a Masters in Politics at the University of Canterbury when you picked up your first radio slot, on RDU. How’d you get to this point? When did music become a thing for you?

It had all happened a few years prior in 1984.

I approached the station manager, Michael Higgins, about getting a radio show and this journey started right there.

I remember when I was about 15-16, hating most of the music the other kids were liking at school… The god-awful Eagles being the most obvious example.

Punk was happening, and I just loved everything about it. The music, fashion, and attitude. And, as many others have so often said, Punk opened the doors and minds for so many of us to reggae and soul music.

I loved the edginess and abrasives of punk, and at same time found I had this love for music that made you dance.
 

And then came a ‘trip’ to the UK… 

In late 1988 I bumped into a guy I kinda knew in Christchurch.

He was wearing a smiley face yellow t-shirt which I was pretty envious of.

He told me he had just spent the summer in the UK (the First Summer Of love).

Now, for the last 18 months, I had been importing in box loads of as much House Music and Hip Hop as I could afford with another friend of mine, Dave Ramsden, who happened to be about the only other person I knew who I could share this love of House music with.

This guy (can’t remember his name) said I should get myself to the UK for the next summer (1989).

So, early July 1989 I packed up and headed off to London, with the sole intention of just living and breathing as much of what was happening as possible.

I didn’t work a single day, pretty much went out every night, and endlessly shopped for records.

I lasted till mid November when the money ran out, and the prospect of a UK winter staring at me I then returned home full of inspiration, and over-enthusiasm.

After which you relocated up to Auckland, for what would unfold into a four-year residency at The Box. How do you think such a move impacted your career?

I arrived in Auckland in early 1996.

For years, I had come up to the Box to just soak up the club for a weekend from Christchurch.

There was simply nowhere else the compared to The Box in New Zealand.

The sound system was superb, and the tunes played were just on another level.

Simon and Tom, the owners, insisted on a no compromise musical policy.

Unlike today where so many Auckland venues will have you fired for not playing commercial enough, the exact opposite applied at The Box.

When Rob Salmon left for New York at the start of 1996, I had a call from Simon asking If I'd take over the residency.

Initially, I said no. However, two weeks later, I had change of heart and accepted.

Any move to a bigger city comes with it greater opportunities, contacts and exposure.

Christchurch was somewhat stunted and going nowhere when I left, even though a few months later it did come back to life.

Within 6 months of arriving in Auckland, I’d witnessed the likes of Jeff Mills, Derrick Carter, DJ Sneak, Ashley Beedle, and even hung out with Kevin Saunderson.

Every weekend it seemed some DJ of significance was playing in Auckland.

At The Box I was able to witness first hand, by pretty much being right there in the DJ booth, how these guys played, and trainspot the tunes being dropped.

Tips, tricks, subtle skills - I absorbed everything.
 

How does Auckland’s dance scene in 2016 compare?

Right now, Auckland is very fortunate to have the likes of Ink, Red, Whammy and NOTW.

The fundamental problem I see in 2016 is there aren’t enough venues run by genuine and passionate music lovers - niche, boutique type venues where there’s a greater emphasis and love for what’s happening in the world of music, rather than that almighty dollar.

Venues where DJs can develop THEIR sound with confidence and without the threat that some bar manager is going to tear them to shreds mid-set to replace them with someone who said they’ll do it for a bartab.

15 years ago, this city was alive with so many bars and clubs playing a huge variety of House, Trance, Techno and Drum N Bass.

Auckland was once a global hot-spot and a "must play" for International DJs. Sadly, we are no longer.
 

Over the years, you’ve gained a stellar international reputation alongside leading the local scene. What’s kept you here?

Quite simply, a love and passion for music and DJing.
 

What was your introduction to DJ Pierre?

I remember (vaguely) hearing Box Energy on a Trax compilation, and also Slam by Phuture Pfantasy Club around the same time in 1987/88.

I thought the drums were so big and hard sounding on those records, and just wanted to go out somewhere and hear these tracks being played in a club.

That was pretty much the reason I started DJing.
 

Do you think that technology, increased ease of production, dissemination and promotion has had a positive or negative impact on music?

Sure, the positives are ease of access. Anyone can write and release a track these days. And essentially anyone can DJ too. The DIY punk ethos… Of course I’d have to love it.

However, we do have a growing problem with quality control in both the DJ world, and especially within the production universe.

My greatest fear with DJing is the art of beat mixing being over-looked and potentially lost.

Ironically, this should be so easy these days with sync.

The fundamentals of what beat matching teaches you, aside from having a really fuckin' sharp ear, are frequency control and balance and most importantly and crucial to playing a club: rhythm.

There’s is nothing more beautiful to the body and the ear than tracks seamlessly blending and moving from one to the next. There is nothing more jarring than sharp changes in rhythm.

Beat matching is a pillar of Djing.

It’s also the most fun you can ever have, learning how to do it.
 

Who’s on your playlist this week?

Daco - A little More Volume

Jesse Perez - Boogie Down Brown

Mason - Let It Go

Kapote & Zhut - So Damn Hot (Kian T Remix)

Krankbrother - Obscure Vision

DJ Pierre - The Story of Acid House, this Saturday at Neck of the Woods.

An eye for aesthetic, an ear for beats with Nekolye

This Friday, Bassment is hitting The Woods for its highly anticipated fourth instalment. With an all-star heavy-hitting local line-up of Nick Maclaren, KATANA, Nekolye, 2047, Esza, Hyan, and Yancey, it's a night easily taking pride of place on any Auckland bass-trap-rap head's calendar.

We took some time out to speak to Nekolye ahead of the madness of Friday night.

You’re one of those heavy, dope internet producers who it’s really difficult to track down information about. Could you give us a bit of a run down on the man behind the moniker?

My names Niko, a.k.a Nekolye. I make music on FL Studio, and am constantly learning everyday, trying to better myself as a producer.

How did you get into making beats?

I heard my brother playing Deadmau5 out loud when I was about 11 or 12, and fell in love with his synth work and heavy hitting kicks. That's when I knew I wanted to make music, in hopes of sounding that good. I went through all kinds of genre phases until now, but my music will never be limited to a single genre.

You’ve just recently signed to Slo:Wave. What does that collective represent to you, and how does it feel to be part of it?

Slo:Wave is a great representative of dope young producers from New Zealand and overseas that hold a different sound from the rest. It feels good, I get the chance to see a collective with humble beginnings strive for something big.

Who do you personally spend your time listening to? Have you got a strong regular playlist, or is it changing up on the daily?

Different everyday. One day I'll be listening to the likes of Flying Lotus, the next day I'll be listening to James Blake. I listen to almost everything, almost.
 

A photo posted by @nekolye on May 11, 2016 at 12:28am PDT

I’ve been scrolling through your Instagram, and you’ve got a dope aesthetic. Do you think that eye for good looking things has any correlation to your ear for good sounds?

I feel like I’m like that with most things, I’m a perfectionist in a way. With photos, I aim for symmetry; with my music I’m quite specific with how I arrange certain sounds. But like I said, I listen to all kinds of music, so my visual taste doesn’t have much correlation to my musical views.

How are you feeling about Friday’s Bassment? What’s it like being among such a strong local line-up?

Excited, especially to perform alongside my good friends Hyan, 2047, and Yancey. Also to see Nick Maclaren live, the dude's dope.

Nick "41" Maclaren is the real OG

You keep it pretty low key, and there’s not much public info circulating on the web about the man behind the beats (beyond that Twitter account, of course). Could you give us the ol’ quick clarification that you are in fact not a robot?

Yeah I’m pretty shit at social media and self promotion in general!  I try to stay off Facebook and am bad at Twitter, but I use Instagram quite a bit.

You’ve been in the game for a minute now. To reminisce for a moment, could you tell us a little about your come-up, and what it was like in the New Zealand music scene circa early 2000s, back when you and David Dallas were Frontline?

I came up through the local DJ battles, I used to be a pretty die hard battle dude and used to compete with all the local crew, P Money, CXL, Manchoo, etc. That was a pretty fun time. People (mostly dudes) used to actually come to watch straight up DJ battles, they would pack out. FUBU was one of the main sponsors, which was pretty funny looking back on it. Here’s a clip of me wearing a XXXL FUBU shirt at the NZ ITF final: 

After a while I started trying to make beats, but didn’t really have an outlet for them until I ran into David. I first met Dave at a skate shop I used to work at, One Project, which was on High St. He used to come in a talk shit, we liked the same kind of hip-hop: Diplomats, Cam’ron, etc. We both thought the Jay-Z 'Dynasty Intro' song was the best beat out.

He didn’t really rap in a public sense yet, more of a bedroom rapper using other people’s beats. I can’t remember the exact sequence of events, but he gave me his demo CD, it was good, I had some spare beats, and eventually we made a few songs. From there, we started making a ton of music and eventually had enough for a mixtape.

You guys also won the Best Hip Hop Album Award at the 2006 New Zealand music awards - what happened to the project after that?

Fuck, that was 10 years ago. That makes me feel pretty old. We didn’t want to make an album full of massive commercial hits. Borrowed Time was a pretty deep album, pretty dark at times, but people seemed to like it.

After the album and all the promo, video shoots, interviews etc. I essentially wanted out. I hated that part of it. I just wanted to make beats and sit on the sidelines, Dave wanted to pursue it as a career. Me and Dave remained good friends, but I just didn’t want to be an artist, didn’t want to deal with the music industry. It was one of the best decisions I’ve made.

I continued to make beats for Dave and other rappers, and Dave was able to really flourish as an individual artist.

Where does the ‘41:30’ often referenced in your name come from? What does it mean?

It comes from my BMX days. 4130 is a type of steel that’s commonly used to make BMXs and other bike frames. I haven’t ridden BMX in a while but have been thinking about getting one again actually.

'You’ve also been overseas a fair bit, your work’s been played across the US and UK, and you’ve even found your home base in Japan for a while. How do the international music scenes compare to what we’ve got here in New Zealand?'

One thing that still amazed me is how connected things can be across the world. One little spark can set shit off. When I was in Japan I started listening to a lot more instrumental stuff, trap, future beats, what ever you want to call it these days and decided to make a few little arrangement changes to some beats I was working on. I was listening to Plastician’s show all the time and thought, “You know what? He could totally play these songs on his show.” I said fuck it, and sent him this song as a sound cloud message: 

Next thing you know he played it on his show, and I was so stoked. I had the same feeling I had when I first heard a Frontline song on bFM.  I kept sending him songs, and then things started spreading. Soulection somehow picked up on some tracks, I saw a video of Sango playing my shit at SXSW, Diplo played my Dave Dallas “Wire” remix etc. It’s crazy how stuff gets around.

I think ultimately, no matter your level of success, the music scenes around the world are really just a bunch of people on laptops, and all it takes is a good song or two to make connections.

1998?

A photo posted by N💥I💥C💥K (@41beats) on Apr 22, 2016 at 11:22pm PDT

What can folks expect from your set at Bassment this coming Friday night?

I’ve got a few new tracks to play which I’m looking forward to hearing loud. Some hip hop of course. I also just DJed a wedding last weekend so have a fresh crate of Celine Dion, Ronan Keating and Meatloaf ready to go.

LAKES, makin' waves

How’s the tour treating you guys?

Fynn: Tour's going fab. Sold out shows, good vibes and 'meke beers with the boys. What more could you want?

Toby: F*cking sick! We have had two shows so far. The first, in Dunners, was sold it out, and the vibe was insane. Aaand we just played on the Shore, which is we were jam all the time, so it's always a party.

Any war stories from being on the road?

Toby: Yes.

Fynn: Apart from almost missing a flight, and heavily underestimating the amount of kilos we would have to throw down for our luggage on the plane, it's been pretty good!

At last count there were eight of you across LAKES and The Magic Band - can you give us a quick intro to who you all are, and what you play?

Yung Leezus - gat + vocals
Toby Soup - vocals
Dende - vocals
Harper the Grom - keys
The Captain - bass
G Money - gat
Cheeky Pav - saxophone
Hodgeybeats - drums

Fynn: On the skins and tubs we have Luke Hodgkingson... He's 'aight. Jumping on the boombastic bass we have the larger than life Morgainz. He also makes sure everything is in check, including the members of the band, and that's no easy task.

I have never seen someone be as thug as Harper when he's listening to Schoolboy Q. He also shreds keys. On vocals we have TOBYSOUP, Yung Leezuz, and myself a.k.a Dende (The Sensei). We try, but we know we are the weakest links. Yung Leezuz also plays lead and rhythm guitar, which he subs in and out of with George Edgar, who is easily the grooviest and kindest person you'll ever have a coffee with.

Last, and very much so least, is Pavel the sexy sax slayer. He's the newest member of the band, but he is here for a reason. Aside from playing to me as I sleep at night, he also blasts some of the smoothest jazzy licks of this century out of his brass tooter, all for your listening pleasure.

Could you give us a rundown of your love story? How did you meet, and when did the band become a thing?

Toby: It started at a party, that's where I met Liam. We were both were into music, so we organised a jam for the next day, and a lot beats and songs were the outcome.

Fynn: Liam and Toby first started LAKES about two years ago, or something like that? I was in the South Island at the time, but I managed to slither my way into the band and play with them at Rhythm and Vines, which was sick as f*ck of them. Later on, we wanted to share the love by inviting our incredibly talentless mates on board to join the party, and thus the Magic Band formed. We have all kind of known each other for the most part of our lives, which is groovy.

Y’all are based for the most part over on Auckland’s North Shore - do you think that’s had much of an influence on your sound?

Fynn: I think that has fully had an influence, yeah. When we are asked what our genre of music is, I usually just reply with, "I dunno, sounds of Devo." It's a thing.

It’s been a year since you released your ‘Summer’ EP. Is there any new music in the works?

Fynn: We have just finished recording a video for our latest new single with the whole band, which is tight! We also want to record our new Magic Band tunes asap. For real though.

Toby: We are in the planning stages of a full album with the band. Also a single, and a video dropping very very soon.

What can people expect from your show this Saturday at The Woods?

Fynn: You can expect yourself to say, "That was legitness," at the end of the show. Big tunes, old and new. Heaps of energy and happy times so grab your dancing shoes, grab a glass, and come say sah.

Toby: Good vibes, a lot of energy and a lot of dancing.

Catch LAKES live, tonight, at Neck of the Woods. Doors at 10pm.

Zero T set for NZ debut

This Friday, our friends at Drop Bass NZ are putting together the Auckland Launch Party for Outlook Festival, one of Europe's biggest bass parties - a shining beacon of soundsystem culture. They've pulled a talented bunch from the crop of DnB genius: Zero T, Amoss, Eavesdrop, and Victim.

We were lucky enough to swing a convo with Zero T...

You’ve released with numerous, diverse labels - from Metalheadz to Shogun, Quarantine, Soul:r, Dispatch, and Signature - how would you begin to describe your own style?

My style is simply Drum and Bass. I dislike the subdivisions people like to create. My hero as a kid was Doc Scott. Go listen to Drumz 95 and the flip of that record, and tell me what style of DnB Scottie is/was..Tech step? Atmospheric? The original Idea of jungle/DnB was "one sound, many styles," and I try to maintain that ethos.

Because my more popular tracks have been musical, I get labelled as "liquid," but if you come to the show expecting chords and vocals all night, you'll be disappointed. I always have and always will try to represent a wide spectrum of styles and moods in both my production and DJing - anything else is tedious to me.

In 2010 you launched your own label, Footprints. What was the reason behind starting up your own label, and going on six years, how’re things going?

I started Footprints in 2010, and released 7 records over two years or so. For various reasons the label has been on hiatus since 2012/13, but I will be relaunching with new distribution later this year... So watch this space. Back catalog including Calibre, ST Files, Mark System, Beta 2, Nick Bee, Need For Mirrors, and more will be available to download.

Last year you released ‘Golden Section’, your highly anticipated second album. How was that received?

Golden Section was my 2nd LP (1st was "Cheap Shots" on CIA in 2008). I took 2013 off of music, so I was a little nervous to see how a new LP would be received. Thankfully, it went down very well, and got a lot of support throughout the scene. Ant has done an amazing job of building Dispatch into one of the strongest labels around, hats off to him!

 

After nearly two decades of making music, if you could go back and give advice to your younger self starting out on this path, what would that advice be?

I would go back and tell myself to be born 5 years earlier. So my debut on Reinforced would have been in 96 instead of 2001. Life would have been pretty different most likely, lol.

What’s your favourite part of the job?

My favourite part of the job is most definitely the travel and all the likeminded folks you encounter in touring, it’s a great pleasure, and an honour. 15 years after my 1st gig outside my own country and it’s still the highlight.

Is this your first time down in New Zealand? What are you expecting?

This is my first time in this part of the world. It’s been on my Wishlist forever, so I’m buzzing to finally make it down here! I'm expecting a crowd of friendly ravers with extremely good taste... And Orcs... Mostly Orcs 😛

#tallinn #estonia

A photo posted by Zero T (@zerotdnb) on Oct 11, 2015 at 3:45am PDT

Can you give us any insight into what you’ll be working on next?

I’m very close to finishing my follow up LP to Golden Section for Dispatch. It's called "Dying Breed" and features collabs and remixes from Commix, Villem, Steo, Stamina MC and Beta 2.

I also have an imminent 12" on Metalheadz with Fierce, along with several 12"s from us forthcoming on his legendary Quarantine label. I’ve remixed a track off my 1st LP for the CIA 20 years LP dropping soon.

Plenty of remixes in the bag too for the likes of Noisia, Gerra and Stone, Malaky + Satl, Pennygiles and more, keep an eye on my fan page/twitter/insta for release info.

Catch Zero T, Amoss, Eavesdrop, and Victim this Friday at Neck of the Woods for the Auckland launch of Outlook Festival 2016.

LMC came here to make beats

The end of this week signals the return of the underground vibe-heavy party Bassment. Renowned for bringing seriously talented internet producers to an irl audience, many of whom are anonymous beforehand, each party is history in the making.

Speaking of anonymous internet beat superstars, this right here represents the first interview with crazy yung talent, LMC. 

You co-founded Slo:Wave back in 2014 with Wayvee. What were your motivations behind starting the crew, and how would you describe its purpose to an outsider?

Really we were all just a bunch of like minded producers/homies who wanted a platform to release our music through. It is also becoming a great way to showcase local talent, which there is a lot of right now.

There’s not much information on yourself floating about the internet. Was it a conscious decision to keep the music and your personal identity separate?

Not at all, I guess I just wanted LMC to be about the music without the gimmicks.

Can you tell us much about what you get up to on the daily? Do you have a ‘day job’?

Right now its 100% music and having fun with it. While also working on getting myself to where I want to be as an artist, making connections, and planning moves that will benefit myself in the long term.

Oh yeah, I also sell my soul part time to Pita Pit.

What brought you to making music?

I guess it was when I was 17. I suffered a pretty gnarly broken ankle skateboarding, up until then skateboarding was my life. I wasn't able to skate for a while so I copped an mpc1000 and started making hip hop beats. After my ankle had healed I found myself enjoying music more and skateboarding less. I guess it just continued on from there.

Are you the kind of producer who prefers creating beats, or showing them off to an audience?

Definitely creating beats. But it's also a cool feeling to hear what you’ve created being played out live. Seeing the crowds reaction.

What can punters expect from your set at BASSMENT on Friday?

Some Slo:Wave joints mixed in with music I love. But they can also expect some young thug bangers. Lol.

Roll through Bassment Vol 3 on Friday to go deep to the tune of LMC, KATANTA, SYSI, T1R and 2047.

A.L.C's Iron 'n' Wood visits The Woods

Despite art running through our veins, splashed across the black canvas of our walls at The Woods, we're yet to officially host an art show. Tonight will change all that. A.L.C are bringing their 'Iron 'n' Wood' exhibition our way, showcasing works from some of the finest artists throughout New Zealand, Australia, and the US of A. We caught a quick word with Guy Coney, head honcho at A.L.C, before he stepped on a plane from the capital to arrive at our doorstep and begin setting up the show for your enjoyment this evening.

Swing by from 7pm for an ice cold complimentary Garage Project beer, and soak in some culture, why don't you.

First things first, why is the show called Iron ‘n’ Wood?

We called the exhibition Iron and Wood simply because all the canvasses used by the artists are either motor bike gas tanks, or wooded skate decks. We thought mixing those 2 different mediums of art would make an amazing show - which it certainly has.

How did A.L.C get involved in an art show?

A.L.C Apparel has always had super strong roots in the art and tattoo scene. Every season we have a full artist series of clothing where we work with different artists from around the world. So we're no strangers to putting on art shows when we have such a large stable of artists we work with. But this is definitely the first time we've ever mixed 2 different mediums like this. In fact I think it's the first time it's ever been done in this country!

Could you give us some background on the artists involved in the show, and what brought them together?

We have a total of 20 artists involved in the show from all around the world. Guys like Tony Graystone from the U.K, world class tattooists like Khan (Korea), and Matt Jordan from NZ. Then we also got to work with some amazing U.S guys too, like Tyler Bredeweg and Charlie Coffin.

The show traveled down to Wellington earlier this year - how was it received in the capital?

The show premiere down in Wellington was a massive success. In fact, towards the end it was so full you could hardly move. Lucky we had some icy cold treats from Garage Project brewery to keep everyone cool 'n calm. After that, we took it over to LA for one night only, which was amazing for us. We never expected to get such a huge turnout over there. I think we underestimated just how big the art scene is in the States.

You’re hosting the Auckland show at Neck of the Woods - was there anything particular about our space that had you decide to do it here?

We actually asked like 3 different artists that feature in the show if they could recommend somewhere in Auckland that would suit. And all 3 said Neck Of The Woods. I've never stepped foot in there but everyone we've talked to says it's an awesome setup. I can't wait to jump on a shitty JetStar flight in about 2 hours and check it out.

Reggae and collaboration, the molecular make-up of Max Glazer

Tomorrow night, the legendary Johnny Osbourne will take to the stage at The Woods - with none other than legendary Max Glazer holding down the decks. It'll be a night for the history books, and one that deserves a little bit of schooling ahead of time. To lay down one of the lessons, we spoke to the brilliant, multitalented Max Glazer. 

Growing up in New York, where did you find your musical inspiration?

Growing up in New York there was musical inspiration everywhere. I lived in a small town called Woodstock in upstate New York until I was 18, and I've been in New York City ever since. Growing up in Woodstock (namesake of the 1969 festival), music was always a big part of life. First was my parent's music, and then tuning in to NYC's rap shows on FM radio. When I finally moved to the city, I was going to record stores and clubs almost every day, just exploring and surrounding myself with as much music as possible.

You founded Federation Sound back in 1999 with Kenny Meez and Cipha Sounds. Could you tell us about why the collective was formed, and how it’s evolved over the past near-on two decades?

Prior to the formation of Federation Sound in 1999, Cipha and I were using the name Federation for our crew of DJs, and even beyond that, everyone who rolled with us. In those days it was always a crew because we still had to carry crates of records. Cipha and I were in New York, and Kenny Meez was in Philly, where he had been DJing for years. Kenny and I started getting more serious about reggae and got to be known for that so naturally, we wanted to start voicing dubplate specials. We voiced a couple of dubs without even having a proper sound name and then in '99 Capleton was going to be in Philly and Kenny called me and said we should voice some dubs, but we really need a sound name if we are going to keep spending money on dubs and suggested we use Federation, since that was already the name of the crew in New York. That's how, and when, we became Federation Sound.

This’ll is your second tour visiting New Zealand - how does performing down-under compare to the Northern Hemisphere? Do you find many differences with crowds, or culture, or what songs really make them lose themselves?

There's definitely a strong reggae scene here, it's just a much smaller scene than a lot of the places I've toured. Because it's small, I've found that the people who are a part of it are super passionate about the music. It's amazing to come all the way around the world and see people who love reggae as much as I do. The crowds are definitely different since for the most part there is no direct West Indian or Caribbean influence, so the scene here has been built from scratch which in some ways makes people even more open and receptive to new things. It's not necessarily about what is the biggest hit in Jamaica at any given moment, it's more about what sounds good and the DJs like. 

What can people expect from a set of yours?

I always like to play some signature Federation dub plates and remixes - some exclusive things that only we have. I also like to touch on classics and hits that people are familiar with, so there's a little something for everyone. At most of the parties I've done in New Zealand and Australia you've got hard core reggae fans and then also people who are just out to party for the night but aren't necessarily familiar with every song. Ideally, I want both those groups of people to have a great time. Sometimes maybe I'll play more downtempo classics and other times it may be much more brand new dancehall but I really like to read the crowd and cater to them.

You’ve worked with innumerable artists on their rise, including Rihanna, whom you were Music Director/DJ for 3 years. Is collaboration important to you?

Collaboration is really important for me when working with artists. Because of my years as a DJ, there are certain things that I may be aware of that an artist may not notice and vice versa. It works best when the people working together trust and respect each other and there's open communication to bring forward the best finished product, whether it's a song, show or whatever. 

How is it touring with Johnny Osbourne, whom many consider Godfather of dancehall and reggae?

Touring with Johnny is a pleasure. Not only is a musical legend, but he loves to travel and see new places. A lot of times when you're on tour it's easy to just go from the show to the hotel and never really see anything but Johnny is the first one to be up and walking around exploring a new city. He's got such an incredible voice that it's actually really easy on my part, setting up, sound checking, and DJing for him. It's also great to get to see a show that is really a history of reggae and dancehall music every night. 

You’ve seemingly conquered the music world of reggae. Where does Max Glazer go from here?

There's plenty more work to do. A big part of what I love about DJing and being involved in reggae is helping to expand it's reach. Just like it's important to come out here, there are plenty more places and ears that we can reach. Music is continually evolving so I'm really just trying to keep up myself and continue doing something I love.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Godfather of Dancehall, Johnny Osbourne

In 1948, Errol Osbourne was born, and in the late 1970s skyrocketed to success under his preferred name, Johnny Osbourne. Osbourne was a man who would come to create so much great music, and influence so many, that he would be dubbed 'the Godfather' of both Reggae and Dancehall, and remain relevant for decades.

On Friday 29th April, we'll be hosting the man, the myth, the legend that is Johnny Osbourne, on a double headliner alongside international groove-maker and co-founder of Federation Sound, Max Glazer. We spoke to Johnny about all things past, present, and future.

Do you remember when music came into your life? The time you first realised its importance to you? Can you explain where you were, what you were listening to, what your thought process was?

As a very young boy! My grandmother was a Christian and church was mandatory. If I wasn't singing too, then I'd be bored! We could pick up foreign radio, so I used to listen late night to the original W.I.N.Z Radio, Miami from my likkle transistor radio and heard the great Billy Eckstine and Nat King Cole!  I realized then that a black man like me can be like them because I could sing too, I wanted to be like Nat King Cole!

Do you make music for any particular purpose?

Nah man! I make music for the love of it - I just love to sing!

How would you compare the music industry, back when you first stepped into it in 1967 as lead vocalist of the Wildcats, to the way it stands in the highly-saturated internet-age of today?

At that time, in the 60's, the music industry for us wasn't about the money! We didn't even know about money dem times - all we had was radio! We just loved the original American rhythm and blues, and wanted to be like those man....Nowadays, the ting dilute because some of the people who claim dem a singer, can't even read music! Today DJ music ting is more about the money, than DJ talent!

You’re at the point where you can already see the way that your music has impacted the next generations - for example, current-day EDM stalwarts Major Lazer sampled your ‘Mr Marshall’ in ‘Jah No Partial’. How does it feel to be at this stage in your career? What do you do next?

Yes, the collabs with Major Lazer was real nice! I performed "Mr Marshall" at a club in Manhattan, New York and to see thousands of young people singing all the words, was wicked! It's a great, great feeling that DJ young people love my ting so hard!!!  What's next? I'm just gonna keep on singing! I've been to Russia, Israel, Japan - all over and my singing makes people happy, and it makes me happy - singing has been my life from mi a bwoy!

Reggae legend Johnny Osbourne visited us at the radio FM4 studio and recorded a unique version of his hit "No Ice Cream Sound" for us in original dubplate style.

On that note, you’ve managed to maintain relevancy throughout more decades than almost any other artist, whether they be in the Jamaican scene or otherwise. Why do you think that is?

I am still current because I like to experiment with all the different genres! Plus me like all kine a music so I can adapt!  Some artists can only perform in the style they are accustomed to- me I can change my style to fit the melody, any riddim!!

Who would you say are the up-and-comers, the ones to watch in the reggae and dancehall scene?

Some ah di young artist's dem a gwaan real good! I love Chronixx, Romaine Virgo, Bugle, Christopher Ellis, Dexter Dapps, and right now mi love Nesbeth tune!

If you could cast your mind back throughout your legendary career, could you tell us about your favourite show you’ve ever played?

I have so many great shows over the years, but the one that really stand out was the first show I ever did with Sly and Robbie! I wanted to work with them for years, so when I got the chance I was real, real happy! I worked with them in Japan and that show really stand out in my mind because they are legends!

The Doqument are out here to make history

Tonight, heavyweight New Zealand hip-hop group The Doqument take over NOTW's basement with the launch of their hotly anticipated new album, 509. Ahead of their first gig in a while, we had a chat with the guys.

How did the Doqument come to be?

We all met via music and the power of the online connection. Individually, we were already making music. We decided to collab, and everything else is history.

Our style blended well together so it just felt right to link up.

How’s the New Zealand hip hop scene feeling at the moment?

New Zealand hiphop right now is flourishing. There's so much talent coming out of this small country. It's healthy that it's getting more looks than ever at them moment. New Zealand can compete on the world stage.

You all haven’t gigged it in a while. Has this been a factor of working on the new album?

We have pretty much been in the studio, perfecting our craft, and put gigging on hold for a bit while we worked on the album. Album is done now, so it's time to put in work.

Let’s talk about that album. First and foremost, it’s called 509, and based on your album artwork circulating, that seems to have something with time. Could you give us an insight into what 509 means, and what you’re trying to achieve with the project?

'509' has a few meanings to us. It's the address where we recorded the album, and the time we would all make it to studio. The album also represents time, the time we took to perfect our art, the time we have taken away from family to produce the album. Our motto is "Doqlife 'Til The Clockstrikes," so we put all of that into this album. What we would like to achieve is nothing more that adoration for our hard work. This is art. This isn't your safe sounding album. We have taken a lot of risks with our current sound in 509; all we want is for people to enjoy it.

What can people expect from a live performance from The Doqument?

Energetic, Hype, Dope Bars, Rap. It's always a real good time with TheDoq.

Any special surprises in the works for Thursday night?

Doqlife always has surprises in store, we're just gonna have to wait and see. 

Join The Doqument tonight for the release of '509,' popping from 10pm at Neck of the Woods.

Cyantific wakes up to 'Jump' by Van Halen

Jon Stanley been in the scene for a minute now, bursting the stratosphere - at the time, in partnership with Matt Whitehead - under the moniker of 'Cyantific' in 2006 with 'Ghetto Blaster,' a year later, the duo copped BBC 1Xtra Best Newcomer DJ award in 2007. In 2009, Whitehead departed and Stanley shouldered the complete Cyantific outfit, after which Stanley dabbled in creating his own label, CYN Music, then, in 2014 signing exclusively to Viper Recordings. 

The drum and bass aficionado, creator, influencer that is Cyantific is hitting our shores to play Neck of the Woods this Saturday, on a ridiculous double headliner including Viper Recording's family, Mob Tactics.

When have we ever passed up an opportunity to chat with a DnB insider?

What artists and genres did you tune into growing up?

I was really into Michael Jackson as a kid. After that, I got into NWA, Cypress Hill, and The Prodigy. I discovered pirate radio shortly after that phase, and I was hooked on drum & bass!

How about nowadays? Any ‘guilty pleasures’ per se - you know, those tracks among the pop Top 40 charts?

I'm really into my 80's music. It reminds me of being very young. There's so much of it to discover still as well. Guilty pleasures? Well, the last few weeks I've been waking up to 'Jump' by Van Halen. That's an early morning rinse out!

What’s your process when producing music? Can you work anywhere?

Yeah, I love to work on the road. I'm really into getting the most out of the time while I'm away - there's no distractions, no errands to run, no dog to walk. Generally, I take projects I've already started. Although, my next single has a track on it called 'Hollywood,' which I started while I was out there in January. 

Do you think about the people you’re making tracks for when piecing them together?

I think firstly about how I feel about it. Then sometimes I think more generally about the way it will work on the dance floor. I'm not really worried about who it appeals to, so long as it ticks the right boxes for me. 

Where’d the idea for the Cyantific FM podcast come from? How’s it treating you?

The reaction has been really good. I felt like I needed to put something out there on a monthly basis to show what I felt was the best of DnB as it happens. I'm lucky enough to get sent a load of music, so it's good to share it with people. 

What advice would you give to a younger version of yourself, back when all the fast-track madness started, before the release of ‘Ghetto Blaster’?

That's a great question. I'd definitely say you need to learn more about the musical aspect of production now, to stand you in good stead for the future. Also don't ever take your foot off the gas - it's easy to get there, but it's hard to stay there. 

King Unique on tea, impuritans, and 1970s synths

At Neck of the Woods, we see more than our fair share of ridiculous international and local talent tearing up the stage night-in, night-out. One of the talents we've been most excited about over the last few weeks is the musical stylings of King Unique (a.k.a. Matt Thomas), electronic wunderkind with a self-professed "taste for tripped-out cosmic techno and rough-edged underground house."

So, of course, we had a chat. Turns out that next to international critical acclaim for production and deejaying, Matt can chalk up a ludicrously fluent sense of humour.

How would you define British underground music? Is it confined to any genre?

No, pretty much the opposite – if one thing defines the British approach to dance music it would be the collision of styles, the creation of new genres by putting two or more disconnected sounds together. Overall we’re the opposite of puritans – we’re impuritans!
 

You’ve personally never actually lived in London, which most would guess was the centre of the scene. Growing up in the idyllic (and supposedly sleepy) town of Chester, how did you come to making music, or even engaging in the scene in the first place?

Yeah Chester is a sleepy place – but that’s because it is flanked by arguably the two great northern musical cities, Manchester and Liverpool, both barely 40 minutes away. Each boasted a key club in the development of house music, the Hacienda and Cream. Cities like that tend to suck up all the cultural and creative life in the area; after giving a band a go for a couple of years in Chester, I tried my luck in Liverpool working in the big recording studios as an assistant/ tape-op/ tea-bitch. After a few years recording jangly guitar bands Matthew and I met up.
 

How did you and Matthew Roberts come up with the moniker, ‘King Unique’? Can you give us the origin story? 

We’d written a track, along with Matthew’s brother Leon and their mate Cossie, and signed it to Defected. We just hadn’t thought of an artist name, so we were getting increasingly irritated phone calls from Simon Dunmore asking us if we’d thought of a fucking name for ourselves. Each time we’d say, ‘Yeah, definitely going to think of one Simon,’ hang up the phone, and promptly forget.

Eventually he rang one day, told us the record was being pressed that week, that he was finalising the artwork that day, and wasn’t going to hang up the phone until we gave him a name. We threw around a bunch of woeful ideas quickly and then Leon suggested King Unique, a name he’d been considering using for a solo project. He’d seen a film about a teenage latino street gang all called King whatever, and the boss was called King Unique.

We liked it, we told Dunmore, he pressed the record. 

And then there was this one time at bandcamp…

You’re hoarding a few precious 70’s synths in your studio - how often do you play with those?

Not often enough to justify the amount they’re starting to cost in upkeep – but I do love them so. I’m hammering the Eminent Grand Theatre 3000 currently, a 1976 monster from the dawn of the cosmic/prog-rock era. Jarre used a close cousin, the Eminent 310U, for his early albums. It’s a beautiful sounding machine that takes up the same space as a sofa and even has its own lighting system built into the case. Gorgeous instrument.

You’ve been in this business for near on two decades now. Are you adverse to any of the changes that’ve occurred in that time, or do you think we’re headed in the right direction, or?

Things are what they are. If you’re still playing ‘what if?’ about a career that’s lasted two decades you probably need a gratitude transplant. 

How has your own sound evolved in that time, do you think?

It's gone all over the place, from house to techno to electro to bass to prog. The only constant has been a combination of beautiful and ugly sounds.
 

There’s been a whole lot of travel in that time, too. So far, reflecting on all of it, who’s been your favourite crowd to play for?

I had a pretty lovely experience playing the Eclipse festival in Australia a few years back – turns out that putting tens of thousands of people from all over the world out into the desert for nine days, and then showing them a life-affirming celestial event makes for a really happy crowd. 

As for clubs, I’d say Yellow in Tokyo around 2001, Turnmills in London around 2005, Exit in Lithuania 2007 to 2011, and I’ve recently been playing to fantastic crowds at Ministry Of Sound. There are scores more though – how can I not mention Argentina?
 

Producing originals, remixing, and performing in front of live crowds - what’s your favourite part of the job?

This is one of those ‘would you rather cut off your foot, your hand or your ears?’ questions; I really can’t choose between them. That said, long before King Unique ever happened I would just tinker with sound, making noises and playing tunes just for myself. That’s never stopped & I doubt it ever will.

Catch King Unique this Saturday (09/04/16) at NOTW.

The Fountain of Rainbow Youth

The LICK Auckland crew are back in The Woods this weekend, throwing a party like you've never seen to celebrate their third birthday. Being the philanthropic and community-oriented ladies that they are, they're donating $5 from every ticket sold to Rainbow Youth, a K'Rd local and champion of support, information, and advocacy for young queer and trans* people for nearly thirty years.

We caught up with Duncan Matthews, Rainbow Youth's Executive Director, to chat about the day-to-day function of the organisation, what social progress looks like, and making a home among the K'Rd community.

Nice to meet you, Duncan. How did you come to be involved in Rainbow Youth, and what does your day-to-day work involve?

Nice to meet you too, Chlöe!

I first got involved with RainbowYOUTH when I moved to Auckland in 2009.  I had been involved in community works in Hamilton before moving up, and saw it as a good way to meet friends outside of the bars, as well as giving back doing something I enjoyed.  Over the years, I’ve moved from being a volunteer, to being on the Governance Board, and now as the Executive Director.

Day to day is probably a lot like many jobs - emails! Key things I do are building partnerships between RainbowYOUTH and other community service providers, attracting funding, managing our senior staff, and working with the Governance Board.

Rainbow Youth is turning 27 this year! What was society like when the organisation was established?

Being 28 myself, I don’t have first-hand experience! In researching our history for our 25th celebration in 2014, we came across a number of front page articles outraged that an organisation like RainbowYOUTH was receiving funding. Much like today, there were pockets of supportive people, however I think violence and threats against our communities was a lot more publically acceptable back then than it is now. The issue of Transgender and Intersex awareness and rights wasn’t on the table at all, with the whole focus being on gay men and lesbian women.

Fast forward to 2016, how has society since changed, legally, attitudes, and otherwise?

While sometimes it doesn’t feel like it, I think society has moved on a loooong way since 1989. We are now able to talk about the rights and needs of Rainbow (LGBTI) people in public and government forums openly.  Even the most ‘right/conservative’ of groups in New Zealand (I think) have a base level of respecting our right to physical safety.

The challenge today is starting to move from the ‘we have the same rights as everyone else in Aotearoa’ message to ‘this is what government and service providers need to do to cater to the unique needs of Rainbow communities’.

Where does Rainbow Youth go from here? What changes are you hoping to see in the next decade?

RainbowYOUTH has an awesome impact and ability to work with young people in the central Auckland area. We have a large impact on government policy around LGBTI Youth, and on how other organisations work to support LGBTI youth.

Our key areas of focus for the next few years is to grow the support available to young people who don’t live in the main urban areas of New Zealand. For example, in 2014 we started the ‘TaurangaPryde’ youth group in Tauranga, the first kind of LGBTI youth support available there, ever.  It has had a huge impact in its short two years, and is very well attended.

You’ve just moved to a new premises, from your space on K’Rd to a slightly bigger one just off of K’Rd, on Abbey Street. How are the new digs, and what prompted the move?

Replace ‘slightly bigger’ with ‘massively bigger’!  Our new space is over 3 times larger than at 281 K’rd.  Our new digs are awesome!  We are able to offer more resources and services to young people from our new space.

The move was prompted by needing more space for our staff to work in, to allow them to be effective in a lot of the ‘back office’ stuff that we do. At our peak of 7 staff in 2015, we were only able to physically fit 4 of them in the one ‘office’ that we did have at any one time….

An important aspect I think is the ‘pride’ that young people can take in a space that is 100% dedicated and run to LGBTI youth.  This new space is much nicer, has windows, and doesn’t seem like we’re hidden away in a little corner of K’Rd.

What is it about K’Rd that keeps you in the neighbourhood?

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Posted by Rainbow Youth on Thursday, 21 January 2016

K’Rd has been, and I think will continue to be, the focus of much of the Rainbow community in Auckland, and even New Zealand. It is the melting pot where you have RainbowYOUTH next to churches next to strip clubs.  A lot of our young people call this area home, and have ready access to it by public transport.

What does Rainbow Youth mean to you?

RainbowYOUTH means a huge amount to me, it provided me with a place to call home when I first moved to Auckland and when I didn’t have close connections to my biological family. I have met the majority of my friends through RainbowYOUTH. It has provided me with a huge number of professional opportunities, training, networking and first-hand experience. It's probably not healthy, but RainbowYOUTH is pretty much my life!

Click here for more info on LICK Auckland's 3rd Birthday Bash.

Words for consciousness with Emerald

Come Thursday this week, expect to see the club turned upside down for the one and only, jam-packed culture pot that is Party in the Woods. Catch local heavyweights Heavy, Yoko-Zuna, Omni Potent, and Scarlett Lashes, alongside Aus-based powerhouses, Emerald, and Dayelle, two individual ridiculously talented rappers and producers who've been running circles around conventional wordsmiths since day dot.

In case you weren't already familiar with the beautiful mind that is Emerald, it's about time you glance a geez at the words below.

Hey, Emerald! How are you?

Yeah I’m doing great thanks!

You took an arguably academic route to music. How did you come to Hip Hop?

It’s always been hip hop. Rap is raw, it’s real. I have a passion for the craft and I also have an appetite for knowledge, so it made sense to study music. It was a good compromise to assure myself and my parents that I was doing something constructive with my hobby because at that point I had no idea how far I could take it.
 

Rap appeals to the nerd in me for sure. I love words. I love taking my time to arrange just the right words to express a thought - and then having the added challenge of making them rhyme and flow! My brain gets a full work out when I’m writing lyrics.

I find it ironic that rap gets stereotyped as a being a low brow art form. There is such a big intellectual element to rapping. Technical skill and style are equally valuable to an emcee - book smarts and street smarts. An educated rapper is no oxymoron. I have a formal qualification in contemporary music and I still conclude that rap offers me more than any other genre.
 

Could you tell us about the Free Flow Co-Op?

The idea came partly from a hip hop group DoomTree from Minneapolis. They were a bunch of artist friends coming up in the same city who banded together to cross promote. I was inspired by that sense of community in a scene that is typically competitive. So I’ve followed a similar concept with Free Flow Co-Op and also with my hip hop collective Indigo Rising.

A couple of weeks after arriving in Melbourne I started running a series of hip hop nights called Emerald Hip Hop Sessions. As I got more involved in the underground scene I quickly realised that there was so much talent here that it had been begging for another platform. We were packing a small bar regularly on a tuesday. It was good for the artists and good for the venue. There was definitely a niche.
 

I created Free Flow Co-Op as a way to stay connected to the people who had been particularly good to work with. It created a pool of quality and reliable DJs, rappers, soundies, digital artists etc to create gigs from so that Emerald Hip Hop Sessions could be self sufficient. I also encouraged them to network among themselves too. If one of my artists needed a DJ for their own project they could hit up the Co-Op for example. I aim to connect with as many artists, promoters, venues etc as possible to continue to build this culture. My vision is that Free Flow Co-Op could become a community based movement that overtakes my leadership.

Your bars/lyrics resonate as pretty thought-provoking. What’s your process when writing, and do you think about what you want to achieve or have people consider when they’re listening to your music?

I’m glad you think so. My music is a pretty direct reflection of where I am in my life. Topics usually develop naturally. There’s kind of a threshold in my mind, and if I feel impassioned enough about something, or find a theme recurring in my thoughts then I acknowledge it and start to develop it into it into a song.
 

The more serious I’ve become about my music the more conscious my songwriting process has become. I definitely consider who I want to speak to and what kind of relationship I want to create with my fans. When I have a topic I’ll think about what angle I want to approach it from. Sometimes I write in the first person, sharing a story from my own experience so my audience get to know me. Sometimes I’ll write in the third person about a universal topic so that people can relate and put themselves in the story. Sometimes I’ll speak directly to them. Sometimes I’ll write a hook to have a call and response element to get the crowd involved so it becomes their song too. ‘Thought-provoking’ pretty much encapsulates what I try to be. I guess I’m trying to pass on my own inquisitiveness.

How do you feel about being called a ‘conscious musician’?

It’s a noble title. I strive to be conscious as a person, and as a musician as an extension of that. A lot of my friends are activists. I admire their empathy and knowledge and drive. I’m very eager to understand as much as I can about the world and the best way to contribute to making it a better place. Music is powerful tool. It allows the amplification of ideas and messages. It gives you influence. Entertaining is important, but I also feel as musicians, or anyone with a platform, one of the most valuable things you can do with your influence is use it to inspire people to engage with some of the bigger social/political/environmental issues which require our urgent attention. I don’t want to preach, but I do want to encourage awareness and Independent thought. I admire successful artists who use their music as a vehicle for humanitarianism. That’s an aspiration of mine.

You’re originally from New Zealand, but now find homebase in Melbourne. What is it about the Australian city that attracted you that way, and is it where you’re planning to nest for a while?

New Zealand is very isolated. My life there was comfortable and familiar. There was so much I wanted to see and achieve that wouldn’t have been possible in such a small country. I wanted more opportunities for my music. But mostly I was after personal growth, to challenge myself to be independent and take a bit more control over the direction of my life. Some Melbourne based artists I befriended at a music festival invited me to make the move. I didn’t need much convincing.

I don’t lose sight of my goal to chase music, so if an opportunity arose somewhere else I totally pursue that. I toured to New York last year and I feel like have unfinished business with that city. It was like Melbourne of steroids. But right now Melbourne fits. It has so much music and culture and diversity. It’s a good base, I can pop home easily or If I want to get away I’ll just organise another tour.
 

In your mind, how do the music scenes compare across New Zealand and Australia?

There are pockets of beautiful talented artists all over both countries. The scene here is bigger. There’s the obvious difference. I think what strikes me more is the similarity. I play about as many festivals as I do bar gigs. The New Zealand, Australian, Canadian and American outdoor party scenes are all very similar. Doof culture seems to be pretty universal.

There are great things going in New Zealand’s underground scene that I wish I could be there for. There’s a lot of potential. But it’s scattered. With a city the size of Melbourne it can be a lot more centralised. I think I’ve stumbled across a gem of a community here. It’s very connected and very welcoming. There’s a freestyle night called 'Can I Kick It' that I always rave about. Anyone who’s got something going will end up on the mic there at some point. There’s a bunch of collaborative projects, independent labels, hip hop and producer nights popping up. A lot of us seem to be on the same buzz with our music hustle. I live with the very prolific Elf Tranzporter of Combat Wombat, so between the two of us half of Melbourne's hip hop community pass through our lounge. Everyone in the scene is very open and supportive of each other. It really is like a family.

Catch Emerald in action this Thursday at Party in the Woods.

Entering the CYPHER with DJ EXILE

If you know the local Hip Hop and Rap games, you've heard of DJ Exile. He's curated 'Cyper - Rock The Block' down at The Woods tonight - offering the perfect excuse to exchange parlance, shedding some light on the scene he's been pretty personally responsible for bringing to the come up.

What does it mean to ‘cypher’?

In the context of the Hip Hop or Rap realm, it means to enter into a sacred space of the emcee. Not everyone can enter the CYPHER, only those that have had the calling - a strong burning desire to say what is on their mind.

The space is usually defined by a circle, where people have the opportunity to express their art of wordplay, and deliver in the manner they see fit; each person has their own unique style, flow, content and identity.

What does the scene look like in New Zealand?

In terms of New Zealand, the CYPHER scene is very small in numbers - however this allows quality control, I think.  At the moment there are two kinds of Cypher that exist in New Zealand, there’s the ONE OUTS rap battles, which have been developing for the past 5 years, and have a strong following (shouts to DLAR MADWAR for developing this platform in NZ). This type of CYPHER manifests in raps that are all out war - on a personal level - with each emcee setting out to destroy another emcee’s character and existence. It’s very funny, entertaining, and a lot of skill goes into preparation and delivery on the day, sometimes furious and raw!

Then, there’s...

NOTE: due to Easter and Council Regulations, times have shifted.
OPEN MIC - 7pm
SHOWCASE - 9pm
MAIN BATTLE - 11pm

1 year, 12 events and 70 emcees later and hours of DJ EXILE beat mixing, beat searching and DJ’n solo for the majority of the events (6 hour sets), CYPHER AK/NZ creates a positive and uplifting platform (inspired by the early 80’s in the U.S) that allows emcees to showcase their talents and skills in an environment that supports the underground AK/NZ hip hop movement, open to all those that have skills on the mic - essentially it was a Hip Hop open mic night!  Now CYPHER has developed into a showcase, Open Cypher and a freestyle battle! It was only an idea that DJ EXILE came up with after watching the CYPHER develop in the states, it was then that DJ EXILE decided to get some emcee friends together and start a CYPHER in the studio who got together to share written rhymes and have fun freestyling.  

How and when did you get involved?

January 2015 was the birth of CYPHER, I started this mofo gangsta ish...

I decided one night after going out on the town in AK City that I was bored with your average Hip Hop club nights, and set out to bring something different and change the game. The focus was bringing underground Hip Hop to the forefront of the nightclub scene, and providing a premium event as a positive outlet for rap. There’s many negative perspectives on what Hip Hop or Rap is today, and I believe it’s due to the fact that no one is setting standards - you can pretty much get away with mumbling in the mic over the top of a generic beat and be called a rapper.

To perform at a CYPHER you need to have one or more produced music tracks, and a performance track record; you need to have supported the CYPHER movement from its early conception, or be doing cool stuff (I’ll know who you are), and you will be entered into the CYPHER showcase where you will perform a 10-15 minute club banger set!

Do the emcees we produce have our own distinctive sound?

Every emcee brings something different to the CYPHER, and now the movement has caught the talents of a good number of female emcees as well.

I love the variation of vocal tones, subject matter, delivery techniques, moods, energy and rawness of the emcee, “Unhindered vocal kungfu,” is what I like to call it. The energy is amazing in the right atmosphere!

If I know the emcee personally then I’ll put them on, some emcee’s have had repeat shows which is great as it allows a wider audience to check out their sound.

Subject matter is always a concern with me. If I don’t like it then I’ll tell you, or I simply won’t put you on in the first place.

Could you introduce us to some of the acts on your bill for tonight?

On the bill we have a great showcase of new talent to the Cypher stage, and a couple of veterans which will be a good cross reference; nu-blood meets the vets.

Each emcee for the night has been hand-picked to bring different styles to the stage! Get familiar over on our Facebook event page.

Ebb and flow with Makanaka Tuwe

Tonight in The Woods, we're proud to be hosting Womanifesto, the brainchild of Makanaka Tuwe, or 'Maka', as she is affectionately known by friends. Providing a platform for talented women to speak of their experiences, as well as offering an open mic to any who are present and vibe with the nature of sharing and catharsis, we've long been enamoured with the projects Maka finds herself facilitating. So, naturally, we asked her how her brain works.

Maka & Raiza Biza / Photography by Charlie Kim

How did you come to spoken word?

I remember the first time I listened to spoken word, I was around the age of 15 and this lovely boy I was interested in sent me a link to Def Jam poetry ‘A penny for your thoughts’. Now I know 15 sounds young, but as an old soul and hopeless romantic, I remember eating the words of the poem and replaying them over and over and over again in my head.

Do you come here often? #africanidentity #changingthenarrative #aomsart #africaonmysleeve

"Do you come here often? #africanidentity #changingthenarrative #aomsart #africaonmysleeve"

As I got older, I became a fan of Def Jam poetry and can safely say there isn’t a piece I haven’t watched, debated, commented and reflected on. Sometime last year I started playing around with speaking, thing is I don’t see myself as much of a speaker, I just open my mouth and words start coming out. I haven’t mastered a stage persona and each time before I get on the stage I have goosebumps. Thing is, I wouldn’t even call myself a spoken word artist, I would call myself someone who enjoys putting words together.

When it comes to spoken word, I see myself more as a facilitator that works in collaboration with the speakers and the audience to create a safe space and environment for expression. In that facilitating space, I strongly believe spoken word is a way of expression that does not harm anyone or the environment.

Could you give us a little rundown on who is sharing tonight?

Tonight is going to be phenomenal, as the mic will be graced by electric women. What I love most is how diverse these women are not only at the level the eye can see, but their essences are different, their personalities, their work and their presence.

WOMANIFESTO: Jahra 'Rager' Wasasla "A womanly colour / an unholy body of work." Bare goosebumps that is all. @neckofthewoodsnz #neckofthewoods #womanifesto #aomsart

"WOMANIFESTO: Jahra 'Rager' Wasasla "A womanly colour / an unholy body of work." Bare goosebumps that is all. @neckofthewoodsnz #neckofthewoods..."

There is this pressure for women to look and act a particular way in order for them to be desirable or beautiful, and what I love about everyone sharing is that fearless difference that makes them beautiful. It actually irks my bones that I have to “praise” difference but what I am trying to get at is each speaker is comfortable in their skin and on a journey to continue connecting with the true essence of their being with a light and energy that is unique to them, that is in fact them and that’s inspirational.

On the line up we have Jahra ‘Rager’ Wasasala, Katana, Silva MC and Nina Asiedu; the event is open mic so I am looking forward to hearing from anyone and everyone who has something to say about their experiences with womanhood.

What does it mean to be a woman in the 21st century?

It means to be continuously told of the progress that has been made while simultaneously being told what to do, what to say and being put in boxes.

Now, I don’t mean to sound like a down buzz, I love being a woman, I absolutely love it but at the same time the inequality has to be addressed. It’s almost like in the 21st century we have this “freedom” to be ourselves and to follow our dreams but still be told that the decisions we're making are wrong. It makes sense, though, because fundamentally we are still living in a patriarchal society that feeds off-putting us into boxes and “giving us freedom”. For instance, the woman who chooses to stay at home and raise a family is called lazy, and goes to the end of the earth to defend her decision, whilst at the same time the woman who chooses to not have children and pursue a career is ridiculed for her “rebellious” behaviour and told that her books aren’t going to keep her warm at night. Either way we are presented with these “choices,” only for us to be told that they are not good enough and we should be doing that instead. You cannot win, it’s a catch 22 all over the place. At the same time, you are still worrying about your safety because at times existing with a vagina makes you an object rather than a being, silenced about the struggles and experiences because apparently we have come so far and having to deal with closet misogynists.

On the flip side, I fucking love being a woman in the 21st century because there is this movement of owning our own identity and sticking it to the man/system/oppressor. Women are encouraged through sisterhood and different networks to be themselves and to exist in whatever spaces they want. We are shamed, oh heck yes we are, but I believe we have more strength than those before us to stand up for ourselves and for those who cannot stand up for themselves and still not give a damn about being shamed.

Does that make sense?

I am that I am 👑 let me be #melaninmonday #melaninmarch #iamnz #iamthatiamletmebe #aomsart

"I am that I am 👑 let me be #melaninmonday #melaninmarch #iamnz #iamthatiamletmebe #aomsart"

Oh yes, it does. Could you tell us what Africa on My Sleeve is?

Africa on My Sleeve is my love child birthed from my passion for the arts, social development and activism. Through that platform and collaboration, I host campaigns that combat issues relating to the identity and representation of people of African descent in the diaspora.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

The best piece of advice I have received is, “Do you boo boo, do what feels right for your soul”. For me, this was so important because for a long time I struggled with being myself and would generally live to seek the acceptance and validation of others, but I came to learn you can't please everyone.

Photography by Nicole Semitara Hunt

If you are so busy pleasing everyone, who is pleasing you? You owe it to yourself to please yourself, look after yourself and do what feels right for your soul. In that advice is also the importance of self-love. Loving yourself gives you insight into yourself to the point where nothing can deceive you or oppress you. I can strongly declare that loving yourself is revolutionary! When you love yourself, there is no ego, you are learning to know yourself, appreciate your body and every single bit of yourself.

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD WITH ADAM, NOTW HEAD CHEF

If you’ve recently ventured down our stairway to Neck of the Woods on a weeknight, you’ll have found the ravers replaced with folks enjoying a beautiful meal with friends, cheers-ing with our ice-cold Garage Projects.

Behind the modern icon of our International Street Food menu is Neck of the Woods chef, and all-round good guy, Adam. To get a sense of the monolithic task of designing such a perfect selection of deliciousness, researching the food hawked on street corners everywhere in the world and whittling them down to the best few, we decided to turn the tables and interview one of our own.

Adam’s background is in European fine dining and bistro in England’s Brighton, but he’s bounced around considerably before winding up leading our kitchen. Working the kitchen for four years at Brighton’s Terre a Terre - which was the best Vegetarian Restaurant in the UK at the time - taught him a substantial amount about using spices correctly, “heavily influencing my outlook on food, and the possibilities of meat-free dishes being spectacular.” Add to that diverse jobs, from wineries in Perth, Directing Head Chef at Galbraith’s Ale House, and Stafford Road Wine Bar, and on the side currently hustling as Executive Group Chef of Unicorn Ventures and with his own private consulting company.

So how did the Gao Bao, Poutine, Onion Bhajis,  Bunny Chow, and Dumplings come to the fore when designing the ultimate streetfood menu? Adam offered, “A lot of the inspiration for world food comes from my own travel around South East Asia and India, and holidays abroad when I lived in England and jumped over to Europe a lot. Also, from eating out in real deal ethnic restaurants in New Zealand. The twists I put on food come from 20 years of kitchen experience.”

His research came in the form of everything from recalling his own experiences, asking those of others, scouring in-depth chef forums, and watching YouTube videos by travellers to far-flung destinations. The development phase? It looked a little bit like resident DJ and Music Director, Mr David ‘Hudge’ Hudgins, and the rest of the Neck of the Woods team acting well-fed guinea pigs for Adam’s ridiculously tasty morsels.

Tonight, in order to ensure everybody out there in Auckland gets to try what the rest have been raving about (we’re looking at you, starving artists, students, and yo-pros), we’ve decided to play generous host and knock off half the price. Come through and taste the world - and top it off with one of Eddy's new magic potions or our crazy selection of crisp craft beers.