Tommy Ill – Bill Murray meets Frida Kahlo

Quirkiness and a bit of humour are always good to lighten the mood, take your mind off your worries and make you realise ‘hey, things are pretty damn good!’. They also help to show you don’t take yourself too seriously, which also a good thing. One chap who isn’t afraid to have a bit of a laugh is Tommy Ill.  He is a Wellington based rapper/producer by night, who also earns his crust as a web developer/graphic designer by day. He frequently plays and attends gigs in NZ’s capital and writes songs about diverse topics for consideration like the fame of Bill Cosby.

His myspace self-description reads: “If Bill Murray and Frida Kahlo had a baby and it grew up in the suburbs listening A Tribe Called Quest.” This is his typical kind of off-beat, random humour that features throughout his music, with lyrics you can laugh along with.

His debut EP “Toast and Tea Kettles” and his latest EP with offsider/colaborator Bucky Beauchamp “Matchsticks” are both out on Loop Recordings. He has received some great critical reviews and acclaim among the indie hip-hop scene and on student radio in NZ.

Here is the vid to the song called “Letters to the Editor” off the Matchsticks EP:

Word is they coloured each frame by hand, that shit takes time people! Tommy Ill also has his own blog (on a corporate news website, but ohh well still good!) which just informed me that he has a live album that can be downloaded for free! To quote the man himself: “It’s got a few unreleased tunes you may not have heard, some weird versions of songs from Matchsticks/Toast & Tea Kettles, and a few suprises too. “It’s called ‘The Day we became models’, a title which he promises to explain later. So why wait? Go find that shizz now if you’re keen! (links below as always…)

The Free D-load

Tommy on Myspace

Happy downloading faithful readers!
…Yossarian

Tags: Comedy, hip hop, New Zealand Artists

Cloaked Guerilla Unearthed

Hey peoples…

Pataphysics has posted his new track ‘Cloaked Guerilla’ on Triple J’s ‘Unearthed’ for voting now! Shooting straight to #42 within the first few days, and #16 on the hip hop chart, it’s time for us to have our vote and push this track further up the list, to where it belongs.

You can vote at:

www.triplejunearthed.com/Pataphysics

and check out what Pataphysics had to say about the track in an earlier post here.

Cool

…bs

Tags: Competitions, Funk, hip hop, Political, Reggae

Enter the Wu: Ghostface Killah hits Australia!!

“The law: in order to enter the Wu-Tang,
You must bring the Ol’ Dirty Bastard-type slang,
Represent the GZA, Abbott, RZA, Shaquan, Inspectah Deck,
Dirty Hoe getting low with his flow
Introducing, the Ghost…Face.. Killaaaaaaaahhh!!
No one could get iller!!”
(Ol’ Dirty Bastard, taken from ‘Da Mystery of Chessboxing’)

I spent about ten minutes trying to write an intro for this piece, when it struck me that Ol’ Dirty Bastard will forever have a better way with words than I will. Enough banter, Ghostface is coming to Australia! Original member of the legendary Wu Tang Clan, Ghostface (aka Ironman aka Tony Starks) will make his first ever trek out to this plentiful land to rock 5 shows across the country in June.

Ghostface first made his mark on the Wu Tang’s hip hop classic, “Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers)”, spitting venomous rhymes with smooth flows over The RZA’s gritty Shaolin inspired soundtrack. Groundbreaking it was, the hip hop world didn’t know what had hit it, and RZA’s Don-like management of the crew saw them go from little known to world dominators in no time; remember the Wu Tang clothing craze in the late 90’s, or Wu Financial on Dave Chappelle, ha!! Like most of the Wu family, Ghost has gone on to release numerous solo projects, the difference being his have probably been the most successful. He debuted with “Ironman” way back in 1996, having appeared on nearly every track of the acclaimed Raekwon release, “Only Built for Cuban Linx”, the year before. More recently he has signed with Def Jam and 2006’s “Fishscale” was well received and commonly noted as one of the best albums of the year.

A colourful character indeed, Ghostface regularly performed in a ski mask in the early days, this rumoured to be because he was wanted by police and didn’t want to reveal himself in public until he was cleared. Rumours also followed him in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, with speculation that he and 50 Cent had beef. Though rumours they have stayed, one such tale describes ‘Fitty’ getting thrown down a set of stairs by Ghost! Big tick in my books there, regardless of its accuracy.
Australian fans now get their chance to witness this powerhouse of modern day hip-hop live across the country backed up onstage by his fellow Theodore Unit artists Wigs, Trife, Du Lilz and DJ J-Love. Sure to be one of the gigs of the year, get in now and pick up a ticket before it sells out – fingers crossed that he brings some of the rest of the Wu Tang with him!

Ghostface Killah dates across Australia:
Adelaide, Tuesday June 23rd – HQ
Sydney, Wednesday June 24th – The Forum
Melbourne, Thursday June 25th – The Espy
Perth, Friday June 26th – Metro City
Brisbane, Sunday June 28th – Step Inn
Byron Bay, Wednesday July 1st – Beach Hotel

Check out Ghostface at:
www.myspace.com/ghostface

…Crack

Tags: gigs, hip hop, Old School

Fly My Pretties – Unleash the Beast

Let’s get ready to roll, sing in your soul and possibly catch the light!

Because after few years off, Fly My Pretties are back once again for the third instalment of multi-visual merriment. That’s right Barnaby Weir (front man of The Black Seeds) is taking his crew of travelling musicians and story-tellers around New Zealand with a new show and collection of songs. As the official press release states:

“Fly My Pretties is New Zealand’s favourite live multimedia event starring a selection of our finest contemporary musicians, set to a stunning visual backdrop and filmed and recorded live! Since its inception in 2004, Fly My Pretties has grown to become a local legend of music that continues to reach people all over the world. Through their last series of live performances and two award winning albums the music from this event has captivated listeners of all ages. An absolute must see, the new show is sure to set your imagination alight and indulge your senses with future and past Pretties classics.”

Originally starting with mostly Wellington-based cast members in 2004, the crew has expanded to include musicians from the wider reaches of Aotearoa, but still includes a reputable crew from the capital.

Presenting the 16-strong 2009 Fly My Pretties Cast:

Anna Coddington, Barnaby Weir, Eva Prowse, Jarney Murphy, L.A. Mitchell, Lisa Tomlins, Mara T.K, Mike Fabulous, Nathan ‘Nato’ Hickey, Nigel Patterson, Paul McLaney, Riki Gooch, Rio Hunuki-Hemopo, Ryan Prebble, Tessa Rain and Tom Watson.

The new Fly My Pretties membership committee will deliver a unique live show with plenty of fresh ingredients to keep it surprising and progressive. Another interesting aspect of this years show is that Barnaby has brought his dear old dad, Dick Weir, along for the ride. He is actually a legendary NZ broadcaster with a 44-year history in storytelling and performing, who won a Queens medal award for services to broadcasting. He will be narrating an original story woven into the music of the new live show. As the myspace site states: “This adventure, written by Barnaby and Dick Weir, will also be available as a book illustrated by brilliant new-comer Kieran Rynhart. Illustrator Kieran Rynhart and Kraft:Haus Films have been working closely with the Fly My Pretties crew to create a dynamic visual symphony to accompany the live shows and to feature on the live CD/DVD release and documentary planned for release later in 2009.

“I can’t wait to unleash this beast.” Barnaby Weir.

Here are the Tour dates -but as you can see by the sell outs- you better get in fast.

Selling Out isn’t alway bad…
…Yossarian

Tags: Collaborations, gigs, New Zealand Artists

Pataphysics – Cloaked Guerilla

Pataphysics released another sweet track this week to add to the collection… we caught up with him in brief to see where he’s at, and where he’s going next…

You’ve just dropped your new track ‘Cloaked Guerilla’ this month. So what’s a Cloaked Guerilla dude?
Guess you could say people who are marginalised or a part of a minority, who aren’t treated fairly, and who stand up and resist being subjected to the will of oppressing forces.

Yeah, Australia’s history is funny, one of our favorite icons is a cop killer (Ned Kelly), but we find it hard to

remember warriors who resisted invasion and protected their families, warriors like Pemulwuy and Jandamarra, comparable to figures like Geronimo and Sitting Bull.

Got a film clip coming out soon for Cloaked Guerilla, as well as playing a show on the 4th of June with the Free West Papua campaign. These guys are fighting for basic human rights in West Papua . Check it out at www.freewestpapua.com.au/

And you can check out Cloaked Guerilla in

Pataphysics Artist Profile

Tags: Australian Artists, gigs, hip hop, Jazz, Political, Reggae