The Very Good Agency

How open is your soul?

It’s not always easy to be a funk/soul band in New Zealand, if you can’t get your songs onto the filthy commercial stations, you are likely be ignored by the mainstream. Then you either have to slum it playing as a backing band on a kids TV show, or alternatively do the hard yards touring to build up a fan base the old fashioned way. Many artists have to go overseas to be taken seriously at home. Some of the true pioneers and innovators make it through either by sheer luck or through dogged determination, but many others are never fully recognised for their musical talents. Hopefully NZ collective Opensouls is a band that can reach their full musical potential and get the recognition they deserve both domestically and internationally. As the band bio on their website states: “Opensouls have been steadily rising through the ranks of the New Zealand music scene since beginning their musical journey in 2001. Comprised of 2 vocalists, M.C. Bjorn and singer Tyra Hammond, and a live band including Jeremey Toy a.k.a Ota (guitar/MPC), Julien Dyne (drums), Chip Mathews (bass), Stephine Brown (keys), Scott Towers (saxophone), Issac Aesili (trumpet/vocals) and Harlin Davey a.k.a Buttafingers (turntables/mpc), the collective possesses an abundance of musical flair and experience which they have used to great effect on their critically acclaimed debut album.”

Opensouls
Rise Up

With that many members in the crew OpenSouls should once again be in the running for “New Zealand’s Most Populated Band ” award with the only real competition coming from Solaa , but as some of the artists are in both outfits (e.g the mulit-talented Isaac Aesili), special judicial deliberation may be necessary. All jokes aside though these guys are straight up musical bliss, and should appeal to fans of funk, soul and basically groovy as shit! Their song “Turn It Up” has been doing the rounds on NZ student radio for some time now, helping to spread the love and build a following for this original kiwi group. Also well worth checking out, their track “Rise Up”… If you haven’t heard them yet, you best check them out. Then go buy their album “Kaleidoscope”, sweet sounds with lyrics you can relate to.

You can check out more from Opensouls at:

www.opensouls.co.nz

www.myspace.com/opensoulsspace

…Yossarian

Tags: Funk, hip hop, Jazz, New Zealand Artists

Pataphysics

With few Australian artists entering the scene in underground hip hop as of late (at least of any quality), it’s all good when you happen to come across a group as interesting and talented as Pataphysics. Based in Melbourne, Patrick Marks, a.k.a. Brother Pat, The Brown Militant, Pat Malone is self described as an “Australian/Sri Lankan(Tamil/Singhalese). MC/Trumpet player, rhythmic soundshapa, revolutionary poet, multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, arranger, teacher” – and I’m glad that he has put this together as it would be hard to describe what you experience when you are lucky enough to stumble across he, and his collective of musicians that are Pataphysics.

Finding a vocalist who can sound this good while delivering his own unique conscious thoughts is rare which was made pretty obvious by the crowds acceptance and involvement in the performance.

All too often when you are lucky enough to find a vocalist compelling, you find the musicians and P.A. aren’t up to the challenge… in this case, the P.A. was the only thing lacking with an incredible group of musicians in support. Pataphysics Avanipaala as a collective, deal with issues from local/international politics, Indigenous resistance, dreaming, eastern philosophy, life, existence and even spirituality, and the live show draws on elements of Sri Lankan Culture that bring a certain energy.

While The group are ever-changing they are currently based around the present line up of Rhymes, Beats, Percussion, Double Bass, Flute, and Guitar (with what I think was an electronic tabla) plus guest vocalists and a host of other friends from the Melbourne music community. The performance is captivating in a way that is not often seen live, on this particular night especially with a puppet show, random soliloquys, and freestyles incorporating all sorts of funky props. Tie these all in together and you have a truly enjoyable evening of awakening music, tie these all in together and you have… Pataphysics

You can check out more of Pataphysics at:

www.myspace.com/brotherpataphysics

www.pataphysics.com.au

be sure to check him out during his residency at ‘The Evelyn’ in Melbourne, Australia in September…

Tags: Australian Artists, Funk, hip hop, Jazz

Lyrics Born – Everywhere at Once

Callin’ Out to all fans, that tireless tourer Lyrics Born (who averages 150 shows a year!) is once again gracing Australian shores with his own brand of infectious, funky fun. The road to hip-hop success has obviously not always been an easy one for LB, how many other half Japanese- American, half Italian-American rappers do you know of? But it is this unique perspective that has allowed Lyrics, born Tom Shimura, to come up with the genre-splicing, energy jolt that is his latest solo submission ‘Everywhere at Once.’

The doubters and nay-sayers have only fueled the fires on an album that is well, everywhere at once. Seemlessly shifting from our favourite dance floor bangers such as the opening track ‘Differences’ and the first single ‘I Like It, I Love It,’ to the Rick Jamesish ‘I’m A Phreak,’ to the reggae inspired ‘Top Shelf,’ with sprinklings of sultry R’n’B thrown in for good measure. Here is an album where the production finally lives up to the energy of his stage shows through the use of a live funk band as opposed to his heavily sampled earlier offerings such as his first solo album ‘Later That Day,’ that had glimpses of brilliance but not enough to carry the whole album.

Lyrics Born – I like it, I love it

Lyrics Born is at his best laying his husky growl over smooth, soulful grooves, hence ‘Is It The Skin I’m In,’ and ‘Whispers,’ are major highlights for me. With subject material ranging from his dealings with racism, the grief of losing his best friend to staying true to yourself as in ‘Don’t Change,’ the albums themes are as diverse as the sounds it makes. The album is also well served with back-up vocal talent with appearances from his wife Joyo Velarde and everyone’s favourite cameo man, Chali 2na also supplying the deepest voice in town on the track ‘Hott 2 Deff.’ My only real criticism is the inclusion of a couple of skits that I always find a little self-indulgent and only serve to disrupt what is an otherwise awesome offering. Nevertheless this album is sure to get plenty of air-time at summer social events and will be enjoyed by male and female fans alike.

With shows starting in Byron Bay on the 3rd of August, on to Hobart, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne then wrapping up in Sydney on the 9th, there is ample opportunity to catch Lyrics Born in full-flight, and with tickets around $40 it should be an affordable blast.

For more information on Lyrics Born and official tour dates check out:

www.lyricsborn.com

www.oztix.com.au

Alesha…

Tags: Funk, hip hop

Paris Wells

Thursday nights in Melbourne just got interesting thanks to Jam Packed Entertainment and Paris Wells.

In a city filled with artists and musicians it is unusual to stumble across one that stands out in the way Paris does, it seems however, that this kind of discovery is nothing new to her. Plucked from obscurity while working full time, Paris was chosen by Justin Timberlake in a public audition for his FutureSex/LoveSounds tour of Australasia towards the end of 2007, having previously played underground clubs in Melbourne to hundreds rather than thousands.

Paris Wells Dat Du Dat

Mashing up such an array of genres makes pigeon holing an artist like Paris Wells extremely difficult, especially when you consider the explanations of 1st single Dat Du Dat thus far “It’s very raw, an infectious collision of funk, soul and primal pop. It’s the musical equivalent of walking into a late night party just firing up for a second wind – sly funk grooves with clanging percussion and a squelching, ferocious bassline with Paris’ voice dragging through the seedy scenario.”

Paris plays at Roxanne in July on Thursdays with alternating special guests, integrating styles as if she were a walking, breathing best of compilation. If your lucky enough to be around in July it is sure to be an enjoyable evening, if your not, go to www.virginblue.com.au

You can check out more of Paris at:

www.myspace.com/pariswells

“Roxannes” 2 Coverlid Place, Melbourne Thursday nights in July.

…bs

Tags: Australian Artists, Funk, Jazz, Soul