The Very Good Agency

Ladi 6 – Time Is Not Much

Those of us that have followed Ladi 6’s progress as an MC and hip hop vocal artist throughout the years will be pleased as hell to hear that she has now completed a solo record. Her debut album “Time Is Not Much” has just been released for the NZ market on October 27th. Since her days starting out with Sheelaroc (an all female hip hip crew), then with Verse Two (who supported acts like The Roots and De La Soul) and the many collaborations with all kinds of NZ groups and artists like 50 Hz, Shapeshifter and Fat Freddy’s Drop (FFD); Ladi 6 (A.K.A Karoline Tamati) has always shown amazing potential and guaranteed finesse. She certainly knows how to control the microphone, adding just the right vocals or rhyme whatever type of track. There’s also a positive message of looking to the future and achieving the goals we set our minds to. To her credit she has numerous awards, has been touring for 10 years and frequently sells out shows. The official website (which is pretty funky itself) describes Ladi 6 as “The New Zealand soulstress and our Queen of hip hop”, I can’t think of any better label for someone of such talents.

The new album was recorded at the Drop studio in Wellington’s Lyall Bay, home to the Fat Freddy’s Crew, who also have an album on the way (watch this space for a future post). The production duties were handled admirably by the talents of Parks (Ladi 6’s partner) and Mu (From FFD), who both seem to know a good bassline when they create one. Others involved in the project included family members Tyra Hammond and Scribe who added their vocal skills, along with some of  New Zealand’s top musicians including Julien Dyne, Chip Matthews, Jo Lindsay and Riki Gooch.

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Ladi 6 – Walk Right Up

Ladi 6 and friends are about to go on a NZ tour to promote the release after returning from their highly successful tour of Europe and the UK. Down below are the upcoming gigs for those of you that may be in NZ or Australia over the next few months. So check her live show out if you can, but if you aren’t nearby and want to know why people call her NZ’s premiere female vocalist and compare her to Erykah Badu, then listen to her single “Walk Right Up” and as usual take a look at the myspace profile for a sneaky listen and possibly (if you’re a good capitalist) purchase stuff!

Confirmed Tour Dates:
31 Oct The Toto Bacco Room, Auckland
1 Nov Flow Bar, Hamilton
5 Nov Missy’s Kitchen, Wanaka
6 Nov Subculture, Queenstown
7 Nov Backstage, Dunedin
8 Nov The Civic, Christchurch
14 Nov Phat Club, Nelson
15 Nov San Francisco Bathhouse, Wellington
20 Nov The Espy, Melbourne
30 Dec Rhythm and Vines, Gisborne
4 Jan 09 Days Like This, Sydney
16 Jan 09 Big Day Out , Auckland

So to find more about the new album and Ladi 6’s career so far… check out:

Ladi 6 Official site

Ladi 6 on Myspace

“Dreams can come true and I knew
knew not to believe you
and I flew away from the flock
now no one can stop me.”
(More Than Fake – Ladi 6)

Seek No more…Yossarian

Tags: Funk, gigs, hip hop, New Zealand Artists, Soul

Kia Ora – Kora

Last Thursday night in Melbourne, we were lucky enough to finally see one of New Zealands leading bands, Kora, perform at Hi-Fi Bar. With a reputation as a must see live act spreading thoughout Australia, New Zealand, and more recently Europe, and having listened to the music they have been releasing over the last 6 years, we were intrigued as to how they would live up to the expectations we had.

It’s worth noting the callibre of artists coming out of New Zealand, especially in their live performances, when considering their reputation as one of New Zealand’s best. The bar has been set in more recent times by such a strong aray of NZ’ers such as Fat Freddy’s Drop, Katchafire, The Black Seeds, Olmecha Supreme, Che Fu, and countless other musicians. Set to this backdrop this comparison was always going to be difficult to deliver on… but deliver they did.

From the cheeky, playful performance they brought to Hi-fi Bar, it was no surprise to learn that some of Kora‘s members have studied performing arts, with as little as the raise of an eyebrow causing the audience to erupt into screams all evening. These four brothers (literally) and “one token white guy”, as they described themselves, kept the mojo flowing all night, even into the second encore the audience demanded.

Kora live in Whakatane

Even in Australia’s music capital, Melbourne, it’s unusual to attract sell out shows on a Thursday night, but this prominent live venue in the heart of the city was stretched to it’s 900 capacity, including the 16th step where we were chilling out with our champagne (apologies to the guy we spilled a little bit on… twice… sorry bro).

Our group, which at the beginning of the evening was filled out with Kiwi’s, Aussie’s, Americans, Dutch, and English, among others, united at the close of the evening to sing the crowds obviously favourite track “Politician”, only re-enforcing the universal appeal which has recently seen them receive offers from Europe and further abroad.  We all left the concert with a new must see group, hoping that the recent success won’t take away our opportunities to see them locally on Thursday nights if their fan base continues to grow at the rate it has been.

Kete Aronui – an insight into Kora

They talked the talk,

They walked the walk,

and they brought us comfort…

You can check out more of Kora at:

www.kora.co.nz

www.myspace.com/koraroots

…bs & Miss Peti

Tags: Dub, Funk, New Zealand Artists, Reggae

YaHeard? Paris Wells interview

If you haven’t heard the name Paris Wells yet, then prepare to be blown away. Having just released her brilliant debut album, Keep it, as well as already building a strong following for her powerful live shows, this hugely talented Melbourne local is getting ready to take the world by storm. The album is a fantastic array of infectious pop anthems laced with everything from jazz, funk, disco and soul, highlighting her sublime versatility. We here at Very Good were lucky enough to have Paris lend us some of her time to answer a few questions, check it out.

Hi Paris, thanks for taking the time to do this for us. First things first, tell us a little about your background; who is Paris Wells and what influences her?
Well I’m actually half mermaid and half human. My childhood was in Maroubra NSW and my teens in Melbourne Bayside. Aside from my continuing emotional journey with relationships both romantic and platonic, my influences are 60 folk, 70’s disco, 90’s hip hop and great rock bands like Razorlight, Zombies etc.

The new album is sensational, how has the response been so far?
Why thankyou! Critically I am greatful for the reviews, Dan from Rolling Stone gave it a real honest review an I agreed with everything he said. Fans have picked up on it on all different levels which is great. To have girls approach me with what each song meant to them and how it helps them is an amazingly rewarding feeling! The whole response gives me so much encouragement to back this record up with an even better second album!!!

The album is really dynamic mix of genre’s; from the disco-inspired “Firetruck Man” to the soulful and jazzy “Tender”, is there any style that you particularly prefer? Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Sonically we were aiming for a modern/vintage fusion of sounds. Ryan and I choose my musicians carefully along with microphones and synths etc. We both have a strong relationship with beat culture and I wanted to keep that consistent in the songs. Lyrically it speaks for itself and for myself, my heart is on that album for the world to see.

The versatility on Keep it indicates that you would be likely to gel with a wide range of artists across a handful of different genres; are there any artists or groups in particular that you would like to work with?
Dream Collaborations 101:

Damon Albarn
Jamie Lidell
Cassius
Mike Patton
Goyte

Recently your live shows have gained quite a reputation, what do fans get when you’re on stage?

All of me with clothes on but sometimes no shoes. And a huge sound!

Any plans for more shows soon? Coming into summertime, you’d be looking at a festival or two perhaps?

Shhhhhh you will have to wait my friend…..

Your sound has been compared to the likes of Amy Winehouse, Sharon Jones and Alice Russell, how does this sit with you? Are these artists that you respect musically?

They are three of the most amazingly gifted vocalists in contemporary popular music, just to buy them a coffee would make my day let alone be compared to the likes of them. Amazing!

RHyNo of True Live has obviously been a factor in your success, what does he bring to your sound? Does he produce the whole album?

Yes Ryan and I are a team. My sound that the public now know is a hybrid of our tastes combined. I think he expressed himself in KEEP IT just as much as I did, he is super proud.

How was the experience of supporting Justin Timberlake on his Australian and New Zealand tour? Did he teach you how to bring sexy back?

No we were already dead sexy excuse me….Justin is the greatest, there is no stopping him.

Any final thoughts?

Fat kids are really hard to kidnapp and crabs shouldn’t be tied up in restaurants, tasty but they should at least get to swim before hand.

Thanks for your time Paris

“I’d step out of the rush for you”- Fat Freddy!
Peace. x

Paris Wells – Dat Du Dat
Keep it is out now, support local talent and pick it up from your local music store. And keep an eye out for Paris live somewhere near you over summer, we’ll do our best to keep you informed, you do not want to miss out.

You can check out more of Paris Wells at:

www.myspace.com/pariswells

…cracked

Tags: Australian Artists, Funk, Gospel, hip hop, Soul

Black Seeds at the Civic

On a slightly cold but not wet Christchurch evening, people of all cultures and creeds (that are tolerated in our enthusiastic, but small city), congregated together to celebrate what has now almost become a cultural institution. This was last Friday night,  September 12th to be exact, when I lined up with the rest of the crowd at the venue ‘The Civic’ to get in and check out long-time favourites The Black Seeds, who are touring their fifth and latest album “Solid Ground” (see V.G Article from July 29th, 2008 for more details).

They were supported by local groups The Oakley ‘OG’ Grenell live band, and The Dubwise Soundsystem who got the crowd all nicely warmed up and feeling the vibes. OG and guests started around 10pm or so, with their ‘roots rock’ live ensemble. Oakley who was mostly on guitar (and vocals on Bob Marley cover ‘Kaya’) appeared on stage with a full cast of stars including 2 singers, 2 MCs and other assorted musicians. The crowd was really digging their tunes and loving the positive atmosphere they created.

Next was Dubwise who although are personal favourites of mine, seemed as though they should have been first in the line up. No disrespect meant to MC Snypa Levi and DJ Messenjah, but it was hard for the pair to hold the crowds attention after the interactive groove-fest that was the OG band. Now this may say more about the crowd than the artists, but my opinion still stands, they should have started the gig first up, with OG in the middle.

Just after midnight the crowd rocketed into full force as they anticipated the presence of the mighty Black Seeds, who kicked off the set with one of their recent singles “Slingshot” (from the new album) and fired off a few more songs before saying a big hello to the highly stimulated crowd, who responded accordingly. The double-edged-sword of the Christchurch live scene is that crowds go wild, so they are guaranteed to react, but not always as expected. This means that they can either be very vocally supportive, or obnoxious and aggressive, more so than other main centres of New Zealand.  On this peaceful Friday night though, all the goodness came alive, with very little anger and the only pushing in the sold out crowd, was in time to the beat.

It seems that after years of touring both locally and around the globe, the boys have perfected the art of the live gig and are quite the consummate professionals, knowing exactly when to bust out the right song, to tickle the crowds fancy. They played a great range of songs spanning all their albums, including a personal favourite of mine “Coming back home”. The attended masses were definitely not disappointed, and went away with a funky satisfied feeling. Not only due to the powerful music, trippy visual displays and the sweet smells of marijuana hanging patiently in the air, but mainly due to the reverie from a night of good times shared by all. The Black Seeds irresistible mixture of reggae, dub and funk all thrown together to create a party vibe, has been the backbone of many casual barbecues and back-yard-cricket games, and will live on for many summers to come. Viva la The Black Seeds!

-Video For the single ‘Slingshot’-

If you’re after more info or details: check out The Black Seeds awesome website

…where you can listen to their songs and play with giraffes!

The Black Seeds Official Site

“Love is given, taken away
Never take more than you give I say
Life has a way of telling us
When your causing a mess or fuss”

(Slingshot – The Black Seeds)

Until next time …Yossarian

Tags: Dub, Funk, gigs, New Zealand Artists, Reggae

Pendulum Swings for Bushmen

Wellington artist Warren Maxwell has been involved in some well respected musical projects in recent years. He was the lead singer of Trinity Roots a now defunct dub/roots group that broke up in 2005, some would say at the height of their success. They only released two albums that were highly acclaimed and built them a dedicated (but mellow) fan base. Since then Warren has been playing sax (as Fulla Flash) with his mates in Fat Freddy’s Drop a funky jazz/dub group who received attention originally for their great live performances, with lengthy Jam sessions and solos that can last as long as they have to. They have toured around the world and were noticed by some big names in the music biz, even getting the remix treatment on the odd occasion.

Maxwell’s latest group is the Little Bushmen, is a four-piece group based again in New Zealand’s capital, who are being described by some as psychedelic blues. Now whether this is a new genre or just a convenient pigeon-hole, will be decided by the test of time, as terms like this only seem to become relevant or not in hindsight. With their influences listed with names like Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and John Coltrane you can get an indication of the musical well they are tapping to power their engine. Experimental and moving it is music that takes you on a journey with many stops along the road. They have so far released two albums which are are available to be purchased on CD and by downloadable MP3 format, this can be found by going to their myspace site, as the official band website is not completed yet. Debut album ‘Onus of Sand’ was released in 2006 and was followed this year by the second album ‘Pendulum’.  The band describe their sound sum and themselves up with the following quote:

“Love, Hate, Turmoil, Moonbeams, Politics, Family, Pegasus & The Universe. All of the above with the lights off. Unashamed self indulgence resulting in sated emotional exhaustion… beautiful.”

After several successful tours of New Zealand earlier this year the boys have confirmed three tour dates for their upcoming Australian Tour in October, and will possibly add other shows in Byron Bay and other locations to be confirmed. Here are the current gig dates:

Sydney: Metro With Blue King Brown & Guests
October 25th

Stradbroke Island: Island Vibe
26th October

If you are in these areas and like to hear something you can sink your teeth into, I recommend you get along check them out and support artists seeking to push the envelope!

You can check out more of Little Bushmen at:

Official Myspace Page

Amplifier Interview

…Yossarian

Tags: Dub, Funk, Jazz, New Zealand Artists, Roots