Computers Want Me Dead score VW Polo (Video)

Hi all,

In case some of you haven’t noticed the latest Volkswagen Polo ad running on New Zealand television at the moment, I’d suggest you watch the video above and then compare it’s music to that of the ad, or vice versa.

What you will notice is that they are one and the same, because the song is “We Walk In Circles” by Auckland, New Zealand based synth-pop duo “Computers Want Me Dead”, aka Sam Harvey and Damien Daniels.

While I couldn’t find a video of the ad, I will keep my eyes open for one.

Kind regards

Computers Want Me Dead aka Damien Daniels (l) and Sam Harvey (r).

Mystro (UK) @ The Khuja Lounge Photoset Preview

Hi all,

I’ve just returned from Mystro’s performance at The Khuja Lounge moments ago and thought I’d share a snap of the man himself doing his thing - which I hope will satisfy you until I can get the all the shots I took, as well as some video, uploaded.

Mystro put on such a great performance that I was actually on the floor dancing – this is something I hardly ever do because, believe it or not, I’m a bit shy about that sort of thing. Seriously!

I’m off to bed now but please do be on the look out for more photos from the gig to be uploaded very soon.

Kind regards

Upcoming – Mystro (UK) @ The Khuja Lounge! (Video)

Mystro is one of UK hip-hop's brightest vocal talents often found regularly hosting Hip Hop events around London. Although his skills & reputation have mainly developed on stage, Mystro is successful in transferring the energy, personality & success of his live performances into recording.

This West London representative is an MC who got on the circuit through various mixtape and open mic appearances leading to him releasing a debut single on the DealReal record label entitled 'Kiss That Arse Goodnight' b/w 'The Words Out' featuring Skinnyman and Jargon.

After the release of his debut single Mystro was given the opportunity of performing at various show cases such as The Apricot Jam, Undisclosed Records launch party and Choice FM's Flava of the Month to name a few, proving to his audience that he can also keep it live on stage as well as in the studio, he also forms part of the Braintax live set alongside DJ Harry Love.

Mystro has recently appeared on Keith Lawrence’s ‘Step By Step / Everywhere’ single, Richy Pitch’s latest EP ‘Cutting Up The Rug’ and C-Swing’s ‘Bout’ remix from Jamelia. Source/Discogs.com

Mystro & Stinky Jim w Bobby Brazuka

When: Sat 27 Feb, 10:00pm–5:00am 

Where: The Khuja Lounge, Level 3, 536 Queen St, Auckland CBD

Restrictions: R18

Ticket Information: Adult: $10.00

Upcoming - Gilles Peterson & The Turnaround @ Bacca Room

Joining the musical dots and colouring in your ears, Gilles Peterson is the tastemaker’s tastemaker.

From his origins in the halcyon days of UK pirate radio, through to his long standing and globally revered Worldwide show on Radio 1, a nod from Gilles on the airwaves is a priceless affirmation that can’t be bought or sold. If there’s any doubt about that, ask local recent recipients of his highly esteemed patronage, like 2005 Worldwide Album Of The Year winners Fat Freddy’s Drop, or the Turnaround tipped Electric Wire Hustle and Julien Dyne, both of whom were featured amongst his Worldwide tracks of 2009. Recent guests have included Digital Mystikz’ Mala, Mos Def, Joy Orbison and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, which should give a small clue to the depth and breadth, of this musically obsessed gentleman’s taste and reach.

Gilles’s Acid Jazz and Talkin’ Loud record labels came to symbolize, and embody, the top shelf of sideways jazz and elsewhere sounds, that permeated the progressive playlists of the late 80’s and 90’s. Now his latest imprint Brownswood Recordings (Jose James, Soil & Pimp Sessions, the Bubblers series etc) has become a vital valve on the most discerning retro rolled and futuristically flavoured sounds, based purely on ruthless quality control and superior beatsmanship.

His first New Zealand performances at the Box, back in the early/mid 90’s, still rate amongst the most spectacular and defining moments in Auckland club culture. However it has been too long since Gilles has been seen around these parts in his element, laying it down clubwise in the unique style and fashion he has honed since the legendary Dingwalls and Electric Ballroom days of over two decades ago.

While others may rely on mix tricks to make the most of not a great deal, Gilles has the goods, the real goods… to take you on a journey through crates that are the envy of collectors and new school beatheads globally. The chance to see the only NZ appearance of one of the worlds most in demand (and yet resolutely individual and adventurous) DJ’s, in the Turnaround atmosphere, is guaranteed to be one of the highlights of the year, and a full sell-out.  An elevated mind and open ears are essential, don’t miss!

Gilles Peterson @ The Turnaround
Fri 26th Feb, Bacco Room, 53 Nelson St, Auckland City
Tickets $35 + BF available from Conch Records, 115A Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby
More Info:

Gilles Peterson Worldwide Website

Modern Marvel – Mos Def (Video)

Hi all,

I was just sitting here enjoying the new phone, which is also a very good Personal Media Player, and the above song happened to play.

The song is  “Modern Marvel” by Mos Def and it’s from his 2004 released CD “The New Danger”.

Modern Marvel samples the hauntingly beautiful, classic Marvin Gaye song “What’s Going On”, which I’ve embedded below, and tells a tale of life in the 21st century ghetto which still hasn’t changed much in the almost 40 years since Marvin wrote his song dealing with many of same pressing social issues.

Will Mos Def’s telling of this story be designated as a classic as Marvin’s was? Only time will truly tell. However, I do believe the answer is a resounding yes.

Kind regards

Artists - Maz Melhuish aka Jaded Sphnix (Video)

Hi all,

I was just browsing the Web, as I do, looking for interesting things to blog about and I happened to run across the above featured video portfolio of multi-talented, New Zealand Maori artist Maz Melhish aka Jaded Sphnix.

When I write that Maz is multi-talented, what I’m referring to is the number of outlets in which she expresses herself. Her areas of creative pursuit include sketching, painting, sculpting, photography, make-up, special effects, body art, photo manipulation, website design and graphic design.

Oddly enough, she and I have spoken from time to time on Twitter. However, I wasn’t aware of the magnitude of her talents until now - I must have been sleeping on that one! ;)

Anyway, please do view Maz’s video portfolio – it’s a live one - and do check her out at the hyperlink above.

Kind regards

Upcoming - The Gaslamp Killer @ The Bacca Room!

The Gaslamp Killer is a Los Angeles-based DJ whose eclectic animal style ranges from psychedelia and world music to dubstep and left-field hip-hop. Associated with Flying Lotus Brainfeeder Records, he made his production debut in the late 2000s with a series of EPs.

Born William Benjamin Bensussen, he originally comes from San Diego, CA, whose downtown Gaslamp District’s bar scene inspired him to name himself The Gaslamp Killer in disgust for much of the patronage. But his real home is behind the turntables, where his wild style takes DJing into the realm of freak fest psychedelia.

Upon relocating to Los Angeles, he found a niche for himself amid the city’s massive underground party scene and ultimately found a home for himself as a resident DJ at the club Low End Theory, which resulted in a series of club-sponsored podcasts. He also released a series of mix CDs, among them Gaslamp Killers (2007), Its a Rocky Road (2007), I Spit On Your Grave (2008), Hell and the Lake of Fire Are Waiting For You! (2009) and All Killer (2009), the latter a label showcase for the London-based world psychedelia imprint Finders Keepers Records.

As a producer, The Gaslamp Killer made his debut in the late 2000s, releasing, a split single with Free the Robots The Killer Robots, in 2008 and EP My Troubled Mind in 2009.

Source/Beats People Movement

Imma Be Rockin’ That Body – Black Eyed Peas (Video)

Hi all,

I have to admit that I’ve never been a huge fan of the Black Eyed Peas. However, the above featured video may just change my mind about their work.

Since I’ve always been very interested in science and technology – I worked in Computer Science for close to two decades prior to my current incarnation as a social media person – and, I’ve always been a huge fan of dance music, after watching the video you’ll probably understand why it appeals to me.

Hopefully, it will appeal to you as well. ;)

Kind regards

Insensible – Mandalay (Video)

Video/dementialangel Music/Mandalay

Hi all,

For some reason this song passed through my mind as I was just about to fall asleep on the couch tonight, and I thought I’d share it with you all, before I got up and dragged my ass to bed. ;)

The song is ‘Insensible’, which was taken from the 2002 released CD ‘Solace’, by a British trip-hop duo consisting of multi-instrumentalist Saul Freeman and singer Nicola Hitchcock. The duo formed a band called Mandalay.

It’s rather unfortunate that Mandalay split up shortly after the release as I felt they had just fully matured musically and they were posed to take on America in a big way. Supposedly, the breakup was due to the commonly cited artistic and personal differences that we so often hear about in such situations.

Kind regards

Shot of the Day – Max says Hi!

Stillness Is The Move – Dirty Projectors (Video)

Hi all,

I was just watching one of New Zealand’s national music TV channels and they played the above featured video, by a band called Dirty Projectors, which I found very interesting.

What I found interesting about it is that the music has a very African feel to it and the lead vocalist, Amber Coffman, sings in style that is reminiscent of female African-American R&B singers.

This isn’t the first time that musicians of European descent have experimented with African and African-American invented musical styles, sometimes very successfully I might add, and I’ve never had a problem with them doing so as long as they acknowledge their influences. However, I still sit up and take notice every time they do and compare them to their Black contemporaries for authenticity.

Dirty Projectors are scheduled to perform at Auckland’s Montecristo Room on March 3. Perhaps I’ll go down and check them out in person.

Kind regards

Love Me or Hate Me – Lady Sovereign (Video)

Video/Universal Music Group

Just an oldie but goodie from British bad grrl rapper, Lady Sovereign!

I hear she’s got a new CD out entitled “Jigsaw”. I’ve yet to hear it but I’ll check it out soonish.

Kind regards

Noteput Interactive Music Table (Video)

Hi all,

I know some of my musician friends often get the urge to lay a track down, as they say in the industry. Well, now they can literally do so with the Noteput music table featured in the above video!

The Noteput is fully interactive and has a looping mode which allows one to compose on the fly.  Is that fucking cool or what? ;)

While it’s still early days for the device, I can see quite a potential for this sort of interface in composition and live performance.

Kind regards

Upcoming - LTJ Bukem & MC Conrad at Fu Bar!

Video/LTJ Bukem with MC Conrad live at Love NYC - 10/30/2009

Hi all,

Drum N Bass pioneer, LTJ Bukem, along with MC Conrad, will be playing at the Fu Bar on Albert Street this Friday night from 10pm onward. More info on the gig can be found here.

Kind regards

DJ Dan Aux – Who You Gunna Call?

 

George FM newsreader/C4 presenter Shannon Ryan (l) and DJ Dan Aux (r).

Hi all,

DJ Dan Aux’s February promotional mix, entitled “Who You Gunna Call?”, is now available and you can get it here!

Kind regards

Shots of the Day – Party People

Hi all,

These are just a bunch of dance club photos I had laying around that I thought I’d share with you all.

Kind regards

Shots of the Day – Britomart Morning

Just some heavily processed architectural and street photos I snapped early one morning down at Britomart Transport Centre while waiting for a bus to arrive.

Kind regards

Shots of the Day – Thursday Morning Pole Dancers

Hi all,

Last Wednesday night/Thursday morning, after the Lord Bishop gig, I decided to roam the dance clubs of Central Auckland looking for interesting people and things to photograph.

I very much enjoy dance club photography because, generally, people are at their most relaxed in such environments. They’re just there to have a good time and to forget their troubles and dance, if I may be so bold as to quote Bob Marley. ;)

Speaking of relaxed, the two young women featured above, totally unprompted by me of course, decided to perform for my camera’s benefit upon seeing me snapping away at this one club - I don’t recall the name -  I happened to walk into.

The results, I feel, are spectacular!

Now, I didn’t catch their names – I wasn’t really interested in them as people, just as photographic subjects - and I have no idea if either of them was a professionally trained dancer. However, I did very much enjoy their performance as it was very free, uninhibited and sensual without being overtly sexual. (I’m not some middle aged pervert with a camera going around stalking young women.)

Kind regards

Shots of the Day - Rollin’ with the Family (Bar)

Hi all,

Last Wednesday night/Thursday morning, after I got through snapping and chatting with Lord Bishop at The Bacca Room, I decided to roam the streets of downtown Auckland looking for other interesting people and places to photograph.

I roamed down the lower end of Queen Street for awhile, snapped some there, and eventually made my way up to K’ Road.

Since it was a very early on Thursday morning, and most regular people have regular jobs which eat into their leisure time, K’ Road was all but ghost town except for the Family Bar. 

Anyone that’s familiar with the Family Bar knows what it’s all about. However, for those of you that aren’t, it bills itself as “The Gayest Bar in New Zealand”. LOL! :)

Some of you are probably wondering what I, being a heterosexual man, was doing at a gay bar. There’s only one reason I was there, that being the place is damn fun. So, get your mind out of the gutter! ;)

The music at the Family Bar was very lively and the crowd was probably one of the most fun loving I’ve ever encountered during all my years of club going.

I did occasionally get some guy eyeing me up and attempting to chat me up for a leg-over (i.e. sex). Also, I had my hand held a bit too long upon offering it for handshakes during introductions. However, none of it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle as homophobia has no place in my life. Why would it, since I have many LGBT friends and family members?

Anyway, please do enjoy the photos above I snapped at the Family Bar that morning. And, if you get a chance, do pop in. I highly recommend it!

Kind regards

Shots of the Day - Lord Bishop at The Bacca Room

Hi all,

Please enjoy all these wonderful photos I took on Wednesday night during Lord Bishop’s black cock rocking performance at The Bacca Room in Central Auckland. ;)

Kind regards