Soul singer-songwriter Louis Bakerreleases a live performance of his modern take on a motown ballad ‘Fade‘, featuring Lisa Tomlins on backing vocals.
Welcoming New IMNZ Member Radius Kink Pre Orders Available for Lastest Album ‘Peculiar Confessions’
Radius Kink describes their album as a disparate collection of songs .When asked where the ideas come from Gary explains: “We both come from super dysfunctional families, riddled with scandal and addiction, which was in contrast with our strict religious upbringing, so we are never short on ideas.”
NZ On Air Radio Airplay Record of the Year: KINGS ‘Don’t Worry ‘Bout It’
International Achievement: Lorde and Opetaia Foa’i
INTERNATIONAL AND INDUSTRY NEWS
Four Acclaimed Musicians Join SAE Auckland Staff The Big Idea reports: From the new Audio Head of Department, Sam Taylor, who plays guitar for artist Nadia Reid among others, to the bass player for Elemeno P, Lani Purkis (Student Support Officer), and the drummer from Yoko-Zuna, Swap Gomez (Student Enrolment Officer) to Claire Duncan (Campus Administrator) who moonlights with the alternative music scene and makes albums with musical projects i.e. crazy and Dear Time’s Waste, SAE Auckland is a hotbed of musical talent.
And that’s not counting the musos who already work here. From Dave Johnson (Industry Liaison & Marketing), the drummer for rock band Villany, Marcel Bellve (Audio Lecturer) the former singer for Battle Circus, David Chechelashvili (Audio Lecturer) who creates electronic music under the artist name Waker, some talented studio supervisors with musical projects on the go, all the way through to internationally renowned multi-instrumentalist /producer/arranger and SAE Academic Manager, Dr Stephen Small.
Dr Small has a Doctor of Musical Arts (and is at work on a second), four solo albums and a 20-year music career behind him. Suzette says, ‘I’ve got used to Stephen regularly popping into my office to say, “Sorry short notice, but I’ve got a gig in Argentina this weekend. And don’t forget the following week it’s Japan.”’
‘I can hardly keep up!’ says Suzette. ‘But what a fantastic place to work when my biggest problem is keeping track of where in the world my staff are playing next or who’s winning a musical award this week. At SAE Auckland, we’re committed to employing not just academics, but active industry professionals.’
While SAE offers qualifications in audio production, with a Diploma in Audio Engineering and a Bachelor of Recording Arts, Suzette says it’s inevitable that the staff is made up of musicians.
‘With the advancement of technology most musicians are now also engineers and producers.’
And are the rumours of staring a band true? Suzette’s not ruling anything out. But for now, she says: ‘I’m thrilled to be attracting such a high calibre of staff, but it’s not surprising given how well both the Audio and Film programmes are doing. We’re a top-rated NZQA tertiary provider with an impressive staff and alumni base. The reputation of SAE Auckland just keeps on growing.’
International Society for Contemporary Music 2020 World Music Days In New Zealand The Big Idea reports: New Zealand has won its bid to host the 2020 International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) World Music Days. The ISCM is the most highly regarded organisation of its type. After establishing itself in 1922, it has been tireless in its promotion of new music to all corners of the globe. The World Music Days are its annual, flagship festival, involving composers from more than 50 countries, and some of the most exciting performers.
The Composers Association of New Zealand (CANZ) has been a member of the ISCM since 2004, and sent dozens of our composers to World Music Days in locations as far-flung and exotic as Ljubljana (Slovenia), Tongyeong (South Korea), and to this year’s festival in Vancouver where the bid to host 2020 was confirmed on Wednesday.
Former CANZ President Glenda Keam will be directing the 2020 festival. Glenda’s four-year experience on the ISCM Executive Committee – of which she is currently Vice President – will no doubt serve her well, as will her hands-on directorship of the 09-03 New Music Festival in Auckland, and her role as co-curator of the New Zealand in LA Festival in 2012.
There will also be a certain Asia-Pacific quality to the offerings of the 2020 World Music Days. In conjunction with the ISCM, the Asian Composers League (ACL) will hold its festival in Christchurch – 13 years on from the last Asia-Pacific Festival in New Zealand in 2007.
The ACL involvement only augments the significance of this event, adding credence to an already-major landmark in contemporary music on our shores. All eyes and ears will be on Auckland and Christchurch on 21 April 2020, as they welcome hundreds of delegates, composers and performers from all over the globe.
UnitedMasters Lands To $70 Million From Google To Take On The Record Record Labels Hyepbot reports: UnitedMasters has raised $70 million to take on just about everyone in the recorded music business. “For too long, artists have had to surrender their independence and creative freedom to make it in the music industry. Until now. “
Promoted as a modern alternative to the dieing record label model, United Masters offers a combination of distribution, targeted digital marketing and analytics similar to that offered by label services firms like Kobalt, Thirty Tigers and BMG, as well as, DIY solutions like CD Baby and Tunecore, albeit in a slicker and more integrated package. Google’s Alphabet is also an investor in Kobalt.
While any artist can use the platform, unlike most of its non-label competitors, UnitedMasters also promises marketing and financial support to the most promising artists using the platform. Who gets that help will be largely determined by data analytics, a core feature built into all aspects of the company.
A growing team of 40, that includes many ex-Facebook, Pandora and Dropbox staffers, is already working with 1000 artists and actively recruiting more. “Being able to operationalize independence was the goal of United Masters. There needs to be 250,000 Chance The Rappers,” saysUnitedMasters founder and former Interscope Records president Steve Stoute.
Respected investor and hip hop uber-fan Ben Horowitz is joining the board. He also helped put together the team building the platform.
“Steve thought: What if there were a platform that instantly enabled musical artists to market themselves globally as effectively as the top technology companies market to their customers?,” wrote Horowitz. “Such a platform would free musicians from dependencies on the old model while increasing their income tenfold. It would create unprecedented intimacy between artists and fans, while making artists truly independent.”
Another investor that you might have heard of, Google founder and drummer Larry Page, also got involved very early. Page was apparently so surprised that musicians couldn’t easily track which fans spend the most and then retarget to sell them more, that he convinced Google’s Corp Dev leader David Drummond, himself a former radio DJ, to help United Masters the investment needed to change that.
Kickstarter Relaunches Drip For Creator Subscriptions Musically Bulletin reports: Kickstarter is relaunching Drip, the platform for artist and label subscriptions that it bought in 2016, shortly after its previous owners warned they were having to shut it down.
As before, Drip will be focused on ongoing crowdfunding: monthly subscriptions for musicians, authors, filmmakers, games developers and other creators, rather than Kickstarter’s focus on standalone projects.
As on Patreon, Drip creators will be able to charge fans every time they create a new piece of work (a song, an article, a podcast episode etc) or they will be able to charge monthly subscriptions starting at $1.
The creators will be able to share subscriber-only posts with text, images, audio and video on Drip. Kickstarter will take a 5% cut of subscription payments, with a further 3% plus $0.20 per transaction taken by its credit-card processor.
Reggie Watts is one of the first musicians to take advantage, along with Christopher Willits, Alexandra ‘Eartheater’ Drewchin and Kinlaw, with more to follow in the coming weeks. At this point there are no labels using the new Drip. This launch period is invitation-only, but Kickstarter says it will open Drip up more widely early in 2018.
YouTube Partners With Ticketmaster To Promote Tickets For Live Shows Below Music Videos Venture beat reports: While Spotify, Apple Music, and similar audio-streaming services are popular conduits for finding new (and old) music, YouTube is often the first port of call for those seeking a little visual stimulation to go with their tunes.
YouTube, it is fair to say, is a major destination for music fans around the world, and as such the Google-owned giant will now help promote live gigs related to artists’ videos posted on its platform.
Starting from today, YouTube will surface U.S. tour dates for “hundreds of artists” directly below their videos. As the video streams, users can tap “view upcoming shows” and scroll through all the artists’ scheduled live performances. If fans want to buy a ticket, however, they will be whisked off to Ticketmaster’s website to complete the purchase.
This tie-up makes a huge amount of sense, and it’s far slicker than the current setup, which involves artists having to manually post a link to their ticket page in the notes below a video.
Those outside the U.S. won’t see the live show information, though they may still see a link to live shows if the artists have included one in their video notes. The feature appears to be live in both the YouTube mobile app and on the web-based version.
It’s worth stressing here that this doesn’t mean tickets will be available next to any music-related video on YouTube — those grainy fan-shot clips won’t be used to sell tickets to the next gig on a tour. This new feature will only be available for an artist’s official music video.
“At YouTube, we understand the importance of helping artists find ways to build deeper connections with their fans — the ones who not only watch and listen to videos but are also willing to pay to see live performances,” YouTube noted in a blog post. “And, with live concerts becoming a bigger driver of revenue for artists, we want to help artists reach those fans, keep them updated about upcoming shows, and sell more tickets.”
This new feature is only available to artists with upcoming gigs in the U.S., though there are plans to expand it internationally.
NEW RELEASES
Wellington expats Bakers Eddy return with their scuzzy new single, ‘If You See Kay’. ‘If You See Kay’ is a modern cautionary tale, involving a fictionary character and sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.
A punk number through and through with dirty drums, fuzzed-up gats and rowdy vocals, this track is as subtle as a nail through the foot and as charming as the character that it’s about. ‘If You See Kay’ is the second single off the newly-minted Melbournians upcoming EP, set for release in 2018.
The single follows on from the raucous ‘Jack Shit For You’, which has seen airplay on The Rock, Hauraki and across the ditch with Triple J, 5DDD, 3MDR, 4ZZZ and 2YAS. ‘If You See Kay’ is available on SPOTIFY and iTUNES
Teeks Released A New Music Video for ‘Never Be Apart’
In case you missed it – Soul sensation TEEKS has released the highly-anticipated video for his new single ‘Never Be Apart’.
A deeply emotive song that shines a spotlight on the young Kiwi artist’s exquisite voice and showcases his songwriting mastery, ‘Never Be Apart’ is the second single from TEEKS’ critically-acclaimed debut EP THE GRAPEFRUIT SKIES, released earlier this year.
“This song is probably the most personal to me of the whole EP because it’s about dealing with loss. Last year was a pretty rough time for my family, and this song found its way through at the end of all that. Even though we might lose people we love throughout our lifetime, they’re always with us. ‘In the morning sun, in the place we were young, in the wind on my skin I will find you, and we’ll never be apart’.”
Filmed in Auckland’s beautiful St Matthew’s Church, and directed and produced by the award-winning Shae Sterling, the video for ‘Never Be Apart’ simply places TEEKS at the heart of it all, backed by a nine-piece band with the sun streaming through stained glass windows – allowing the power of the song to speak for itself.
One of New Zealand’s fastest rising stars, TEEKS’ EP THE GRAPEFRUIT SKIES debuted at no. 10 on the NZ Top 40 when released on June 23. It has remained in the official chart since its release and has clocked up well over a million streams on Spotify. He is also nominated for three awards at next week’s Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards (Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Best Soul/R’n’B Artist and Best Maori Artist).
TEEKS has also impressed with his live performances, opening for fellow Kiwi soul singer Hollie Smith in Auckland in October and will be performing at Waiata Mai on December 2 alongside Maisey Rika, Dave Dobbyn, Rob Ruha, Tami Neilson, Troy Kingi and Anika Moa at Black Barn Vineyards in Hawkes Bay.
Rob Ruha and The Witch Doctor Release Music Video for ‘Kalega’
The video for ‘Kalega’ by Rob Ruha and The Witch Dr. has premiered on The Spinoff. The catchy summer anthem is the first single from their upcoming album SURVIVANCE.
The video for ‘Kalega’ is directed by Shae Sterling and features Shaunlindsay and members of Te Kapa Haka o Te Whānau a Apanui.
Written and produced by Rob and Tyna Keelan, who are both APRA Maioha Award-winning composers, ‘Kalega’ is a song about the great Aotearoa summer pilgrimage back to the beach to chill, unwind and get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life in the city.
“No matter where you’re from, what your day job is or what language you speak, everyone can relate to that!” says Rob.
“Picture glistening coastal views, fresh fish and chips after a swim, ice cream stops and BBQs on the beach while your favorite jams ring out the car window and you have ‘Kalega’ – an upbeat waiata that celebrates a unique slice of Aotearoa heaven, the East Coast, where the word ‘Kalega’ is as legendary as a kina tongue on bread!”
A sure-fire festival jam, ‘Kalega’ is the first track from Rob Ruha & The Witch Dr’s highly-anticipated bilingual album, SURVIVANCE, which will be released on FRIDAY DECEMBER 1.
The Witch Dr. is an alliance of some of Aotearoa’s finest musicians – Darren Mathiassen (Shapeshifter), James Illingworth (Bliss n Eso), Tyna Keelan (The Nok) and Johnny Lawrence (Electric Wire Hustle).
Featuring on ‘Kalega’ are backing vocalists Kaaterama Pou and The Rū-Cru (Te Waru Mahutonga, Neha Ngawhika-Pihema, Ngākuru Ngawhika-Pihema, Faith Raroa, Grace Hill, Taylor Kaio) – a gifted bunch of students from Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ruamata in Rotorua. Some have begun carving out music careers in Māori singing troupes Maimoa Music (Kaaterama Pou) and Te Uruwhetu (Te Waru Mahutonga).
Following on from sold out shows in New Zealand and Australia earlier this year Baker is playing a few hand selected shows before heading in to the studio to record his next body of work.
Louis Baker show dates Wellington
San Fran
Friday 24th November
Leigh, Auckland
Sawmill Cafe
Saturday 13th January
with DJ Cory Champion
Coastella
Paraparaumu, Kapiti Coast
Saturday 17th February
