Beats + Pieces Vol. 52
The Vault, The Late Late Breakfast Show, etc.
Selected Works is a weekly (usually) newsletter by the Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa (Wellington, New Zealand) based freelance music journalist, broadcaster, copywriter and sometimes DJ Martyn Pepperell, aka Yours Truly. Most weeks, Selected Works consists of a recap of what I’ve been doing lately and some of what I’ve been listening to and reading, paired with film photographs I’ve taken + some bonuses. All of that said, sometimes it takes completely different forms.
WHAT I’VE BEEN DOING:
Earlier in the week, I spoke with Josh Dominikovich from Radio Active 88.6 FM about Fuemana’s New Urban Polynesian album for The Vault. Originally aired at 9.30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 20th, 2024, it should soon be available to stream on their Mixcloud page here.
WHAT I’VE GOT COMING UP:
From 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, I’m covering Radio Active 88.6 FM’s Late Late Breakfast Show. It’s always fun to play a long radio show and really stretch out the songs. For those outside Wellington, you can listen online here.
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING:
Tone Glow 133: Nourished By Time: An interview with Marcus Brown of Nourished By Time about his approach to songwriting, his obsessive tendencies, and the Baltimore Ravens. For Tone Glow, Corrigan Blanchfield.
Putting Down Roots: CCL: CCL’s A Night in the Skull Discotheque, released earlier this year via Eris Drew and Octo Octa’s T4T LUV NRG imprint, is the kind of dense, narrative-driven voyage that genuinely emphasises the harmonies between a great DJ mix and an in-depth piece of music journalism. For Fact Mag, John Twells.
No Tags 10: Dr Robin James, vibes philosopher: On algorithmic listening, independent radio and the alt-rock to alt-right pipeline. Read/listen here.
I survived the Christchurch terror attack – the government is in danger of forgetting us: Five years on from the massacre, the government is preparing to roll back gun reforms and progress to make New Zealand safer is faltering. For The Guardian, Temel Ataçocuğu.
'Fuemana Mania’: 30 years of New Urban Polynesian: Before there was OMC and 'How Bizarre', the Fuemana siblings - Phil, Christina, Tony and Pauly - laid down a record that would be dubbed a classic. Read/listen here.
WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO:
After spending several years immersed in Los Angeles' sprawling music scene during the late 1980s, singer Kim Yaffa connected with producer Rick Delano and recorded her debut single, ‘Once Bitten/Lights of LA’ (1989). Decades on the Pleasure of Love label has just reissued it with a couple of tasty bonus edits/remixes. Now that’s what I call Balearic dance-pop!
This is one of those records that does what it says on the tin. Over twelve psychedelic country/folk songs, Oamaru’s Matthew P. Schöbs & The Flaming Bridges explore the emotional fallout from five torturous years. Haunted, spectral and affecting, the music on display here hangs together around expressive guitar figures, elegiac singer-songwriter storytelling (ranging from bedsit to raging through the night) and elegant textural backdrops. It’s headphone music, but it’s also after-party music and would probably sound all right on a moody Sunday morning as well. Fear And Loathing In Oamaru, indeed.
FIN.