Midweek Beats + Pieces vol. 35

Hong Kong Community Radio, The Vault, etc

Selected Works is a regular newsletter by the Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa (Wellington, New Zealand) based freelance music journalist, broadcaster, copywriter, and sometimes DJ Martyn Pepperell. Yes, that’s me. 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/WHAT I HAVE COMING UP:

I’ve been on a bit of a binge of recording DJ mixes again lately. This weekend, the first of several I assembled over the last few weeks is airing on Hong Kong Community Radio, a very cool community-led underground radio station located in, you guessed it, Hong Kong. For this one, I continued to follow my ongoing obsession with 90s Street Soul and New Jack Swing from around the world. They’ll be playing it on Friday from 20:00-21:00 Hong Kong Time. Here’s the flyer below.

Hong Kong is one of those places I’ve been fascinated by ever since I was a little kid, so as an adult, it’s been very rewarding to visit the island mega city several times and connect with the local underground music scene. I’m a big fan of the Hong Kong post-rock and shoegaze bands TSVSJS, and No One Remains Virgin, and have loved attending shows organised by Gary from White Noise Records. Actually, you can read an article I wrote about the Hong Kong underground for Bandcamp Daily here.

Earlier today, I made an appearance on Radioactive.FM’s The Vault segment in Wellington. I actually forgot that I’d recorded this for them. The basic gist is I spoke with Lexi Mills about three New Zealand songs that I’ve got a lot of love for. I went for some music from Fuemana, Obscure Desire and DLT. I’m assuming it will end up in the station’s Mixcloud archive soon, but I’ll keep you posted.

Last week, I wrote a list of Bandcamp Friday recommendations for Test Pressing. Bandcamp Friday, April 2023, is long over now, but it’s always a good day to buy music. Check it out here, if you so wish.

WHAT I’VE BEEN READING:

Hip-Hop history or hearsay: Is the most famous flier in hip-hop history fake? J. Vognsen reporting for Perfect Sound Forever.

Office Hours: Closing Time with Ariel Palitz, New York's Departing Nightlife Mayor - In their first column, Resident Advisor’s Kiana Mickles does a club crawl with Palitz to hear how the groundbreaking role has impacted the city's nightlife.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Nielson On The Good, The Bad & ‘V’: Ruban Nielson is a changed man. The Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s main man has been through a lot in the last few years. Karl Puschmann for Viva.

Hysteria, harm or something more sinister?: Why the UK is banning nitrous oxide -For Mixmag, Tracy Kawalik investigates nitrous oxide use in the UK, talking to ‘super users’, dealers, health professionals and drug experts to unravel the hype, harm and politicking behind the ban on young people’s second favourite drug.

The Otherworldly Compositions of an Ethiopian Nun: Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, who died recently, wrote pieces that were elegiac, but suffused with a sense of survival: we are broken, we are wounded, we carry on. Amanda Petrusich for The New Yorker.

WHAT I’VE BEEN WATCHING:

Here’s the latest music video from the skillful and strident Kingston, Jamaica rapper The Sickest Drama, ‘White Noise’ feat Dizzy The ill One. I first found out about The Sickest Drama through Trilogy, the first album from his crew, The Council of The Gods. TSD and his guys are the real deal, and ‘White Noise’ points the way towards his next album, Luxury Tax, which will be coming out very soon. I’ll update you later.

Whenever the New Zealand singer-songwriter and producer Lontalius links up with filmmakers Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou for a music video, the end result ends up being something closer to a movie. Simple ideas, executed with elegance and meaning. Lontalius is really unlocking some new levels with his songwriting and production at the moment as well. NEXT NEXT NEXT.

I shouldn’t use such a lazy phrase, but there’s no way around it, KAYTRAMINÉ aka Kaytranada and Aminé are very much RESTORING THE FEELING right now. Ramming the point home, ‘4EVA’ comes with a feature from Pharrell Williams. That said, it’s Kaytranda’s low-key styling that really steals the show here.

The Wellington-based indie rock artist Vera Ellen just dropped a new album through Flying Nun Records. If you like that kinda stuff, chances are you’re gonna feel what she’s pushing. Earlier in the year, when I was at a wedding near Christchurch, I ran into one of the mid-2000s bartenders from London’s legendary Plastic People venue. She told me that I really needed to check Vera out, and I took that recommendation seriously. Here’s Vera’s latest music video. Also, check out this interview Tony Stamp put together with her for RNZ. Tony took the photos as well, what a flash guy.

WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO:

Trust my man Apiento from Test Pressing to quietly slip out a gorgeous experimental record on the low. He’s described Garage Environment as a collection of studio recordings from 2022, as articulated through piano. modular synths and zoned-out sampling. Music like this is the sound of a serious music lover chucking on headphones and running it up on the gear until they enter flow state. From there - if you know, you know - the hours just fly by. The first time I listened to this record, I almost completely forgot I was wandering around a supermarket, trying to find things on a shopping list! That’s how much his use of rhythms, textures and atmosphere zoned me out. Bliss out with this one.

Los Angeles-based producer/DJ Maral is one of those questing, open-eared artists who really puts the avant in the club, and the night in the garde, if you get my drift. She’s eternally on my small list of musicians I’d like to write more about, but I haven’t been able to get around to - mostly due to how difficult it is to even place feature stories right now. ‘Wondering Dub’ has a whimsical groove, haunted atmospherics, traces of Iranian folk-pop, and the perfect balance between noise and wuub. As the title gives away, expect some dub aesthetics, as crossed with post-punk and some machine funk. Check a recent DJ Mag Fresh Kicks feature on her here.

I know absolutely nothing about this record, but I do know that sultry spoken word vocals set against celestial synthesiser pads, downtempo drums and cinematic atmospheric incidentals are an absolute vibe. Chanson by way of new wave, by way of synth-pop, by way of new age folk and trip-hop. Les Anges, Les Bonheurs by Sonoko comes highly recommended by yours truly.

FIN.