Midweek Beats + Pieces vol. 40
Deva Mahal, Mānuka Recordings, Dublab.
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 GOT GOING ON:
Born and raised in Kauaʻi, Hawaii, when Deva Mahal arrived in Aotearoa in the early 2000s, she quickly became part of a generation of local musicians who used their love of jazz, soul, funk, reggae, dub, hip-hop, house and techno to ascend from the underground into our country’s mainstream consciousness. Last week, I profiled Deva for Audio Culture - The Noisy Library of New Zealand Music. You can read the story here.
In September 2022, Mānuka Recordings released their debut record, a now sold-out 10” double single recorded with the Tāmaki Makaurau singer-songwriter and guitarist Summer Vaha'akolo aka Summer Vee, ‘Key To All Your Love / Judas’. After winning DJ and radio support from Scratcha DVA, Shy One, Bill Brewster, and coverage from Radio New Zealand and Dr Rob’s Ban Ban Ton Ton blog, they’re pleased to present their second record, ‘Tell Me’ by Eo. Thanks to Matt and Dylan for getting me on board to write the release notes for this one.
On the 5th of July 2023, Dublab in Los Angeles will be airing my latest mixshow, Sensitive: A Journey Into French New Jack Swing, RnB and Neo Soul. Expect more details soon.
In other news, the homies at BeeHype have a global summer music special coming up soon. I’ll be contributing. Again, expect more details here soon.
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING:
Carl Mcintosh Of Loose Ends: Ignored By British Radio, Loose Ends Found An Audience In The U.S. Sope Soetan for Wax Poetics.
How Souls Of Mischief's ‘’93 ’til Infinity’ inspired a new future for hip-hop: 30 years after their debut, four rappers from Oakland, California, remember how they became one of the first crews on the West Coast to make a particularly conscious, lyrical strand of hip-hop, with an album that influenced generations of artists. For DJ Mag, Sam Davies.
Nicola Conte: The Founding Father of Italy’s Acid Jazz Scene. Andy Thomas for Bandcamp.
Life, Death, and Disco in Ibiza With Róisín Murphy: The puckish singer looks back on a career spent sharpening pop’s outer edges and forward to her surreal, DJ Koze-produced new album, Hit Parade. For Pitchfork, Philip Sherburne.
The House That Black Built: Why Black ownership and infrastructure is needed to equalise the music industry: Kwame Safo explains why Black-owned and -led enterprises are necessary for Black artists and professionals to prosper without making compromises in the music industry. For Mixmag.
WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO:
For her latest EP, Rainy Nights, the Berlin-based New Zealand house producer and DJ Philippa draws inspiration from a recent obsession with mid-to-late 20th-century Detroit soul and classic blues. Clocking in at four tracks, Rainy Nights is straight ahead soul, funk and blues-laced deep house for after-midnight dancefloors everywhere. Hypnotic, emotional and softly hedonistic, it’s a solid offering.
MC Tree is the pioneer of the Chicago Soul Trap sound. In a manner befitting of his hip-hop sub-genre of choice, Tree sing-raps like a doomed modern-day bluesman over self-produced warm-hearted instrumentals. It’s a stoned, drunken and sad-sounding album, bittersweet and oddly beautiful. This guy can really chop samples, and he knows his voice inside out. I hope that when he’s sixty, he’s still on a stage somewhere. He’ll probably be playing a guitar and singing by then.
With Drifted, Seoul boogie, deep house, electro and disco-funk prodigy Mogwaa returns to Peggy Gou’s Gudu Records for a second EP release. This time around, he's sharing glossy uptempo club music that shuffles and bops at between 135-140 BPM. Under his direction, breaks, Roland TR 808 machine funk, acid basslines and space-aged synthesiser pads come together an atmospheric journey through dancefloor magic. Come for the rhythms and basslines, but stay for the melodic earworms. They’re easy to love and hard to forget.
FIN.