Midweek Beats + Pieces vol. 41
Mixcloud, Test Pressing, 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’S GOING ON:
On Monday night, I threw together a one-hour late 90s/early 2000s Broken Beat DJ mix tonight. Tunes from Face, Cherie Mathieson, Bembe & Dego, Brotherly, BB Boogie, Blacktonez, IG Culture, Likwid Biskit, Agent K, Incognito, L'Aroye, Bougie Soliterre and more. It's live on my Mixcloud page now.
Last week, I interviewed the cult Libyan reggae musician Ahmed Ben Ali for Test Pressing. In recent years, he’s released an EP and a compilation of reissued material from his 2000s run through the excellent Habibi Funk label. You can read the story here.
Four times a year, I recap ten great music releases from the previous three months for Dazed & Confused. The latest edition of my column is live on the site now.
From 2-4 PM Los Angeles time on Wednesday 5 July 2023, I’ll be exploring the sounds of 1990s French RnB, Neo Soul and Swingbeat on the great internet radio station, Dublab. Head over here for more details.
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING:
The Wellington poet Tayi Tibble has become the fourth New Zealand author - and first Māori writer - to have their work published in the New Yorker magazine. Here’s Tayi’s poem, “Creation Story.”
Modern-Day Fan Forums, The Renaissance in Online Music Communities: Next-gen ventures such as the metaverse, interactive livestreaming and chat apps want to re-centre the music industry around fans—a move that could make artists and businesses more financially self-sufficient. Nyshka Chandran for Resident Advisor.
In Puerto Rico, Queer Femmes Are Dreaming Up Rap and Reggaeton’s Future: Young Miko, RaiNao, and Villano Antillano are part of a new generation proving that the urbano movement can—and should—be flagrantly queer. Isabelia Herrera for Pitchfork.
The Legacy of the Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra: In the 1998 book Central Avenue Sounds: Jazz in Los Angeles, multi-instrumentalist and composer Horace Tapscott recalls his introduction to the thriving jazz scene on Central Avenue in Los Angeles in the 1950s. John Morrison for Bandcamp Daily.
Rebellion music: Hak Baker is taking down the powers-that-be and having fun with it: Hak Baker is a champion of the people: honouring the legacy of Windrush and rewriting the narrative for his generation and for those to come. Marcus Barnes for Mixmag.
An invite to the D*List, the new home of disability culture in Aotearoa: The D*List is a new online magazine dedicated to disability stories, and disabled kinship and joy. For The Spinoff, Executive Director Red Nicholson tells the story so far.
WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO:
It’s good to see this one make it off dubplate and enter general release. ‘U THURSTY’ a slice of RnB sampling club music from the brilliant mind of Surly. On the flip, DJ Swisha shows off his East Coast credentials with a tasteful VIP remix.
Here’s a soul mix and a reggae mix of ‘Can’t Get Enough (Of Your Love)’ by the 80s UK lovers rock/dub boogie group Take Three. In the era, they had ties to Light of The World, Beggar & Co, Incognito, Imagination and Loose Ends. Proper London sound music. Just listen to the interplay between those vocal arrangements and the instrumentals.
On the 14th of July, Ana Roxanne and DJ Python are dropping their first collaborative album as Natural Wonder Beauty Concept. I’ve had a sneaky listen or two and you can expect a melange of instrumental reggaeton, dem bow, dream-pop, ambient, breakbeat and downbeat. You’ll even get to hear DJ Python sing for the first time. This one took me back to the early 90s and flung me into the future at the same damn time. It’s a match that must have been presided over by a Biblically Accurate Angel.
After the success of the reissue of their Luz Bel album, Spanish shoegaze/dream-pop band Bélver Yin returns to Melbourne label Efficient Space for a fresh set of recordings. Due for release on the 28th of July, Para Mi Madre is dedicated to founding member Pedro L. Ortega’s dearly departed mother. As such, it’s a tender set of guitar-led instrumentals that take the spirits of 80s British ethereal alt-pop and gorgeously reframe them in a Balearic sundown setting where the sadness of loss is tempered by gratitude for family bonds and time shared together.
FIN.