Midweek Beats + Pieces vol.24

I hope you're all having a great week.

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:

At the moment, I’m in the middle of completing a couple of long-term projects. For me, they’re an opportunity to do some interesting work I care about, which is really great. The flipside though, and there is a flip side, is that the freelance work side of my life is essentially temporarily on pause. So yeah, apologies in advance (or belated apologies) to anyone trying to get me to do things at the moment. In general, it’s just not going to happen for a bit - I simply don’t have the hours in the day, or the willingness to push myself past human limits like I used to when I was younger.

WHAT I’VE BEEN READING:

Mixmag: Charlie Bones and DO!! YOU!!! are subverting the tedium of mainstream radio

It’s Jukebox day at Do!! You!!! Radio and Charlie Bones has already taken calls from a variety of listeners. One caller is relaying progress on his job hunt after being fired live on the show just a few weeks prior; Sinéad, who has a show on the station called “Queen of the Rushes” calls up to offer Charlie a tarot reading before softly crooning Black Sabbath’s ‘Planet Caravan’. Meanwhile vocalist Shari Klein, who’d been listening to the show, calls up to explain that her track ‘Fruit’ had just been played — before providing a rendition on-air in Dutch.

After touching thousands with his unpretentious, eclectic radio style — Charlie's at the helm of his own station. Megan Townsend talks to him about his mission to keep radio weird.

DJ MAG - Recognise: Lady Shaka

Global club beats, queer femme energy and Pacific Island identity come together in Lady Shaka’s joyful Recognise mix. Ahead of her appearance at Sónar Festival this month, the DJ and interdisciplinary artist speaks to Anna Cafolla about building connections around the world, uplifting her communities, and her Pasifika club sound.

Pitchfork: Dreezy, Hitgirl Album Review

Dreezy has always been a hard grafter with formidable potential. Arriving to the mic with authoritative braggadocio, vivid lyricism, and playful puns, her serrated raps and effortless wit reflected her earlier years studying poetry. Whether it’s her oft-celebrated feature on Hitmaka’s “Thot Box” remix, the reflexive “Spar,” or her razor-sharp loosie “Beatbox Bday Freestyle,” her true-to-form technicalities as a lyricist have granted her access to writing sessions with J. Cole and Kanye West.

Nicolas-Tyrell Scott on how the Chicago rapper’s collaborative album with Hit-Boy is confident and playful, balancing her lyrical prowess with more vulnerable, R&B-influenced material.

WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO:

After last year’s excellent New Zealand ambient music compilation, Ambient Maladies, Wellington’s Strange Behaviour record label returns with a new collection, Uneasy Clubbing. Over a series of club-tempo house, electro and techno tracks from eleven different local artists including MOKOTRON, Nice Girl and Eden Burns, they map out the sound of clubbing in an era of anxiety and unease. In recent times down here, shared moments on the dancefloor have been few and far between, and yet, against all odds, producers and DJs still find a way.

Minneapolis, Minnesota’s Joe Rainey is a Pow-Wow singer from the Red Lake Ojibwe people. His debut album Niineta is - simply put - something else. Faithful to tradition and profoundly futuristic, the record sees his expressive voice paired with weighty, cinematic production from Andrew Broder, all infused with elements of techno, industrial, hip-hop, dub, noise. Very special stuff. Philip Sherburne wrote a great article about Joe and his music, which you can read over on Pitchfork here.

Torn : Tonic is the second album by the Australian singer, performer, poet and producer, Allysha Joy. Having emerged out of the Melbourne jazz scene and honed her chops as part of the 30/70 Collective, Torn : Tonic sees Allysha walking the listener through her internal/external words over a rich melange of abstract hip-hop, RnB, neo-soul and jazz instrumentation. These are songs about letting go, standing tall, and creating space all at once.

BIG UPS:

Congratulations to Mohamed Hassan on the release of his new book, How to be a Bad Muslim and Other Essays.

Big love to RNZ’s Tony Stamp, the winner of the inaugural Taite Music Prize Outstanding Music Journalism Award.