New Zealand Music Month?

As above, so below.

Hi there,

So, for those of you who don’t live in New Zealand, here’s a fun fact. In 1997, the New Zealand Music Commission established a thing called New Zealand Music Month. As a result, every year for the last 24 years, locally speaking, the month of May has been ostensibly dedicated to promoting New Zealand Music in New Zealand. I don’t know how that sounds to you? Maybe it’s cool, but also, imagine if the US had an American Music Month? I have no idea why, but this year I feel like participating a bit, so I thought I might throw together a bit of a newsletter issue about some New Zealand music I think everyone (here and abroad) should at least have the opportunity to know about. Here we go.

Ardijah, Jammin’ (WEA)

‘Jammin’ is the first track on the locally legendary South Auckland poly-funk band Ardijah’s self-titled 1987 debut album. They created the record with support from New Zealand Breweries and were able to borrow a S-50 Sampler, SBX-80 Sync Box and the TR-727 drum machine off the Roland Corporation. Ardijah started rocking stages in 1979, 42 years and four albums later, they’re still a live entertainment staple. Peerless.

Fan Club, W.G.A.F (CBS)

Fan Club formed out of the ashes of an earlier Auckland band, Soul On Ice. As the story goes, the lads were looking for a new singer when they chanced upon Wan Aishah Binti Wan Ariffin aka Aishah, a student from Malaysia. Together, Fan Club recorded two albums and scored several top-twenty hits in New Zealand and Malaysia. Taken from their first album, Sensation, ‘W.G.A.F’ is their deep cut, a sunkissed synth-pop/boogie number with a groove that keeps on giving.

Houseparty, Dangerous Love (Southside)

I adore this. Houseparty started life in South Auckland as a collaboration between Phil Fuemana (the older brother of Pauly Fuemana aka OMC and the founder of Urban Pacifika Records ) and Matty J Ruys. Soon enough, Phil’s sister Christina was singing lead vocal for the group and they’d tapped into a South Pacific version of the breakbeat driven street soul sound that was exploding in the UK at the time. Christina’s vocal on ‘Dangerous Love’ is un-be-lievable.

‎Peter Jefferies, Domestica (Xpressway/Ajax)

In 1990, New Plymouth singer-songwriter and musician Peter Jefferies (brother of Graham Jefferies) was singing somberly about the foibles of life over a recording of domestic life. Like, he was literally singing over kitchen and laundry sounds. A song of daily life, sung over the sounds of daily life. What a guy. ‘Domestica’ comes from Peter’s cult album, The Last Great Challenge In A Dull World.

Sandra Bell, Lost Train (Xpressway)

New Zealand noise musician Bruce Russell (of the Dead C)’s Xpressway record label was on a tear in the early ‘90s. As well as releasing Peter Jefferies The Last Great Challenge In A Dull World album, they also released the fucking brilliant Dreams of Falling album by the-then Dunedin-based experimentalist Sandra Bell. Fittingly, Sandra actually played on Peter’s album. ‘Lost Train’ is one of my favourites from Sandra. It would have fit in well with the soundtrack for David Lynch’s Lost Highway.

Phantom Forth, Saw You Hide (Flying Nun)

Originally released in 1984, Auckland minimal wave brother & sister + friends outfit Phantom Forth’s The EEPP EP contains seven moody sketches of the city of sails/sales, as rendered through cold wave guitars and drum-machine propelled post-punk with haunted female vocals. ‘Saw You Hide’ captures the vibe of the EP well. You’ll be unsurprised to note they were into Young Marble Giants, Wire and Cabaret Voltaire.

Serenity, Green And Sunny Weather (Down Under)

Acid-soaked psychedelic folk rock, recorded by a little known Christchurch band in 1972. ‘Green And Sunny Weather’ comes from their highly-sought after album, Piece of Mind, which, over twelve perfectly paced songs, interweaves blues, folk, psychedelic rock and jazz into an eye-opening embarrassment of riches. Piece of Mind is one size fits all: sunny afternoons, cloudy mornings, still late nights. Whenever, wherever, it will get the job done.

Alright, time to get back to some actual work (on a Sunday of all days). I’ll probably send out another newsletter (or two) like this before the end of the month. Enjoy your day, enjoy your life.

FIN.