Recent Projects, Feb 2023

Sampology & Charlie Hill, Seaming To

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:

Over the next couple of months, I’m doing a few jobs with the Meanjin (Brisbane) based record label, Middle Name Records. They’re run by an Australian DJ, composer and producer named Sampology. Some of you have have heard of his Worldwide FM Radio show or checked out his music. The first thing we worked on together was preparing the media assets for the label’s next release, Galaxy by Sampology and Charlie Hill. Here’s the backstory.

An intergenerational meeting of minds, 'Galaxy' is the first collaborative EP from Meanjin (Brisbane) musicians Sam Poggioli aka Sampology and Charlie Hill. Equal parts brain dance and body music, Galaxy’s seven tracks represent a vivid intermingling of 70s jazz-funk, fusion, machine-funk, Latin house and broken beat, accented by flourishes of minimalist composition. Considered as a whole, it evokes the possibility and potential of a space-age future where technology and nature exist in simpatico.

One of the most in-demand young jazz drummers in the Meanjin (Brisbane) music scene, Charlie started producing electronic music on his laptop three years ago. It was a vibe shift that hit him after several months spent immersing himself in Europe’s jazz and electronica scenes on the eve of the global coronavirus pandemic. After returning home, he approached Sam about recording some music together.

Sam, a well-travelled Australian DJ, producer and former Worldwide FM radio host, was cautious about starting a new side project. However, when he heard his demos, he realised Charlie was blending rhythmic fundamentals he’d learned while completing a music degree with a beautifully wide-eyed approach to jazz-tinged electronica.

As part of the Galaxy sessions, Sam and Charlie collaborated with fellow Australian vocalists Tiana Khasi and Merinda Dias-Jayasinha.

Sampology says about the title track: “While it might seem odd to choose a 9-minute song to share as the first single, Charlie Hill and myself knew this is how we wanted to introduce our collaborative project together. It’s a sonic introduction to the environment of the project. Charlie on drums, Rhodes and sitar synth, and myself on MPC, Oberheim synth, vocal processing of our friend Merinda, plus some harp and vibraphone I recorded myself playing as well. We’ve distilled a 40-minute live performance into these 9 minutes.”

CLASH MAGAZINE X SEAMING TO:

Last year, I ran a Q&A interview through Selected Works with the UK composer, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist Seaming To celebrate the release of her Natural Process EP through Lo Recordings. Last week, she released her long-awaited second album Dust Gatherers. The timing was right, so I used the release as an opportunity to explore over two decades of musical history with her for Clash Magazine.

Equal parts magical realism and mythological pop, she describes [Dust Gatherers] as “a collection of stories that have been gathering dust inside myself for some time,” hence the title. Summoning up a psychedelic wonderland of alluring songs draped in pastoral string arrangements and playful synthesisers, Seaming sings with a siren’s call, inviting us to explore the visions, secrets and dreamscapes that lurk just beyond our view in the mirror. You can check the full feature out here. I also want to mention that the album has been reviewed by Pitchfork and The Quietus, which is great to see.

ODDS + ENDS

In other news, I haven’t drunk any coffee in over a week. The day two and day three headaches were unreal (withdrawal symptom level stuff), but things have been pretty smooth since. That said, this isn’t the end. It’s more of a hard reset to get away from drinking four-five cups a day during busy/stressful work periods.

FIN.