Weekend Beats + Pieces

A new mix, Wave To Mikey, The Flower, The Bird and The Mountain.

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. That said, sometimes it takes completely different forms. With all of that said, let us begin.

WHAT I’VE BEEN DOING:

Last week, I jumped on the Numark Mixstream Pro and recorded a one-take mix of records from Al Brown, Spaceghost + Teddy Bryant, Patricia Wolf, Fatima & Joe Armon-Jones, Hydroplane, Lontalius, Stevie Monite and eight other artists titled Multiverse Theory. Think reggae, modern RnB, rhythmic ambient, street soul, breakbeat indie pop and boogie, all drenched in Balearic bliss. You can stream it on Mixcloud here.

Earlier in the year, I helped the Madrid-based record label Glossy Mistakes prepare the media materials for their reissues of the deceased Japanese multi-hyphenate Susumu Yokota’s two excellent late nineties albums under his Stevia Alias, Fruits of The Room and Greenpeace. Afterwards, Glossy Mistakes were good enough to invite me back on board to help them prepare for the release of the New York-born, Los Angeles-based musician, actor and photographer Danny Scott Lane’s fourth album, Wave To Mikey. It’s up for pre-order on their Bandcamp now over here.

On a similar topic, I also recently helped the Adelaide label Isle of Jura prepare the release of The Flower, The Bird and The Mountain by The Kyoto Connection. For Facundo Arena, the Argentinian composer/producer behind The Kyoto Connection, The Flower, The Bird and The Mountain is his love letter to the 80s Japanese ambient/environmental music masters. You know, those artists who all got massively boosted by the Youtube algorithm in the late 2010s. Pre-orders are up on Bandcamp here.

WHAT I’VE BEEN READING:

How to Loiter In a Turf War, A Novel by Coco Solid (Penguin)

For my money, Jess Hansell aka Coco Solid has been one of the most (if not the most) interesting multidisciplinary artists operating within Aotearoa (New Zealand) for well over a decade now. She’s made rap, synth-pop and post-punk albums, created a classic cartoon comedy show (Aroha Bridge), taken part in some epic acts of community organisation, penned compelling criticism, and now - authored her first book. Presented as “a genre-bending work of autobiographical fiction from one of Aotearoa’s fiercest and most versatile artists,” How to Loiter In a Turf War takes us through a day in the life of three close friends in Tamaki Makaurau (Auckland) - the largest city in the country. For me, it’s a set of brilliant character studies. Nothing happens, and yet everything happens, as the friends navigate racial tensions and gentrification. Check it out over here.

Pure Colour, A Novel by Sheila Heti.

I know it goes against the old saying, but I’m a fan of judging a book by its cover and when I saw Pure Colour by the Canadian author Sheila Heti on a display stand, I felt compelled to purchase it and read it in one sitting. I guess you could call it the story of a life, rendered in a surrealist, dreamlike form, but it’s also the story of something bigger. More importantly, despite the grandiosity of the pull quotes on the back cover, Shelia’s remarkable story delivers something special. I simply don’t want to say anything else. More details here.

MORE READING:

For Bandcamp, John Morrison wrote about why Skunk Anansie’s Paranoid & Sunburnt Is Still Timely Today. Read more here.

For Mixmag, Aneesa Ahmed asked several electronic musicians to share what Ramadan means to them, how it changes their music habits, and what they learn during the holy month. Read more here.

Over on DJ Mag, Ria Hylton asks the question, should a DJ ever play a festival for free? Should they?

The great Julianne Escobedo Shepherd interviews Rosalía for Pitchwork about how she makes her music. Read more here.

For Wax Poetics, Ronnie Reese on The Musical Story of Steve Arrington. Amen Brother.

WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO:

Flo Wilson is a sonic artist and performer based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa. Over the last five years, they’ve exhibited and performed across Aotearoa, Australia and America, worked on music for dance shows, and released two projects, 2017/2018’s Please (Keep Breathing) and now, Prelude to a Requiem. Released through Saplings, the digital label that plants trees when you purchase their music, Prelude to a Requiem began life as a commission for Verge Gallery in Sydney in 2018, before by way of Creative New Zealand funding and some interesting approaches to process, becoming a recorded project. It’s about ambient/environmental music as a space for sitting with and processing grief, but you definitely don’t have to be in mourning to enjoy the sound environment Flo has sculpted here.

The other day on Facebook, my friend Joe Garlick wondered if this might be the album of the year? I’m months away from drawing any such conclusions, but I’ll say this. Opening the Door, the first album from Vancouver, Canada-based Australian producer and DJ Jack J makes it very clear that aside from just knowing how to put together a heavy dancefloor tune, Jack is a proper songwriter. His command of mood and tone here is very much on. Ambient jazz, quiet storm rock, and digital dub vibrations all swaying to a steady groove.

A.G, the East Londoner who does it all, is back with ‘Fireflower’, an instrumental Baile Funk/Grime hybridization for the ages. Someone get her over to Brazil ASAP.

FIN.