Weekend Beats + Pieces
Holga, Norient, the NZ Radio Awards, the list goes on.
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:
I bought a Holga 120N medium format camera and have been taking photographs with it. I’ve included a few crops of some landscape shots I took on it with Cinestill Redrum 120 film in this newsletter. As below, so above.
Earlier in the year, the good people at Norient asked me to contribute a short personal essay to their new Sonic Worlding column. I wrote about the significance listening to music outdoors had on me as a teenager and how whenever I feel jaded, it’s a great way to reconnect. About 90% of the music journalism work I still do involves having to pitch to an editor, so it’s always really nice to be asked to write something by someone else for a change. You can read it here.
Last week, Aotearoa Hip-Hop: The Music, The People, The History was awarded Best Factual Podcast 2022 at the New Zealand Radio Awards. This was mind-blowing for me. I’m still processing it really. You can see the full list of winners here.
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING:
The Web3 Dream of an Equitable Nightlife Industry: Imagine a party where lineups are crowdsourced. Amid concerns of corporations diluting the ethos of underground movements, Decentralized Autonomous Organisations aim to give artists and nightlife audiences control over their culture. But just how feasible is that? Nyshka Chandran for Resident Advisor. Here.
Kode9 is crafting sci-fi sonics for an independent Scotland: Escapology is the soundtrack to sonic-fiction work Astro-Darien – and the Hyperdub label head’s first album since 2015. Günseli Yalcinkaya for Dazed. Here.
Prodigious Techniques and Self-Work: Lil Silva Has Been On A Creative, Spiritual Journey: On Lil Silva's debut album, he takes a conscious, confident step into new territory. He speaks to Marcus Barnes for Mixmag about the process of vulnerability, faith and self-improvement that paved the way. Here.
Permanent Rotation - Barbie Bertisch: Permanent Rotation is a new series in which producers, DJs, and musicians go deep on the albums that have inspired them. Annabel Ross speaks with Barbie Bertisch for The Vinyl Factory. Here.
How to Make a Watch - Part One & Two: Bandcamp Daily’s Mariana Timony went on tour with the Los Angeles-based super DIY indie band Dummy and wrote a huge, sprawling two-part missive about everything that happened. More of this, please. Here and here.
Tatsuro Yamashita, Softly: At 69, the Japanese singer-songwriter and city-pop icon is still working in pursuit of the perfect pop song. Joshua Minsoo Kim on Tatsuro Yamashita for Pitchfork. Here.
WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO:
Elegant UK street soul/swingbeat from the late eighties London scene. Dazzle, the duo of twin sisters Paulette & Claudette Patterson, formed in 1985 out of the ashes of the Lovers Rock group Prediction. After signing to Jam Today Records, they released two albums, Soul Sisters and On Second Thoughts, and toured throughout the UK. Sadly, on June 15, 2007, Paulette Patterson passed away. However, thanks to this Bandcamp upload, we can still spend time with the magic she summoned up with her sister.
With his third album in five years, aptly titled Third, Jitwam, the man from everywhere and nowhere, delivers a rich melange of soul, disco-funk, rock’n’roll, bossa nova, jazz and electronica. Third was inspired by the diversity of music experiences Jitwam has had while living in London and New York, but it also pays homage to his experiences in Australia, India and the broader South Asian region. When you drill down on it, he’s really just trying to show you we’re all more connected than we often realise. It’s a beautiful thing, and the songs are so so catchy. BONUS: I’ve got a story on him going live on Mixmag this week.
NTS - Soup To Nuts w/ Scratcha & Donae’o: Man like Scratcha returns to the NTS Friday Soup To Nuts timeslot with a mix of disco, RnB and UK funky tunes from the likes of The Bee Gees, Dru Hill, Kyla, Shockazulu, Lil Silva, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Kyle Hall etc. He also has the legend Donae’o drop through for a hang. Good, fun times. Here.
Wait… Skepta, Novelist, A$AP Rocky and Dean Blunt cliquing up for a track called ‘London Tonight Freestyle’? Sign me up. Unsurprisingly, Blunt produced the beat as well.
FIN.