Weekend Beats + Pieces, September 2023

Some reading and listening tips + general odds and ends

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:

Last year, I helped out with some research and interview work around Soundway Records reissue of Richard Sales and Jay Yarnall’s rare 1980s drum machine, synthesiser and prog guitar album, Circus Underwater. I think the way I’d like to describe this one is proto-rhythmic-ambient. Anyway, it’s finally on sale now. You can check it out below.

Later today, I’ll be DJing on Radio Active 88.6 FM in Wellington. By later, I mean 1-4 pm New Zealand time. Expect some slow sounds for rainy days. If you want to stream online, head over to www.radioactive.fm.

MISC:

Over the last couple of years, early dubstep producer/DJ Paul Rose aka Scuba has been hosting a pretty great conversation podcast called Not A Diving Podcast. I’ve been listening to it lately and have really enjoyed his interviews with Krust, Matthew Dear, Chloé Thévenin and a bunch of other figures from the cross-genre UK, European and US underground. Paul has that insider thing going on, where these people mostly seem to have played DJ gigs with him or hung out before, so they open up in ways they might not during a normal interview. Check it out here.

DJ ANDY HEARTTHROB’S CANCER TREATMENT:

Two weeks ago, Auckland, New Zealand’s DJ Andy Heartthrob was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic bowel cancer which had spread to her liver, lymph nodes and lungs. Her oncologist recommended urgent chemotherapy due to the cancer’s aggressive nature she might not survive more than two weeks.

Andy has had a first round of funded chemotherapy. She will require other cancer treatments not funded by Pharmac (immunotherapy drugs Avastin or Erbitux dependent on liver biopsy results), the cost for 12 months of unfunded treatment is up to $263,000.

Contributions will go towards 12-months unfunded immunotherapy, alternative cancer therapies and caring for Ruuru, her 5-month old daughter. If you’d like to contribute to her fundraiser, head over here.

WHAT I’VE BEEN READING:

What’s in Your Pockets? For the past five hundred years, their evolution has reflected attitudes about privacy and decorum, gender and power, and what it means to be cool. For The New Yorker, Hua Hsu. Read here.

Re:Discovery - Sisters Underground, In The Neighbourhood: After I first heard “In the Neighbourhood” by Sisters Underground, there was no doubt that further digging had to be done. It was a track that got everyone moving, a definite party-starter with the feel of an old-school hip-hop anthem. For Wax Poetics, Maeve Hannigan. Read here.

DJ Vishal Vasan produces vinyl record in homage to Swedish star Freddie Cruger: For Viva, Karl Puschmann on how a new vinyl release and a sudden passing link a previously defunct Kiwi record label, a famed Swedish producer and Wellington’s influential music scene of the 2000s. Read here.

What is the future of sampling? Sampling has been a central pillar of music production in the 30-odd years since MPCs hit the shelves, crucial to the development of hip-hop, breakbeat, house, jungle, and countless splinter styles across the dance spectrum. In the decades since, ever-shifting technology has slowly vaporised the analogue world that sampling was built from. Here, for DJ Mag Chal Ravens asks: how is the culture of sampling evolving? Read here.

Inside the Unmistakable Madness of Milwaukee’s Rap Scene: In Wisconsin, an overlooked rap community is trying to navigate big dreams and harsh realities. For Pitchfork, Alphonse Pierre. Read here.

Jlin - Composing on a Bare Canvas: Over the past decade, the Indiana-based artist's music has slipped further away from her knotty footwork origins into the world of experimental composition. Earlier this year, she became a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a new success in her creative arc. For Resident Advisor, Kiana Mickles. Read here.

WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO:

Citing Joni Mitchell and Frank Zappa, 90's R&B and Madlib’s Shades Of Blue album as a set of influences is a bit of a tightrope act, but if you’re South East London-based Norwegian-Filipino multimedia artist Andrea Isabelle Phillips aka And Is Phi, it’s just another day at the circus. Written by Phi and co-produced with Fiona Roberts and Lorenz Okello over nine months, Double Pink is a soothing concoction of syncopated rhythms, lushly layered vocals, acoustic instrumentation and delicate, wonky electronics. In her words, “The album explores metamorphosis, liminal spaces, and the multiple faces of love.” This one is well-worth a spin or ten.

The great Laurel Halo, one of the truly generational composer, DJ and producer talents of now, has just released her latest album Atlas through her AWE record label. I figure I’ve been following Laurel’s career for over a decade now. During that time, she’s released moment-defining records through crucial labels such as RVNG INTL, Hippos In Tanks, Hyperdub, Honest Jon's Records, always evolving and progressing with every release.

With Laurel, sometimes we get something rhythmic and club-tempo, other times, we get something more environmental. She’s described Atlas as “a suite of sensual ambient jazz collages, designed to take the listener on a road trip through the subconscious,” so yeah, it would make a great alternative soundtrack to that classic haunted adventure video game Myst. At the core, part of what is going on here is an exploration of what happens when you blend the synthetic with the acoustic, electronic ambient and live jazz instrumentation, shuffling and folding into an eternal fog of the mind. It’s a nice place to spend some time.

Laidback, fun-times nature raps from Iti Bubbas, the multimedia trio project of vocalist/lyricist MĀ, DJ/Producer WYNONA and videographer TAMA. This one is low-key but a lot of fun, and they’ve created loads of visual content to accompany it, which you can watch here.

FIN.