Fat Freddy's Drop - Dr. Boondigga And The Big BW

Wellington-based 'seven-headed soul monster' Fat Freddy’s Drop are renowned for taking their time to distil onstage jams into meticulously crafted studio creations, and once again that approach has paid off. Dr Boondigga & the Big BW is every bit as good as their last record.

The music is still based firmly in their uniquely sweet, relaxed mix of soul, reggae and jazz, but peppered with diverse new flavours, some obviously picked up on their globetrotting tours. Crucially, none of these novel influences feel like they’ve been forced by fashion, and Fat Freddy's Drop still make music with an unmistakeably South Pacific swing.

With most tracks clocking in at eight or nine minutes, and often traversing several moods, everything is woven into a seamless whole that makes perfect sense as one style flows into another. So it is that The Nod – arguably the album's highlight – somehow incorporates bluesy harmonica, P-funk synth squelches, a rap about food and fishing, and a wonderfully queasy Dixieland jazz cameo, all tied down by a deep, skanking groove.

The epic Shiverman is probably the most radical departure, driven by an organic, dubbed-up house beat, and featuring a fiery performance by lead singer Dallas Tamaira. Big BW airs another new direction, with its trippy broken beat/nu-soul feel rather reminiscent of D'Angelo, while Boondigga is an affectionate homage to producer Willie Mitchell's classic Memphis soul sound, best heard on Al Green's mid-70s albums.

As usual, references to family ties, culinary matters and the sea make up the bulk of the lyrical subjects. And even if Tamaira does rhyme “waters” with “daughters” on the highly aquatic, driving dub of The Raft, the way he chews and savours his words for maximum musicality throughout ensures he's still one of the most soulful singers of his generation.

This is a satisfyingly roosty, late-summer soundtrack, which could make it onto many an end-of-year list.

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Sola Rosa - Get It Together

The fourth full length offering from Sola Rosa retains the slick grooves and stylish tunes that Sola Rosa are renowned for.
Andrew Spraggon takes his musical influences from around the world and it shows on 'Get It Together' - it has something for everyone, fusing many genres including dub, lounge, jazz and soul. Starting off with just himself and a laptop, Sola Rosa has slowly grown to a full live experience that includes musicians Will Scott (drums) Ben White (guitar) and Matt Short (bass) as steady contributors. Guest spots on 'Get It Together' come courtesy of Spikey Tee, Serocee and newcomer Iva Lamkum, who's vocals on 'Turn Around' - the first single - are a highlight of the album and are perfectly suited to the Sola Rosa style.
The aptly named 'Bond Is Back' is indeed the perfect James Bond theme song, bringing to mind images of gun toting tuxedo wearing gentlemen lurking in the shadows.
Sola Rosa have always been adept at putting together a huge number of different instruments, including such diverse instruments as the Timbale, the Conga and the Vibraslap, and making their own uniquely identifiable sound.

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Katchafire - Revival

King Marley descended upon the land of New Zealand only once in 1978, and his righteous delivery and powerful presence at his one-time show forever changed the direction of the Kiwi music scene. His timeless messages perhaps resonated the most with the indigenous people of the land, the displaced and dispirited Maori. Ever since, buoyant reggae has been a staple export of Kiwi culture, defined perhaps best by the surfing town of Hamilton and its offspring, Katchafire. The LP Revival draws heavy influence from Nesta's Kaya and Steel Pulse's Tribute and takes a kaleidoscopic approach to roots. The eight-piece band is driven by the multi-talented songwriters and crooners Logan Bell (guitar) and Jamey Ferguson (keys and saxophone). Both can consistently be counted on for creating a lovers heavy atmosphere with sing-along tunes and bouncy riddims. Revival starts of heavy with the rolling bass lines and key stabs of "Reggae Revival" and "Get Away," slows with the dreamy lovers rock of "Who You With" and "Colour Me Life," then reaches the peak of its majestic powers with the vibraphone-tinged "Collie Herb Man,"' the heavenly "Seriously," and the organ-drenched funk of "Bounce."

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Katchafire - On The Road Again (2010)

After three long years, the much anticipated release On The Road Again from Hawaii's favorite sons of Aotearoa, Katchafire is finally here! New Zealand's premier musical talent and ambassadors of reggae music have been tirelessly touring in Australia, around the Pacific Rim, Hawaii and across the United States to sold out shows. On The Road Again is a collection of songs inspired from Katchafire's life on tour, their many travels and many experiences.

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Tahuna Breaks - Reflections

Since their beginnings in January 2005, Tahuna Breaks have always been a band built upon a simple philosophy- the love of music. With an open mind and an adventurous spirit, unafraid to mix genres and musical stylings- their ‘anything goes’ and sometimes unconventional approach is governed only by two criteria: passion and energy. The lifeblood of this band is live performance and it is from countless live gigs and tours that they have crafted their own brand of roots reggae, funk, soul and good old fashioned rock and roll. Put simply this is a band that thrives on working hard and winning audiences over.

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Tahuna Breaks - Black, Brown And White

I'd be astonished if Tahuna Breaks don't have hugely successful concerts on their current tour, and sell truckloads of this album -- because they tick every stylistic box that New Zealand audiences seem to like: you want James Brown-styled soul-funk (you've got it on Giddy Up which isn't the Katchafire song, and Funky Mama), or you want light lovers rock (here on Only You)?
There is the sentimental ballad to a beautiful daughter, some Commodores-styled funk (We Funk the Party which maybe doesn't sound quite so cool after the Flight of the Conchords) and of course dollops of reggae of various kinds (dub, old school riddums, Marley referenced on Crisis Situation). There is empowerment and sensitivity (Somebody's Daughter), late night soul (Make Out Party which also resorts to some Peter Frampton-like talking keyboards, bound to be a crowd pleaser) and concern for the environment.
This is all beautifully crafted, well written, well played and the production is excellent, thoroughly enjoyable all round in fact.
But I can't help think there is just too much of something-for-everyone here which makes the album as a whole sound calculated.

 

 

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The Black Seeds - On The Sun

Described by Clash Magazine as "one of the best reggae acts on the planet", their legendary 8-piece live show brings the raw energy and good vibes wherever it goes. They have countless sell-out New Zealand and Australasian tours behind them, and regularly perform at many of Europe and North America’s biggest festivals.

 

 

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The Black Seeds - Solid Ground

Listening to the Black Seeds, one could easily mistake the band for a lost product of Clement “Coxsone” Dodd’s Studio One stable of acts from the label’s 1970s heyday. However, these cats ain’t from Jamaica, but rather another mid-sized island surrounded by ocean water, New Zealand, where reggae music is just as beloved and at home amongst the beaches and palm trees of “the other Down Under”. The Seeds are the country’s most renowned representatives of the Kiwi rasta revolution, and the band’s fifth and finest LP, Solid Ground, is a sonic tour de force of heavy dub vibes and feel-good roots-rock melodies flavored with just the right amount of deep Stax-style funk. Never mind the fact its members hail from the same land as the Flight of the Conchords (Bret McKenzie is actually a former member of the Black Seeds) and Flying Nun Records, the Black Seeds have produced a record that harbors some of the most crucial dirt-floor riddims you will hear on any coast

 

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The Black Seeds - Dust And Dirt (New Album)





Dub is essentially a studio phenomenon.

Laden with technology, a generation of Jamaican producers bent and twisted reggae into new shapes, influencing the way music is recorded forever. So why, with new technology at their disposal, are The Black Seeds such a live - in every sense of the word - experience?

The New Zealand group have earned their reputation through travelling the world, working continuously to bring their soulful reggae experience to new audiences. In Europe, The Black Seeds are linked to Germany's Sonar Kollektiv imprint, a relationship which has given them a safe foothold.

Now the band are ready to make a further impression. New album 'Dust & Dirt' finds The Black Seeds matching the energy and improvisational feel of their live sets to the exacting nature of the recording experience.

 

 

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Sounds from New Zeland

The next few posts will be dedicated to some fine tunes coming from New Zeland. Check it out!