Snarky Puppy is a conglomeration of Grammy-winning musicians that brings vigour, life and dynamism to jazz-fusion, writes GARY STEEL
Albums
From Trash To Treasure: A Guitar CD’s Odyssey
RICHARD VAREY finds genuine musical gems amongst the trash in opshops, and even tracks down the obscure artist behind one such discovery. Sandwiched between hundreds of dusty Kamahl and Nana Mouskouri CDs in opshops and second-hand stores around New Zealand there are genuine forgotten treasures to be found. It takes […]
Liam Finn – Fomo (Liberation) Album Review
It’s certainly not Betchadupa. Liam Finn has grown up a lot in the few years between the partying-in-Daddy’s-toolbox schizophrenia of his first solo album, and this much more assured second effort. The trouble is, like so many artists from his generation, the music sounds like it’s desperately trying to escape […]
The Gordons/Fetus Productions Album Reviews
BLAST FROM THE ARSE – 1982: Fetus Productions/The Gordons Originally printed in IT magazine, April 1982: Fetus Productions – Fetus Productions (no label) This oddity, out of the blue, is heady, heavy stuff. It’s the sort of album that occasionally springs up from nowhere and really turns your head around. […]
Beat Rhythm Fashion: The Wicked Witchdoctor Q&A
Reactivated semi-mythical Wellington post-punk band Beat Rhythm Fashion return to their homeland for the first time in nearly 40 years this month for a precious few live appearances on the back of their highly praised album, Tenterhook. GARY STEEL, who was there the first time round, conducts a poignant Q&A with the trio’s main writer/singer/player, Nino Birch.
The Best Year Ever For Music? 1979 Of Course!
In 40 YEARS IN 52 WEEKS, GARY STEEL trawls through his archives to celebrate a lifetime of writing about modern music, and pens some new perspectives to mark the occasion. The subject of today’s piece: 1979.
Lots And Lots Of Albums
GARY STEEL stole a dead man’s job and kept doing it for 19 long years.
The Great Witchdoctor Blindfold Test – TOM BAILEY
In Witchdoctor’s famous BLINDFOLD TEST, we invite a musician into an audiophile sound lounge and play them a provocative record selection. This week, former Thompson Twins and sometime International Observer TOM BAILEY is put to the test at Auckland’s Audio Reference showroom. GARY STEEL is the DJ selector.