King Sunny Ade - 'Brilliant Paradise-Garage-if-it-had-a-Nigerian-branch funkiness'

Via Awesome Tapes from Africa... a cool YouTube playlist of an album by the King... "While I did not purchase this tape in Africa, it is certainly one of the most awesome tapes from Africa. King Sunny Adé, along with Fela Kuti, was a central player in bringing African pop music to the world. 

Is a major international release a strange choice for my usual showcase of rarities/oddities? This record combines the new and novel studio technologies (for 1983-84), like drum machines and synths, with traditional talking drums and good ol’ electric guitars, resulting in brilliant Paradise-Garage-if-it-had-a-Nigerian-branch funkiness. 

So many styles of African music have been enhanced by electronic instruments over the years, but few have risen to such sublime heights. I mean, juju music (of which Adé is considered one of the key pillars) gets pretty repetitive. 

I say if you’ve heard six juju records, you’ve heard them all. Aura, then, distinctly stands out. Fans of electro, techno and the like will find this cassette particuarly fascinating. While not a commercial smash, Aura is one of my all time favorite recordings from Nigeria. Buy this record somewhere. I found a clean copy on vinyl in Denver the other day for $3."

Here's King Sunny Ade live in 1983, what a great band...

plus here's an amazing dub version of that song, remixed by Paul Groucho Smykle, who worked with Sly and Robbie, Black Uhuru, Ini Kamoze amongst others...  Smykle was interviewed by David Katz in 2013, here's what he had to say about this remix...

Your King Sunny Ade remix is probably the first instance of African music being given the dub treatment.

I did a dub of “Ja Funmi” that everybody really liked, and I have some other dubs at home somewhere that I did for myself. With “Ja Funmi,” I listened to the tune and liked the tune, and just tried to get a different vibe on it.

You remixed records by other African artists in the 1980s, including Wally Badarou from the Compass Point All Stars.

"Oh yeah, “Chief Inspector.” I did that like a go-go tune, cause I was in Washington DC for a while, working with Trouble Funk. I liked DC at that time, even though it was the murder capital of the world, because in the clubs, it’s all live bands and no DJs: E.U., Trouble Funk, Chuck Brown, everybody’s playing live music and there’s people dancing to that. 

"So I came back, heard Wally Badarou’s tune, and they wanted a remix on it; a guy in New York said, “Groucho, do what you feel to do,” so when I said I was going to do a go-go tune, the English people said, “No, we just want it straight, as it is, a nice mix.” So I gave them their version, and then I did a go-go version, added percussions and everything, and when I sent it to New York, everybody knew: “This is the lick.”

Did you ever work at Compass Point?

"Yeah. I did some stuff with Larry Levan and Francois K in the ’80s. Very nice studio."

New Dub Asylum EP out now

New ep from yours truly. Deep bass kicks and spacey synths to wash out your mind and leave you with space. Or in space. Take your pick. Whatever works for you.

Pitch Black remixed by On-U Sound's Adrian Sherwood

Pitch Black's Mike Hodgson has been around the periphery of legendary reggae label On-U Sound for a little while now, so this news is very cool...  

I remember Mike telling me once about how when he lived in Christchurch in the late 1980s, every time his local record store got the latest On-U record release, he used to have to race into town because he had to beat Andrew Penman of Salmonella Dub in to get his hands on it. 

"They say you should never meet your heroes, but for Mike Hodgson of Pitch Black, meeting the legendary Adrian Sherwood has been a transformative experience, leading to creative collaborations that have benefited both of them.

Nearly 30 years after first being mesmerised by OnU Sound’s releases, a cheeky bit of radio ripping serendipitously led to Mike helping Pats Dokter, the label’s official archivist, with his work restoring master tapes, and eventually to him creating visual content for Adrian’s live shows.

A while after this collaboration began, Adrian offered to remix some of Mike’s music, either by his solo project Misled Convoy or his work as Pitch Black, and it’s four cuts by the latter that grace this heavyweight platter.

From the dreamy dub of Transient Transmission to the rolling rhythms of A Doubtful Sound, Pitch Black’s originals have been re-arranged and dubbed to $%># in Adrian’s signature style, with fluid melodies, pounding basslines and vocal samples awash in a wall of effects.

Trumpets by David “Ital Horns” Fullwood bookend the release, haunting in the first track and celebratory in the last, while Doug Wimbish (Tackhead) added an extra bassline to the heaving version of 1000 Mile Drift, which also features the voice of the iconic Lee “Scratch” Perry.

Reflecting on the collaboration, Mike Hodgson says, “the whole experience has been slightly unreal, from working on Adrian’s videos to being in the OnU studio and watching him dub-mixing the tracks I’ve made, something I could never have imagined happening!”

Mike isn’t the only OnU fan in Pitch Black, as a pivotal moment for Paddy was “watching Adrian mixing Tack>head at the Powerstation in 1995 and seeing the cause-and-effect of what he was doing and hearing the unbelievable sounds coming out of the speakers. It was the first time I’d ever seen somebody dub mix like that.”  Out Sept 6, 2024, digital and 10" vinyl 

Dr Tree: amazing NZ 70s jazz funk gets LP reissue

Dr Tree only made one album but it's a hell of a groover. My big fave is Eugino D, which has a drum break with steel drums that just KILLS. It's getting a vinyl reissue, after being restored and remastered at Abbey Rd with extra bonus tracks added. Out October 4, 2024 on WallenBink.

Formed in the early 1970s by Frank Gibson (drums) and Murray McNabb (keyboards), wth Kim Paterson (trumpet), Bob Jackson (bass), Martin Winch (guitar), and John Banks on percussion, with guest Colin Hemmingsen on soprano saxophone. 

Murray McNabb talked about how the group came together to NZ Musician's Trevor Reekie in 2013:

Murray McNabb: "Dr Tree started because I got hold of a record called The Mahavishnu Orchestra, The Inner Mounting Flame [1971]. The story’s been told many times. I played a track to Frank and he said, “You’ve got it on the wrong speed, you’ve got it on 45,” and I said, “Nah, it’s 33″ – and he couldn’t believe how fast Billy Cobham was playing. Anyway, I said, “That’s what we’re going to do, okay?” and, it went from there.

We did a few concerts and some very firey music came out of that, we were very much an energy band. We did our own things and a few covers of what was then new in the jazz-fusion idiom and just progressed until we conned EMI into making a record. We recorded the whole thing in about three days with Julian Lee and Alan Galbraith as producers.

That seemed to be quite successful that year, possibly because there were no outstanding rock bands that year. We won a couple of awards, Record of the Year and Fastest Rising Group. Not long after that people started moving in different directions so that was the end of Dr Tree.

They re-released it in 2007 [on CD for the first time], buggered if I know why. I certainly never made any money out of Dr Tree, apart from selling one of my songs to TVNZ for a current affairs programme. I got $200 for the music, that’s the only accounting of any sort I’ve ever seen from Dr Tree. I suppose someone must’ve made some money somewhere but I don’t believe anyone in the band did.

It was basically as always with jazz in this country, it’s not about the money it’s about playing the music and getting it out there so someone else might hear it and like it. You just keep doing what youre doing and you dont expect anything. It was good fun and a high energy band – that was the main thing about our music, we always played high energy music."

Local jazz historian Aleisha Ward notes that the album was done at RNZ's studio in Auckland, over three Sunday mornings. "The best way to describe Dr Tree is ‘space jazz’. It fits well into that slightly out there 1970s experimentalist jazz fusion ... Dr Tree is a very easy and fun album to listen to. It’s deceptively simple on the surface, with easily followed melodies and riffs, driving rhythms and killer grooves; but repeated listening makes you aware of the subtleness and the complexities involved ... 

"No matter how many times I listen to it it always takes me by surprise at how well it's done, and how effective their supporting melody line is in driving the piece along. There are subtleties like this all over the album- simple (or seemingly so) but so incredibly effective at building on motives.

"Although McNabb wondered at the point of a 30th anniversary reissue of the album in 2007 (as he said in interviews, it’s not like he ever saw any money from it), its availability digitally and on CD meant that it was now available to a new generation of listeners. 

"Reissues are also vitally important for the preservation of New Zealand music because so much from the 1950s through to the 1980s had a small and finite pressing, which means it is very easy for it to completely disappear as people throw out LPs on an alarmingly regular basis. Albums like Dr Tree are important but fragile and ephemeral documents of New Zealand jazz history, which are easily lost."

Graham Reid wrote the liner notes for the 2007 CD reissue, observing "In the early 70s these were mature musicians who had been schooled in jazz and had honed their skills at literally hundreds of gigs, but they were still young enough to be as excited by the possibilities of jazz-rock fusion as their peers and mentors overseas.

"So here were some of New Zealand’s finest jazz musicians (then and now) bringing their collective skills to bear on adventurous music which had listeners and critics alike hailing them.

"In fact, although they seem to be written out of the texts on Kiwi rock history, it is worth being reminded that Dr Tree won two major music industry awards on the release of this album: most promising group and top group performance. And they were both in the “rock” category.

"Of course today we hear more jazz than rock in this music, which is understandable given who is on hand. But through Dr Tree, ventures under their own name or in other groups, these musicians made a contribution to New Zealand music in the 70s that should never be underestimated -- and most are still name-players in the local jazz scene today."

Tracklisting: (side one and two, original album)

Side one: Twilight zone / Vulcan worlds / Transition 

Side two: Eugino D / Affirmation / One for Dianne

Side three: Mood waltz / Affirmation (alt take) / The drum

Side four: Eugino D (alt take) /Fourth world / Wildlife

Preorder at Flying Out Records

More - Album deep dives: Dr Tree, by Aliesha Ward (2019)

Future Jaw-Clap: Book on Wgtn jazzers out Nov 7

"Future Jaw-Clap tells the story of a highly influential movement in New Zealand music: the self-made musicians of pioneering free jazz ensemble Primitive Art Group, who carved out their own radical musical language in the cold, hard reality of 1980s Wellington, and have gone on to richly diverse careers in music.

From their beginnings as ‘the punks of jazz’ in small clubs and the anti-nuclear and anti-apartheid protests of the early 1980s, through the heyday of the Braille Collective's many colourful groups, self-released records and intersections with dance, theatre and visual arts, to the Six Volts providing music for the iconic album Songs From the Front Lawn, and beyond, these musicians and the many others they have drawn into their orbit have done much to shape the music of Aotearoa.

Based on a deep oral history project and extensive archival research by Daniel Beban (Orchestra of Spheres), and vividly illustrated with photographs and other items, Future Jaw-Clap is a portal into an extraordinary musical world, and a celebration of a vibrant living tradition."

Cover photo: Primitive Art Group, c. 1983, clockwise from bottom: Stuart Porter, David Donaldson, David Watson, Neill Duncan, Anthony Donaldson. Stuart Porter collection (missing -  the other key member of Braille Collective, Janet Roddick, a member of Four Volts, Six Volts, Brainchilds, Jungle Suite). Cover design: Carla Schollum.

Preorder Future Jaw Clap from Fying Out (released Nov 7 2024)

Watch: The trouble with music (1985)

A short film by Martin Long about the Wellington music scene based around the Braille Collective. Shot in 1985.

Features The Primitive Art Group – Anthony Donaldson, Stuart Porter, Neill Duncan, David Donaldson, David Watson. 

Jungle Suite – Janet Roddick, David Long, Neill Duncan. 

Family Mallet – Gerard Crewdson, Stuart Porter, Anthony Donaldson 

Three Volts – Peter Daly. Anthony Donaldson, David Donaldson

BABON 7" debut on Batov Records

Great fruity bizz, out Aug 23 2024 on 7"/digital: "On their debut 45 for Batov Records, Indonesia-based BABON deliver two irresistible jams, cooked from a recipe full of Indonesian flavours, Afro Latin funk, Morricone grooves, Bollywood breaks and blues, they call “Tropical Desert Music”. A must-hear for fans of Surprise Chef, Khruangbin, or Sababa 5.

Drummer Wahyudi T. Raupp and multi-instrumentalist Rayi Raditia, friends since high school in Jakarta, via university life in Melbourne, formed BABON in 2023 to address environmental issues through instrumental music, thus combining two mutual passions.

Working in their home studio free of time restraints, Babon developed their “Tropical Desert Music’’ sound, mixing the energy and influences of Melbourne’s vibrant music scene, with traditional Indonesian forms, from the pulsating rhythms of dangdut, and gamelan, the ritualistic percussion ensemble music native to Java and Bali, to keroncong, a popular and melodic folk style; while addressing environmental concerns and societal complexities, such as the impact of ruthless exploitation on tropical regions."

DJ DLT interview By Leon Witehira (2016)

QUESTIONS & AYEBRO: DJ DLT interview By Leon Witehira

Published On November 28, 2016 Ayebro blog (now defunct)

AYEBRO had a convo of sorts with a living pioneer of the homegrown scene, Darryl Thomson AKA DJ DLT. Read up on his personal views about Hip Hop and its inception here in New Zealand to where he believes its headed with a few notable fillers and to-be schooled up parts in-between to keep us all informed – Nga mihi to th’native for his contribution, kia ora

Describe the Maori people of Aotearoa [New Zealand] pre-Hip Hop?

First of all let me say everything I’m about to say is from my perspective only – I do not and can not speak on behalf of anyone else.

I was a second generation urbanised Maori. Maori are into everything, there are Maori folksingers, Maori country and western singers and at that time lots of Maori showbands. It was only natural that Maori embraced Hip Hop with such vigour. Maori pre-Hip Hop were a labour force as the system did not consider us worthy of the higher end of the societal spectrum. Whenever Maori had dreams of achieving high we were simply knocked back to the back of the classroom by the system ie; considered sub-human.

Maori were great at sports, really strong and willing to give everything a try – we call it haututu. Following on from the civil-rights movement in America, Maori were influenced enough to create groups including Te Ahi Kaa, Polynesian Panthers and Black Power – these groups influenced a percentage of the people. We actually drew our influence from our ancestors such as Te Kooti Rikirangi, Hone Heke, Te Rauparaha, Tetokowaru, Te Whiti and Rongomaiwahine etc…

In the early 70’s, I was a child, I lived for being with my family, swimming, staying up late – the usual things young children do – like wanting to be an astronaut, a pilot or driving a fire engine.

What are your first accounts of exposure to Hip Hop?

The date is 1977, I was 11 years old, I attended a disco at the Scouts Hall on a Friday night with my older cousins. We danced to classic disco and funk songs of the era, The Silvers, The Commodores, The Jacksons, Earth, Wind and Fire and Heatwave and of course the sound track to the Car Wash movie. That night, the DJ played Flashlight by Parliament and my body movements changed to this song. To me, this is when I first met Hip Hop – I became a robot on the dancefloor.

Another introduction was through local basketball teams and their tracksuits and basketball shoes because I came from the hood, leather shoes and slacks were not an option so by the early 80’s when I saw Hip Hop in effect I knew I was already there such as the scene out of Flash Dance when the Rock Steady Crew get two minutes of fame and also Malcolm McLaren’s Buffalo Girls’ Video.

I first met grafitti in 1979 after seeing the Warriors movie – I didn’t pick up the can for another three years but when I did I remembered the film and made the connection. One night on television in NZ, they played the Style Wars documentary and the next day NZ grafitti was born. There was 100’s of us overnight. I met dj-ing at the roller-skating rinks of Napier in the late 70’s – even though the djs were white and playing white rock and roll, the sound of loud bass and mobile dj units resonated with me.

I moved to Wellington in the summer of 1983 where I met Dean and Matthew Hapeta and Wikingi Hori and we started the Juice Groove Breakers Crew – this was the core that was to become the Upper Hutt Posse. We were not the only crew, I know of at least 10 other crews that were in the greater Wellington region at this time.

Who inspired you from the very beginnings of Hip Hop and why?

In the very beginnings of Hip Hop we were inspired by Planet Rock. In the late 70’s my mother brought home a Kraftwerk album. When I heard Planet Rock I knew the sound already and was freaked by the familiarity of the sample – it buzzed me out that I recognised it from another time. Then came the Electros, they were a bunch of compilation albums – these records fed us through our breakdancing times. At the same time, we were listening to Curtis Blow, Cold Crush and Grandmaster Flash. The latter in particular was to become very influential as it introduced us to the struggle. The message rocked my world because it showed us that the struggle (oppression, colonialism, racism) was universal, the same but different.

Already being heavily influenced by reggae music and the injustices against indigenous people it was a perfect match that raggamuffin hiphop would speak to us in volumes with such artists as Brother D, Asher D and Daddy Freddy and on to KRS1 and Boogie Down Productions. Raggamuffin Hip Hop was the perfect blend of two genres that suited my feelings. I believed Bob Marley was a Maori from the Coast so we grew our dreads and we adopted some of the life-style values of the Rastas. The message by Flash and the Five resonated deeply with Maori people of my generation.

How important was the Patea Maori Club – Poi E record?

It wasn’t. We were too busy running the streets at night, to be thinking about kapa haka. In saying this the Poi E video featured one of our brothers from our world popping and locking which gave props to our world ie; Maori Hip Hop was on video – Kia Ora Dalvanius. After seeing the documentary on Poi E, I have a greater appreciation of what Dalvanius was doing ie; spacey sounds, in retrospect we were on the same tip.

Where and when did Upper Hutt Posse (UHP) come together?

The Upper Hutt Posse was created in the garage at Dean and Matthew Hapeta’s house in Upper Hutt. A group of us who regularly hung out together literally started banging on pots and pans, we put a blanket over the JVC beatbox and started recording our jams. The UHP began its life as a reggae band – a mentor and a friend from Upper Hutt who helped us maintain our instruments gave us a drum machine and the rap group the Upper Hutt Posse was born. We wrote a song called Hard Core Hip Hop as well as E Tu and No Worries in the Party Tonight and we also did a cover of Boogie Down Productions 9 millimetre. We performed in 1987 at the Cricketer’s Arms Hotel in Wellingotn and never looked back.

How much influence did Hip Hop have on Maori culture or vice versa?

When you’re 17 years old you are just trying to get shit off your chest, you are not trying to save the nation but as we studied the lyrics of rap songs we began to work it out so we re-educated or defragged ourselves into real history. We read books such as the auto-biography of Malcolm x, Soul on Ice by Elridge Cleaver, Cease the Time by Huey P Newton, Martin Luther King’s book, Ghandi as well as great books from Aotearoa including, Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou, Pakeha Maori, books on Hongi Hika, Te Kooti, Parihaka.

We felt no reason to imitate the closest thing we got to imitating was that E Tu was our version to Our Message. We were influenced by Hip Hop but we didn’t want to be black people – we took the metaphor of it. It seemed to us that a lot of our friends and neighbours of the time were ignorant of the truth, that’s how colonised our people were and it frustrated us hence using the vehicle of rap to re-educate and challenge the colonial mindset. In our quest to free ourselves, we showed others around us there was another way.

What was the drive behind forming Dam Native?

Native Bass/ The Dam Natives was formed using the same model as the Posse but in Auckland. When I moved to Auckland, I found that Maori were third rate, gun shy – not all, but lots, so I gathered a crew of guys who were in my immediate vacinity and created a crew. Most of them were talented musicians but with no outlet. Dam Native became popular due to live instruments with rapping – good drums, killer bass and rock guitars with scratching and rapping. We looked good visually (we filled the stage as opposed to a guy with a microphone and a guy with turntables) the general public at the time seemed to respect instruments more than just beats and rhymes. 

We built a big following and had the opportunity to influence another generation of polynesian kids coming up. Highlights include packing out nightclubs and making non Hip Hop people get down. A bunch of festivals all around the country making the Hip Hop people and non Hip Hop people jam together to the same shit which was not an easy task in 1993 Auckland. A highlight for Natives was no compromise in everything, we wrote songs about tino rangatiratanga and we wore our normal clothing, our everyday look was our thing – poor brown funky and hungry – this was pre Wu Tang Clan.

Why do you think Hip Hop resonated with Maori and Polynesians alike?

Maori are Polynesian – there’s the answer right there, it brought us together after being divided and conquered we became one – a skilled based society which included non-polynesians.

Which direction is Maori Hip Hop headed in and who are the keepers of today?

Hip Hop does not discriminate; there is Polynesian cheesy rap, there is native language rap, there is gangster rap – the great wheel keeps on turning. I love it all – there’s a very thin line between being influenced astounded, believe it or not I even enjoy mumble rap lol. What I have enjoyed seeing develop recently is kapa haka and hip hop – it is the inevitable that these two shall meet and influence generations to come.

Any final thoughts in closing?

All goods

Teremoana Rapley to be honoured with PMA's Lifetime Achievement Award

 

The Pacific Music Awards Press Release, 19 August 2024.

"The Pacific Music Awards is thrilled to announce this year’s Ministry for Pacific Peoples Lifetime Achievement Award recipient is Teremoana Rapley. Originally from Upper Hutt, Teremoana Rapley is an Auckland-based singer and songwriter whose music fuses reggae and rap – a trailblazing artist whose extraordinary contributions to Pacific music and culture in New Zealand have left an indelible mark on the industry.

Of Kiribati, Aitutaki, Rarotonga, Mangaia and Jamaican heritage, Teremoana Rapley – also known as Tere Veronica Rapley MNZM – has been a powerful force in the New Zealand music scene for over three decades.

Known for her self-identification as a Black Moana Sovereign Storyteller, Teremoana’s influence spans multiple roles as a Hip Hop artist, musician, television presenter, and producer. Her dynamic career has included significant contributions to iconic groups like Upper Hutt Posse and Moana and the Moahunters during the 1990s, where she was celebrated for her impactful rhymes and vocals.

In 1987, at the age of 14, Teremoana joined Upper Hutt Posse, becoming the only local-born female rapper in Aotearoa at the time. The group’s music, which fuses reggae and rap, significantly shaped her political consciousness. By age 15, she was one of our foremost female rappers.

Later, she joined Moana and the Moahunters, with whom she won her first NZ Music Award. In 1995, Teremoana embarked on a solo career, performing around the globe.

Teremoana’s career extends beyond music. She has interviewed musicians for the magazine Selector and worked extensively in television, co-hosting the youth show Mai Time and directing for Maori Television. She has simultaneously spent over 25 years producing both mainstream and indigenous television content; managed international and domestic entertainment tours; set up and operated a family screen-printing business; designed and delivered social change initiatives for both local and central government and, after raising her four sons, continues a 30+ year musical journey with her highly anticipated debut trilogy album, Daughter of a Housegirl, Cleaning House, and Daily Incantations.

In recognition of her services to music and television, Teremoana was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours. Her accolades further include being inducted into the Aotearoa Music Hall of Fame and receiving the Legacy Award with Upper Hutt Posse in 2018. Additionally, she has twice been honoured with the Taite Music Prize for classic albums, first with Upper Hutt Posse in 2016 and later with the Moahunters in 2019. In April 2024, she was awarded the Independent Spirit Award.

Teremoana Rapley says, “As a creative I tend to not look back at what I have done. This recognition provides the opportunity to take a moment to appreciate the many people who have allowed me to be a part of their life, I am humbled and grateful.”

Pacific Music Awards Trust spokesperson Rev. Mua Strickson-Pua says “Teremoana Rapley is a true pioneer in Pacific music and culture. A Taonga, a treasure who humbly challenges, inspires and nurtures the spiritual, cultural, and political development of Pasifika people hence all people. Her music is about Alofa Aroha Aloha for our family of humanity our Ngati Human Tribe thus Tu’ufa’atasi Kotahitanga unity and peace.

“Her unwavering commitment to her art and community has made a profound impact, and we are honoured to recognise her contributions with this Lifetime Achievement Award. Her journey is a testament to the power of music and storytelling in shaping and preserving our cultural identity.”

There will be a live tribute for the recipient of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and special performances to honour the 20-year celebration of the awards.

The Pacific Music Awards will take place at the 20th anniversary event on Thursday, August 29th, at the Due Drop Events Centre in Manukau.

The 2024 Pacific Music Awards will be available via live stream on the night, screened by Tagata Pasifika on TP+ (tpplus.co.nz) The Tagata Pasifika highlights show will first screen on TVNZ1 at 9.30 am on Saturday 7 September.

Aotearoa hiphop classic album from Dam Native finally gets a reissue

This is how you do a reissue properly. Release the whole album. Don't do what Sony did with the first two Che Fu albums and leave off tracks to fit it on a vinyl LP. - go look at the tracklisting for the LP of 2B s.Pacific, it's missing the hit single 'Without a doubt'.   

They did the same with the reissue of the first Dimmer album, that's missing a track. And Nathan Haines left off the most well known track Lady J (Video Mix feat Dei Hamo) for his 2019 reissue of Shift Left so it's a partial reissue. The liner notes also suggest its the 25th anniversary edition, except the album came out in April 1995 (although the original CD had 1994 as date).

"Iconic Aotearoa hip-hop pioneers Dam Native have just announced a long-long-long-awaited reissue of their 1997 album Kaupapa Driven Rhymes Uplifted. Unavailable for an eternity, we can finally spin tunes like Behold My Kool Style, The Son with Che Fu, and The Horrified One featuring the boss Teremoana Rapley. Politically charged with rhymes that haven't aged a day, this is the stuff. Don't sleep on this!" Preorders up now at Flying Out. Out Sept 20, 2024 on Tangata.

Flying Out are holding a release day celebration too: "We’re very excited to share that to celebrate the re-release of Kaupapa Driven Rhymes Uplifted, we're hosting a launch event with the one-and-only Hypethenative making a rare appearance to sign some records! Kicks off, with MC Slave on the decks, from 4pm on Friday September 20."


Tracklist:
4 Realms Intro
Behold My Kool Style
Extremities
No Formal Training
Battle Styles
Think About It (Interlude)
Travelling
Rise and Shine (Interlude)
The Horrified One (featuring Teremoana Rapley)
Revolution
4 Realms of Existence
The Son (featuring Che Fu)
K.D.R.U. (Interlude)
Provoke Reactions
4 Realms Outro

Bumpin' Ugly play Palmerston North.

Bumpin' Ugly's Arthur Tauhore (left) and Gerrard Tahu get in the groove at Super Liquor Man.

Found this great photo of Bumpin' Ugly, Arthur went on to front Trasch, who released an album on Wildside Records in 1992 and Gerrard was in Gifted and Brown, Ruaumoko, and others. Arthur passed away in 1993, and Gerrard passed in 2018.

Captivating Show by Bumpin' Ugly : Dynamic Spark of Originality – Manawatū Evening Standard

This image was taken for a story that ran in The Manawatu Evening Standard on 14th March 1990.

"Bumpin' Ugly, Super Liquor Man, Reviewed by Sean O'Connor. 

"Another week and another out-of-town band at Super Liquor Man - good news indeed. Wellingtonians Bumpin' Ugly provided Palmerston North music lovers with a refreshing alternative to the guitar rock usually found at the venue.

Versatility was the key to Bumpin' Ugly's fine performance. This was illustrated immediately by the first song of the night -- a full on funk piece which flowed effortlessly, naturally a quieter jazz feel, thus providing a pleasant juxtaposition. Similar chameleon-like adaptability characterised much of the first set.

The second set leant more toward acid house and rap. The softer moments of the opening set were abandoned in favour of powerhouse dance beats, and the night was completed by a bizarre, hyped up version of Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child (what else?) The ability to switch rapidly between the many styles they have mastered ensured Bumpin' Ugly appealed to a cross-section. Each song was delivered with smooth professionalism of truly international standard, the polish largely due to John McDermott (from the Bilders) undeniably one of the best drummers in the country.

His enormous skill simultaneously provided both a tight, sold rhythmic base and the dynamic spark of originality which made Bumpin' Ugly's performance better than most. Never cliched, never boring, always captivating: McDermott commanded a range of beats which matched the many styles of the group. Add to this the subtle, pleasantly unobtrusive, alternately slapped and running base-lines of Gerrard Tahu and you have an impressive rhythm section. The melodic instruments, guitar (Jeremy Jones) and keyboards (Peter Jamieson), meshed solidly with bass and drums, and added tasteful solos which rarely stooped to indulgent displays of technical virtuosity.

Arthur Tauhore's competent vocals and friendly manner set up a warm rapport with the quietly responsive crowd of around 40. This enthusiastic attitude rubbed off on the audience and created a enjoyable, easy-going atmosphere. Thew sound mix, although a little loud, was about as near perfect as small pub acoustics will allow -- the finishing touch. Overall, Bumpin' Ugly delivered an interesting variety of music which they obviously enjoyed performing.

The band are comparable to almost any commercially accepted dance/funk act, and they certainly have the skill and songs to succeed. With overseas work to follow, will this be another New Zealand success story sadly (through necessity) fulfilled outside of New Zealand?