"Documentary on Wellington Jjzz scene featuring Jonathan Crayford, Anthony Donaldson, Leila Adu, Lucien Johnson and Jeff Henderson. Directed by Simone Audissou during the 2004 Jazz Festival in Wellington, which was curated by Anthony Donaldson. All about the joy of group improvisation, which persists in Wellington to this day."
Saturday, July 12, 2025
Thursday, June 19, 2025
New video from Crystal Chen
Cool new video from local soul singer Crystal Chen for her recent single Kiss it better, album out later this year.
Pre-order Limited Edition Vinyl of Crystal Chen's debut album "You Can Call Me CC" from 28.06.2025 on https://crystal-chen.comWednesday, June 04, 2025
Chinatown punk wars doco
Watched this cool doco on the rise of LA punk bands playing in Chinese restaurants, once all the regular venues had banned them. Wild.
"In the late 1970s, two Chinese restaurants became the unlikely epicenter of L.A.’s burgeoning punk scene. The emerging music form featured fast-paced songs and hard-edged melodies with anti-capitalist messaging. As told through interviews with John Doe (X), Alice Bag (The Bags), Keith Morris (Circle Jerks, Black Flag, OFF!), and Martin Wong (Save Music in Chinatown), and featuring music from current performers such as The Linda Lindas and more."
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
Unzipped - Prime Sex original soundtrack from 1992
Unzipped - Prime Sex was a NZ TV documentary that decided to get some fresh local talent to record some originals to use. Ive digitised my CD copy and made a wee playlist.
The lineup featured Supergroove in the same year they released their debut single, Shihad before they had made their first album, Ngaire, These Wilding Ways (ex Screaming Meemees) and a wicked hiphop crew from Wellington called Rough Opinion. Rappers were K.O.S. 163, who later helmed Footsouljahs, and RIQ, who changed his name to The Field Style Orator, then Tha Feelstyle.
This track is their only released recording, but they toured with Supergroove and made their name known on the live front. I remember them opening a few times for my band Hallelujah Picassos, and absolutely ripping up there stage. They were awesome and hard as hell.
Monday, May 12, 2025
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Sly and the Family Stone album cuts mixtape
You know all of Sly and the Family Stone's big hits, they are timeless classics. Their albums also offer up a magnificently groovy deep dive into what it is to be funky. I have been thinking about doing this mix for a while - I've remember picking up 5 of their albums on CD plus their Greatest Hits from Borders Books back in the late 90s when Borders arrived here in New Zealand, think they were all like $10 each, absolute bargain.
Much respect to Sly Stone. Go watch Questlove's amazing doco on Sly Stone. Here's some background on it from one of the producers, Joseph Patel.
Oskar left his native Denmark at 18, landing in New York to make it big, with his harmonica in his pocket. Following his success with War (out in LA), he later developed his own line of harmonicas.
My copy of Lee Oskar's debut album has still got the price sticker on it from the record store I got it from, Open Mind Music in San Francisco, a store Cian worked in when he lived there in the early 2000s.
Thursday, April 24, 2025
Bill's Records (short documentary)
This is a lovely watch... "74 year old Bill Wisener had owned Bills Records in Dallas, Texas for 46 years. His shop was once the largest independent record store in the country.
Director Chuck Przybyl and his crew had filmed with Bill from 2014 to 2019. This short film was created from 2015 to 2017. Bill passed away in January of 2020 as we were filming the yet to be released documentary Love and Records about Bill, his life and his legacy. Featuring music by the band Michelles, from the album Dark as a Daisy.
Monday, April 14, 2025
New tunes from Pains People
Some beautiful, bleepy, bouncy electronic from Pains People, take a listen.
Friday, April 11, 2025
New Dub Asylum EP out now
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Latest single from Brenda (aka Hudson Whitlock of Surprise Chef, Karate Boogaloo)
"College Of Knowledge Records present new signing Brenda, making their College Of Knowledge debut with two heartbreaking sweet soul ballads ‘Where Did I Go Wrong?’ and ‘Family’.
Brenda is the solo project of prolific drummer / multi-instrumentalist Hudson Whitlock. Known for his indefatigable creative output across multitudinous projects including Surprise Chef, Karate Boogaloo, The Pro-Teens and The Cactus Channel, Whitlock uses the Brenda moniker for his vocal music; as Brenda, Whitlock emerges as singer, in addition to composer, arranger and drummer.
Brenda encompasses the left-field soul sensibilities for which Whitlock has come to be recognised and revered, alongside heartfelt, introspective lyricism delivered in a sincere, delicate falsetto. Stylistically, lines can be drawn to the 1960s sweet soul ballads of The Delfonics, Jean-Claude Vannier’s vivid arrangements for Serge Gainsbourg, and, of course, the unmistakable flavour of Melbourne’s cinematic soul movement à la other Whitlock exploits Surprise Chef and Karate Boogaloo.
True to his modest vagabond nature, Whitlock has released SIX Brenda albums to date, each uploaded exclusively to Bandcamp, gladly resigning the music to the underground. These albums display Whitlock’s indefatigable creativity; he creates every component of the project in total independence, playing every instrument, carrying recording and mixing duties and creating the artwork.
In this new material, Whitlock relinquishes the isolationism of previous works in favour of including his trusted inner circle of friends and collaborators: Surprise Chef’s Lachlan Stuckey and Jethro Curtin on guitar and keyboard respectively, Karate Boogaloo’s Darvid Thor on bass, and production from Henry Jenkins (Surprise Chef, Karate Boogaloo, Frollen Music Library).
‘Where Did I Go Wrong’ and ‘Family’ are the first of many tunes from Brenda to come in 2025.
Out on 7" vinyl/digital on 2 May 2025.