Ring The Alarm playlist, August 30

John Davis and the monster orchestra - Love magic
Fantastic four - BYOF
Clarke Duke project - Let's get started
Patrice Rushen - Forget me not
Recloose - Why I otta
James Brown - There was a time - Kenny Dope remix
7 mile per hour band - Playing your game
Clarence Reid - Masterpiece - Kenny Dope edit
Shirley Scott - Messie Bessie
Sonsine - Believ'n
Scientist - Sunshine version
King Everand - Kill ole pan
Conroy Smith - Original sound
Mos dub - History town
Freddie Cruger - Running from love
45nm - Rider
Sola Rosa - Both of us
Heaven 17 - We don't need this fascist groove thang
Talking heads - Psycho killer - Greg Wilson edit
Malcolm X - No sellout
Grand Wizard Theodore - Can I get a soul clapp
Family of percussion and Archie Shepp - Here comes the family
Jackson 5 - Hum along and dance - United future organisation remix
DLT - Liquid skies - Ultra neon mix
Cooly G - Love dub

Mini doco: Funkin for Jamaica (NY)

Diggin' In The Carts trailer

Former Auckland DJ Nick D, now based in Japan, has been working on a very cool project, documenting the people behind the music for classic Japanese video games. Watch the trailer to catch the vibe. 

"For many of us, the music of video games played more in our households growing up than any other form of music. Diggin’ In The Carts is about unearthing the men and women who inspired an entire generation while arguably creating Japan’s biggest musical export to the world.

The series will include six episodes about some of the greatest composers of the 8-bit and 16-bit era of video game music ...

... From the personal studios of these legendary composers, to the concert halls of Japan where symphony orchestras are performing their compositions to sold-out crowds today - the series will document how the music of video games was created, what inspired it, and how it evolved into its own cultural phenomenon."

Watch the first episode on http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com on September 04.

New Shaolin Afronauts album out Sept 8

Shaolin Afronauts Follow The Path Album Trailer from Ross McHenry on Vimeo.

Kerretta new album preview at Brothers Beer tonight

Kerretta have a brand new album on the way, and they are having a listening party this evening at Brothers Beer, on Wellesley st, by Food Truck Garage/Ugly Bagels.

The band say: "The new album 'Pirohia' being played for the first time!  5.30pm-8.00pm THURS 28 AUG, Brothers Beer, Auckland. Free entry, DJ's spinning new album and unique craft beer."

Como Mamas x Menahan St Band 45

From Daptone: "Led by Ester Mae Smith’s unmistakable voice, the Como Mama’s have found their place at the gospel end of the Daptone table alongside a legendary stable of soulful musicians. However, as stirring as their music is, up to now, all of their recordings have been a capella.

With this record they join forces with the boys of the Menahan Street Band (billed pseudonymously here as The Radiant Rhythm Band) to lay bare the funkier side of gospel music. “The rhythms we all play were already right there in their vocals,” explains drummer Homer Steinweiss, “so it felt natural to lay down the grooves behind them.”

Thomas “T-N-T” Brenneck, the up-and-coming producer who brought us both Menahan Street Band and Charles Bradley, presided over the collaboration, which took place in the old Dunham Studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn." 

Listen to both sides of this great slab of groove-driven gospel over here. Vinyl out now, MP3 out Sept 9.

If These Walls Could Talk trailer

Trailer for the mini-documentary series If These Walls Could Talk. Featuring Askew One, Benjamin Work, BMD, Elliot Francis Stewart and Mica Still. Coming in October.

Prince Fatty meets Nostalgia 77 - Seven Nation Army dub

Via TruThoughts: " The worlds of dub and jazz collide when Prince Fatty meets Nostalgia 77 ‘In The Kingdom Of Dub’; this intriguing collaborative album, out 22nd September on Tru Thoughts, sees two musical explorers and like minds joining forces to illuminate the shared roots and spirit of rebellion that lie at the heart of these two genres.

The first single 'Medicine Chest Dub / Seven Nation Army Dub feat. Dennis Alcapone' is out now. Buy it from iTunes, Amazon & Etch Shop. Stream via Spotify

Prince Fatty – maverick producer of Hollie Cook and countless pop and reggae legends alongside his own Soundsystem projects – puts his spin on the music of bluesy jazz wunderkind Nostalgia 77, for a full set of exclusive new versions of tracks from across the latter’s prolific career, including collaborations with Alice Russell, Keith and Julie Tippett and Beth Rowley."

@Peace disturb the peace

A few weeks ago, I posted a piece on the controversy around Darren Watson's song Planet Key. When I posted that item on Twitter, Tom Scott of @Peace/Homebrew replied, saying he'd done a song called Kill The PM, and was thinking of releasing it. He recorded the song a few years ago, he says. Not the first time Scott has been outspoken on the PM - remember when they got censored during their music awards performance?

Turns out he did, on August 21, under the @Peace moniker, and now it's hitting the headlines. Several news outlets apparently incorrectly reported the song was funded by NZ On Air - while @Peace did get funding last month, that was for another song, Gravity.

The Dominion Post reports that "Kill the PM, which is available for download, is also being hosted on Internet Party founder Kim Dotcom's file-sharing site Mega."

Dotcom said Twitter "For the record: A song about killing John Key is a SHIT song and unlawful too. Please report #Mega links to our takedown team."

Tom Scott's response: "1st you made a fortune selling other people's ideas. Then you steal our tour campaign & chant. It ain't sposta be a concerto bruv."

Scott has responded to the outrage with this on FB:

"Now that I have your attention, may I remind you that 130,000 ELIGIBLE PEOPLE UNDER 25 HAVE NOT YET ENROLLED.

The current PM does not care about these people. He does not care about the growing gap between the rich and the poor in our country. He does not care about the native people of our country. He does not care about the planet we depend upon to survive, the living organism that we as humans are a functioning part of. He does not care about the right we should all have to an education. He only cares about him and his friends.

I do not want to literally kill this man. I do not wish to have sexual relations with anybody related to him. Let's not pretend a silly little song ever changed anything. Last I seen famine was still going pretty strong since 'Heal The World' came out. It's just a song. No different from Thatcher era punk. Anyone ever heard "Maggie you're a c#nt"..?

What's important is that we ENROL TO VOTE so that we have a chance to select someone to represent us who understands the concept of empathy.

I'm fed up with this dude. But if you want to vote for him, that's your choice. Personally, I'm voting Greens but you can vote for whoever you like. You can choose between a whole bunch of different people who represent a whole bunch of different ideologies. That's the beauty of the political system in NZ.

Please respect my right to express my disappointment for the leader of our country.

ENROL http://www.elections.org.nz/voters/enrol-check-or-update-now " 

Watch: An Otara Millionaire's tale

Pavement, June/July 1996. Photo: Stephen Langdon

Last night, MaoriTV debuted the documentary directed by Stuart Page about the life and times of Pauly Fuemana, it's now available on demand, watch it here... sadly it's geoblocked, so NZ only at this stage.

Pavement, June/July 1996. Photo: Stephen Langdon

Sola Rosa - new single

Sola Rosa - new single out today, off their new album Magnetics, due out in mid September.

Going Global showcases: She’s So Rad, Watercolours, Trip Pony, SJD...

"THE GOING GLOBAL MUSIC SUMMIT 2014 is just over two weeks away now and we are very excited to announce the artists who will be performing!

Our local music scene is constantly evolving and it gives us great pleasure to announce the nineteen talented artists who will be presenting at Going Global 2014 – more details below.

If you are looking to take your music overseas, come and hear from people who are working with both new and established artists on the global stage.

Seminars: Studio One, 1 Ponsonby Road, Auckland - Register at www.goingglobal.co.nz , thanks to nztix.co.nz

GOING GLOBAL MUSIC SUMMIT 2014 – Announcing The Artists!
Friday 5th September – AUCKLAND

Showcases: Fourteen artists, one venue, three stages
Appearing at Galatos Live, 17 Galatos St, Newton (showcase tickets $20, 1st band 7pm):

Little Bark - http://littlebarkmusic.com
Race Banyon - http://racebanyon.com
Sal Valentine & The Babyshakes – http://www.salvalentineandthebabyshakes.com
Arthur Ahbez – http://www.arthurahbez.com
Ha The Unclear – http://hatheunclear.bandcamp.com
She’s So Rad – shessorad.com
Chelsea Jade – watercoloursmusic.com
Jupiter Project – www.jupiter-project.com
Dictaphone Blues – http://dictaphoneblues.bandcamp.com/
Golden Curtain – http://goldencurtain.bandcamp.com/album/dream-city
Kaitlin Riegel – www.kaitlinriegel.com
Anthonie Tonnan – anthonietonnon.com
Jesse Sheehan – http://jessesheehan.bandcamp.com/
Trip Pony – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Trip-Pony/318762038167652


AAANNNDD I better add showcase #2, on the Saturday....

Saturday 6th September – AUCKLAND
Seminars: Studio One, 1 Ponsonby Road, Auckland - Register at www.goingglobal.co.nz , thanks to nztix.co.nz

Showcases: Four artists, one venue

Appearing at The Vic Theatre, Devonport (showcase tickets $20, 1st band 7.30pm):
French For Rabbits – www.frenchforrabbits.com
Aldous Harding – http://lytteltonrecords.co.nz
Anika Moa - www.facebook.com/anikamoa
SJD – http://www.roundtripmars.com

Jules Issa - Mr Melody

Jules Issa was a reggae singer with Auckland crew 12 Tribes of Israel. She started her recording career with the Deepgrooves label back in 1991, with a great reworking of the song Dangerous Game, originally performed by Diatribe, contemporaries of Herbs.  This song featured on a NZ On Air Kiwi Hit Disc in 1993, and was only released to radio.

Read more about Jules Issa here.

Mister Ott: Matt Ottignon

Saw this via ParisDJs: " Mister Ott is a six piece band led by New Zealand saxophonist Matt Ottignon [currently based in Australia], keen on exploring the Ethio-Jazz-Funk universe and around.

Their first single is a two-track self-released CD [released 2014] that might be a bit hard to find over here in France but the digital version is on Bandcamp.'Mattaraja', pounding to a fat hip hop beat, is quite surprising. Is that Jazz? 

The answer might lie in the other tune, 'Take It Higher', with first class keyboard and sax solos over something like a... half soca beat! Really great jazz/hip hop instrumental stuff recorded in Sydney with inspiration from Ethiopia."

The songs have been on Bandcamp for a minute, but still worth checking.

Rodriguez returns to NZ, for two shows

Rodriguez returns to New Zealand for two shows in October, Auckland and Wellington. Rediscovered after the 2012 Oscar-winning doco Searching For Sugarman by audiences worldwide, his career revival  really kicked off when Seattle label Light In The Attic reissued his two albums  - Cold Fact (1970), and Coming From Reality (1971), in 2008.

Monday 13 October -Auckland – ASB Theatre, Auckland Aotea Centre (Ticketmaster)
Thursday 16 October Wellington – Wellington Opera House (Ticketek)

Light In The Attic on Cold Fact: " Rodriguez recorded Cold Fact – his debut album – in 1969, and released it in March 1970. It’s crushingly good stuff, filled with tales of bad drugs, lost love, and itchy-footed songs about life in late ’60s inner-city America. “Gun sales are soaring/Housewives find life boring/Divorce the only answer/Smoking causes cancer,” says the Dylan-esque Establishment Blues.

But the album sank without trace, thanks, in part, to some of Rodriguez’s more idiosyncratic behavior, like performing at an industry showcase with his back to the audience throughout. When the follow-up, 1972’s Coming From Reality, also sold poorly, Rodriguez called an end to his recording career. He’d never even played a proper gig. And he got on with life. Over the years, he turned his hand to local politics, gaining a degree in philosophy, factory work and eventually, hard labour.

As his music career became a memory, Rodriguez’s legend was growing – on the other side of the world. In South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, Cold Fact had become a major word of mouth success, particularly among young people in the South African armed forces, who identified with its counter-cultural bent. But Rodriguez was an enigma – not even the label knew where to find him – and his demise became the subject of debate and conjecture... " Read the full story here. 

Shocking Pinks Mixtape: EWH, Karl Marx Project and more

Shocking Pinks (Stars and Letters, ex Flying Nun, DFA), aka Nick Harte serve up a cool mixtape with a ton of NZ kids, including Electric Wire Hustle, Karl Marx Project (Isaac Aesili), She's So Rad remixed by Kutcorners, Die Die Die, Emily Edrosa (of Streetchant) AND brand new music from Scott Mannion (Tokey Tones). Less said about that awful Dragon remix the better tho. Free DL

OMC: How Bizarre album remastered to coincide with new tv doco on Pauly's life

Via Amplifier: "OMC needs no introduction to New Zealanders. It was the title track from the debut album "How Bizarre" which catapulted Pauly Fuemana to international fame in 1996. On the back of the million selling single, Pauly went on to sell over a million copies of the album worldwide.

To mark the premiere of the acclaimed OMC documentary about the life of Pauly Fuemana that has been commissioned by Maori Television, Universal and Huh! are pleased to make Pauly's classic New Zealand album available again on CD.

This reissued version of the original album has been fully remastered by Pauly's co-writer and producer Alan Jansson and includes 2 bonus tracks - the 1996 single version of "Land Of Plenty", and the 2007 track featuring Lucy Lawless, "4 All Of Us".

Also, tune in to Radio NZ's Music 101 this Saturday, when Trevor Reekie interviews Stuart Page, director of the doco, producer and co-songwriter Alan Jansson and Simon Grigg from huh! Records about OMC’s worldwide success.

Maori Television's documentary "How Bizarre", directed by Stuart Page, screens Monday 25th August, 9.30pm.

Frankie Teardrop goes looking for the perfect beat

Legendary NYC duo Suicide get their tune Frankie Teardrop remade by Xeno and Oaklander. Suicide's Martin Rev comes along to the session with the original drum machine, a Seeberg Select-A-Rhythm 601B.

"No sacred cow was safe from Suicide. Reviled and revolutionary, Alan Vega & Martin Rev used a cheap drum machine, fevered screams and a murder to create a classic. In this episode, more than four decades later, Martin Rev meets Xeno and Oaklander to talk about the track and watch the Ghostly International duo reimagine "Frankie Teardrop."

On the same electro tip... Afrika Bambaataa - Looking for the Perfect Beat revisited, with Arthur Baker and John Robie. Talking 808 beats.  Check out more in the series over at Red Bull's Youtube channel. Mtume - Juicy fruit, Blondie - Heart of glass, Peech boys - Don't make me wait....

Raggamuffin Fest add to lineup, announce venue

Latest news from Raggamuffin Festival: "Cypress Hill join Raggamuffin line-up alongside Che Fu & The Kratez, Sons of Zion, DJ Sirvere & Jafa Mafia crew + Special Guests & will take place at The Trusts Arena, Henderson Auckland.

Pre-sale tickets on sale from 9AM Tuesday 19 August  over on Ticketmaster New Zealand (check your inbox for full details in the morning waitlisters). Early bird tickets available from Friday.

Captain Planet - In The Gray

Off Captain Planet's sophmore effort, ESPERANTO SLANG, due out on October 7th on 2xLP, CD, Digital and Vinyl Deluxe Pack w/ Custom Tote Bag. Out on Bastard Jazz (Lord Echo, Mophono)

" Esperanto Slang further illuminates the “Gumbo Funk” producer’s fluency in breaking boundaries between genres and bridging continents through rhythm. Steeped in finely-tuned collaborations with artists from across the map (Chico Mann, Alsarah, Paco Mendoza, La Yegros, Brit Lauren, Samira Winter, ChigiyoMaster).

The album documents the Captain’s continued musical travels in the wake of his critically-acclaimed 2011 debut album Cookin’ Gumbo and subsequent ‘Mystery Trip’ beat-tape (heralded “Best Music of 2012” by Sasha Frere-Jones in The New Yorker)." 

Spike Lee revisits Do The Right Thing neighbourhood, 25 years on

Ring The Alarm playlist, August 16

Wajeed - Jeedo suave
Rusty Bryant - Fire eater
Idris Mumhammad - Don't knock my love
Discolettes -Yes we can can
Lee Fields - In the woods
Whitefield Brothers - Yakuba
Jimi Tenor and Kabu Kabu - Higher styx
Geraldo Pino - Heavy heavy heavy
Hugh Masekela - Languta
Warsaw afrobeat orchestra - Only now - Bosq remix
The Controllers - Hello - Simon S re-edit
Bohannon - Do the everybody get down
Ray Mang - Running on moonshine - Ray Mang edit
Zap Mama - Bandy bandy - Carl Craig remix
Mala - Como como - Theo Parrish remix
BluRum13 - Futuristic b-boys inst
Machinedrum - Stirrin
Ragga twins - 18" speaker
Richie Phoe - Thriller
Johnny Osbourne - Time a run out
Jackie Mittoo - Hot milk
Barry Brown - Far east
Illmatics feat James Brown - Get up and get down - Soulmates remix
Erykah Badu - Bag lady - cheebah sac remix
Marc Rapson - The kalimba
Boozoo Bajou - Hirta
Misled Convoy - Critical mass

New Sun Ra collection: In The Orbit Of Ra

Via Strut: "Sun Ra is one of the most respected and unique creative minds in jazz music. To commemorate what would have been Ra's 100th birthday, we've teamed up with Art Yard for a very special release. In The Orbit Of Ra is a new collection presented by the longest serving member of the Arkestra and current bandleader, Marshall Allen.

Bringing together Sun Ra highights from over 25 years of music, the album is the first internationally released compilation to provide an introduction to the music of Sun Ra, all mastered from the original tapes.

Out September 22nd, In The Orbit Of Ra will be available on 2CD, 2LP and digital formats. As always, vinyl copies ordered from the Strut store will ship on limited edition 180 gram vinyl while supplies last, and will include a CD copy of the album. 

Physical formats feature full interview with Marshall Allen along with rare and previously unpublished photos by Val Wilmer.Hear the pristine master for one of our favorite Sun Ra tracks, 'Plutonian Nights', below.

Peanut Butter Wolf interviewed about Stonesthrow doco

Bongmaster, live!

"Paekak's Kanikani crew present supergroup Bongmaster on their second outing in seven years. The guys had so much fun smashing it at the James Cabaret a few months ago (with Trinity Roots) they decided to have a follow-up party in Paekakariki. Interstellar jam guaranteed."

Bongmaster are:
Aaron Tokona (Ahoribuzz)
Dallas, Mu, and Iain (Fat Freddy's Drop)
Andreas Lepper (Wellington Batucada)
Maaka McGregor (Wai)
Warren Maxwell (Little Bushman/Trinity Roots)
With very special guest DJs: Koa (Roots Foundation/Rhombus) and Small (Kanikani)

Sat 6 September, 8pm - 12am. Strictly limited tickets. Door sales$35. Doors open 7.45pm
Presales $30 at UnderTheRadar.co.nz , Slow Boat Records, Rough Peel Music RPM
BYO. Kanikani's world famous in Paekakariki non-alcoholic cocktails will be available, cheaper than chips too.

Updated: Planet Key song vanishes off the airwaves

Still from Planet Key video

Wellington musician Darren Watson released a song on August 4th via iTunes titled Planet Key, poking fun at our Prime Minister, and yesterday the Electoral Commission clamped down on him, saying radio stations who were playing it, such as Radio Active, were breaching electoral law.

Yesterday the NZ Herald reported that "Guitarist singer and songwriter Mr Watson's song and its animated video by Jeremy Jones released last week pokes fun at the Prime Minister and his Government.

It features Mr Key playing a stinging blues guitar solo on an endangered Maui's dolphin while an oil rig explodes in the background. It also depicts Finance Minister Bill English carrying Mr Key's golf clubs and the Prime Minister plays golf with Barack Obama.

But Mr Watson posted on Facebook this afternoon that he had just had a "super interesting chat with The Electoral Commission just now. "It appears we may be gagged."

He later posted that "the story is the Electoral Commission have advised a Access Radio station not to play Planet Key as it may be a contravention of the act."

The commission this afternoon confirmed it had banned television and radio broadcasts of the song and said it was also considering whether it was an election advertisement which would require a promoter statement to be carried in online video versions.

... Mr Watson said he had spoken with the Electoral Commission this morning [Tuesday] and they had indicated they believed the song crossed the line into being a political advertisement.

However the woman at the commission he spoke to had admitted "she hadn't actually heard the song, this was all based on hearsay".

The controversy attracted extensive mainstream media coverage... which managed to make the song more widely known... 

TV3 News: John Key not fazed by Planet Key video

Stuff.co.nz: Songwriter 'gagged' over John Key parody

NZ Herald: Electoral Commission orders musical dig at Key off the air
It also featured on Prime News at 530, and TVOne's Seven Sharp


UPDATED 16 August 2014: Darren Watson says via FB that "we are going to challenge the Electoral Commission's advice on a total lifetime airplay ban and effective forced removal from sale of Planet Key all the way to the High Court if we have to. The way Jeremy and I see it this is a simple issue of the fundamental right to freedom of artistic expression."

The NZ Herald reported today that the Electoral Commission will prosecute Watson if he continues to sell the song on iTunes, and has instructed him to stop selling or promoting it. It is currently sitting at #8 on the NZ Singles chart.

Watson put out a press release late yesterday, which said "The Electoral Commission is also threatening that the sale of the song through i-Tunes without a promoter statement is "an apparent breach of section 204F of the Electoral Act", which is an illegal practice punishable by a fine of up to $10,000.

"I object to the suggestion that I am some sort of political promoter. I am a musician and I feel very strongly about this kind of censorship", says Mr Watson. "I believe in artistic freedom."

Lawyer for Mr Watson and Mr Jones, Wendy Aldred, says she has asked the Electoral Commission to reconsider its opinion, saying the Commission's letter is incorrect in its approach to the law, fails to take into account Mr Watson's right to freedom of expression under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, and is heavy-handed."

UPDATED 19 August 2014: Darren Watson says he has been instructed by The Electoral Commission to remove Planet Key from sale on iTunes by 5pm this Thursday, and to remove the video from Vimeo and Youtube.

UPDATED Monday 1 Sept 2014: Darren Watson has announced he will have a High Court hearing over his Planet Key song on Sept 11.

UPDATED 2 April 2015: 'Planet Key'song ruled as free speech by High Court

UPDATED 4 May 2015: Election commission to appeal, says its appeal is limited to questions of law and it isn't challenging the High Court's ruling in favour of Watson, who says "It's ridiculous that we still have to fight for this."

Theo Parrish interviewed

Theo Parrish talks about his approach to his recent live band tour, featuring some cool performance snips, and his band includes NZ's own Myele Manzanza! Well worth a look.

Downbeat: heavy dub from Argentina

I got an email from Argentina today. It contained a link to some delightfully heavy dubwise business. The group tell me that "Down Beat is a musical group DUB with location in Mendoza - Argentina. The group is currently promoting their first material entitled "Livity" which is to thread the "roots dub".

Down Beat is composed of: Emiliano Dub (Drum & SetLive), Juan Jahsound (Bass), George (Guitar), and Luisao (Percussion). Down Beat also comes in DIGITAL format, combining with genres like Dubstep, Jungle, Ambient, Hip Hop, New Roots, among others."
Go have a listen. And it's name your price too, so if you want it for free, enter '0'.

RIP Henry Stone (TK Records)

Henry Stone presents George McCrae with a gold disc for Rock Your Baby, 1974

Via Miami Herald: Founder of the ‘Miami Sound,’ TK Records’ Henry Stone dies at 93

"Henry Stone, 93, died Thursday at Mercy Hospital of natural causes.

Stone’s career stretched back to post-war Los Angeles, where the Bronx-born trumpeter sold vinyl records to jukebox owners out of the trunk of his car.

In 1948, Stone moved to Miami where he set up Seminole, a record-distribution business and Crystal recording studio. Three years later, he recorded his first artist, a pianist-singer from the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine who would soon gain world-wide fame as Ray Charles.

Charles’ St. Pete Florida Blues was cut here for Stone’s Rockin’ imprint. “I had heard of him through the grapevine, so I asked him to call me whenever he came to Miami, and he did,” Stone said in a 1995 Miami Herald profile.

As Stone started other small blues, gospel and R&B labels and began an association with King Records, he released Otis Williams and the Charms’ No. 1 R&B hit, Heart of Stone, in 1954. Stone was instrumental in signing James Brown and the Famous Flames to King where Brown scored his first hit,Please, Please, Please, which reached No. 6 R&B in 1956 ...

...Thirty years later, his most lucrative discovery also would be a rarity in the music business: a racially-integrated, crazy quilt conglomeration of Junkanoo, R&B, disco and pop called KC & the Sunshine Band.

On Friday, group co-founder Harry Wayne “KC” Casey, 63, called Stone his “mentor.” Casey was in his early 20s, working as a part-timer at the independent TK Records when he began hanging around the studios and recording snatches of music he heard when the bigger names cleared out after their sessions.

Casey cowrote Rock Your Baby with Richard Finch in 1974 and it became the songwriters’ first No. 1 pop single for TK when singer George McRae recorded the hit version. Legend has it in the pages of Frederic Dannen’s music industry book, Hit Men, McRae pulled a knife on Stone and threatened him for not paying him royalties. Stone reportedly handed the disgruntled singer a wad of bills and the keys to his Cadillac. His rented Cadillac.

True tale, or not, “Henry believed in me when no one else did,” Casey said.....

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/08/4279652/founder-of-the-miami-sound-tk.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/08/4279652/founder-of-the-miami-sound-tk.html#storylink=cpy... When taste makers deemed disco dead as Donna Summer’s Bad Girls found religion and ‘80s synth-pop dominated pop airwaves, Stone weathered his losses. TK went bankrupt in 1981. But he never stopped founding new companies like The Legendary Henry Stone Presents… and Hot Productions, which had an off-beat hit in 1990 with novelty act 2 Live Jews and its album, As Kosher As They Wanna Be, a parody of 2 Live Crew that featured Stone’s actor, songwriter-producer son, Joseph Stone.

... Though his eyesight was failing in the end, Stone’s ears never failed him. “Up to the end this guy knew his music,” Joseph said. “My sister had brought some of his discs and we had some tracks playing as he was laying there and he was half out of it. But I see his hand come up in the air during one of the horn section parts, conducting it. I asked him, ‘Do you know what artist that is?’ He said, ‘Peter Brown. Come on. Do You Want to Get Funky With Me.’

“I always tell people this guy forgot more about the music business than most people will ever know.”

Read: Rock Your Baby: Henry Stone documentary coming 

ADDED Interview: Henry Stone on James Brown and Disco’s Boom and Bust, by Garth Cartwright

Can't stop hiphop: Aotearoa

Can't Stop by Jos Wheeler, photo of it by Grant Apiata

Jos Wheeler:  "I shot this image in 2000, the sign was on the corner of Ariki Street and Crummer Road, Grey Lynn. This neighbourhood spawned a huge amount of Aotearoa’s Hip Hop culture in the mid 90’s, from the FYM crew (DLT,DT,Opto…) , to Joint Force, True School Hip Hop, DLT/Che Fu, Dam Native, Tokin Village ( Che Fu, King Kapisi, Ras Dan, Phatmospheric, Juse, Submariner, Ned Ngatae, Manuel Bundy, Chip Mathews, Issac Tucker)…..the list goes on. A large chapter in what must be just around the corner, a book on the history of Aotearoa Hip Hop .

In 2003 I produced a limited edition run of 50 t-shirts with the whole image and the same year a cropped version with text was used as the entrance image for the The Dowse Art Museum’s ‘Respect’ exhibition.

There is also a back story to this image , the story of the one like graffiti artist Slope / MC Slopemist ( Son Of Upper Hutt Posse founding member Acid Dread), and a early morning stumble home:"I had a yellow oil pastel I found on the way home after a drunkin night on the piss lol aka drunken hits and I was super stoked you recognized this bro as it made it on the banners in wellington when we painted with the TB and SSS crew in Lowerhutt lol churr bro ‘ Slope, August 2014."

This artwork is part of a special fundraising show on today in Auckland, at the Blacknote Cafe, 223 Symond St from 2pm til late (also in Hamilton, and Wellington), details below...

"New Zealand hip hop and creative communities are uniting for Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop, a major fundraiser across three cities *Sunday 10th August * (Lock it in your calendars.) Supporting a Wellington crew/family who lost their historic collection and personal belongings in a recent fire.

The simultaneous event at San Fran-Wellington, Black Note-Auckland and Studio 46-Hamilton is for residence: Sara "Spex" Tamati, Andrew "Kerb" Wright, Tim "Ceap" Bremner, Peter "Truce Lee" Whitinui and Khan "Khanage" Wright. 95% of their belongings were lost in a fire (Monday 23rd June) from a neighboring factory on Mansfield St, Wellington; which ripped through their upstairs flat.

Long time DJ’s, artists, b-boys, collaborators and archivists in the hip hop community, with collections of treasured original artwork, historical video footage, photos, vinyl, books, numerous priceless items. Records of over thirty years of local and international hip hop.

In response to this loss, and as a testament to what these people represent, an overwhelming number of top class performers and artists are stepping up for Can't Stop, Won't Stop to help raise money to get the four back on their feet."

RIP Scruff aka Peter Ralph

Scruff. Photo: Alan Johnston

Scruff, the legendary local bouncer/doorman/security minder has  passed away this afternoon, aged 65. He had been battling cancer for the past year. John Dix says via FB that Scruff "was probably grateful for the quick exit."

In mid July , the NZ Herald's Alan Perrott profiled our nightclub doormen/bouncers, including Scruff, reporting that "Our most notorious bouncer has terminal cancer, a fate he's facing with a stoic matter-of-factness. Whatever time he has left is being devoted to a photographic exhibition, concert and, hopefully, leaving a little something for his five kids, so there was some trepidation when Canvas invited him to share some old war stories.

He's never been one to do anything he didn't want to but when you're looking at the life and times of the modern bouncer, his tales are important because Scruff is the original model.

The 65-year-old has been machine-gunned, acid-bombed and beaten up. He's guarded multifloor venues solo, faced off with the highest and mightiest, and was the man to take the bullet if someone pulled a gun. And he's loved every minute he can remember - he was a drug addict for much of it and an enthusiastic user for the rest.

Yes, he'd have loved it all the more if he'd been one of the musicians needing his protection, but he's happy having been part of the scene and it's safe to say we won't be seeing his like again.

He got into security work by accident, and long after his real name, Peter Ralph, had been forgotten (he was Little Scruff to his older brother's Big Scruff), and even longer since he'd lost several fingers to a circular saw..

 ... On one tour, working with Billy T James, Scruff found himself front and centre between stage and audience after a threat had been made to shoot the performer mid-set. His only job was to take the bullet should one be fired.

Another time, he was relaxing in the rafters above a George Thorogood concert in Palmerston North when an urgent call came over his radio. A bloke built like a block of flats had climbed on stage: "Everyone was just looking at him, then back at me, then back at him."

His doorman instincts kicked in and he walked over and started talking. It turned out the guy only wanted an autograph, and he meekly returned to the crowd once Scruff promised him one.

"All those years taught me a lot about reading people very quickly, making a decision and following through straight away. Don't be aggressive, that'll start a fight. Sometimes the easiest solution was to offer them a joint ...."

... "But I felt sorry for all of them [the bar owners/punters], really, putting up with me. I was more decadent than any of them. If I was pissed off with something, I'd break in and drink the bar dry. Then they'd find me laid out on the floor." Scruff recalls.

"But back then we worked hard for our money, bloody hard, but I came out of it with nothing. I drank it all. I tell you what, though. I'd love to do it again."

Ring The Alarm playlist, August 9

Rose Royce - Sunrise
The Staples - Party
Bernard Wright - Haboglabotribin
Seatrain - Flute thing
Mighty Mocambos feat Afrika Bambaatta - Battle
Ozomatli  -Superbowl sundae - Peanutbutter Wolf remix
Hawk - Don't judge a book by its cover
Baby Charles - I bet you look good on the dancefloor
Charles Bradley - Golden rule
DJ Nu-Mark - Tropicalifornia - main mix
Willie Colon - Che che cole
Manu Chao - Merry blues
The Wailers - Black progress/say it loud
Dry and heavy - Night flight pt2
Prince Jammy - Champion version
Yabby You - Jah vengence
African head charge - Dobbyn joins the head charge
Jackie Mittoo - Voodoo moon
The Zirkons - Oongawa!
Morgan Clarke and Benny's Five - Haka boogie
Billy Karaitiana - Cool jerk
Jean Jacques Perrey and Luke Vibert - Ye olde beatbox
Julien Dyne feat Mara TK - Stained glass fresh frozen
Dexter Wansel - Life on Mars
Harry Beckett - Rings within rings
Lalo Schifrin - Quiet village
Aim - Just passing thru
Rae & Christian feat Bobby Womack - Wake up everybody
George McCrae - You treat me good
Gladys Knight and the Pips - Bourgie bourgie

International Observer remixes Bic Runga, Black Seeds etc

Listen  to previews of seriously dubbed out remixes of Bic Runga, Black Seeds, and Tapes...

"As a collection of International Observer’s [Tom Bailey] remixes, ‘Touched’ collates over 15 years of studio trickery into a single disc, picking up some old favourites, a few hard to find obscurities and a handful of unreleased gems along the way.

This collection reflects that musical history, going from platinum selling pop acts like Bic Runga ['Drive' gets dubbed out] and Stellar* to the underground electronica of Pitch Black and Warp Technique, from modern reggae stars The Black Seeds to globetrotting beatsmiths Bombay Dub Orchestra and Minimal Compact. It even includes a remix of his son Jackson’s acclaimed Tapes project (championed by Thom Yorke amongst others).

Indicating the many years he spent there, more than half of the tracks originate in New Zealand, and some have never previously been available outside of those shores."

Release date: August 11

Quincy Conserve got mad breaks!

Following on from the Quincy Conserve/Brothers Johnson post earlier this week...

I did this re-edit a while back, and had floating round, so here it is...  loads of mad funky drums, played by Richard Burgess (breaks for days, kids...)...

That Same Feeling (Peter Mac Edit) by Quincy Conserve, off the album Epitaph, recorded 1971.

Why Apple needs Beats

Owners of Beats Electronics, Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine. Photo: Australian/AP

Interesting read from FastCompany: "Why Apple needs Beats: It's all about the music"

Excerpt: "Apple's slipping hold on music is more of a danger to its psyche than its coffers. At last count, its music downloads were bringing in $4 billion a year, only a fraction of Apple's total $171 billion in revenue. But the company has to be worried about losing its grip on such a crucial part of its brand.

"After all, Apple has long prided itself on outsmarting the major labels when it came to digital music. Now it risks becoming the sort of slow-to-react behemoth it once disrupted. At its core, the acquisition of Beats [for $3.2b] can be seen as a bid to stay relevant in the music world--a world that is central to Apple's modern identity..."

" ... Downloads for the entire industry have slid more than 13% in the first quarter of 2014, while streaming services--which Steve Jobs notoriously ignored, insisting that people didn't want to "rent" songs--are remaking the music landscape.Thanks to companies like Spot­ify, Pandora, and YouTube, song and video streams grew to 34 billion this year, an increase of 9 billion from a year ago..."

Lynette Williams, outta NYC

This popped up in my email  from a New York based singer songwriter by the name of Lynette Williams. A simple, stripped back live clip. What an amazing voice!

www.facebook.com/lynettewilliamsmusic // www.lynettewilliams.bandcamp.com

Salsoul Records mini doco

Via Egotripland, H/T Omega B: "Mobile Mondays has put together a Salsoul Records Reunion Show goin’ down thisWednesday, August 6 at the East River Park SummerStage Bandshell. (Get more details about the event HERE and HERE.) Get ready by watching this mini-doc starring Joe Bataan..."

Brothers Johnson X Quincy Conserve, live 73

Brothers Johnson live, Wellington , backed by Quincy Conserve. Photo by Bob Leask

Bob Leask added these awesome photos to the NZ's Music Scene, Bands and Nite-clubs 1960s and 1970s page on Facebook recently, saying "The Brothers Johnson ...at the Downtown club, Jervois Quay [Wellington]...with Quincy Conserve in the background.... I took the pictures...."

He believes they were taken around 1973. It was very common for overseas musicians to come here and play with a pick up band of locals.

There's a great profile on Quincy Conserve that's just been posted on Audioculture, written by Gary Steel, go read it here....

snip: "... In a time before organised music education for anything but classical repertoire, [band leader Malcolm] Hayman was a one-man school, finding the best players and pushing to get the best out of them...

... “We were in a lucky situation [in the late 1960s]. We had a resident dance hall that has long since gone, and we were also the resident band for EMI for their recordings. We used to back everyone up – all the schmaltz singers, Suzanne, Craig Scott. We had the recording down here sewn up. We used to spend all day in the studio and all night at work, 12 to 14 hours a day, every day. There were [import restrictions] on US and UK records and of course Aussie and NZ groups started covering them.”

“So from 68 to 74, of my own band I [recorded] five albums and something like 14 to 20 singles, which was an awful lot of material for a band in a country of this size, plus covers and backing for other people.”

New Orlando Julius coming, collab w Heliocentrics

Via Strut, who say: "One of the first Nigerian musicians to mix African highlife music with American jazz, soul and blues, Saxophonist Orlando Julius is a forefather of the Afrobeat sound popularized by Fela Kuti, who himself used to watch and sit in with Julius' band in Ibadan during the the '60s.

In his 70s now, Orlando Julius is as excited by new sounds as ever, and remains a monster player. Jaiyede Afro sees him connecting with London-based outfit The Heliocentrics (led by drummer Malcolm Catto) for an album that incorporates cosmic jazz and psychedelic influences and pushes the boundaries of Afrobeat music.

Jaiyede Afro is out September 9th on CD, vinyl and digital download, and can be pre-ordered now. As always, vinyl orders from the Strut Store will ship on limited edition 180 gram vinyl while supplies last, and all vinyl editions include a copy of the album on CD.

Ring The Alarm playlist, August 2

Charles Jackson - Ohh child
War - World is a ghetto - special US disco mix
Charles Wright - You are the one
Claudia Lennear - Everything I do gonna be funky
Don Covay - Sookie sookie
Freddi Henchi and the soulsetters - Funky to the bone
Young Holt unlimited - Wahwah man
Scott Wood - Chicken rock
The Revels - Conga twist
The Vogues -Humpty dumpty
Bo Diddley - I'm a man
Ballistic bros - Peckings
Ninjaman and Flourgon - Zig it up
Dennis Alcapone - Fever teaser
Soul vendors - Whipping the Prince
Augustus Pablo - Cassava piece, East of the river Nile
Steel n skin - Afro punk reggae dub
Henry Hemingway  - Keep your hands out of my pocket 
Nick Waterhouse -Sleeping pills
Ramsey Lewis Trio - Afro boogaloo twist
Wally Badarou - Chief inspector
Act of faith - Lite up your life - radio mix
Alexander O'Neal - Fake
Phyllis Nelson - I like you - extended version
Bonnie Pointer - Ah shoot
Idris Muhummad - Superbad, Power of the soul (RIP)
Roberta Flack - Go up Moses
Definition of sound - Wear your love like heaven
Ragga twins - Tan so black
Piero Umiliani - Mah na mah na - Gak Sato tiki remix

Nick Waterhouse - Sleeping Pills

Off the very fine album from young Mr Waterhouse, titled Holly, out now on Innovative Leisure.

9 things to NOT do when emailing music blogs

This is on the money. I have dealt with all of the below. Thank you Digital Music News.

1. Add Bloggers to Your Mailing List Without Giving Them a Heads Up
I don’t know who you are, yet I’m suddenly on your mailing list and there’s no unsubscribe button. At least send an email to let me know you think I’ll like the music you plan on blasting out. It’s even worse when the email blast says things like “this song is different than what you heard last time“. “Last time”? I don’t even know who you are.

2. Buy Lists of Email Addresses

People compile lists of blog addresses they found on the internet and then sell them. To me, buying these lists is almost as shady as buying followers. Someone added my contact email to some Australian blog list, and now I get a ton of emails inviting me to shows in Australia. I’ve never even been to Australia. [I get this a lot -don't invite me to your showcase in London/New York/Austin without checking my location!]

3. CC Your Email Blasts

If you’re sending a press release to a bunch of blogs and CC all of us, I can see everyone else you sent the email to. BCC us. Otherwise, I’m going to look at the lists of email addresses and see what types of sites you grouped me with. If I don’t like them, I probably won’t listen to your music.

4. Write Excessively Long Subject Lines
When you’re writing a subject line for your email remember that anything beyond 11 words will probably be cut off in the inbox view.

5. Get the Blogger’s Name Wrong

If you’re cutting and pasting the body of the email into new messages and personalizing it, be sure and proofread. You might have forgotten to change the name of the blogger or the title of the blog. It’s not always the end of the world, but it could prevent you from getting your foot in the door.

6. Only Send Links to Music
There’s a link to a SoundCloud track in this email, but that’s it. Why should I click this? Who are you? You don’t have to send an entire bio, but at least say hello and tell me what this link is.

7. Be Overly Casual
I know this isn’t a job application or the New York Times, you can keep it casual when you send an email pitch to a blog. However, there is such a thing as being TOO casual, especially if you have no prior relationship with the blogger. Don’t unnecessarily throw in words like “shit” and “whatever”, it’s distracting. “I like to sample my guitar recordings as if they’re someone else’s records or whatever”“producing shit on my computer”

8. Lie About How Much You Love the Blog
Bloggers can tell when you’re lying about being a devoted follower of their blog. “I’ve been following your blog, it’s great” is often followed by a link to music that sounds nothing like what I post. If you’re not going to do your research then don’t lie about it. If you really do like a blog, specify what you like about it.

9. Spam BloggersOne producer has everybody on his team emailing me every time he puts out a new remix, which is every week. I get four emails about the same song every week. I don’t even remember what this guy’s music sounds like, but I don’t like it. It’s okay to follow up a few times, but don’t be excessive."

Ladi6 - Automatic on vinyl

Released today thru Rough Peel Records in Welli, Ladi6's latest album Automatic is on 180g vinyl! Woo! So pretty.

Following on from a year that has seen her touring  Europe, playing Glastonbury, and successfully finishing her first American tour, Ladi6 opens her latest NZ tour tonight, and will be touring here for the next month, with guest Team Dynamite.

Attn vinyl fans, record fairs soon in Akld, Welli

Record fair happening August 23rd in Wellington...  press release:

"A Vinyl Affair' is happening next month! It's been over a year since the last record fair in Wellington and with the vinyl revival in full swing and continuing to build momentum, there is a good buzz building around the event. With FREE ENTRY to the public, DJs spinning vinyl all afternoon, spot prizes, not to mention the chance to dig through the crates for the special gem of a record - this will be a great afternoon for music enthusiasts.

Venue and date
The event will be held at the Southern Cross, 39 Abel Tasman St, Wellington on Saturday August 23rd from 12pm - 4pm. The fair will be held in the 'guest room' which is a nice bright and spacious area just off the main bar. The event is free of charge to the public.

We are grateful for the support of local record stores Death Ray records, Rough Peel Music, Slow Boat records and Vanishing Point, as well as our host the Southern Cross, all of which are donating vouchers as spot prizes.

Local music DJs will be providing the atmosphere all afternoon, including local music critic Simon Sweetman, Skaman Selecta and more. Silent Designs and Super Colour print have generous donated their respective design and print services to the event!

To keep up-to-date, people can add themselves to the facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/241208436073456 and anyone interested in selling records at the fair should contact Si White at si@dailyjam.co.nz for more information.

Record fair hapening in Auckland, October 25...press release

"The next vinyl collectors fair falls on the Saturday of labour weekend in October. If you have friends and relatives visiting from out of town, please, bring them with you! On at Freeman's Bay Community Hall, corner Wellington and Hepburn St, Freemans Bay, 9am to 3pm, entry fee $5.

Giveaways for the October show: New Vinyl: Lead Zeppelin 3, Year of the Cat, and a bunch of really neat DVD's including 'Cadillac Records and 'Ray', 'Doors Live', 'Moody Blues Live' 'No Direction Home' - the Bob Dylan Biopic, and 'Counting Crows Live'.
New vinyl giveaways (Maybe) Cyndi Lauper on MFSL, INX on MFSL, depending on availability.

Some lucky visitors to the March fair took home new vinyl give aways and a copy of Pearl Jam '20', the bio book of Pearl Jam's first 20 years. I expect that there will be at least ONE rock bio giveaway in October.

See the Knosti record cleaning device on continuous demo throughout the day, and ask the many experienced people at the fair your technical questions about turntable setup, cleaning and maintenance.

Music will play from vinyl sources continuously during the day, and as many genres will be covered as we can fit into the time, including Country AND Western

Your hosts are Klaus, Lothar, Peter, and Alex.
Want to be a vendor? Got questions that need answers now? Contact Klaus through the website.

TAMI Show: James Brown gets down

Last week I posted up the trailer for Get On Up, the new James Brown biopic, along with the story of the time in 1964 when the Rolling Stones had to try and follow James Brown on a tv show, the TAMI Show.

The New Yorker's David Rimnick has a fascinating piece up online about that, titled The possessed: James Brown in Eighteen Minutes. 

He describes “Get On Up” as "the second-best film ever made about James Brown." I'd argue it's the third best, after the TAMI Show clip, and the incredible documentary The Night James Brown Saved Boston.

Remnick says "The Stones had come to the States from England determined to play black R. & B. for a mainly white audience that did not know its Son House from its Howlin’ Wolf. They were already stars, and the T.A.M.I. producers had them scheduled to close the show. James Brown did not approve. “Nobody follows James Brown!” he kept telling the show’s director, Steve Binder.

"Mick Jagger himself was hesitant. He and Keith Richards were boys from Kent with an unusual obsession with American blues. They knew what Brown could do. In Santa Monica, they watched him from the wings, just twenty feet away, and, as they did, they grew sick with anxiety."

Jagger said recently that's not how it unfolded. He told WSJ "In the film's not entirely faithful version of events at the T.A.M.I. (Teenage Awards Music International) Show in Santa Monica, Calif, a 21-year-old Mr. Jagger (played by Nick Eversman in a nonspeaking part) and his band mates watch Brown's act (performed by actor Chadwick Boseman ) from the wings. "Never happened," says a grinning Mr. Jagger, who was backstage and didn't see Brown's performance that night. "Artistic license." Ah well.

Remnick: "Brown ... was genuinely incensed that the producers would put him on before pallid amateurs (in his mind) like the Stones. His performance, he later admitted, was a cutting contest that he refused to lose.

"As Brown puts it in his memoir, “James Brown: The Godfather of Soul,” “We did a bunch of songs, nonstop, like always. . . . I don’t think I ever danced so hard in my life, and I don’t think they’d ever seen a man move that fast.” It was a four-song set: the staccato blues number “Out of Sight”; an astonishing inside-out revival of “Prisoner of Love,” which had been recorded by smoothies like Billy Eckstine and Perry Como; the dramatic centerpiece “Please, Please, Please”; and the closer, “Night Train,” which the boxer Sonny Liston would play to get himself going in the gym."

"Richards would eventually say that the very idea of following James Brown was the biggest mistake of the Stones’ careers. “Just go out there and do your best,” Marvin Gaye had told Jagger. And he did. Jagger was never anything but admiring and respectful of James Brown—and he is one of the producers of “Get On Up.”