Red Eyes tour NZ

Australian reggae outfit The Red Eyes tour NZ for the first time soon, and later this year they play Papua New Guinea, also a first for them. Exciting year! Two members of the band are originally Kiwis, so this tour marks a homecoming of sorts for them. 

Nice Up has an interview with the band here. The band say "We tend to have a darker edge, so the themes are heavier, and the focus on dub means that no one has ever accused us of being 'Barbecue Reggae'!... Expect a big live show, with our two-piece horn section, four-part harmonies, and very energetic front-man El, who reviewers frequently compare to a Maori Iggy Pop."

Inside Out by The Red Eyes

Some background... "The Red Eyes - Australia’s much loved dub/reggae monster group - celebrate their 10th birthday in 2012 with their first NZ Tour, kicking off at Mint Bar, Wanaka on Jan 26, before taking in venues in Dunedin, Wellington, Leigh, Hamilton and Auckland. They will also appear at the inaugural Winchfest music festival and wakeboarding comp on Jan 28 performing alongside Katchafire, Cornerstone Roots and more.

The Red Eyes ‘NZ Homecoming Tour’ heralds the prodigal return of NZ’s long lost sons El Witeri and Damien Charles. Born and bred in Auckland, the two musicians’ musical roots were developed touring around NZ throughout the 90’s before they reconnected in Oz and honed their alternative dub/reggae style for an appreciative Australian audience.

Over 10 years their fan base has grown exponentially, seeing them play major festivals throughout the pacific and Australia including the 2011 Australian Raggamuffin tour with Jimmy Cliff and Mary J Blige.

Established in 2002 The Red Eyes’ successful 2nd album ‘Red Army’ was a finalist for Best Blues and Roots Album at the Australian Independent Record Label Awards and lead singer El Witeri was a finalist for APRA songwriter of the year. 2007 release ‘Rudeworld’ and their two EP’s ‘Highplace’ and Prolific/My Kingdom’ have collectively sold over 12,000 copies worldwide.

Exploding onto the NZ turf with a string of club dates through Jan and Feb 2012, The Red Eyes are touring their new track Circles, the first single release from their anticipated third album."


Circles by The Red Eyes

Thu 26 Jan: Mint Bar (Wanaka)
With The Nomad (DJ Set)
Fri 27 Jan: 12 Below (Dunedin)
With Skull Dubbery and DJ Jungle Far I
Sat 28 Jan: Bodega (Wellington)
With Newtown Sound feat Israel Starr
Sun 29 Jan: Winchfest (New Plymouth)
With Katchafire and Cornerstone Roots + more
Fri 3 Feb: Sawmill Cafe (Leigh)
With Dam Native and DJ Dubhead
Sat 4 Feb: Flow Bar (Hamilton)
With guest DJ Captain Nemo
Sun 5 Feb: Kings Arms (Auckland)
With Guest Dam Native & DJ Dubhead

Mark de Clive-Lowe mixed

Best of Mark de Clive-Lowe mixed by DJ Spinna. 34 tracks of MdCL originals, remixes (Omar, Shirley Horn, Ed Motta) and collaborations with Kenny Dope (Masters At Work), DJ Spinna, Phil Asher (Restless Soul), Zed Bias and more. Track listing here. Nice one. Free download.

Mark de Clive-Lowe's ninth solo album, 'Renegades' is out now on Tru Thoughts Records.'

The Best of MdCL Mix by DJ Spinna by Tru Thoughts

Vinyl is making a comeback #257

Okiedoke Records founders Clint McEwen, left and Rob Vera pose with their first vinyl record in Oklahoma City , Wednesday January , 04, 2012. Photo by Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman

"Today vinyl is making a comeback, as it has been doing periodically since the CD came along 30 years ago.

What's different this time is that it isn't just being bought by middle-aged blokes trying to relive their youth, but by consumers of all descriptions who want their music to be tangible and, ideally, audibly impressive...."

From "Records a labour of love in modern world", The Australian.

Meanwhile, in Oklahoma...

"Oklahoma pair stake out new career as vinyl record producers as medium makes comeback

Vinyl records, declared dead a quarter century ago, are making a comeback. It was enough to prompt friends Rob Vera and Clint McEwen to take a shot on forming their own record company in Oklahoma City, Okie Dope Records...."

"... "One of the things American record companies haven't caught on to yet, but in U.K. they have, is if you buy a record in the U.K., it comes with a digital code for the download," O'Brien said. "Here, you still have to buy it twice. In the U.K. the product is so much better. It gives you that much more incentive to buy that. They're even reissuing old records in vinyl in the U.K,"says Vera."

Read more here and here.

R.I.P Winston Riley

The legendary reggae producer has died, aged 65.

From The Grio: "Innovative reggae producer Winston Riley has died from complications of a gunshot wound in Jamaica. His son Kurt Riley says the 65-year-old producer died Thursday at University Hospital of the West Indies, where he had been a patient since he was shot in the head at his house in November.

Riley also had been shot in August and stabbed in September. His record store in Kingston's downtown business district was burned down several years ago. Police have said they know of no motives.

From the Jamaica Observer: "Kurt Riley told the Observer this morning that his father's grieving relatives could not figure out a motive behind the attempts on his father's life.

"Unfortunately Daddy didn't wake up so we could talk to him to find out if there was something he was not telling us. He was a straightforward man, who was allergic to hypocrisy," he said.

Winston Riley produced the late General Echo's The Slackest album on his Techniques label in 1979, and was instrumental in the development of the careers of Sister Nancy, Buju Banton, Cutty Ranks, Lone Ranger, and Frankie Paul."

Classic Winston Riley productions... love these...






ADDED Via Large Up - Top ten essential Winston Riley tunes

Basement 45s Salute to Winston Riley by CultchaSound

Call me Al

President Obama making a speech at the Apollo Theatre, Jan 19. He mentions  that Al Green is in the room, and starts singing one of the Reverend's songs. Obama has sung at the Apollo and got an ovation. Heck yes. Republicans don't roll like that.

Dotcom dot gone?

Yesterday morning, Megaupload.com founder Kim Dotcom was arrested along with 3 associates by NZ Police in Auckland , as part of a co-ordinated effort with the US Dept of Justice and the FBI, who have issued an indictment against Megaupload.com. Four FBI staff were in NZ to assist Police. The FBI has been working with our Police since August last year on this case.

The four accused appeared in North Shore district court yesterday afternoon, and were remanded in custody until Monday, when there will be a bail hearing. Kim Dotcom told the court  that he has "Nothing to hide."Lawyers for the US gvot plan to oppose bail. Kim Dotcom will spend the weekend in jail. Today is his 38th birthday.

Kim Dotcom was last in the news in December, over a music video he made to promote Megaupload.com, called the  Megaupload Song. Universal Music had it taken down form Youtube over alleged copyright infringement, as it featured some of their artists, but  Megaupload were able to produce signed contracts with the artists involved, such as Kanye West and Will.I.Am.

NZer Gin Wigmore was chosen by Kim Dotcom to sing on the track, but after her recording session at Neil Finn's Roundhead Studio, her manager and label (Universal) refused to give permission for her inclusion, and she was replaced by Macy Gray. The vidoeo initally attracted over 2 million views. Read more on that in my previous post.

Two Police helicopters arrived at Dotcom's Coatesville mansion, but Dotcom did not want to co-operate, retreating to a safe room in the house, which Police eventually accessed - he was found near a sawn-off shotgun.

Dotcom's assets in NZ have been seized, including $10m in financial assets (this number is the same as the $10m he invested in government bonds as part of his bid to stay here). Luxury cars worth $6m were taken also, with various custom licence plates such as God, Good, Bad, Evil, Police, Stoned, Mafia, Hacker, and Guilty.

photo: Autoblog.NL

The NZ Herald reports that the "indictment accuses Mr Dotcom's Megaupload.com of costing copyright holders more than US$500 million in lost revenue from pirated films and other content, and has generated more than US$175 million in criminal proceeds."

The US Dept of Justice shut down Megaupload.com and a  number of associated websites, and charged Dotcom and others with "engaging in a racketeering conspiracy, conspiring to commit copyright infringement, conspiring to commit money laundering and two substantive counts of criminal copyright infringement."

The indictment includes emails between the accused, purportedly showing that Kim Dotcom had instructed his associates to "copy Youtube, one to one." Another email exchange stated that “we’re not pirates, we’re just providing shipping services to pirates”.

US hiphop producer Swizz Beats was listed as the company's CEO on its website in its late 2011 redesign, but according to Megaupload's lawyers, he is not officially CEO.

Following news of the arrests, the group Anonymous attacked and took down websites for the US DoJ, FBI, BMI, RIAA and Universal Music.  Anonymous posted a video on the attacks to Youtube.

Megaupload.com is attempting to get back online, tho it seems unclear just how they have the funds to do that, given the extensive list of asset seizures by the US DoJ.

RELATED:
Read an interview with Kim Dotcom here.
Vice: We read the Megaupload papers so you don't have to.

The FBI/DoJ statement on the prosecutions.
The NZ Police statement on the arrests.
The DoJ indictment in full.
The NZ extradition treaty (PDF) with the US.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's information about extradition from NZ.

ADDED Tues Jan 24: List of other filesharing sites facing shut down by the US, after Megaupload's closedown... includes Filesonic, Mediafire... read it on Pastebin

Follow the traffic: What MegaUpload’s downfall did to the web - This is a fascinating series of graphs...

ADDED Wed Jan 25: Kim Dotcom has been denied bail, and remanded in custody (jail) til at least February 22. His lawyer is appealing the decision to the High Court.

ADDED Jan 27 MTV reports Kim Dotcom is releasing an album, produced by Printz Board.

ADDED Feb 3: Kim Dotcom's bail appeal to the High Court has been denied. He had earlier told the court he has no desire to flee New Zealand and wants to fight the charges against him "on a level playing field".

“I want to stay here, prove my innocence and get my money back,” he said. Source. It is expected he will now further his appeal.


ADDED Feb 8: Video - TV3's Campbell Live goes inside Kim Dotcoms's mansion with his bodyguard, sees  panic room where he was Dotcom was hiding.


ADDED Feb 11 - Printz Board - BEP and Kim Dotcom's producer (Megaupload Song) - talks to GeorgeFMs Nick D about the case. He's been hanging with PNC and Vince Harder while in NZ.

ADDED Feb 22: Kim Dotcom has been granted bail after new evidence came to light.

R.I.P. Etta James

Etta James passed away Friday, aged 73. New York Times obit here.

Steve

From Voices of East Anglia. Home to posters like this...

and then there's this man and his manly pants...

JBrown and the Mic Smith remixed

Some tasty free business from some talented local fellas. Get in there

R.I.P. Kearney Barton

Kearney Barton - early 70s. Photo: Kearney Barton/Light in the Attic

If you've ever heard Wheedle's Groove (70s Seattle funk and soul compilation) you know who this fella is. From Light In The Attic Records, who released Wheedle's Groove and the follow up...

"Last night we got an email from Kearney Barton’s niece Patti, telling us the incredibly sad news that Kearney passed away peacefully at 8 PM. He was 81-years old.

Over the last couple years, Kearney’s health had been deteriorating, but he was still sharp as a nail, hanging on and cracking jokes when we last saw him over the holidays. To say Kearney was a pioneer of the Northwest sound would be a massive understatement. Maybe he was the inventor? Whatever the tag, we miss the man.

He taught us about the Frantics, the Sonics, Little Bill, Don & The Good Times, and so many more, but the one that really blew our minds was Black On White Affair’s “Bold Soul Sister, Bold Soul Brother,” recorded by Kearney in February ’70 and released on his Topaz label. It’s the tune that led me to Kearney’s doorstep in 2003, hoping to convince the wizard to let us license the single for inclusion on a comp of Seattle soul from back in the day.

I quickly discovered the man had a heart of gold and a sense of humor that would make your grandfather proud. He was a genuine sweetheart who loved to work and record and record some more, making his famous cookies for guests, and watching a hydroplane race now and then. I remember him saying he’d had a bunch of calls from overseas reissue labels wanting to license the single, but he felt reluctant. Kearney liked the idea of working with a local label. Bless his soul.." 

Read the full post here.