The Famous Elsewhere Questionnaire
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THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE . . . Anthony Furey from The Young Folk
24 Jan 2019 | 5 min read
Ireland's Young Folk may not be a familiar name to most but they did pop up at Elsewhere in 2015 with their debut album The Little Battle, of which we said, "A band you could miss entirely and therefore not miss at all, but if you catch them you'll be caught". Time to get caught then because the four-piece -- three Irish, one Kiwi -- with serious pedigree is touring in New Zealand... > Read more
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THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE SONGWRITER QUESTIONNAIRE: Darren McShane of Superturtle
7 Jan 2019 | 2 min read
Singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer Darren McShane has previously appeared on an Elsewhere questionnaire – five years ago – but on the back of the new Superturtle album which arrived at the end of last year we thought it time to give him a different set of questions. The new album is Student Flat Reunion and with its keyboards, slamming electrobeats and vocal angst it... > Read more
The Industry
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE WORLD MUSIC QUESTIONNAIRE: Fotis Vergopoulos of Rebetien
19 Dec 2018 | 2 min read
One of the more interesting and perhaps unexpected acts at the forthcoming Womad in Taranaki (see details below) will be the Greek group Rebetien whose songs are derived from the Rebetiko and the Greek traditional music repertoire, as well as originals in a similar vein. The music goes beyond the traditional into an area of nostalgia for a world most of us never knew, a world of old... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE WORLD MUSIC QUESTIONNAIRE: Jamie Smith of Mabon
10 Dec 2018 | 2 min read
Accordion player Jamie Smith has taken his version of traditional Celtic music from Wales (with contemporary influences) to concert halls and outdoor stages all over the world in the past two decades with his band Mabon. The band's sets are energetic – Elsewhere caught them at a Rainforest Festival in Sarawak in 2014 –and they bring a number of easily assimilated world music... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE JAZZ QUESTIONNAIRE: Brad Kang
4 Dec 2018 | 3 min read
Something of a power trio in jazz, Lockett Kang Zakaria – who start a short tour soon (dates below) – bring together some formidable and acclaimed local and international talent. Drummer Mark Lockett has appeared a number of times at Elsewhere, bassist Umar Zakaria won this year's jazz Tui award for the album Fearless Music and Christchurch's guitarist and educator... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE PRODUCER QUESTIONNAIRE: Mitchell Froom
3 Dec 2018 | 3 min read
If the unusual surname (it is Romanian in origin) hadn't attracted attention, the fact Mitchell Froom produced the first three Crowded House albums and Dave Dobbyn's Lament for the Numb (as well as work with McCartney, Vega, Lucinda Williams and dozens more) should have set off the alarm. And he did last year's Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie album (which was Fleetwood Mac wiothout... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE WORLD MUSIC QUESTIONNAIRE: Sharon Shannon from Ireland
30 Nov 2018 | 4 min read
For many decades now Sharon Shannon and her band have been in the vanguard of broadening the parameters of traditional Irish music into something a kin to folk-rock and bridges to reggae and country. She mostly plays accordion but is also respected as a fiddle player and over the years has worked with artists as diverse Dennis Bovell, Elvis Costello, Nigel Kennedy, Kate Bush, Steve Earle... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Ben Lemi of Congress of Animals
29 Nov 2018 | 6 min read
The Congress of Animals is something of an alt.folk supergroup in that it includes Nigel Collins (Flight of the Conchords, Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra), Justin Firefly Clark (Fly My Pretties, the Woolshed Sessions), Age Pryor (Fly My Pretties, Woolshed Sessions, Wellington Internatinal Ukulele Orchestra) and Ben Lemi. And for their current tour Bret McKenzie taking a... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Gray Bartlett
26 Nov 2018 | 2 min read
Guitarist Gray Bartlett's music may be a little too mainstream for some tastes but there is no denying his technical prowess, his subtle way of interpreting a standard and, not the least, his work ethic. At 76, Bartlett has clocked up a lot of traveling miles which has seen him play in London in the Swinging Sixties as a session man and at the Top of the Town, touring in Japan, China and... > Read more
Painted Moon
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE WRITERS' QUESTIONNAIRE: Karyn Hay
21 Nov 2018 | 4 min read
Many would know Karyn Hay as the respected broadcaster who fronted Radio With Pictures, ran music shows on Kiwi FM and talk on Radio Live, and most recently hosts a nighttime news and opinion programme on Radio New Zealand National. But Hay is also an award-winning author whose debut novel Emerald Budgies won the NZSA (NZ Society of Authors) Hubert Church Best First Book Award. She has... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE WORLD MUSIC QUESTIONNAIRE: Tui Mamaki
19 Nov 2018 | 2 min read
Although her name betrays her origins in Aotearoa New Zealand, we have offered Tui Mamaki a Famous Elsewhere World Music Questionnaire because musically and literally she inhabits a wider world than this place. Her Mamaku Project, later just Mamaku, embraced the sounds of gypsy and Middle Eastern music alongside some jazz tropes, dub and more. Her most recent project under her own name... > Read more
Snowfall (from Fly)
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: DANIEL BARRETT of RACING
16 Nov 2018 | 4 min read
It has been a slow but steady build for Auckland-based indie rock band Racing but their stars have been well aligned: appearances at the Splore and Auckland City Limits festivals, a NZonAir showcase, their single Motel Pool holding down 32 weeks in the top 10 of the NZ rock airplay charts, live gigs and then a bit of quiet because . . . They recorded their debut album Real Dancing at... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE WRITERS' QUESTIONNAIRE: Louise Hayward
10 Nov 2018 | 3 min read
While those of us who write words for a living make it seem easy, for others who embark on a writing project, as Auckland writer Louise Hayward has done with her first collection of poetry As It Was, it can be troublesome journey of doubt and revision, reflection and reservation. Hayward, who has had a long career in banking (in London) and as music publicist back in New Zealand, took her... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Cato Van Dijck of My Baby
8 Nov 2018 | 6 min read
The Dutch-Kiwi band My Baby has appeared at Elsewhere previously when guitarist Daniel “Dafreez” Johnston answered a Famous Elsewhere Questionnaire in advance of their tour in early 2016, on the back of their 2013 album My Baby Loves Voodoo . Playing a blend of dance-directed roots, blues, funk and with touches of world music (gnawa, raga, desert blues etc) My Baby have hit the... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE TEACHERS' QUESTIONNAIRE: Judith Bell of Chisnallwood Intermediate School
5 Nov 2018 | 4 min read
When the organisers of this year's annual Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards were considering the landscape of local music they wanted the awards to acknowledge the past, the present and the future. The past is taken care of with the induction of people into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame, the present is acknowledged on the night and the future is . . . Well, that is largely in the... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Helen Corry
10 Oct 2018 | 4 min read
You may have seen – but maybe didn't if you follow her on Facebook – Helen Corry's arresting video for her song La Femme. Earlier this year the clip which she said showed feminine empowerment in the #metoo age saw her Facebook page suspended. Although ironically it was still on You Tube and was played on The Edge TV. And you can see it below. Although it may have looked... > Read more
Strike
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE TEACHERS' QUESTIONNAIRE: Liz Sneyd of Virtuoso Strings
8 Oct 2018 | 3 min read
When the organisers of this year's annual Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards were considering the landscape of local music they wanted the awards to acknowledge the past, the present and the future. The past is taken care of with the winner of the Legacy Award , the present is acknowledged on the night and the future is . . . Well, that is largely in the hands of the hundreds of music... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Kim Benzie of Dead Letter Circus
26 Sep 2018 | 1 min read
If'n it ain't broke then don't fix it, right? So when Brisbane rock band Dead Letter Circus went back into the studio to record their fourth album, their first of new material since 2015's massive Aesthesis, they pulled in producers Forrester Savell and Mat Bartlem who had worked with them on Aesthesis. And as before this self-titled album is full of sky-scaling hooks and driving metal... > Read more
We Own the Light
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE SONGWRITER QUESTIONNAIRE: Don McGlashan
22 Sep 2018 | 4 min read
What can you say about Don McGlashan, official Arts Laureate and Living Legend? That he has written songs which explore the dark underbelly of New Zealand life (White Valiant) but also those of great beauty (Anchor Me, Andy)? That he has explored brittle post-punk (Blam Blam Blam), avant-garde percussion (From Scratch), performance art and film (The Front Lawn with Harry Sinclair),... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE SONGWRITER QUESTIONNAIRE: Blair Jollands
3 Sep 2018 | 2 min read
Expat Blair Jollands has been based in London (and Spain) for so long that he is perhaps barely known in his home country these days. But over the years he has produced a number of fine albums and drawn praise from Boy George (whose label he was originally on), David Bowie, the Guardian and numerous reviewers (Classic Rock magazine said he had “the sweeping drama of Nick Cave, elegant... > Read more