Skilaa: Tiger in the River (digital outlets)

 |   |  1 min read

Bite Like That
Skilaa: Tiger in the River (digital outlets)

Now this is very interesting and something very different by this ensemble of local artists, many of whom met at the University of Auckland jazz school.

As did the Beths.

But they took their interest into indie.rock and Skilaa use jazz vocals, scatting and hip-hop and soul as their stepping off point.

So imagine early Arrested Development who grew up with Sarah Vaughan and Flora Purim albums, South Auckland soul and R'n'B, Detroit rap and Bristol trip-hop and maybe even some of the vocal layering of Meredith Monk.

It makes for an album of slippery melodies, subtle and funky hip-hop beats, multi-layered vocal lines which stretch in unexpected directions and somewhere in the background a rock trio with guitar just waiting to pop out.

They describe themselves as “psych R'n'B” but frankly even that is limiting.

There are a few familiar names here: writer/vocalist Chelsea Prastiti (who also designed the striking cover), bassist Tom Dennison and guitarist Michael Howell who have all appeared at Elsewhere on local jazz albums.

But this isn't a jazz album.

It is something unique.

Factor in the dark vibe of the outstanding trip-hop Scratch Me Out, the spooky vocal of the terrific Southern Gothic (which also has all the lazy appeal of early Arrested Development, and scatting), the languid Money with a verse contributed by Detroit rapper Guilty Simpson, the surreptitious bass groove of the Pacific-soul R'n'B ballad In My Head, the instantly appealing Bite Like That . . .

This is clever, feminist, soulful and exquisitely crafted music which steps past easy genre categorisation which is also catchy, inventive and . . .

Check it out for yourself. It's something special.

.

You can hear and buy this album at bandcamp here


Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   Music at Elsewhere articles index

Various Artists: Waiata; Maori Showbands, Balladeers and Pop Stars (EMI)

Various Artists: Waiata; Maori Showbands, Balladeers and Pop Stars (EMI)

After the interest in -- and award-winning success -- of Chris Bourke's marvellous every-home-should-have-one book Blue Smoke, this double disc collection seems almost mandatory. It scoops up a... > Read more

RECOMMENDED REISSUE: Jane Weaver; The Silver Globe (Fire/Southbound)

RECOMMENDED REISSUE: Jane Weaver; The Silver Globe (Fire/Southbound)

British folkadelic singer-songwriter first came to attention at Elsewhere last year with her sixth (sixth?) album Modern Kosmology – one of our Best of Elsewhere 2017 choices – which... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT . . . CARLOS GARDEL: The voice of Argentina

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT . . . CARLOS GARDEL: The voice of Argentina

Just as there is no English-language equivalent of Jacques Brel (suggestions anyone?) or Edith Piaf, so there is no equivalent to Carlos Gardel (1890-1935) who became the voice of Argentinean... > Read more

Bon Jovi: Having a bar of it

Bon Jovi: Having a bar of it

My knowledge of Bon Jovi has always been limited, and even more so back in the early Nineties when all I could conjure up for a pub quiz would have been "New Jersey, the cover of their... > Read more