The Famous Elsewhere Questionnaire
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THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE JAZZ QUESTIONNAIRE . . . Lucien Johnson
29 Mar 2021 | 5 min read
On the totem pole of under-acknowledged New Zealand musicians, composer-saxophonist Lucien Johnson would be very near the top. KNown and respected by musicians, but only acknowledged by those who have caught him in concert or on his recordings. As we write his acclaimed Strasbourg 1518 collaboration with choreographer Lucy Markinovich is wowing audiences at Circa in Wellington for its... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE PRODUCER QUESTIONNAIRE . . . Steve Garden of Rattle
22 Mar 2021 | 4 min read
For three decades now producer/engineer Steve Garden has been the guiding force behind Auckland's Rattle label and presenting a catalogue of music unequalled by any other label in this country, and ahead of most internationals. Rattle has brought contemporary classical music, taonga puoro, jazz and idiosyncratic sounds to attention in beautifully packaged CD booklets. The hallmark... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE. . . Adjiri Odametey
19 Mar 2021 | 3 min read
As we noted when we reviewed Adjiri Odametey's wonderful album Ekonklo/Other Side, it just came at us out of nowhere. . . or through the mysteries of the global network. He found us from the far side of the world, and we are very happy he did because Ekonklo/Other Side is wonderful album: it is refreshing, thoughtful, discreet and crafted. It is also very personal and this... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Erick Pineda of Citrus Clouds
8 Mar 2021 | 2 min read
Readers of Elsewhere will doubtless be aware of our passion for widescreen shoegaze, and may have noted our recent review of the album Collider by Citrus Clouds out of Phoenix, Arizona (a place which literally burned itself into my brain). We reviewed their previous album Imagination and also their subsequent EP Ultra Sound. Quite how this trio found Elsewhere all those years ago... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Kyle Sattler aka We Will Ride Fast
8 Feb 2021 | 4 min read
We Will Ride fast out of Tauranga (Kyle Sattler as the one-man noise machine) obviously don't much help in sourcing review quotes. Sattler writes some impressive descriptions of his music anyway: “Driven bass Alt Pop with Vocals that howl red fumes somewhere on a reservoir of gnarled and desperate snakes,” reads pretty well. And the new WWRF album Emotional... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE PRODUCER QUESTIONNAIRE: Nic Manders
7 Feb 2021 | 3 min read
Nic Manders is usually the guy on the other side of the glass, the one with his name further down the credits. But as an acclaimed producer he has been there Brooke Fraser, Stan Walker, Katchafire, Lydia Cole . . . And you only need to glance at that diversity to get he has skills right across the production desks. And he has composed and produced music for film, television, ad... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE: Estère
25 Jan 2021 | 4 min read
In a forthcoming overview of Estère's career and her new album Archetypes, Elsewhere makes the point that although highly regarded by her peers in New Zealand – and many overseas – she seems almost criminally neglected by the wider public. Yet her astutely constructed songs which run from r'n'b soul to sly funk and snappy pop seem to waiting to be discovered. We'd hope... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE BLUES QUESTIONNAIRE: Oscar LaDell
24 Jan 2021 | 3 min read
Two albums in and Dunedin's Oscar LaDell has really established himself in music which has blues at its heart but also errs towards soul and funk. LaDell's new album Love and Revolution, completed while he was studying at uni to graduate this year, impresses as a major step forward from his debut Gone Away of 2020. Two albums of original material in little more than six months? LaDell... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE: Yasamin
11 Dec 2020 | 4 min read
Because she was born in Iraq and grew up in New Zealand, the album Songs Over Baghdad by singer-songwriter Yasamin was always going to be different. It was her response to events in her homeland when hundreds were killed and the terror attack in Christchurch which targeted the Islamic community. The songs on the album, her second after a straight-ahead pop album LONDON recorded years... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Ariana Tikao
7 Dec 2020 | 6 min read
And suddenly, it seems – although she has always been there – singer and taonga puoro artist Ariana Tikao is everywhere. In the past few weeks at Elsewhere she has been one of the contributors on the John Psathas/Jack Hooker-instigated global collaboration album It's Already Tomorrow and is half of the duo with Al Fraser on the wonderful Nau Mai E Ka Hua album... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE SONGWRITERS' QUESTIONNAIRE: Hachiku
24 Nov 2020 | 3 min read
Melbourne-based Hachiku's debut album I'll Probably Be Asleep was one which slipped past us a month ago while we were diverted by other work. But belatedly we get the chance to bring its hypnotic, lyrically incisive electro-kissed dark alt.pop (with gritty guitars) to your attention courtesy of an insightful interview. Hachiku – aka Anika Ostendorf – is certainly well out of... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE: Dons Savage of Dead Famous People
2 Nov 2020 | 2 min read
Dons Savage might be a little later than most when it comes to releasing the debut album by her band Dead Famous People. They first came to attention in the late Eighties through Flying Nun but very quickly lit out for the bigger opportunities in London. Things happened (John Peel, an EP) but mostly didn't and then Savage came home to take care of her ailing mother. But now three... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE: Darren Watson
30 Sep 2020 | 6 min read | 1
From Elsewhere's side of the fence, we'd say few musicians in recent memory have worked harder promoting their album than Darren Watson. Almost undeterred by the Covid lockdowns which meant the cancellation of shows and interviews, Watson took whatever opportunity he could, got onto social media, released live performances and . . . Basically just kept doing the work to draw attention... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE: Sola Rosa (Andrew Spraggon)
28 Sep 2020 | 4 min read
As Sola Rosa, Andrew Spraggon has delivered a series of crafted albums which have edged towards soul-funk but sometimes have pulled back to more mellow moods. However his new album Chasing the Sun is a fully retro-fitted and classy channeling of classic late Sixties/early Seventies soul-jazz/soul-funk with a series of guest vocalists and horn players who really bring it home. We... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Neil Johnstone
25 Sep 2020 | 5 min read
Multi-media artist Neil Johnstone from Britain – who came here in 2017 -- has appeared a few times at Elsewhere, most notably with the wonderfully oceanic album Panthalassa and the more recently with the very different Chalk Dogs. Where the former – with guitarist Sam Leamy and taonga puoro player Al Fraser – was a majestic, emotional roll of sound and depth with Johnstone... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE: Helena Massey
18 Sep 2020 | 3 min read
With her new album Brothers Puffins and Half Skulls, the Australian singer-songwriter Helena Massey makes a real impression as someone who is a conduit for a kind of ethereal ambient Anglo-folk with her ears on contemporary artists like Steve Gunn and going way back to Pentangle's airy and elegant folk. It is quite a beautiful and mystical collection -- as mysterious as its cover below... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE: Gary Harvey
24 Aug 2020 | 5 min read
Gary Harvey cuts a striking figure. With his waist-length hair and Wild West demeanor, the blues-rock singer-guitarist looks like he'd be at home playing cards in a bar with Doc Holliday, riding with the Coleman Younger gang, sitting on the open range with Cochise and Geronimo lamenting the passing of the great buffalo herds or riding in a stagecoach through Monument Valley.... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE PRODUCER QUESTIONNAIRE: David Bulog of Si Si Es
24 Aug 2020 | 2 min read
It probably helps to translate the name Si Si Es into the acronym CCS and then think back into New Zealand synth music of the Eighties . . . and alight on Car Crash Set. That was the group of David Bulog, Nigel Russell and Trevor Reekie. In that incarnation they were short-lived but in recent years – after the release of the compilation album Join the Car Crash Set in 2008, they... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE: Ruby Solly
17 Aug 2020 | 10 min read | 1
When Ruby Solly released her debut album Poneke (Wellington, in te reo) some months ago it barely raised a ripple in most circles. There were no clubland bangers, no radio-friendly pop songs, nothing to immediately engage those looking for a new name to alight upon. But the album got very good critical notices, not the least at Elsewhere where we were quick off the mark to acclaim it for... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE: Graeme Jefferies of the Cakekitchen
10 Aug 2020 | 4 min read
In a career stretching more than 40 years, Graeme Jefferies (under his own name or with the Cakekitchen) has made some fascinating, left-field but accessible music which seems to be more appreciated and acknowledged internationally than it is on his home turf. His music has been released on Flying Nun (back in the late Eighties) and international indie labels such as Homestead and Merge... > Read more