M Faisandier (of The Convoy) has released “35 minutes of entrancing electro-magnetic intrigue” created with electric guitar and 1/4″ tape in a seamless improvisational unravelling.
Listen:
“Prepare to be absolutely floored…” (Pantograph Punch)
“… a vibrant cross between sound art and music.” (RNZ)
“Ana… is a national treasure…” (UTR)
KŌTIRO is Ana Chaya Scotney, the Māori Jewish shape-shifting artist who this February releases her album ‘High-Def Multinational’.
Following her revered debut single ‘Force Field’ last September, Scotney now drops a potent concept album which ‘unpacks the complexities of place and belonging in Aotearoa today, from a Kōtiro frame of mind.
Citing musical influences ranging from M.I.A & Death Grips to her South Pacific label-mates on Kuini Qontrol and Sonorous Circle, Scotney (alongside co-producer Thomas Arbor) is exploring new sonic land – both the scrappy and sculpted.
Building from KŌTIRO’s original ‘high-vibe bedroom demos, the finished result is a dense collage which has been two years in the making. A karanga, an orator, a spine-tingling call to arms, High-Def Multinational is a lush and spirit-rich package of songs.
Interview (Feb 2021):
Ana talks of her recent adventures, inspiration for the EP, working with Kuini Qontrol and what comes next > Read the full interview
More info:
https://sonorouscircle.com/artists/kotiro/
https://kuiniqontrol.com/2020/09/10/kotiro-force-field-next-door/
Artist page:
“Works For Loudspeakers is a platform for emerging and established composers working in the field of electro-acoustic music. We invite submissions from anyone, anywhere, with any level of experience for works to be included in our now bi-annual listening events and compilations. More info & previous WFLS editions here: Works for Loudspeakers
New Zealand General Election & Referendums (End of Life Choice & Cannabis Legalisation)
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Are you eligible to vote? Get enrolled and ready!
Voting is open from 3rd October through to election day on the 17th. Go to vote.nz for more info and/or browse the resources below.
It's always important to have your say on who represents you in Parliament – and voting this year is even more relevant with two significant referenda on the ballot: Cannabis Legalisation and Control and End of Life Choice (click the links for further info!).
Resources:
What are the options?
Policy.NZ lets you browse by subjects that matter most to you to compare parties, candidates and their policies.
Candidate Debates:
Newshub Leader's Debate (Labour & National):
TVNZ Young Voter's Debate (Young candidates from NZ First, Act, Labour, National & Green Party):
Documentary : Cannabis Legalisation
“Paddy Gower breaks free of his news reporter shackles for an impartial investigation of the world of medical and recreational marijuana, and what this untapped billion-dollar industry could mean for New Zealand.” (Requires free & easy-to-register Mediaworks login)
Podcasts:
The Spinoff: Gone by Lunchtime
“Mihingarangi Forbes, Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee Mather and Ben Thomas go over what we learned from the Newshub leaders’ debate between Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins.”
RNZ: The Caucus
“Guyon Espiner, Lisa Owen, Tim Watkin and Scott Campbell guide you through the maze of politics to Election 2020, with frank and forthright discussion.”
Image: RNZ Music’s Charlotte Ryan with Ana Chaya Scotney aka Kōtiro
The recently released Kōtiro track, Force Field, has been getting a great response from the Aotearoa music press. Info & links below:
RNZ INTERVIEW: “Actress, writer, director, and musician Ana Scotney is a familiar face. She starred as Angel on Shortland Street, Sepa in The Breaker Uppers, and Sheena the she-wolf in What We Do In The Shadows spin-off Wellington Paranormal. Ana is of Maori (Tuhoe), German, Jewish and Irish descent and is a proficient speaker of Te Reo. But her list of talents doesn’t stop there, Ana is also a guitar and piano player as well as a dancer.”
“She has just released ‘Force Field’ from her upcoming EP HD Multi National (due out later this year) .The song incorporates modern beatboxing and Ana’s amazing voice to create a vibrant cross between sound art and music. The accompanying video is about death, then getting up and trying again. Charlotte Ryan spoke to Ana about her new project and stepping out of her acting zone and into her music zone.”
Listen to the interview here: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/music101/audio/2018764652/interview-ana-scotney-on-stepping-into-her-music-zone-with-new-project-k-tiro
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95bFM INTERVIEW: “Kōtiro is the new project from experimental artist, musician and actor Ana Chaya Scotney. Whakarongo mai nei to hear about the audio-visual track ‘Force Field‘, claiming identity, Hine Titama and Hine Nui Te Pō, and more!”
https://95bfm.com/bcast/i-v-w-ana-chaya-scotney-september-16-2020
LOOSE CANONS ON PANTOGRAPH PUNCH:
“Loose Canons is a series in which we invite artists we love to share five things that have informed their work.”
Read Ana’s thoughts on her 5 picks (Nights in Wellington, Ed Edd & Eddy, Puti Lancaster, Womb & Te Urewera) here: https://www.pantograph-punch.com/posts/loose-canons-ana-scotney
In Aotearoa New Zealand the appearance of the Matariki (aka Pleiades) star cluster on the Eastern horizon before sunrise marks the beginning of the Māori New Year.
The Matariki period is aligned with the Māori lunar calendar, Maramataka, and in 2020 it is observed on the 13th – 20th July.
According to Tūhoe astronomer, Dr Rangi Matamua, “The arrival of Matariki is a sign for people to gather, to honour the dead, celebrate the present and plan for the future.”
Tūhoe astronomer Dr Rangi Matamua
“For our tūpuna, our Māori ancestors, astronomy was interwoven into all facets of life… This knowledge was connected to seasonal activities such as planting and harvesting, the flowering of plants, the spawning of fish and the natural cycles of the environment.”
If you’d like to find out more check out the following links:
Dr Rangi Mataamua – Sharing the Knowledge of Matariki (RNZ Interview, 29mins)
Matariki Handbook (PDF download from Te Wānanga o Aotearoa)
Matariki (Te Ara, The Encyclopaedia of NZ)
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Today we release the sophomore EP from Voronoi — the ambient electronic project of the itinerant artist, writer, and electronic musician Richard B. Keys (originally from Aotearoa New Zealand). Listen here & read on below: Voronoi synthesizes a range of influences spanning ambient music, noise, electro-acoustic, neo-classical, film music and high definition sound design. Drawing inspiration from the Voronoi tessellation — an equation that is used to both model actual landscapes and at the same time to construct virtual ones —his productions employ hybrid sampling and synthesis techniques to weave irreal ambient soundscapes. His tense and beguiling pieces function through playing off and with the genre conventions of ambient music, employing dissonance & rupture as a means to undermine moments of consonance & calming effect. With Mountains & Rivers, Voronoi departs from the radiated post-industrial atmospheres of his debut EP, Yucca Flat, Nevada, to conjure up a selection of more bucolic, but no less sinister soundscapes. Spectral traces of rave vocals long since consigned to digital oblivion burble up through a thicket of electro-acoustic refrains. As the title suggests, a sense of geography haunts the tracks on the EP, but the landscapes suggested here are wholly virtual or illusory. The hybrid forms of synthesis, field recording and electro-acoustic manipulation that make up much of the EP’s instrumentation evoke an irreal, synthetic ecology that mirror Keys’ own geographic dislocation. With its dynamic affective structure oscillating between melancholy, reflection, hurt, and a persistent longing for a spiritual communion that can never be fully realised, Mountains & Rivers is a de-spiritualised elegy to the absence of presence. All tracks written and produced by Richard B. Keys Check out the Voronoi page for more info and previous releases.
Mastering by Thomas Lambert.
Cover design by Carla Schollum and Jurgita Ratkeviciute.
“Pōneke’s Womb have shared a new collection remixing tracks from their stunning 2018 debut album Like Splitting the Head From the Body. Inspired by DJ SNAKELEGS’ remix of ‘Blow You Away’, Like Splitting the Head From the Body: Remixes was developed during the band’s recent travels in China and coordinated by tour organiser Kiwese (Kristen Ng of Kaishandao – who also just dropped a December mix via Pōneke electronic dance facilitators MESH). With contributions from eight producers across China and Aotearoa, this pan-Pacific collaboration covers a vast expanse of musical ground from the unhinged glitch of DAO’s ‘Here We Bend’ remix, to Sugarman’s dancefloor ready take on ‘Feeling Like Helium’, through Shishi’s lush rework of ‘When the Night Breaks Up’. Meticulously chopped and edited from the original tracks without stems, Womb’s soft, bright, and airy melancholy still shines through everywhere on this collection like something familiar now glimpsed through coloured glass. Stream Womb’s reconstructed debut here…”(UTR)
Listen/download:
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