 |
Music Plus with |
What with the Tauranga Arts Festival spreading throughout the city, it’s been a busy time.
The festival finishes this weekend and if you happen to have grabbed the paper straight from your letterbox and there’s still time. Let me mention that the brilliant Ozi Ozaa, a nine-piece band led by Ghanaian composer and multi-instrumentalist Yaw Asumadu, is playing the Carrus Crystal Palace on Saturday, November 1. Probably too late now but, damn, they’re worth it.
Albi And The Wolves. Photo / Supplied
It’s been a magnificent arts festival; a big ‘thank you’ and hats off to the probably very tired organisers – good job!
But no time to pause, because bands are still tearing round the country with music on offer, and new local releases are emerging almost daily.
Two shows
Next weekend, November 8, Albi And The Wolves hit town on their ‘Fun-Raising Tour’, playing not one but two shows at the Historic Village’s Jam Factory. The group is a kinetic folk quartet led by Chris Dent – the titular albino frontman ‘Albi’. Pascal Roggen, who many will also have heard Easter’s jazz festival with Miho’s Jazz Orchestra, is on fiddle; and Michael Young and Hannah de Koster comprise the rhythm section.
Since 2014 they’ve done great things, touring Australia, New Zealand and Rarotonga. In 2018 they won the NZ Best Folk Artist Award.
At the Jam Factory they will play two shows: a sit-down theatre show at 4pm and a rollicking folk party at 7pm. Take your pick, or there’s a special ticket for both.
Left-field events
Other left-field events that may be of interest: master drummer Stan Bicknell, fresh off playing stages across the UK and Europe with pop icon Natasha Bedingfield – and recently hand-picked from 6000 submissions to audition in LA for alt-rock legends Primus – is giving a drum clinic at Totara Street on November 4. This is a rare and special opportunity is for anyone who hits the skins.
Or try this on next Friday, November 7: Trombone Brazil at The Barrel Room on Wharf St, live samba, choro and gafieira performed by the Duncan Taylor Sextet. No charge.
Next week I’m going to delve into local releases, and there’s some cool stuff out there. Hardcore heavies Skonk have just launched a debut EP, not on Spotify, check out Bandcamp; The Artist Red has two new singles out that I’m just tracking down information about; False Waltons are ready to release an EP; and most excitingly of all, bluesman Grant Haua has sneaked out a new album.
Haua’s album is actually under the artist name Two Roots and is called ‘Atua Blues’. It is a collaborative project with David Noël, vocalist of the Supersoul Brothers, a Paloian band based in France where DixieFrog, the blues label that Haua is signed to, is based.
Having first heard it just a few days ago, I’m not in any real place for a review yet. I’ll return to it next week. In the meantime there’s a cool video for first single ‘River Blues’ and songs on this week’s playlist.
Hear Winston’s latest Playlist: