CMJ New Music Report - March 2012 - Tasting Grace

NEW ZEALAND
NEW MUSIC REPORT
YOUR GUIDE TO THE
NZ@SXSW CD
LADYHAWKE BLACK WHITE & BLUE
Following on from her multi-award winning, critically acclaimed, self-titled debut
album, we are buzzing with joy to announce that LADYHAWKE is set to release
her second album, ‘Anxiety’ this coming May on Modular Recordings.
The new album was recorded in New Zealand and France earlier this year by
producer and long-time collaborator Pascal Gabriel and features ten new songs
including her new single ‘Black White & Blue’ where Ladyhawke plays lead guitar,
bass and drums as well as performing vocal duties.
CAIRO KNIFE FIGHT THE VIOLENCE OF ACTION
Cairo Knife Fight, New Zealand’s electrifying power rock duo, makes an
intergalactic impact on US ground as they announce the arrival of their sonic
sound to this year’s 2012 SXSW Festival in Austin, TX. Cairo Knife Fight, who
released their second EP “II” via Liberation Music in August 2011, is comprised of
drummer / lead vocalist Nick Gaffaney and Aaron Tokona on guitar and
effects. Cairo Knife Fight’s music whips up a melodic storm of riff-fired power
that takes your mind, body and soul on a hallucinatory rock ‘n’ roll ride. Think:
Radiohead meets Kyuss meets Sigur Ros. Recorded on Roundhead Studio’s Neve
desk, the console custom-built for The Who, “II” contains four tracks, all epic
journeys into CKF’s sonic universe. “The first EP was just a taste,” says Tokona.
“This one sounds like we are on our way somewhere - we’re taking more risks and
we are way more fearless.”
CAIRO
KNIFE
FIGHT
COCO SOLID ARCHITECTURE
Architecture is the bold new track from Coco Solid and her long-time collaborator
Tim 'Jizmatron' Checkley. ‘Architecture’ is a dark pop turn and a cryptic tribute
to Depeche Mode and New Order among others.
Inspired by the idea of her antithesis and opposite, Coco's British sci-fi villain gives
us an avant-garde take on power. An excessive ride through the dark psyche,
'Architecture' is a towering tribute to power and excess of the 80s - and today.
Taken from Coco Solid's 30 minute Pacific Rims mixtape, the relentless synth and
speech on the track is complimented by a vivid (and somewhat shocking) Liam
Bachler directed video. It has stayed on college radio charts for months after release.
Coco Solid & Jizmatron are set to release a full album together in 2012.
ZOWIE SMASH IT
Zowie gears up to her debut long-player, due mid-2012, with 'Smash It'. Co-written
with Jimmy Harry (who snagged a Golden Globe for Madonna's 'Masterpiece'),
'Smash it' was featured on the hit US TV show Pretty Little Liars. Perez Hilton
decrees 'Smash It' "An undeniable hit... We hope this goes Top 10 all over the
world!", and Arjan Writes comments "Zowie once again moves to the beat of her
own drum on her excellent new single". Zowie's energetic live show has seen her
tour with Katy Perry and Mark Ronson & The Business Intl in 2011 as well as
playing key festival slots for La De Da, Rhythm & Vines, and Homegrown in New
Zealand. Her album fuses her canny knack for beats and playground chants with
innovative production and programming. "Wowie, Zowie, is all I can say about this
dynamite down under wonder, who really ought to become a superstar on this side
of the equator soon." Yahoo Music US.
KIMBRA SETTLE DOWN
Spending her early years gigging around her native New Zealand, it was only once
Kimbra borrowed a small eight-track recorder from her school’s musical department
that her song writing blossomed in earnest. This new tool opened up a new perspective,
leading to a flurry of tracks that featured her signature layered vocals, including the
inkling that became ‘Settle Down’ the lead single off her debut album, VOWS.
‘Settle Down’ still remains the perfect introduction to Kimbra, taking out the top
position in the Pop Category of the International Song-writing Competition.
The track is a rhythmic assembly of vocal and funk-indebted textures, handclaps, jazzy
flourishes and a ballooning song structure with escapist lyrics about domesticity.
In fact, the song lyrics, “I wanna raise a child / won’t you raise a child with me?”
cleverly question the idea of “laying your life on this illusive ideal of married life,”
while also introducing the main themes of Vows concerning promises and attachment.
KIMBRA
LADI 6 LIKE WATER
Ladi6 is an internationally award winning hip-hop/ soul artist described by Music
Week as “Stratospherically that good”.
Sharing stages with legendary artists such as Gil Scott Heron and Erykah Badu,
performing festival shows such as Glastonbury and playing over 50 club shows a
year in Europe, Ladi6 is proving why London’s Metro describes her as one to watch.
Like Water is the Number 1 platinum selling single off Ladi6’s sophomore album
“The Liberation Of...”
AVALANCHE CITY LOVE LOVE LOVE
Avalanche City is the brain child of Dave Baxter, a musician whose background
stretches across many genres and influences culminating in a sound that is
impressive and eclectic. The depth and perspective create a dynamic atmosphere
that is rich and raw all at once. With a brilliant collection of folk pop songs, which
use the banjo, accordion, violin and acoustic guitar the band has struck their own
sound. The first single Love Love Love debuted #1 in New Zealand selling double
platinum and has recently reached gold status in Australia. The United States will
be releasing an EP and the UK the album in the coming months.
BIC RUNGA HELLO HELLO
Bic Runga is one of just a handful of New Zealand artists who have truly earned
the term ‘iconic’. She has been awarded almost every musical honor in the country,
and her songs are etched into the nation’s consciousness.
The lead single from Bic’s fourth studio album ‘Belle’, ‘Hello Hello’ was co-written
with Dan Hume of Evermore. ‘Belle’ also features a collaboration with James
Milne (Laurence Arabia), and tracks written with Ruban and Kody Nielson (The
Mint Chicks/Unknown Mortal Orchestra). The album was produced by Kody
Nielson and mixed by Justin Gerrish (Vampire Weekend), Tom Rothrock (Beck,
Foo Fighters) and Kody Nielson.
Bic will be travelling extensively to support the rollout of ‘Belle’ in several
international territories during 2012.