Silver Scrolls Part 2

I've got more from the 2008 Silver Scroll awards ceremony this week. Listen to the podcast to hear Voom perform Anika Moa's 'Dreams In My Head' and Little Bushman's take on Liam Finn's 'Gather To the Chapel'.

I've also included Shona Laing and Hinewehi Mohi performing a Mahinerangi Tocker song as part of a tribute to the recently deceased singer and songwriter.

You might also be interested in last year's Silver Scroll awards podcast available to download (part 1 and part 2).

Here's a couple of pictures from this years ceremony - all courtesy of my Waiheke Radio co-conspirator Pumicehead. Take a careful look - that's a prawn Luke Buda is holding while wildly gesticulating with his other hand.




Download the Counting The Beat - Silver Scrolls Part 2 podcast

Silver Scrolls 2008

I was lucky enough to attend the recent Silver Scroll Awards. The awards recognise songwriting rather than commercial success and are run by APRA, the organisation made up of songwriters and composers that collects royalties on their behalf. As well as being a celebration of kiwi music the annual awards, now in their 43rd year, are a great occasion in their own right. One of the stand-out features of the night is that each of the five finalist songs is performed by another New Zealand artist, often in a extraordinary or unusual form.

This year the five finalists included a number a couple of Counting The Beat favourites - The Phoenix Foundation's 'Bright Grey' and Liam Finn's 'Gather To the Chapel'. Also nominated were Anika Moa's 'In My Dreams', Op-Shop's 'One Day' and 'Baby Come On' by Elemeno P, a song which I've had stuck in my head ever since.

Counting The Beat recorded interviews with finalists Jason Kerrison of Op-Shop, Dave Gibson of Elemeno-P and Luke Buda of the Phoenix Foundation. You'll hear those interviews and some of the extraordinary cover versions on the podcast. Playing those covers you'll hear Bachelorette, The Sami Sisters and King Kapisi. There's also a chat with inductees into the NZ Music Hall of Fame, The Topp Twins and a performance of one of their songs by Reb Fountain and Johnny Barker

And if you've ever wondered what The Chills would sound like with a pipe organ, bell ringers and a choir you've got to take a listen.

Finally a couple of technical notes: Big Pod who host the Counting The Beat podcasts have a limit on the file size I can post. Because this is an extended podcast I have had to post at a lower bit-rate than I normally do. However the recordings from the ceremony are straight from the sound desk and quite reasonable quality so I have also posted the podcast here at a higher bit rate. I have plenty more great material from the ceremony, including cover performances, that has not made it onto this episode, so I will be posting a second installment within the next couple of weeks.

Download the Counting The Beat - Silver Scrolls podcast

Solar

In a recent Counting The Beat Episode I featured The Ponsonby DCs classic 'G'Day Mate'. Now, 22 years after their debut album the DCs have just been released a second long-player, "That's What All the Girls Say!". The band serve up another helping of quirky tongue-in-cheek pop but open the album on a more serious note with songwriter Gavin Buxton contemplating his place in the universe, citing 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the demise of the dinosaurs and Pluto's loss of planetary status. Taking 'Pluto's Not A Planet Anymore' as a starting point for this episode I've charted a musical course around our solar system.

Drone were active from 1988 to 1996 playing moody, atmospheric music that will probably appeal to fans of An Emerald City. Nowadays Darryl Hocking is playing in the electronic soul funk outfit Snake Salvador but I would recommend hunting down any of the Drone releases in particular the 1989 self titled LP that opens with 'Moonsong', sampling Kennedy's iconic speech, "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard". You can download Drone's Land of The Free single courtesy of Kiwitapes.

Many years ago now I used to co-host a radio show on Radio One in Dunedin with Baden French. The name of the show, Bad Baden and Crazy Chris Wander the Industrial Wasteland, will give you a sense of the type of music we played. But baden also had a love of dub and electronic music and he went on to record two albums under the name Laughin' Gas. On 2003's The Red Sessions Baden brought in some guests, including Demarnia Lloyd of Cloudboy and Mink who adds her trademark wistful vocals to 'Sunset on Saturn'.

Like The Ponsonby DCs, The Terminals returned to recording after a long absence. The band boast a strong alternative and experimental music pedigree with members having played in the Victor Dimisch Band, A Handful of Dust, The Renderers and The Pin Group (who put the first ever release on Flying Nun). The music of The Terminal has been described as rough and tumble with tuneful yet dark songs with an undercurrent of buzz and fury. Their 2007 album Last Days of The Sun has been heralded as up with their best.

Of course there are many more kiwi songs about the planets of our solar system so keep an ear out for a solar sequel some time soon.

Download the Counting The Beat - Solar podcast