Australian Music Artists

Leo Salvo on Fusion Music

November 30, 2013 by Beaver on the Beats Leave a Comment

An incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. Has probably played in or led more Latin music gigs and groups (including institutional big band Rumberos) than most other living musicians in Melbourne.

Leo Salvo could just be the Papa Bear of Latin music in Melbourne. This is his take on fusion music…

Nothing exists without fusion. From the moment a note came out of a voice and someone hit 2 rocks together, it was a form of fusion music.

Just like the first time and til the present day, we still find ourselves with only 2 types of music, no matter what we add or fuse with this or that…

The 2 types are Good and Shit!

Leo also told me he thinks the world’s best Latin fusion music is from Uruguay. I’m waiting for him to share some with me.

Filed Under: Artists on Fusion, Fusion Music, Leo Salvo Tagged With: fusion music, leo salvo, melbourne music, rumberos

Melbourne Music Juggle – AWME 2013

November 25, 2013 by Beaver on the Beats Leave a Comment

Why don’t I live here? That’s the question I ask myself whenever I’m in Melbourne. The city is a music lover’s paradise.

Melbourne Music Juggle

On any night or weekend in Melbourne there are a huge number of live music options all over the city – or concerts of international artists only bringing their musical goodness to Melbourne and Sydney – and buskers making the already funky Melbourne streets a better place – or music festivals and expos.

Get yourself there on any mid-November weekend and you’ll find yourself juggling (as I just did) the normal Melbourne gigs + the events of Melbourne Music Week, Johnston St Fiesta and best of all for me, AWME – Australasian Worldwide Music Expo.

2013 AWME Offerings

AWME is an annual 4-day showcase of quality roots music from the Australasian region and other random countries.

This year saw artists representing Australia, Scotland, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Papa New Guinea, Italy, Ireland, Ethiopia, Fiji, Reunion Island, Vanuatu and Cambodia – playing in a handful of great live music venues close together, in and around Melbourne’s city centre.

I didn’t get to all the AWME concerts this year. I was doing that Melbourne music juggle, and truth be told I probably would have fit more AWME events in if the 2013 program had been different.

I’m quite sure I missed some amazing music. I know some of it was by the Barefoot Divas, a group of 6 beautiful and talented female indigenous artists who performed on Opening Night. I was blessed to catch 5 of the Divas at a live show a few days ago – and they are as incredible as I’d heard they were.

Aotearoa/New Zealand Represented

On Friday night the Hi Fi Bar hosted 5 acts from Aotearoa/New Zealand: Mark Vanilau – Whiri Tu Aka – Hollie Smith – Sola Rosa – Sons of Zion.

Some of the world’s greatest and most original sounding contemporary music, with its own very unique Pacific flavors, comes out of the 2 small islands of Aotearoa/New Zealand. Artists performing at AWME in past years have showcased that Aotearoa musical originality and greatness in abundance (eg. Electric Wire Hustle in 2010), but this year not so much for me.

The exception I heard was the set by the indisputably incredible vocalist Hollie Smith – with a band of great keys, bass and drum players.

Hollie Smith

Video from Hollie Smith’s Hi Fi Bar gig here…

I enjoyed some Sola Rosa tunes and the soulful vocals of Cherie Mathieson. I might have loved it if a full band was added to the Sola Rosa mix.

Sola Rosa

Video of Sola Rosa’s live version of Humanised. You all know this one…

Melbourne Fusion Represented

Melbourne’s The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra, closed AWME at the Hi Fi Bar on Sunday night.

17 band members on stage – including a DJ in the mix yes :). All of them are really talented musicians, singers and dancers. A five-piece horn section in any band is an extra special delight for me. The music is a very cool fusion of afro-beat and hip hop. Perfect musical ingredients? For me, yes.

The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra

Something at the gig was not quite right though, and I don’t know what it was. My friend said to me “Melbourne musicians play too clean and perfectly. The music sounds too polished or something”. Was that it? Not dirty or raw enough? A fire missing from the Melbourne city venue stage that might more naturally be found by Fela, Femi or Seun playing on an African stage? Maybe it was just the end of a long and tiring (but great) AWME weekend for everyone. I don’t know, but these artists are great – and the promise of afro-beat/hip hop fusion is so appealing to me that I bought The POAO CD home to try.

The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra

Check out this video from the gig yourself and let me know if you like it – and I’ll let you know if I like the CD.

NGAIIRE Was The One

NGAIIRE (Papua New Guinea) and her band was the greatest of the musical gifts from AWME to me this year – noting again (sadly), I missed Ngaiire with the other Barefoot Divas perform on Thursday Night.

Ngaiire

I loved the music I heard at this gig because it combined eclectic and engaging sounds of the electronic kinds, with live drum kit and piano, all executed perfectly – with the very raw and soulful vocals of the NGAIIRE amongst it. The total of those things was original sounding music, live.

w/ NGAIIRE

Video of NGAIIRE live @ the Toff here…

The gift of finding NGAIIRE live was also the gift that keeps on giving, because I bought NGAIIRE’s CD Lamentations home with me to find my music collection has a beautiful new album I want to keep listening to over and over again.

AWME Always

I’d go to Melbourne for AWME any ole year. I’ll always find quality music there – both in the AWME program and in the rest of Melbourne. I juggle and squeeze in as much of it all as I possibly can, while I can. In each and every moment I’m filled with Melbourne cultural envy of its many diverse musical as well as other arts, culinary, fashion and people delights.

P.S. Thankful I am AWME artists had real CDs for sale at their gigs.

Filed Under: Aotearoa (New Zealand), Australia, AWME (Australasian Worldwide Music Expo), Hollie Smith, Ngaiire, Ngaiire, Papua New Guinea, Sola Rosa, The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra Tagged With: australasian worldwide music expo, awme, awme 2013, hollie smith, ngaiire, public opinion afro orchestra

Island Vibe Festival – Community Goodness

November 6, 2013 by Beaver on the Beats

Some people go to Island Vibe festival for the music on the bill.

Many folks go to dance barefoot on the grass under glorious Spring sunshine and night stars.

Most people go to soak up the heavenly island goodness of Minjerribah (Nth Stradbroke Island): to breathe in the fresh, clean ocean air – to swim on one of the many stunning beaches as whales, dolphins and turtles pass nearby – to wander through the island’s forests and be amongst wild and beautiful native Australian wildlife.

Everyone goes to Island Vibe festival to be part of a community. One of good people. One of happy people.

Communities Connected

Interconnected people, friends and families, come [mostly] from not-so-far-away Australian places. Those places feel like a world away once you get over Moreton Bay by boat to Minjerribah.

Families and friends share rental houses and camps. Everyone cooks and eats good food, drinks and laughs together. They catch up on each other’s busy lives, swim and walk, and watch their kids play together. They relax and unwind together.

For all of that, everyone is juiced up before they even get to the festival ground.

On Friday, Saturday, Sunday or every one of those days, all those people come from wherever they are on the island. So too come the local folks of Minjerribah and its surrounding bay area.

They meet, and they share a space together – metres away from the divine Home Beach – just behind those trees – in the open air festival of Island Vibe.

That festival space becomes the principal meeting place for one and all – to eat more good food, browse artisan markets, appreciate the beautiful local indigenous artworks in the Artspace gallery, hang out, relax, and talk and laugh together some more. Dance together. Be connected in music.

The Island Vibe Festival Community. Each October for the past 8 years, a new one has been formed. That community is one with a really beautiful spirit – and one that gets happier and healthier on each 1 of the 3 festival days.

Island Vibe Music

For me, the music artists on the bill at Island Vibe are an integral part, but have also become just a background to all of that other island goodness.

DJs Up

This year lots of international DJs were added to the musical mix of Island Vibe: Electric Punanny (NY) – Ill Gates (US) – JStar (UK) – Jah Red Lion (Chile) – J:Kenzo (UK) – Dub Terminator, Soulware & Organikismness (Aotearoa). Increased musical diversity at a festival is great. So is hearing some new music in Australia. The DJs I heard were awesome at what they do and I heard some music I love.

JStar

Ultimately though, they are DJs – playing, mixing and creating music, with machines. No live instruments, and only live vocals or rhymes where the DJ’s doing the gig with an MC/ vocalist.

Kingfisha

I think there’s a very different energy and atmosphere created by music from a DJ, to the energy and atmosphere created by music created from instruments, played live, by human people. The energy created by live music just feels more alive, and more organic to me – more alive and organic than the greatest DJ in the world playing the most incredible music, could ever feel. When I go to music festivals I want as many live music experiences as possible, especially new and original music.

The DJs at Island Vibe this year weren’t just added to the mix. They replaced all international bands on the bill, and played as the last headline act on the main and 1 of the other 2 stages. This is just me, one punter, but I wanted more live (new and original) music than I was offered.

2013 Good Stuff

Live bands or DJs (even better a live band with a DJ in it), I always hope to be blown away by something musical when I go to a music festival. That didn’t happen for me this year at Island Vibe – but, throughout the festival I heard some great sounds, engaging music and fantastic musicianship. I’m sure I missed some good gigs too, and maybe I even missed some amazing ones that might have blown me away.

Here’s the stuff I heard that I got into…

Uncomfortable Science

The multi-madly-talented musical scientist Lachlan Mitchell (Laneous & The Family Yah, Kooii, Kafka) led a really entertaining improvised session between a group of musician test subjects – all concentrating very hard to follow his spontaneous whiteboard scribbles of chord progressions and melodies.

Uncomfortable Science

Musically the most unique and interesting sounds I heard in my 5 island days was at a restaurant gig by 2 members of Uncomfortable Science before the festival started. It was the really engaging, at times mesmerising improvised sounds of Lachlan Mitchell on vocals and hand percussion with Michael Meddlycott on synth and keyboard.

Yeshe & Friends

Beautiful, gentle, soothing lunchtime world fusion music sounds played by a bunch of incredible musicians from the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Northern NSW.

Yeshe & Friends

Mystic Beats

A spacious, cruisy, groovin’ early afternoon jam between 5 Northern NSW-based musicians – including Cye Wood playing exquisite violin.

Cye Wood w/ Mystic Beats

Bobby Alu

Sweet, soulful sunset ukelele and percussion sounds from the Gold Coast and Brisbane’s Bobby Alu.

Bobby Alu

Golden Sound

Straight up, funky good funk tunes out of Brisbane. There just aint enough new funk music being made in the world today – and happily for me, Brisbane’s Peter G and his musical cohorts (including Bobby Alu’s Paulie B on guitar and Stewart Barry on bass) gave me some of it at Island Vibe.

Golden Sound

JStar & MC Soom T

Soulful vocals, beats, rhymes and attitude from Glaswegian MC Soom T, collaborator with a huge number of talented international producers and DJs – including at Island Vibe 2013 with JStar.

Check out a video here…

Kingfisha

Brisbane’s Kingfisha took everyone happily through Sunday’s sunset with old and new songs, and new versions of old songs – all of which are sounding better and better with the increasing addition of synth sounds to the musical mix.

Kingfisha

Kingfisha videos to check out here..

Electric Punanny

Good reggae tunes mixed up with some dancehall and electro.

Video of Electric Punanny w/ dancer Nadiah Idris here…

Music Missed

Gotta say it. I missed a lot of music at Island Vibe that I’d really wanted to hear.

Some was because the festival ticket box opened almost an hour after the festival started. The first acts had already finished before I could get a ticket, a wristband and into the festival. I felt sorry for me, but even sorrier for the artists inside the festival sharing their music with almost no one. Other times I missed music when bands’ sets were cut drastically short due to sound and stage issues.

A Beautiful Welcome

The music and dance that affected me the most during all of the Island Vibe festival, was what I heard and saw during the Opening Ceremony on Saturday.

The traditional custodians of Minjerribah and surrounding region, the Quandamooka peoples, with their words, music and dance, welcomed everyone to the land and the festival in a generous and beautiful spirit of sharing and respect.

It began with the traditional song, dance and stories of the Yuli Burri Bah dancers, led with thoughtful, positive and moving words and didgeridoo by Josh Walker…

Followed by the very lovely Siva Mai Dancers you can see behind this cutie…

Then the ever so cool Q Crew with their super stylin’ dance moves – accompanied in one piece by the amazing dancehall dancer Nadiah Idris…

Ending with Simangavole performing the Maloya rhythm, traditional music of the slaves of Réunion Island…

I listened, watched and smiled through all the music and dance of the Opening Ceremony. I loved it all – traditional and modern. It was the best in the festival for me this year.

Island Vibe Goodness

The total experience that you’ll have by going to Minjerribah for the Island Vibe festival is one full of goodness. It is a meeting place for a friendly, relaxed, happy community of good peoples – on a very special island paradise. There are so many reasons to go and to be part of that community.

Anyone else in the 2013 Island Vibe Community hear something awesome that I missed? Maybe a DJ that blew your mind? 🙂

Filed Under: Cye Wood, Electric Punanny, England, Island Vibe Festival, J Star, Kingfisha, Matt Ostila, MC Soom T, Scotland, Uncomfortable Science, Yeshe Tagged With: electric punanny, island vibe, island vibe festival, jstar, kingfisha, soom t

Tamwah – Postcards From Brazil

October 18, 2013 by Beaver on the Beats 2 Comments

The music and lyrics of Australian diva and artist Tamara Williams (aka Tamwah), exude positivity and goodness.

Tamwah’s third and most recent 2013 release, Postcards From Brazil, is no exception.

The music is a fusion of contemporary Neo-Soul and hip hop sounds with traditional Afro-Brazilian ones. Tamwah’s lyrics are conscious ones with positive messages of love, spirituality, the blessing of life and hope.

The EP was recorded in Australia and Brazil. Apart from the sweet, soulful talent of Tamwah herself, the six tracks also feature the talents of many great artists from Australia, Brazil and other countries – including Paris LaMont, keyboardist from my new favourite contemporary Jamaican reggae artists – Protoje and The Indiggnation.

Some sample listening tracks from Postcards From Brazil:

02 Love Kiss

05 One (Feat MC Len Lama I&I Tribe)

Postcards From Brazil and Tamwah’s previous independent releases can be purchased on-line:

This World (2006)

A Different World – Shawn Wills & Tamwah (2011)

Wherever in the world you are, keep an eye out for uplifting live Tamwah shows. She has just returned from a tour in North America with Saritah, is on an Australian tour now with Miss Renee Simone, and if you’re lucky the next one will be somewhere near you.

Filed Under: Australia, Tamwah Tagged With: postcards from brazil, tamara williams, tamwah

Kooii – Kickin’ It Live At Kulcha Jam

September 25, 2013 by Beaver on the Beats Leave a Comment

After a bit of a gig hiatus, Kooii took their uplifting Afro Beat/reggae/jazz/groove fusion sounds to Byron Bay to play live at Kulcha Jam.

The gig was a positive, feel good experience for all – same as every Kooii gig I’ve been to over the years.

It was 10 years ago when I bought Kooii’s first release – Hijacker. Since then the group has morphed its members and its music, but the things that make up the goodness that is Kooii remain.

Kooii Goodness

The Blend

*The faultlessly blended and fantastic sounds of Afro Beat, reggae & jazz in the music. Quality Afro Beat played by Australians, in Australia yes – that makes Kooii extra special in my books.

Vocals & Trumpet

*Kooii’s principal song writer and vocalist Peter Hunt: His lyrics with their simple and positive messages; and his beautiful trumpet playing that I am always hanging to hear.

Musicianship

*The incredibly tight musicianship of every Kooii band member.

My musically hard to please (and also musically brilliant) friend said this to me during the gig:

Those guys are such amazing musicians that the music they play transcends the genres they’re playing.

Each member of Kooii is a well respected and significant part of Brisbane’s contemporary (I’d say fusion) music scene in their own right. Via Kooii yes, but also via other bands they have been or are now a part of. That includes Kafka, Bobby Alu, Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes, Laneous & The Family Yah, Ruby Blue and Promiscuous. Brisbanites will know exactly what I’m talking about.

Kooii are: Peter Hunt (Vocals & Trumpet); Darcy McNulty (Saxophone); Tom Hinchliffe (Bass & Vocals); Lachlan Mitchell (Guitar & Vocals); Dominic Hede (Drums); Conan Griffiths (Guitar); Charles Wall (Percussion).

Connected In the Round

Gigs at Kulcha Jam are the best live musical experiences you’re likely to have in any Byron Bay venue.

I’ll probably have more to say about good vibes Kulcha Jam another day. Suffice to say for now – this is a community & cultural arts hub where you’ll find coconut juice instead of beer; chocolate covered strawberries; and a no-shoe-policy in the music & other arts space. People are there to listen, dance and appreciate the music.

Importantly, you’ll be dancing around the band playing in the middle of the space, on the same floor you’re dancing on. You will see, and feel connected to the artists and everyone else in the room who you’re sharing that musical experience with.

Everyone Agrees

It seems everyone at Kooii’s Kulcha Jam gig agrees with me about its excellency.

Here’s a great piece that Rachael Torise from community radio station Bay FM, put together about people’s experiences there.

https://soundcloud.com/chopsuey-roaming-radio/live-in-the-shire-kooii

+ a video of Kooii performing live at Kulcha Jam…

Indescribable Support

Last but not at all least, Kooii were supported at Kulcha Jam by the musical genius of Cye Wood on violin and Matt Ostila on the Swiss Hang, electric bass, African kalimbas and a loop pedal. I could tell you they played ‘world music sounds’ but that means nothing much. They created indescribable but beautiful, improvised, experimental music. I love to hear these musicians play whatever they are playing, whenever they are playing.

Matt Ostila & Cye Wood

Kooii and their support act absolutely kicked it at Kulcha Jam – just like Kooii sing in their song below that you can check out 🙂 .

Listen

Kooii tracks for listening here… (available to buy through Vitamin Records – and of course much better sounding than these MP3 versions )

Call Out (2012)

**‘Kick It’ – Kooii – Call Out (2012)**

**‘Hold It Up’ – Kooii – Call Out (2012)**

Beads On A String (2005)

**‘Meeting Place’ – Kooii – Beads On A String (2005)**

“The music as a meeting place, for all to come, for all to be.”

‘We Get Around’ – Kooii – Beads On A String (2005)

In This Life (2010)

Filed Under: Australia, Australia, Cye Wood, Kooii, Kulcha Jam, Matt Ostila Tagged With: Beads on a String, Call Out, cye wood, Kooii, Kulcha Jam, matt ostila

Australian Music Artists

Leo Salvo on Fusion Music

Melbourne Music Juggle – AWME 2013

Melbourne Music Juggle

2013 AWME Offerings

Aotearoa/New Zealand Represented

Melbourne Fusion Represented

NGAIIRE Was The One

AWME Always

Island Vibe Festival – Community Goodness

Communities Connected

Island Vibe Music

DJs Up

2013 Good Stuff

Uncomfortable Science

Yeshe & Friends

Mystic Beats

Bobby Alu

Golden Sound

JStar & MC Soom T

Kingfisha

Electric Punanny

Music Missed

A Beautiful Welcome

Island Vibe Goodness

Tamwah – Postcards From Brazil

Kooii – Kickin’ It Live At Kulcha Jam

Kooii Goodness

Connected In the Round

Everyone Agrees

Indescribable Support

Listen

**‘Kick It’ – Kooii – Call Out (2012)**

**‘Hold It Up’ – Kooii – Call Out (2012)**

**‘Meeting Place’ – Kooii – Beads On A String (2005)**

‘We Get Around’ – Kooii – Beads On A String (2005)

music sublime

Subscribe to Beaver on the Beats

© 2013-2017 Beaver on the Beats

Music Lives

Australian Music Artists

Melbourne Music Juggle

2013 AWME Offerings

Aotearoa/New Zealand Represented

Melbourne Fusion Represented

NGAIIRE Was The One

AWME Always

Communities Connected

Island Vibe Music

DJs Up

2013 Good Stuff

JStar & MC Soom T

Music Missed

A Beautiful Welcome

Island Vibe Goodness

Kooii Goodness

Connected In the Round

Everyone Agrees

Indescribable Support

Listen

‘Kick It’ – Kooii – Call Out (2012)

‘Hold It Up’ – Kooii – Call Out (2012)

‘Meeting Place’ – Kooii – Beads On A String (2005)

‘We Get Around’ – Kooii – Beads On A String (2005)

music sublime

Subscribe to Beaver on the Beats

© 2013-2017 Beaver on the Beats

~~Music Lives~~

**‘Kick It’ – Kooii – Call Out (2012)**

**‘Hold It Up’ – Kooii – Call Out (2012)**

**‘Meeting Place’ – Kooii – Beads On A String (2005)**

Music Lives