Any cats or kitties out there whippin or wailin and jumpin up and down tellin each other who the greatest contemporary funk cats in the world are can just zip it. Those cats are George Clinton & the Parliament Funkadelic collective, of course. I knew it a while back when the gift of the new… Continue reading George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic Givin’ Up The Funk Live In Sydney
Trinity Roots: Citizen Tour Australia 2015
Direct from playing in their homeland of Aotearoa to a crowd of many thousands of loyal fans at WOMAD New Zealand, Trinity Roots have finally blessed Australia with their first-ever Australian tour. The very special bonus prize for people at all those shows was the chance to hear live and take home the long-awaited, fresh-off-the-press… Continue reading Trinity Roots: Citizen Tour Australia 2015
WOMADelaide 2015: Nourishment Forever-After
Oh WOMADelaide, how I long to be back in your nourishing arms. You came again and gave the people four days and nights of awesomely-diverse arts, culture and music from around the world under sunshine and shady trees in Adelaide’s Botanic Park. You created the space for a vibrant community of friendly, conscious, arts-loving people… Continue reading WOMADelaide 2015: Nourishment Forever-After
Funkadelic: First Ya Gotta Shake The Gate
“I don’t do a whole lot of doin’ without the funk…I promise the funk, promise to keep this promise, you’ll keep the funk.” That of course, is a Funkadelic mantra. The promise of funk is one that George Clinton has kept throughout all of Parliament-Funkadelic’s many incarnations in its long history. It’s also a promise he’s… Continue reading Funkadelic: First Ya Gotta Shake The Gate
Reggae Still Got Soul With Etana
I Rise starts off gently with just keyboards and Etana’s super-soulful voice reverently singing the Rastafarian lyrics sung by Bob Marley with The Wailers on ‘Selassie Is The Chapel’. Bring on track two of I Rise and Etana’s calm, emotive reverence shifts to emotional outcry about how very long the people’s suffering at the hands of their leaders… Continue reading Reggae Still Got Soul With Etana
Myele Manzanza & The Goodness of Music
Music is one of the best medicines in the world. Agreed? It bring invaluable moments of euphoric goodness that at times can be hard to find in these lives of ours. True? Like all of us New Zealand artist Myele Manzanza has a lifetime of positive musical experiences that are a part of his cellular memory. He’s… Continue reading Myele Manzanza & The Goodness of Music
The Cactus Channel – Wooden Boy
Fancy the feeling of being inside an awesome spy-action film? If so then Wooden Boy, the second album from Melbourne’s 10-piece instrumental soul group The Cactus Channel, is one you’ll want in your music collection. Can I describe the music on Wooden Boy to you? Sure I can, but I won’t. Because I can’t do… Continue reading The Cactus Channel – Wooden Boy
Soulfest 2015 – The Second Coming
Soulfest arrived last year, promoted as ‘Australia’s First Annual Neo Soul, Jazz & Hip Hop Festival’. Some teething problems in its inaugural year left people wondering whether there would be a second Soulfest in 2015. Most who experienced Soulfest 2014 were hoping the festival would come again. Because despite those initial teething problems, Soulfest had delivered to… Continue reading Soulfest 2015 – The Second Coming
The Musical Evolution of Myele Manzanza
Delve into the life of New Zealand artist Myele Manzanza and you’ll find that the blend of electro, soul, hip hop, jazz and Afrobeat music on his debut solo album One, makes perfect sense as a balanced reflection of his individual life lived and the various musical influences and experiences within it. The Life of Myele… Continue reading The Musical Evolution of Myele Manzanza
Little Dragon Live Amongst The Lightsabers In Melbourne
Less than a week out from tonights Grammy Awards where they’re nominated for ‘best dance/electronic album’, Sweden’s electro-soul-synthpop group Little Dragon were playing the last of a string of sold-out shows on the other side of the world in Australia. There I caught them live on stage at 170 Russell St, Melbourne: Fredrik Wallin on bass… Continue reading Little Dragon Live Amongst The Lightsabers In Melbourne