Tag: Musician interview

Gong bathing with musician extraordinaire Erika Grant

Neil
Photo courtesy of  Holly Fenwick and used with kind permission.

Erika Grant is many things: a multi-talented musician, a music teacher, an astrologer, a float facilitator and has just added to her quiver of sonic talents a purveyor and creator of gong baths. She is interested in, amongst many things, how deep relaxation, rest, spirituality and music intersect.

She has played with a myriad of bands in all sorts of guises, to name just two Cookie Brooklyn and the Crumbs and the marvellous Orchestra of spheres. She has also performed in many festivals both here and abroad, such as the Fertility Festival, and has made multiple live soundtracks for the Wellington Film Society, including the recent live soundtrack screening of the F.W. Murnau 1926 black and white movie classic masterpiece Faust. She graduated from the Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand and was awarded the 2009 Chapman Tripp award for outstanding music composers.

Erika talked to us primarily about her new gong baths experience, but we did squeeze in a few questions about some of her many other musical adventures and beyond. We wish to extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Erika for taking the time to talk to us about gong baths and her many other musical activities, and for providing such an illuminating insight into her world and work.

A huge thank-you also for providing an exclusive gong bath recording for the interview (you can hear that at the end of the interview). All music is copyright Erika Grant and used with kind permission.

This interview was done in conjunction with Caffeine and Aspirin, the arts and entertainment review show on Radioactive FM.

For more information on Erika’s Gong Baths and future dates, you can visit her Facebook page.

For information about her astrology sessions, you can visit her website.

And to borrow just a few of the musical projects Erika has been involved with click below.
Mirror / Orchestra of Spheres
“Orchestra of Spheres’ fourth full-length is their longest and most ambitious work to date, as well as their most hypnotic, with a greater presence of trance-inducing mantras among the genre-busting dance grooves usually heard on the group’s albums. Mirror also boasts fuller orchestration than their other efforts, with shamanic strings and colourful horns/woodwinds taking greater precedence than before. More universally conscious as well as more introspective than their past works, Mirror vastly expands Orchestra of Spheres’ scope while maintaining their kinetic energy and exploratory spirit. ~ Paul Simpson” (Adapted from Catalogue) Also available as  Vinyl.
Vibration animal sex brain music / Orchestra of Spheres
“There are so many elements at work in Orchestra of Spheres’ brand of “future funk” music that it would seem an ambiguous wash if it weren’t so carefully calculated and specifically articulated. On their sophomore full-length, OOS’ vibe is more rhythmically complex than on 2011’s Nonagonic Now, and their studio approach is slicker, to boot. A skillful yet seemingly ragged blanket of squiggly synths inside a field of criss-crossing African, South American, and funk rhythms, chanted vocals, wah-wah guitar, and splattery percussion goes straight to the belly bone. ~ Thom Jurek” (Adapted from Catalogue) Also available as Vinyl.

Brothers and sisters of the black lagoon / Orchestra of Spheres
“Orchestra of Spheres’ hand-crafted fusion of prog rock, psychedelia, indie rock, and world music continues to baffle and impress on their third album, 2016’s Brothers and Sisters of the Black Lagoon. Rhythm is the one hard and fast rule that Orchestra of Spheres observe, and they take on something a bit different on each track. “Trapdoors” and “Walking Through Walls” are built around mutated Juju and Afro-beat patterns.  Brothers and Sisters of the Black Lagoon is clearly the work of a profoundly gifted band, and they’ve created something honestly fascinating on this album. ~ Mark Deming” (Adapted from Catalogue) Also available as Vinyl.

Panthalassa / Fraser, Alistair
“Panthalassa was the super ocean that surrounded the super continent Pangaea during the Palaeozoic-Mesozoic era. Panthalassa, the album, is an abstract and impressionist work in which conceptual ideas are explored through the luminous ngā taonga pūoro playing of Al Fraser, the evocative atmospheric soundscapes of Neil Johnstone, and the virtuosic drones and textures created by guitar player Sam Leamy. And Ocean Harp from Erika Grant. The album explores a unique sound world through the use of hydro-phonic recordings of migrating marine animals from Cook Strait/Raukawa. These recordings, made and supplied by NIWA, present a very rich and diverse sonic environment, which may change in the future due to the diminishing of native marine species.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Nonagonic now / Orchestra of Spheres

“Track List 1. Hypercube, 2. There Is No No, 3. Rotate, 4. Spontaneous Symmetry, 5. Eternal C Of Darkness, 6. Hypersphere, 7. Isness, 8. Toadstone, 9. Boltzmann Brain, 10. Ulululul ” ( Adapted from Catalogue) Also available as Vinyl. 

 

Covid colab : a NZ lockdown music collaboration
” A Covid lockdown fundraising album created by some of New Zealand’s finest musicians remotely during lockdown. Featuring Contents : Borne aloft Al Fraser, Ruby Mae Hinepunui Solly, Michelle Velvin, Milo Meldrum, Nikau Te Huki , Defy Maz Hermon, Nikita Tu-Bryant, Johnny Lawrence, Deanne Krieg, Johnathan Nott ,  Glass mountain Benjamin James, Caroline Bay, Tom Watson, Annabel Alpers, Samuel Scott Side B: Counting down the days  Ryan Prebble, Erika Grant, Ben Lemi, Estère Dalton, Flo Wilson, Cass Basil , The phone call  Samuel Scott, Caroline Bay, Stef Animal, Anita Clark, Benjamin James, Disguise David Randall Peters, Peter Hamilton, Ayrton Foote, Rachelle Eastwood, Letitia Mackenzie, Precipice Brooke Singer, Anna Edgington, Ben Lemi, Deanna Krieg, Grayson Gilmour.” ( adapted from Catalogue) 

 

 

I’ll Hum the First Few Bars : David Long in interview

Neil

David Long is one of Aotearoa’s most versatile and adventurous musicians, composers, and producers. He started his musical career performing in the Braille Collective in bands such as Six Volts and Jungle Suite in the late 1980s. In 1990 he started The Mutton Birds with Don McGlashan.

After touring extensively he began to compose for contemporary dance and film, including working on Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and the soundtrack to The Lovely bones with Brian Eno. In addition to these projects David has composed for many TV series, including The Luminaries.

David has also won several Apra silver scrolls and produced for numerous bands. He also has made numerous albums with bands such as The Labcoats and Teeth not to mention  a number of his own works.

In 2017 he collaborated with Natalia Mann and Richard Nunns on what would be Richard Nunn’s last recording, the beautifully delicate Utterance. Just last year he released Ash and Bone, a gorgeously suite of pieces that defy easy generic categorisation, which David described as a work that makes “a constellation of musical styles but never quite rests in any one of them”. The same holds true for I’ll Hum the First Few Bars, a recording as texturally rich and sonically expressive as we have come to expect from this bold and inventive composer.

So, when David offered us a chance to interview him about his latest project we jumped at it!

We wish to extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to David for taking the time to answer our questions, for providing such an illuminating insight into his world and work, and also for giving us permission to use I’ll Hum the First Few Bars in the interview (you can hear the whole piece at the end). All music is copyright David Long and Rattle Records  and used with kind permission.

This interview was done in conjunction with Caffeine and Aspirin, the arts and entertainment review show on Radioactive FM.

For more information on Rattle records, visit their website.

You can watch David Downes’s superb, animated film created to run alongside the work here.

And to borrow just a few of the musical projects David has been involved with click below.

Envy of angels [1 CD] / Mutton Birds
“Envy of Angels could have been recorded ten years earlier considering its invocation of the new south — in particular the moodiness of Dumptruck — not to mention similarities to more commercial guitar rock of the same period […] Perhaps it isn’t a coincidence that Hugh Jones, who also worked with Dumptruck, produced Envy of Angels. He renders the Mutton Birds’ guitar strum and jangle in more solemn than bright tones, which suits the sometimes poetic lyrics and unusual chord progressions. ~ Greg Adams” ( Adapted from Catalogue)

Ash and bone. / Long, David
“Musicians David Long, synthesisers, banjo, electronics, electric guitar ; Carolyn Mills, harp ; Andrew Jarvis, tuba ; Mark Carter, trumpet ; Rachel Vernon, bass clarinet ; Pat Barry, clarinet ; Bridget Douglas, flute ; Riki Gooch, percussion, electronics. Contents Underground — Ash and bone — I follow it — You want to fight everything — The long long walk — A second glance — Wash your mouth out — Water the earth.” ( Adapted from Catalogue.)

Utterance / Long, David
“Musicians …David Long, banjo, theremin, bowed guitar ; Richard Nunns, taonga pūoro ; Natalia Mann, harp, prepared harp, zither, gongs, voice. Tracks Perilous knowledge — Old shadows — Spider shell — Upper circle, lower case — Celestial dog — Mercury — The nearest clear liquid — We died once — City of green — Hidden cameras — Begin again.” ( Adapted from Catalogue)

Flock : the best of The Mutton Birds / Mutton Birds

” Other Title Best of The Mutton Birds. Contents …Dominion Road — Nature — The heater — A thing well made — White Valiant — In my room — Anchor me — Wellington — Queen’s English — Don’t fear the reaper — While you sleep — She’s been talking — Come around — Envy of angels — As close as this — Last year’s shoes — Pulled along by love — Not to take sides.” ( Adapted from Catalogue)

The Mutton Birds. / Mutton Birds
” Dominion Road (3:55) — Your window (4:39) — A thing well made (4:39) — She’s like a city (3:56) — Before the breakthrough (4:52) — White Valiant (5:12) — Giant friend (3:15) — Big fish (4:33) — No plans for later (2:31) — Nature (3:39).” ( Adapted from Catalogue)

 

 

Salty / Mutton Birds
” The heater — Ngaire — You will return — Wellington — In my room — When the wind comes round — Queen’s English — Salty my dear — There’s a limit — Esther — No telling when — Anchor me — Too close to the sun — Don’t fight it, Marsha, it’s bigger than both of us. ” ( Adapted from Catalogue)

 

 

Riki Gooch in interview: Te Hou Nui

Neil

Riki Gooch Pirihi (Ngāti Wai/Patuharakeke/Ngāti Māhanga Hourua) is a conductor, composer, electronic musician, producer, and drummer based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa.

Riki has a huge and varied musical C.V; from being a founding-member of Trinity Roots, to playing with the likes of Fat Freddy’s Drop, Shayne Carter and Ria Hall. He currently performs with a wide variety of artists and organisations, such as: Alistair Fraser, Jeff Henderson, Noa Records, AJA, Mara TK, Orchestra of Spheres, and has been known to DJ in a gigantic cat’s head as DJ Oboe.

As well as big name bands and musicians, Riki has always had a keen interest in experimental works and underground circles and his focus over the years has been more and more in this direction. In recent years Riki has undertaken a post-graduate course with the intention of developing an indigenous embodiment of conduction. He’s also started to explore new ways of  turning a drumkit into a robot.

For this years CubaDupa festival, Riki was commissioned to create a piece and came up with Te Hou Nui, mass musical composition created for a large ensemble of 200+ musicians from all backgrounds and stages of musical development. Te Hou Nui is a work that has, at its heart, this idea that the music and the collective spirit adhere to the tikanga mauri of Ngaa iwi o Ngaati Ruanui, Taranaki, Ngaati Mutunga, Ngaai Tara, Ngaati Mamoe.During its performance, Riki uses his own version musical ‘smoke signals’ to conduct and communicate with four separate ensembles of 50+ players.

It all sounds so totally fabulous that when Riki offered to give us an insight into Te Hou Nui we just had to say yes. We wish to extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Riki for taking the time to answer our questions and for providing such an illuminating insight into his latest work. We’d also like to thank-you CubaDupa for arranging the interview.

You can view the full fantastic CupaDupa programme here. You can watch the video below, or on our YouTube channel.

To borrow just a small range of the musical works Riki has been  involved with  click the links below.

True / TrinityRoots
” Tracks include True,  Sense and cents, Beautiful people, Call to you, Passion , D by D,  Egos,  Just like you and Little things . Musicians : Warryn Maxwell, Rio Hemopo, Riki Gooch ; Guest artists: Steve Gallagher, Jonathan Crayford, keyboards ; Lisa Tomlins, Lisa Preston, Natalie McCormack, Stefanie Hearfield, vocals ; Dave Long, banjo ; Tim Jarrey, double bass ; Dan Yeabsley, triangle ; Kate Meade, cello ; Kerry Wood, violin.” ( Adapted from Catalogue) Also available on Vinyl.

Mirror / Orchestra of Spheres
“Orchestra of Spheres’ fourth full-length is their longest and most ambitious work to date, as well as their most hypnotic, with a greater presence of trance-inducing mantras among the genre-busting dance grooves usually heard on the group’s albums. Mirror also boasts fuller orchestration than their other efforts, with shamanic strings and colourful horns/woodwinds taking greater precedence than before. The album’s presentation makes it seem like their most honest work; the members are listed by their real names rather than their cartoonish pseudonyms, and there are fewer self-invented instruments listed in the credits. ” (Adapted from Catalogue) Also available on Vinyl.

Absolute truth / Arabia, Lawrence
“Over the course of a decade, James Milne made a quiet name for himself as a first-rate purveyor of classic McCartney-meets-Nilsson pop under the moniker Lawrence Arabia. His way with a sneaky hook, the care he puts into arrangements, and the quirky nature of his lyrical concerns all point back favorably to these twin titans of sticky-sweet songcraft. Many have followed that same path over the years; not too many have a body of work as solid and promising as Milne to show for their efforts. Released in 2016, Absolute Truth marks Lawrence Arabia’s debut for Flying Nun, the label that put New Zealand on the indie pop map. It’s also his strongest effort from top to bottom.” (Adapted from Catalogue) Also available on CD.

Ash and bone. / Long, David
“Musicians David Long, synthesisers, banjo, electronics, electric guitar ; Carolyn Mills, harp ; Andrew Jarvis, tuba ; Mark Carter, trumpet ; Rachel Vernon, bass clarinet ; Pat Barry, clarinet ; Bridget Douglas, flute ; Riki Gooch, percussion, electronics. Contents Underground — Ash and bone — I follow it — You want to fight everything — The long long walk — A second glance — Wash your mouth out — Water the earth.” ( Adapted from Catalogue.)

Big foot / Crayford, Jonathan
“Jazz album featuring  musicians Jonathan Crayford, (Hammond c-3/Leslie, d-6 clavinet, Fender Rhodes, mini moog, electric bass, baritone guitar, and additional instruments) ; Riki Gooch,( drums, percussion) ; with Lisa Tomlin, vocals (tracks 3 and 9) ; Emma Paki, vocals (track 11 [i.e. 6]) ; and guest appearance by Hollie Smith. Tracks : Big foot, Can you hear the birds?, Nine,  Ganymede, Moana ,Jewel City, It’s you and Phantom. ” ( Adapted from Catalogue. ) 

Wits end / Thrashing Marlin
” Album featuring Steve Roche, David Donaldson, (vocals, various instruments) ; with Janet Roddick, Chris O’Connor, David Long, Jeff Henderson, Mike Cooper, Jonny Marks, Tim Prebble, Riki Gooch, Anthony Donaldson, Clare Cooper, Rowan Prior and  Andrew Thomson. Tracks: Forty shades of blue, Hardly a day,  Where will you be? , Tilt of the earth,  Misery’s hole, Way out, Sea of tranquility,  Ship of fools , Solomon’s song , Boo bam,  Venus and All you’ve got someday.” ( Adapted from Catalogue.) 

Pasif.ist / Mann, Natalia
“Genre/Format Art music Musicians :Natalia Mann, harp ; Izzet Kizil, percussion & drums — Sercan Halili, classic kemençe, alto kemençe ; Abdullah Shakar, fretless & electric bass ; Dine Doneff, double bass ; Richard Nunns, taonga pūoro (on Greenstones) ; Lucien Johnson, soprano & tenor saxophone (on Üç Adim) ; Riki Gooch, percussion (on Gül Çayi, Sunshine sister, Üç Adim) ; Naomi Jean O’Sullivan, co-writer, gongs (on Time) — Serdar Pazarcioǧlu, violin (on Butterfly effect) — Deniz Güngör, aqua (on Butterfly effect). Tracks : Gül çayi — Sunshine sister — Üç adim — When once the birds — Butterfly effect — Greenstones — Akşam duasi — 4.55 air — Time — Interlude for Grozda.” ( Adapted from Catalogue) 

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