Kiwi Acts set SXSW record - 17 January 2010
Over 10,000 global artists from 49 countries applied for the coveted 1800 performance slots at the world's largest music industry showcase event - South by Southwest Music & Media Festival in Austin Texas March 17-21 - but it's the Kiwi contingent that scored the most hits with 15 out of 35 submitting artists invited to play. It's the highest ratio of success to submissions of any country, just over 40%, and all of the NZ artists have accepted their invitations to play. Over the past eight years, the number of New Zealand artists performing at SxSW has rocketed from only one in 2002 and the successful outcomes of record deals, publishing contracts, agency signings and management agreements as well as global media exposure has been huge. The bands invited and accepted are for SXSW 2010 are Bachelorette, Bang Bang Eche, David Dallas, Die! Die! Die!, Gin Wigmore, Kidz In Space, Kingston, Lawrence Arabia, Miho Wada, Mr Sicc, Steriogram, Surf City, The Brunettes, The Ruby Suns, Young Sid. See you in Texas, y'all!
Gin is #1 - 29 October 2009
Last year The Sydney Daily Telegraph published an article on Gin stating ‘…A Star Is Born’. This week that star is shining a whole lot brighter as Gin’s debut album Holy Smoke not only entered the NZ Charts at #1, but in the last 24 hours has also been certified Platinum, less than two weeks after release. Speaking on the recent news Gin said “I just can't stop doing cartwheels and drinking buckets of champagne at this glorious news of #1 and platinum!! Way to make my whole year amazing my wonderful kiwi fans! I absolutely adore your support and love, thankyou so much.” Holy Smoke has been released to critical acclaim in both NZ and Australia with outstanding reviews continuing to roll in on both sides of the Tasman.
NZ@CMJ Pics - 29 October 2009
Just under one thousand revelers celebrated CMJ Music Marathons opening night with the NZ@CMJ Showcase presented by 42BELOW Vodka. A long line formed outside of SoHos Red Bull Space to catch blistering sets from Die! Die! Die!, Surf City, Motocade, Kingston, Bang Bang Eche, David Dallas, Kidz In Space and Smashproof. The NZ@CMJ Showcase was organized through the collaborative efforts of New Zealand music promotion agencies NZ On Air and the NZ Music Commission. Attendees enjoyed cocktails provided by 42BELOW and wine provided by Wild Rock Wines. You can check out some pics of the night here
NZ@CMJ 2009 - 14 September 2009
An exciting and eclectic collection of musical acts from New Zealand will grace the stage at this year’s CMJ Music Marathon festival in New York. The NZ@CMJ Showcase is one of CMJ’s opening night events and is a collaboration between New Zealand music promotion agencies NZ On Air and the NZ Music Commission – with the goal being to assist Kiwi acts to break into the international arena.
Making the trek to NYC this year are Die! Die! Die!, Surf City, Motocade, Kingston, Bang Bang Eche and Kidz In Space, along with hip hop acts David Dallas and Smashproof.
The NZ@CMJ showcase event began in 2007, and over the past two years acts such as Liam Finn, Cut Off Your Hands, The Checks, The Brunettes, The Ruby Suns, The Naked and Famous and Bang Bang Eche have showcased. In 2007, NME Magazine hailed the NZ@CMJ event as ‘one of the hottest tickets at CMJ’, and last year’s event was no exception.
This year, with the help of 42BELOW and Red Bull, NZ On Air and the NZ Music Commission have expanded the capacity for the event, moving it to the Red Bull Space in Manhattan’s Soho district.
The NZ@CMJ showcase at CMJ Music Marathon takes place on 20th October, from 6PM.
DIE! DIE! DIE! Tour Van Seized By UK Police - 09 June 2009
Die!Die!Die! have just returned from their White Horse single release tour in the UK with some crazy stories to tell. The band appeared at festivals such as the Stag and Dagger, Great Escape and the Camden Crawl in London. NME Magazine noted Die!Die!Die! as the highlight of Great Escape, while fans had to queue around the block for over half an hour to catch a glimpse of the band headline the Artrocker stage at the Camden Crawl. London fans also had a chance to catch the group at Cargo if they could grab tickets before they sold out!
On their way to perform in Newcastle, an unfortunate misunderstanding lead to the band's tour van being seized by police in Leeds. A plea for help was posted by the band on the internet - fans came through, and not only did the band make it to the gig and get their van returned, but the story was picked up by NME.com, and lead to the Die Die Die single Sideways getting radio play on BBC2 after the intriguing news story broke.
Die! Die! Die! begin recording their new album in July to be released later this year.
NZ At The Great Escape - 22 May 2009
A bunch of Kiwi artists invaded the picturesque seaside town of Brighton for the Great Escape new music festival this past weekend. Seven Kiwi acts - Liam Finn, The Veils, Bang Bang Eche, Charlie Ash, Die! Die! Die!, Connan Mockasin and Rodney Fisher - showcased for fans and the assembled music industry folk. Highlights including some serious crowd surfing from Die! Die! Die! frontman Andrew Wilson, a stunning set from The Veils, and a spine-tingling Haka Powhiri from Ngati Ranana that kicked off proceedings. Check out the pics here
CUT OFF YOUR HANDS DRUMMER ON HIATUS - 31 March 2009
Brent Harris, drummer with Cut Off Your Hands is being forced to take a break from the band because of damage to his hearing. Harris will stand down from the band for at least 12 months. The band will continue to tour, focussing on the USA where their album 'You And I' has been earning rave reviews.Harris broke the news in the following statement to fans:
Hey everyone,
Brent here from Cut off Your Hands. I have some news to share with you as friends, fans of the band or anyone else who has supported us over the past three and a half years...
At the age of 16 I started losing my hearing; it began as a mild hearing loss which didn't overly alarm me or my specialists. Over the past six years however, there has been an uncertain yet steady decline in my ability to hear. At the age of 19 my hearing got to the point that I needed to wear hearing aids. Since then, the deterioration has slowed but is still steadily eating away at my ability to hear all frequencies. Recently I have started to lose hearing in frequencies which up until six months ago have been good. These frequencies are important for speech recognition and general functioning in everyday life. I have seen several different hearing specialists over this time and no one has been able to diagnose a real definite reason for the loss. One of the obvious guesses at a cause is loud music and the fact I’ve been playing the drums almost everyday for about 11 years.
My audiologist has told me of patients who are 90 years old, fought in wars and worked coal mines for most of their lives and yet still have better hearing than me. Some people have resilient ears, others do not and these inconsistencies in the tolerance of the human ear are very hard to measure. I haven’t played the drums without wearing ear plugs for six years now, yet still my hearing has degenerated. There is a chance that I was just born with a genetic predisposition for hearing loss, something beyond the damage that drumming can cause. After CT scans, MRI scans and 30-plus hearing tests, my specialists are still very unsure as to what is happening. However, there is a possibility that I have a low tolerance to noise exposure which is causing my ears to give up. Whether or not drumming has been the sole culprit I am told my exposure to loud music could be aggravating and accelerating the loss.
Sadly, the only way to know if drumming is inducing or aggravating the loss is to plainly stop playing loud music for 12 months - which in turn has made me decide to step down from Cut Off Your Hands for the next year. This decision represents much thought and was incredibly difficult for me to make. The concept of life outside of Cut Off saddens me; we have all devoted so much of ourselves to make this band work. I’m now thoroughly addicted to making music and it hurts to know I wont be sharing it with the guys I have enjoyed it with over the past many years. I don’t feel good about it but I believe it’s the right thing for me to do.
It is uncertain what the future will bring for me and Cut Off. I hope with all my heart that I can return to playing with the band but only time can let that be known.
I'm not writing this to ask for sympathy or pity, we all have shit going on in our lives; I merely want to say that I’m not giving up on Nick, Phil or anyone else who has shown support for what we have been doing. I believe in what we have done so far and I would still very much be apart of it if I had my own way.
By no means is this a disintegration or ending for the band. There are many more songs that need to be shared with you and we are all very excited for what 2009 has to offer.
Much love
Brent
SXSW WRAP - March 23 - 23 March 2009
Twelve kiwi groups joined 1900 others from around to world this past week at the South by South West music festival in Austin, Texas. As one of the largest industry showcases in the world, this is the place for musicians to impress and get their names out. The four bands garnering the biggest buzz were showcased at the official New Zealand day party in Brush Square Park. Ladyhawke, Bang Bang Eche, Cut Off Your Hands and Midnight Youth were all on the bill. There is definitely an audience here for New Zealand bands, as the 3000 people who RSVPed for the 400 capacity venue proved. Those lucky enough to get in formed a mixed audience of fans, industry types and fellow performers David Dallas, P Money and White Swan Black Swan. Headliner, and festival favourite Ladyhawke had fans clinging to the wire fence surrounding the area trying to get a glimpse of the My Delirium singer’s set. These crowds followed the bands from the showcase. Bang Bang Eche’s bassist T’Nealle Worsley “I don’t think we have played a show that had under a hundred people. We have been playing small bars, but packed full.” Singer Zach Doney interjects, “It’s a really good feeling to see the crowd full and then after we play the crowd’s real small - because then you’re like ‘wow, they came to see us’.” The Cantabrian quintet is heading back to New Zealand after the festival to record a follow up to their self titled EP. Making a return visit to SXSW, Cut Off Your Hands played ten shows over the four days. “We very rarely have much time to sit down, hang out and talk to anyone”, said drummer Brent Harris. The buzz is still strong around their debut album You Am I, released this year on French Kiss. At the label’s Austin showcase the crowd swelled for their set. Harris says the band is chuffed with the response, “It’s nice knowing that some of our work is being appreciated by people other than in New Zealand.” You can check out pictures of the NZ SXSW Party here
NZ @ SXSW 2009 - 24 February 2009
Another Texan invasion by the kids from downunder is looming. A number of Kiwi acts are making the pilgrimage to Austin this year for SXSW. The infamous NZ BBQ where partygoers swill down their ribs with fine Kim Crawford wine is scheduled for Brush Square Park on Friday March 20th at 6PM. Gracing the stage to treat folks to ‘a taste of Kiwi’ are Cut Off Your Hands, The Brunettes, Midnight Youth, Bang Bang Eche and Ladyhawke. For all the NZ action in Austin click here
NZ Viper Room Showcase - March 16 - 24 February 2009
The tastemaker radio show Passport Approved, which currently broadcasts on FM radio stations in multiple markets across the US and Germany as well as worldwide on the web via Yahoo! LAUNCHcast and on http://www.indie1031.com, will host a special New Zealand music night on Monday, March 16th at The Viper Room in West Hollywood. Confirmed on the bill are Bang Bang Eche, Midnight Youth, David Dallas and Pistol Youth. Doors are at 8PM and the free show will be for those 21 & over. If you’d like to be on the guest list, please email no later than Friday March 13th.
