The Famous Elsewhere Questionnaire
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THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE SONGWRITERS' QUESTIONNAIRE: Hachiku
24 Nov 2020 | 3 min read
Melbourne-based Hachiku's debut album I'll Probably Be Asleep was one which slipped past us a month ago while we were diverted by other work. But belatedly we get the chance to bring its hypnotic, lyrically incisive electro-kissed dark alt.pop (with gritty guitars) to your attention courtesy of an insightful interview. Hachiku – aka Anika Ostendorf – is certainly well out of... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE: Dons Savage of Dead Famous People
2 Nov 2020 | 2 min read
Dons Savage might be a little later than most when it comes to releasing the debut album by her band Dead Famous People. They first came to attention in the late Eighties through Flying Nun but very quickly lit out for the bigger opportunities in London. Things happened (John Peel, an EP) but mostly didn't and then Savage came home to take care of her ailing mother. But now three... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE: Darren Watson
30 Sep 2020 | 6 min read | 1
From Elsewhere's side of the fence, we'd say few musicians in recent memory have worked harder promoting their album than Darren Watson. Almost undeterred by the Covid lockdowns which meant the cancellation of shows and interviews, Watson took whatever opportunity he could, got onto social media, released live performances and . . . Basically just kept doing the work to draw attention... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE: Sola Rosa (Andrew Spraggon)
28 Sep 2020 | 4 min read
As Sola Rosa, Andrew Spraggon has delivered a series of crafted albums which have edged towards soul-funk but sometimes have pulled back to more mellow moods. However his new album Chasing the Sun is a fully retro-fitted and classy channeling of classic late Sixties/early Seventies soul-jazz/soul-funk with a series of guest vocalists and horn players who really bring it home. We... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Neil Johnstone
25 Sep 2020 | 5 min read
Multi-media artist Neil Johnstone from Britain – who came here in 2017 -- has appeared a few times at Elsewhere, most notably with the wonderfully oceanic album Panthalassa and the more recently with the very different Chalk Dogs. Where the former – with guitarist Sam Leamy and taonga puoro player Al Fraser – was a majestic, emotional roll of sound and depth with Johnstone... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE: Helena Massey
18 Sep 2020 | 3 min read
With her new album Brothers Puffins and Half Skulls, the Australian singer-songwriter Helena Massey makes a real impression as someone who is a conduit for a kind of ethereal ambient Anglo-folk with her ears on contemporary artists like Steve Gunn and going way back to Pentangle's airy and elegant folk. It is quite a beautiful and mystical collection -- as mysterious as its cover below... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE: Gary Harvey
24 Aug 2020 | 5 min read
Gary Harvey cuts a striking figure. With his waist-length hair and Wild West demeanor, the blues-rock singer-guitarist looks like he'd be at home playing cards in a bar with Doc Holliday, riding with the Coleman Younger gang, sitting on the open range with Cochise and Geronimo lamenting the passing of the great buffalo herds or riding in a stagecoach through Monument Valley.... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE PRODUCER QUESTIONNAIRE: David Bulog of Si Si Es
24 Aug 2020 | 2 min read
It probably helps to translate the name Si Si Es into the acronym CCS and then think back into New Zealand synth music of the Eighties . . . and alight on Car Crash Set. That was the group of David Bulog, Nigel Russell and Trevor Reekie. In that incarnation they were short-lived but in recent years – after the release of the compilation album Join the Car Crash Set in 2008, they... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE: Ruby Solly
17 Aug 2020 | 10 min read | 1
When Ruby Solly released her debut album Poneke (Wellington, in te reo) some months ago it barely raised a ripple in most circles. There were no clubland bangers, no radio-friendly pop songs, nothing to immediately engage those looking for a new name to alight upon. But the album got very good critical notices, not the least at Elsewhere where we were quick off the mark to acclaim it for... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE: Graeme Jefferies of the Cakekitchen
10 Aug 2020 | 4 min read
In a career stretching more than 40 years, Graeme Jefferies (under his own name or with the Cakekitchen) has made some fascinating, left-field but accessible music which seems to be more appreciated and acknowledged internationally than it is on his home turf. His music has been released on Flying Nun (back in the late Eighties) and international indie labels such as Homestead and Merge... > Read more
THE HIGHLY PERSONAL ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE: Milly Tabak of the Miltones
5 Aug 2020 | 4 min read
For their new album Honest Woman, Milly Tabak steps out a little from Auckland's Miltones whose excellent self-titled debut three years ago – which won them Best Independent Debut at the Taite Music Awards 2018 – just appeared under the band name. Honest Woman is credited to Milly Tabak and the Miltones, which may seem an elevation but perhaps is just a fair reflection that she... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE PRODUCER QUESTIONNAIRE: Jonathan Pearce of the Beths
24 Jul 2020 | 4 min read
That Jonathan Pearce of the Beths should be emerging as a fine producer will perhaps come as no surprise to those who know he was in Artisan Guns for three albums before the Beths – and they co-produced their albums, so he would have been watching and listening carefully. He has also done mastering (for Paul Cathro of Ha the Unclear), recorded and mixed for the folk duo Great North... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE COMPILER'S QUESTIONNAIRE . . . Ben Stevens
4 Jul 2020 | 3 min read
The past decade has seen a surge of interest in New Zealand's pop culture history. In large part that has been due to the ever-expanding audioculture website, but also through the work of people like Chris Caddick quietly getting New Zealand music of all kinds onto digital platforms, archivists and compilers such as Grant Gillanders, John Baker, Karl Lock, Alan Perrott and others. But... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE WRITERS' QUESTIONNAIRE . . . Tui De Roy
15 Jun 2020 | 3 min read
When we recently wrote about photographer Tui De Roy's large format hardback A Lifetime in Galapagos, we mentioned that she – who arrived on remote Galapagos with her parents when she was two – divided her time between there and New Zealand. But right now she is there, and for the foreseeable future as she tells us. “I returned to Galapagos in December, planning to stay... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE . . . Kiki Van Newtown aka Giantess
23 May 2020 | 4 min read
As Elsewhere noted when we reviewed the debut album Big Woman by Giantess, the person behind it Kiki Van Newtown had appeared previously under anther guise, as part of the band Hex. But we also noted about Big Woman that there was a lot going on musically and some interesting references, so we were curious. Time to ask Kiki/Giantess some very personal questions . . .... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE QUESTIONNAIRE . . . Jeremy Redmore
4 May 2020 | 3 min read
Because we wrote at some length about the mature and thoughtful new album The Brightest Flame by Jeremy Redmore – formerly of Auckland rock band Midnight Youth – we leave it over to you to go here to find out about it. It is an insightful account of an emotional journey. But here we let him speak for himself as he answers a few questions . . . The first... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE: Gray Vickers of These Four Walls
1 May 2020 | 4 min read
Now based in Australia and with a new album This is Not a Future just released, former Aucklanders These Four Walls are pretty much stuck inside them when it comes to promoting an album which arrives eight years after their previous one. It's a hard rock-cum-prog (in places) album but also doesn't shy from a strong ballad either. The album is reviewed at Elsewhere here but let's give... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE WRITERS' QUESTIONNAIRE: Michael Botur
6 Apr 2020 | 4 min read
When we reviewed New Zealand author Michael Botur's short story collection True at the end of 2018, we noted how prolific he was. In the time it takes many authors to decide on a subject Botur has written a novel or a series of short stories and is already moving on to the next project. In part that is because he has identified his territory: it is the lives of people on the... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE: Ferocious
30 Mar 2020 | 2 min read
Ferocious is the trio of Bill Direen, Johannes Contag and guitarist Mark Williams. Ferocious is also the name of their debut album which Elsewhere highly recommends for its mix of poetry, spoken word, song, experimental musical settings and dark intellect. In our review we noted the backgrounds to the players and here the trio speak with one voice as they answer some personal... > Read more
THE FAMOUS ELSEWHERE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE: Kate Owen
16 Mar 2020 | 7 min read
When we reviewed the debut album by Kate Owen, Not a Proper Girl, we noted her associations (Lyttelton, producer Ben Edwards) and how impressive this album was. What we didn't know was that Kate Owen wasn't Kate Owen. And how interesting and tragic her backstory was. To find out more, read on . . . Where did you grow up, and with who? Kate Owen was born Kate Anastasiou into a... > Read more