X%20Factory

And the Oscar goes to… our Bret! The boys from Flight of the Conchords are used to receiving high accolades, and deservedly so. Few Kiwis get to put NZ music so prominently on the map and their output is of such a consistently high standard and now, with an Oscar statuette in the collection, they have surpassed the benchmarks set by Don’t Dream It’s Over and How Bizarre. ...more

The first and only time I got to work with Ja-Ar (John Rowles’ moniker when he started out) was back in 2001, when the Rodger Fox Big Band accompanied him for a series of shows at Sky City in Auckland. Being a youngster back then I had no real appreciation of his formidable talent and was affronted when he told me to refrain from improvising during my sax solo. Instead, he suggested in deep basso profondo; “Just play what’s on the record, son”. ...more

I put the word out on #twitter that I was looking for a song to talk about in the next NZM issue. First response reply was 20 seconds later by @Shes_So_Rad, saying UMO! ...more

Congratulations to all finalists and winners at the APRA Silver Scrolls 2011. In case you’ve forgotten already, Dave Baxter took out the ‘Scroll’ for his (Avalanche City’s) beautiful and very popular tele-backed hit Love Love Love – amid fierce writing competition from some very experienced composers. ...more

Single number two from The Sami Sisters’ gloriously lush debut album ‘Happy Heartbreak’ is How Did We Fall Apart? It was written by Anji Sami and seems to be in two overlapping time signatures. Curious? I was. It made me sit back and contemplate some broader questions of why and how we mess with our beloved ‘common time’. ...more

Most of us seldom have the time to find new music on our own. Between radio giving you what they consider ‘hits’ and aggregate music websites promoting everything-but, I find I rely more and more on suggestions from friends and associates as to what is trending these days. I was first introduced to Cameo Lover (the latest single by former Hillcrest High School student Kimbra Johnson aka Kimbra), by a student emailing me: “Thought you might want to check this funky shit out! Intro and 1st Verse is a bit dry but the tune really opens up halfway through the first chorus (00:56). It’s quite progressive so best to listen through the whole song for a proper impression.” During lunch break I opened the provided link, not sure what I’d find. ...more

The December/January 2011 issue of NZM included an Ex-Pat File feature on the long-time LA-based Kiwi soul pioneer Max Merritt. Johnny Kempt’s interview made for fascinating reading and it’s great to know that approaching 70 he is still vitally interested in music. I was fortunate enough to be reintroduced to Slippin’ Away last year while on tour with Boh Runga and Che Fu. Out of the many thousands of songs available for them to cover they decided to perform Merritt’s 1976 classic, which back then was a big hit, reaching #2 on the Australian charts. ...more

I first worked with Brooke Fraser about 10 years ago on her debut album ‘What To Do With Daylight’. She must have been about 14 years old, but had already started writing such catchy songs we all knew she was bound to go far. Now, after waiting a decade in the wilderness, I am delighted to have been asked back to play keyboards on Fraser’s tour of Australia and NZ, which means I get to play all those great tunes every night. ...more

Congratulations to Shihad for their induction to the NZ Music Hall of Fame in October – along with the NZ Herald Legacy Award it is a most fitting tribute for such a legendary group. Not only have they written a compelling body of work, but dare I say it, redefined how NZ rock can really rock. I doubt anybody has left a Shihad live show without feeling sonically stunned, yet still completely thrilled by the sheer “rocking with cock out” intensity of their performance. ...more

Okay, so the title sounds a bit like The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, but there’s something fantasy-like about both. It’s all about the note ‘g’. ...more

We are gathered here today to discuss melodic rhythm. We’ve previously examined harmonic rhythm, in which the frequency of chord changes is shown to contribute to the impetus of song structure. Naturally, rhythms in terms of the rhythm section are critical to the movement of a song, and the same applies to the rhythmic characteristics of the vocal melody ...more

In this article we’re boldly going where other less reputable rock’n’roll mags fear to tread – Christian music. ...more

Salutations! I reckon the X-Factory should come to life in a physical form, and essentially be a Pimp My Ride kinda thing. You send me your song, and for an astronomical fee I’ll wheel it into the factory and pimp it, baby! Could be fun, and I guarantee you most of the songs you send me will have various things in common, and one of the most prevalent will be the Pentatonic scale. We all use it. ...more

Much has been said about changes in the local music industry over recent years, with radio, TV, and the internet all exhibiting sometimes dramatic developments. Less, it would seem, has been said about changes to our music. As I have noted on previous occasions there has been a significant and progressive hybridisation of genres. This has amounted to a broadening of the musical palette mostly represented in the stylistic range of artists and those available to us. But what of the range of music expressed by individual artists? ...more

The Major scale (Ionian mode) is one of the seven 'church' modes found on the white keys of the piano, with the Ionian running from C to C. This and the Mixolydian mode (G to G) are the most common major-sounding modes in Western popular music. If we write a triad on each note of the scale we find the chords that relate to that mode, and the Ionian mode looks like the diagram above. ...more

I like songs that use key centres in unusual ways. ...more

Hi there. We're going to spend some time with thoughts of jazz and the blues this time around. ...more

In comparative musical analysis there are two basic paths. Firstly; to what extent are two musics (or songs) different, and secondly; to what extent are they the same? ...more

Every so often a band comes along that alters our perception of what our music sounds like. Supergroove did this in the '90s, with their mix of blues, funk, and contemporary hip hop influences. ...more

Welcome to the factory. Have you ever wondered why a CD shop is really divided into sections? Ever wondered who chose the names of the sections? Ever wondered who decided which section a new band goes into? Ever wondered what the differences are between the music in one section, and in another? ...more