A quiet night in
I'm chilling on my beanbag with Chelfyn and the kits. This is the first New Years Eve I've spent at home in over 10 years. I've seen most of them in on stage covered in UV paint and having it large, so I'm loving a quiet night in. It will be the last one at home for a while as we'll be back in the merry go round again with gigs next year.
December 31, 2003
December 27, 2003
Digital DJs
What I miss the most about the UK underground is seeing DJs going off behind the decks. I want to see passion, I want to see a performance. I want to see less bored looking DJs in baseball caps, and above all I want to hear less hard house. It's going totally Gabba now with kids practically jogging on the spot. When its pitched up too much you lose the groove, and it becomes music with no soul. Some local DJs like Kyle, Lolli, Justin Sane and especially Taz play even the super fast stuff really well, but I'm too old for for a night at +10.
Rather than whinging the time has come to start playing what I want to hear. I can beat-match, and I used to DJ a bit back in 1989. I've just never been interested in mixing off vinyl, it's just too linear and restrictive to make the music I hear in my head. I've recently been playing with the Traktor DJ Studio to mix MP3s. Digital DJs have far more creative freedom than those playing off vinyl. Traktor is great for mashing up genres like techno and psy-trance that have vastly different BPMs. Vinyl is heavy, expensive, and I hate taking irreplaceable records overseas. What I'd really love to do is DVJ and mix both music and visuals at the same time.
 | One of my New Year's resolutions is to learn to digitally DJ. Auckland suffers a bit from record boxes full of the same tracks, because most people buy their tunes from the same record shops. Out of all of them Criminal Records has the best service and range. |
What I miss the most about the UK underground is seeing DJs going off behind the decks. I want to see passion, I want to see a performance. I want to see less bored looking DJs in baseball caps, and above all I want to hear less hard house. It's going totally Gabba now with kids practically jogging on the spot. When its pitched up too much you lose the groove, and it becomes music with no soul. Some local DJs like Kyle, Lolli, Justin Sane and especially Taz play even the super fast stuff really well, but I'm too old for for a night at +10.
Rather than whinging the time has come to start playing what I want to hear. I can beat-match, and I used to DJ a bit back in 1989. I've just never been interested in mixing off vinyl, it's just too linear and restrictive to make the music I hear in my head. I've recently been playing with the Traktor DJ Studio to mix MP3s. Digital DJs have far more creative freedom than those playing off vinyl. Traktor is great for mashing up genres like techno and psy-trance that have vastly different BPMs. Vinyl is heavy, expensive, and I hate taking irreplaceable records overseas. What I'd really love to do is DVJ and mix both music and visuals at the same time.
December 25, 2003
So I married a tranny
Happy Christmas world. Chelfyn is playing Magic online, battling other geeks with spells, enchantments, and weird creatures. I've just found out that he is a transvestite online. I suppose it saves him borrowing my knickers.
I've been watching R&B videos and wondering what's going to be considered sexy now that there is so much flesh on display. I think the next big thing will be those fashionable bathing suits they had in Victorian England that covered from neck to knee. Or the Muslim Hijab as worn by this Catholic lady from Kent in Forget Fashion – this is freedom .
The boys at UpFM had taken to putting up posters of ladies from lads mags wearing little more than dental floss and baby oil. They stopped after Tineke retaliated with her 'Wall of Cocks' - I rest my case.
Happy Christmas world. Chelfyn is playing Magic online, battling other geeks with spells, enchantments, and weird creatures. I've just found out that he is a transvestite online. I suppose it saves him borrowing my knickers.
I've been watching R&B videos and wondering what's going to be considered sexy now that there is so much flesh on display. I think the next big thing will be those fashionable bathing suits they had in Victorian England that covered from neck to knee. Or the Muslim Hijab as worn by this Catholic lady from Kent in Forget Fashion – this is freedom .
| Good on Kylie for putting her perfect butt away, even though the Sun has claimed it as a national institution and petitioned to keep it on display. Girls look saucier clothed, as there is nothing sexier than imagination, and guys also look much better with their tackle under wraps. |  |
The boys at UpFM had taken to putting up posters of ladies from lads mags wearing little more than dental floss and baby oil. They stopped after Tineke retaliated with her 'Wall of Cocks' - I rest my case.
December 21, 2003
December 16, 2003
Hackette for hire
I've just found out that the website I've been Editor of for the past three years has won an award - a great note to have left on. I finished my contract two weeks ago and from now on I'm working on TMet and offering myself out as a hack for hire. If anyone out there wants the scribblings of a New Zealand based Hackette then feel free to drop me a line.
I've just found out that the website I've been Editor of for the past three years has won an award - a great note to have left on. I finished my contract two weeks ago and from now on I'm working on TMet and offering myself out as a hack for hire. If anyone out there wants the scribblings of a New Zealand based Hackette then feel free to drop me a line.
December 14, 2003
Boogying at the beach
Instead I lazed at home in the balmy heat watching C4 a new music channel that launched in October. I've been tuning in to avoid the Christmas ads and it's really rather good. Jacqui Brown makes me laugh with her random chat, and the retro top ten shows are great. I’ve never watched any MTV so the videos are all new to me. There's also a dance show on Wednesday nights called the Soundlab presented by the exhuberant Nick D.
 | It's a shame we missed the Up FM beach party yesterday. The weather was glorious, loads of peope turned up and it looked like loads of fun in the photos. They are putting on a few of them this summer, with the next one on the 31st of January at Mission Bay. |
Instead I lazed at home in the balmy heat watching C4 a new music channel that launched in October. I've been tuning in to avoid the Christmas ads and it's really rather good. Jacqui Brown makes me laugh with her random chat, and the retro top ten shows are great. I’ve never watched any MTV so the videos are all new to me. There's also a dance show on Wednesday nights called the Soundlab presented by the exhuberant Nick D.
December 11, 2003
First international sales!
We sold our first tracks this week - some to as far afield as Canada. International sales in the week after we launched, it's almost too good to be true! It's also great to see TMet being written about in the international press: New Zealand TMet recordings paving the way for the Digital Download label.
We sold our first tracks this week - some to as far afield as Canada. International sales in the week after we launched, it's almost too good to be true! It's also great to see TMet being written about in the international press: New Zealand TMet recordings paving the way for the Digital Download label.
December 07, 2003
My preciouusssssss...
D.A.V.E. the Drummer is part of the Stay Up Forever Collective [SUF], a group of London based Acid Techno DJs who often played at Homegrown a Bristol night I helped promote. SUF started with Chris, Julian & Aaron Liberator, who met in 1991 when Aaron moved into a North London squat. The collective has produced names such as Lawrie Immersion, Guy McAffer, DDR and Paul Harding and labels such as Cluster, Routemaster and Smitten, and I have enormous respect for these guys.
As for the gig – it went off. Not too crowded or hot and the crowd were blown away by D.A.V.E.'s skills with 3 turntables. Check out the photo galleries at UpFM and Hardhouse: Set 1 / Set 2.
I've had the full Red Carpet Report from Cathy. She got to interview most of the Lord Of The Rings cast, and spent an hour one on one with Viggo Mortenson, who gave her a kiss. She also got some great interviews with the lovely Sean Astin and Andy Serkis who sprays you with spit when he does the Gollum voice.
 | It’s been a busy weekend at TMet Towers. Chelfyn was mixing techno by 9 a.m. on Friday to promote the D.A.V.E. the Drummer gig on the UpFM breakfast show, while I did the airport run to pick up DJ Maya and D.A.V.E. His real name is Henry, but he did used to be the drummer in the band called Back to the Planet. He stayed with us the last time he was here, and it was great to catch up. |
D.A.V.E. the Drummer is part of the Stay Up Forever Collective [SUF], a group of London based Acid Techno DJs who often played at Homegrown a Bristol night I helped promote. SUF started with Chris, Julian & Aaron Liberator, who met in 1991 when Aaron moved into a North London squat. The collective has produced names such as Lawrie Immersion, Guy McAffer, DDR and Paul Harding and labels such as Cluster, Routemaster and Smitten, and I have enormous respect for these guys.
As for the gig – it went off. Not too crowded or hot and the crowd were blown away by D.A.V.E.'s skills with 3 turntables. Check out the photo galleries at UpFM and Hardhouse: Set 1 / Set 2.
I've had the full Red Carpet Report from Cathy. She got to interview most of the Lord Of The Rings cast, and spent an hour one on one with Viggo Mortenson, who gave her a kiss. She also got some great interviews with the lovely Sean Astin and Andy Serkis who sprays you with spit when he does the Gollum voice.
December 01, 2003
D Day for Dance Downloads
After the site went live I tuned in to watch the world premiere of Return of the King. It was an incredible day for New Zealand. 125,000 people turned out to line the red carpet in Wellington, almost half of Wellington's population. It was total fandamonium with a daytime parade by the stars. The sun shone showing off Wellington’s beauty, Liv Tyler was barefoot, Orlando had an ‘I love NZ’ shirt on, and Peter Jackson was in his famous purple shirt. Elijah is thinking of buying a house here, Viggo was speaking Maori and Sir Ian McKellan did a toast to the men of Wellington. Go Sir Ian. The best bit for me was Sean Astin’s speech: "It's such a tenuous time on the planet. So much darkness and so much villainy in the world but this city and this country are a beacon of hope." I cheered.
New Zealand will forever be known now as Middle Earth - check out Stuff.co.nz for more Lord of the Rings stories.
 | It’s the first offical day of summer and our new digital download site is live. Now we can sell and distribute our tracks online. It was frustrating when we released The Evil Plans of George W Bush IIIrd last year. We got worldwide radio airplay - but couldn't get it into shops. With digital distribution we can release a track, and have it available for global sale that same day. We've got four tracks by New Zealand producers up for sale in the shop and there will be lots more Kiwi dance music to come. |
After the site went live I tuned in to watch the world premiere of Return of the King. It was an incredible day for New Zealand. 125,000 people turned out to line the red carpet in Wellington, almost half of Wellington's population. It was total fandamonium with a daytime parade by the stars. The sun shone showing off Wellington’s beauty, Liv Tyler was barefoot, Orlando had an ‘I love NZ’ shirt on, and Peter Jackson was in his famous purple shirt. Elijah is thinking of buying a house here, Viggo was speaking Maori and Sir Ian McKellan did a toast to the men of Wellington. Go Sir Ian. The best bit for me was Sean Astin’s speech: "It's such a tenuous time on the planet. So much darkness and so much villainy in the world but this city and this country are a beacon of hope." I cheered.
New Zealand will forever be known now as Middle Earth - check out Stuff.co.nz for more Lord of the Rings stories.
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