Amplifier NZ Music News

Kimbra To Perform At Auckland Cup Week

ARIA-winning kiwi songstress Kimbra will return home to New Zealand for a one-off performance at the TV3 Carnival on TV3 Derby Day which takes place on Saturday 3 March as part of Auckland Cup Week 2012.
Kimbra, who shot to fame with her debut gold-certified album Vows, was a recipient of the New Zealand Critics' Choice Award 2011 as well as Best Female Artist at the 2011 ARIA awards.
Her collaboration with Gotye on the single 'Somebody That I Used to Know' also earned the achievement of Best Song at the 2011 ARIA awards and the song has topped charts around the world including in New Zealand, Australia, UK, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. The single has currently been certified 7x Platinum (490,000+ units sold) in Australia and Gotye and Kimbra performed the single Live on the Jimmy Kimmel show.
The TV3 Carnival is set to take place right in the thick of the action on TV3 Derby Day. Located on the grandstand side of the course and stretching right down the racetrack's 'home straight', the performance from Kimbra will be supported with all-day guest DJs & music, stars from TV shows making guest appearances, games, prizes and even the chance for partygoers to get themselves on TV with a live casting call taking place throughout the day.
Tickets for the TV3 Carnival are on sale now through http://www.ellerslie.co.nz

Lloyd Morrison - An Obituary

Wellington identity and successful businessman Lloyd Morrison has died after a long battle with cancer, aged 52.
Amongst his many endeavours, Morrison was an avid supporter of the arts.
He was behind the establishment of Promethean Editions Ltd with publisher Ross Hendy. The company started as a sheet-music publisher of contemporary music and eventually took on the responsibilities of hire catalogues, composer management and copyright administration for artists from Australia, Canada, Great Britain and New Zealand.
The H.R.L. Morrison Music Trust was established in March 1995 to promote the composers and performers of New Zealand music of an international calibre through the organisation of recordings and concerts. The Morrison Music Company also led to the creation of SmokeCDs and the contemporary label Capital Recordings.
Lloyd Morrison's other achievements include - but are by no means limited to - the establishment of NZX-listed infrastructure owner Infratil, the financial rescue of the Wellington Phoenix football franchise and a campaign for the change of the New Zealand flag.
All of us at Amplifier want to express our deepest condolences to his friends and family.

Glastonbury Festival & WOMAD Talent Scouts Seek Kiwi Musicians

Sounds Aotearoa 2012 is proud to announce a power-packed line-up of festival bookers and presenters this year that will be in attendance at its two day think tank/showcase in New Plymouth.
Returning this year is Malcolm Haynes from Glastonbury Festival who has become a valuable champion of New Zealand music in the UK and this year brings with him Glastonbury Festival's World Music Stage director, Derek Dodd. For the first time, the powerhouse duo of Paula Henderson and Chris Smith of Womad International will be in attendance.
Sounds Aotearoa has stacked up an impressive array of successes including 2011 attendees Electric Wire Hustle and Bella Kalolo performing at Glastonbury and The Big Chill in the UK. Maisey Rika has been able to travel to Hawaii and mainland US and Moana & The Tribe, Batucada Sound Machine, Pacific Curls and 1814 have had opportunities across Asia-Pacific including Penang, Korea and across Australia.
Sounds Aotearoa is designed to expose kiwi music to the global market and build capacity within the industry and to also expose the overseas delegates to some of New Zealand's finest talent via performance showcases. With presenters from major festivals like Womad, Glastonbury, Vision Sound and Music (UK), Sziget Festival (Hungary) and Dreaming Festival (Australia), Sounds Aotearoa gives local musicians valuable insight and the face to face connections they need to break into overseas markets.
The line-up of presenters also includes: Andrew Messingham from the Vision, Sound & Music Event (UK) and Min Kim from Ulsan World Music Festival (Korea). Simon Raynor (AWME Melbourne), Fruszina Szep (Sziget Festival, Hungary) and Jordan Verzaar (Top Shelf Productions, Australia) are joined by local industry experts Belinda Jones (Creative New Zealand), David McLaughlin (McLaughlin Law) and Jeffery Stothers (Southbound Music Distrubtion). Returning is Vicki Gordon (VGM Media, Australia) and Sam Cook from Dreaming Festival (Australia) for the currently confirmed line-up.
Launched in 2010 by director Emere Wano (Tihi) in conjunction with the Taranaki Arts and Festival Trust (TAFT), Sounds Aotearoa deliberately precedes the ever popular Womad New Zealand festival so that international guests can take in both of these national events and experience five days of the best of national and international sounds and networking opportunities.
Sounds Aotearoa will take place on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 March 2012 at TSB Showplace, New Plymouth, Taranaki.
Registrations for the conference aspect of the two-day event are open now via the official website http://www.soundsaotearoa.com

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's Latin Fiesta

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra grabs its Lonely Planet guide, clenches a rose between its teeth and heads to Auckland Town Hall for Qantas Presents Latin Fiesta, a celebration of sizzling music from Spain and South America.
The concert on Thursday 15 March showcases the work of some of the Latin world's most entertaining composers, notably tango master Astor Piazzolla, who is represented by four pieces.
Two of those pieces employ the bandoneón, the concertina-like instrument that was such a feature of Piazzolla's music. Taking the role of bandoneón soloist at Latin Fiesta is one of the world's leading exponents of the instrument, Per Arne Glorvigen, who was the last musician to study bandoneón with Piazzolla before the composer's death in 1992. Glorvigen plays the bandoneón concerto 'Aconcagua' and two movements from The 4 Seasons of Buenos Aires.
APO Music Director Eckehard Stier says that he's excited by the thought of working with one of Piazzolla's students.
"When someone has that sort of relationship with the composer, you want to spend time with them and hear what they were being told about the music. It's important to maintain those connections and it's helpful for me to know more than I knew before. And Per Arne is amazing; he's one of the most charismatic people I've ever met."
For the remaining Piazzolla works, the APO is joined by two people well known to New Zealand audiences, Aaron Gilmore and Nerida Cortese, both of whom featured in the television show Dancing with the Stars. The pair will demonstrate the art of tango dancing.
Maestro Stier was required to have dancing lessons at school and by all accounts was accomplished on the parquet, but he has no intention of joining Gilmore and Cortese. "I'm a dancer on the podium," he says.
Other music performed on the night includes the suite from Ginastera's ballet Estancia, Turina's Danzas Fantasticas and, to open, the Cuban-inspired sway of Danzon No.2 by Mexican composer Arturo Marquez.

The Exponents Cancel 30th Anniversary Concert Tour

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Civic Events, promoters of The Exponents' 30 Year Anniversary Concert Tour have cancelled the April reunion tour, with a rescheduled Summer Tour announcement planned for late 2012.
All refunds will be made at point of purchase. All tickets purchased by credit card will be automatically refunded. If you purchase tickets from an outlet using cash or eftpos please approach the outlet with your tickets to obtain a refund.

Flip Grater Signs With French Label Vicious Circle

New Zealand singer songwriter Flip Grater has had a busy and exciting few years, gaining French representation with music management and branding company So-U, securing agents for six new territories, signing a deal with German label Make My Day and completing four European tours including a support tour for popular French band Cocoon.
The indie singer's signing to French indie label Vicious Circle is the latest in her string of new business partnerships. The deal includes France as well as the UK and will see Flip based in Paris for most of 2012 to write and record her forth studio album. Past releases by Vicious Circle include the collaborative album by Yann Tiersen (who wrote the soundtrack for the French film Amelie) and Shannon Wright.
After touring NZ as a member of collaborative band Fly My Pretties in late 2011, Flip has spent the Southern Hemisphere summer promoting her latest book The Cookbook Tour Europe - a collection of stories from her tours through Europe which includes collected recipes and a special release CD.
This month Flip will head to South America to collaborate and perform with Brazilian folk singer Bruno Morais before beginning a March tour in Italy with Herve Peroncini, the frontman of Italian pop-punk band The Peawees.
Flip was also recently confirmed as the support act for an upcoming Germany tour with acclaimed French band Aaron.
TOUR DATES
Brazil
Friday 10 February Tete-a-Tete showcase, Sao Paulo
Saturday 11 February Sesc Ipiranga, Sao Paulo
Sunday 12 February Casa do Macha, Sao Paulo

Italy
Thursday 1 March Trottoir, Milan
Friday 2 March Shake Club, La Spezia
Saturday 3 March Covo Club, Bologna
Sunday 4 March Limonaia, Florence
Monday 5 March Fanfulla Club, Rome
Thursday 8 March Arci Taun, Fidenza
Tuesday 13 March Pazza Idea, Sarzana

Germany
Sunday 25 March Brotfabrik, Frankfurt (Aaron support tour)
Tuesday 27 March Ampere, Munich (Aaron support tour)
Wednesday 28 March Frannz Club, Berlin (Aaron support tour)
Thursday 29 March Hirsch, Nurnberg (Aaron support tour)

France
Friday 6 April Nouveau Casino, Paris

Supermodel And Sleeping Dogs To Play Four More Shows

Supermodel and Sleeping Dogs are headlining the Live and Loud summer tour for 2012, bringing their exciting stage shows to Raglan, Tauranga, Oakura and Wellington this month.
Both bands are hot on the heels of their UK-produced albums released in 2011 and are anticipating the next leg of the Live and Loud tour after their recent successful musical excursions to Auckland, Hamilton, Napier and Palmerston North over the last few weeks.
Supermodel have been receiving rave reviews of their current LP To The Mountains, with some critics calling the record "a real mover and shaker of a release"; that its "colour and punch... sets Supermodel apart from other bands on the Wellington landscape". The record went straight to top position on the iTunes rock charts at the time of its release. Supermodel are a brilliant live act; tight vocal harmonies meld perfectly with concise and catchy rock arrangements that have beautiful sing-along choruses. They are not to be missed.
Sleeping Dogs are also touring their current album and have received similar reviews. Their songs have been described as "unavoidable, deep and unapologetic", while their sound and style is "extravagant, big, epic and over-the-top, with long, long instrumental parts". They, like Supermodel, secured the services of highly sought-after UK producer Greg Haver, along with the in-house mixing talents of Clint Murphy, giving their album Myth Reducer its huge, classic rock sound.
Catch these two magnificent bands around the North Island while you can this summer, before they both hole themselves up to write their highly-anticipated new albums.
SHOW DATES
Thursday 9 February The Yot Club, Raglan
Friday 10 February Brewers Bar, Tauranga
Thursday 16 February Butler's Reef, Oakura
Friday 17 February Bar Bodega, Wellington

Jim Beam Homegrown Sold Out

Jim Beam Homegrown is the stand out gig of the summer, proudly showcasing the cream of New Zealand music. As the last of the 17,000 tickets sold on Tuesday, Homegrown can proudly claim to be one of the only sold out events of its scale in New Zealand.
A sellout is nothing new for Homegrown as it has sold out on all five outings since 2008. Event director Mark Wright attributes their success to two unique factors; "The strength of kiwi music, which we shout from the roof tops. Also a fantastic group of equally passionate sponsors and media partners who play a big part in championing its success".
The festival showcases over 40 acts performing across six stages along the breadth of the Wellington Waterfront. Each year Homegrown has its own flavour and a stellar line-up. The impressive list of talent this year includes the likes of Shihad, Opshop, The Feelers, Fat Freddy's Drop, Six60, David Dallas, Kids of 88, P-Money, Bulletproof, The Adults and Tiki Taane to name just a few.
Visit http://www.homegrown.net.nz for all the info needed to make next weekend the best it can be, including details on the various stage schedules.

Shihad Show In Wellington

Shihad will play a one-off show at Valve/Hole in the Wall (Medusa) on Friday 17 February, the night before headlining Wellington's Homegrown Festival.
With a very limited capacity, this venue gives the opportunity to see Shihad at extreme volume and up close in a sweaty club environment.
Tickets for this strictly limited capacity one-off show are available from http://www.shihad.com and Rough Peel Records from 9am, Thursday 9 February.

David Dallas Australian Tour

New Zealand chart topping hip hop artist David Dallas will cross the Tasman to celebrate the release of The Rose Tint (Deluxe Edition) with four Australian dates.
After a huge few months in New Zealand which saw the deluxe edition of his NZ Music Award-nominated album The Rose Tint become the highest charting hip hop album of 2011 in NZ, New York-based kiwi David Dallas is set to play four shows across the east coast of Australia.
2011 saw David Dallas dominating the local music scene in NZ, clocking up over 60,000 downloads of his free album The Rose Tint as well as having his music videos playlisted on US and Australian MTV networks and being nominated for three NZ Music Awards, including album of the year.
TOUR DATES
Thursday 9 February Shooters Nightclub, Surfers Paradise
Friday 10 February Goodgod Small Club, Sydney
Friday 10 February Icon @ Collector Hotel, Parramatta
Saturday 11 February The Esplanade, Melbourne