Live Review with Photos: Peachy Keen Festival, Basin Reserve, Wellington 2021

Peachy Keen Festival

Basin Reserve, Wellington

Saturday 3 April 2021

After a week of truly abysmal weather, Wellington seemingly changed its mind and decided to about turn, blessing us with a beautiful sunny day at the Basin Reserve – ideal for a festival.

Peachy Keen felt different from your usual festival as well. One of the key things that stood out is that every act on the bill were fronted by women [except Sweet Mix Kids, the between-set DJs]. Look at most festival posters and you’ll notice that wāhine are glaringly absent, so this was a super welcome progressive change. It also felt more laid back. Many festivals feel like waster-fests (in NZ at least) with a strong focus on punters getting inebriated. Although alcohol was available for purchase all day, I didn’t notice anyone getting out of hand. It felt like a safer than normal environment – I’d even go so far to say family-friendly, seeing as many children were in attendance as well.

KITA

I love Wellington. Say what you want about the politicians and the wind, but it’s an awesome city to live in. Last week the main street in the CBD was closed off all weekend to accommodate a huge free festival called Cubadupa, which involved a hundreds of bands and artists showing their creative side at the numerous stages and areas that had been built for the festival around the city. I’d seen local trio KITA play on the Sunday, attracting a fair crowd with their hypnotic music.

Thinking back, I used to see drummer Rick Cranson and keyboardist Ed Zuccollo play with Adam Page years ago. They were a wonderful match, very technically proficient and able to improvise and synergise with each other. Now they have Nikita Tu-Bryant at the helm, who has a fantastic voice.

Their music was great for the setting. Enough groove to entice some dancers to the front, and laid back enough to suit the sunny Saturday. Really great stuff, and an awesome start to the day.

*Also, check out their new video clip for “Private Lies” that that released today*

Chelsea Jade

Chelsea Jade was dressed all in white – a nod to cricket, which is what usually takes place at the Basin Reserve where the festival was being held. Flanked by a backing singer on either side, Jade delivered a polished pop set with choreographed dancing.

I’m out-of-the-loop but clearly Jade’s fans knew what was going on, she had them crouching down during parts of her set. She worked the crowd well, evidenced by the throng of fans all dancing against the barrier. She even invited one girl up onstage to dance, who promptly admitted that she had a crush on Jade. “If you dance well enough I may consider it mutual” Jade laughed.

Paige

I can’t decide if it was laughable or genius (possibly both), but Paige started off her set by covering the Highschool Musical song, which garnered a great reaction. It was a strong start, with instant participation from the crowd and a big sing-along. Her music is fairly laid back so the energy died down a bit, but she’s got a great voice and it was a nice set. I loved the backing visuals too, with bumble bees buzzing around on the screen at the back of the stage.

The Beths

The Beths were definitely the act I was most looking forward to seeing today. They’ve been progressing from strength to strength in recent years and always killed it during the handful of times I’ve seen them play live. I consider their recent album Jump Rope Gazers the best release of 2020 and was obviously excited to see them play some of it live again.

Of course they delivered. I’m a rocker – no doubt about it – so it was great to see a full band letting loose. They’re fairly humble about their abilities, but watch guitarist Jonathan Pearce shred and you’ll soon see why they deserved to win so big at the recent Aotearoa Music Awards. And of course frontwoman Liz Stokes was the star, with her unapologetic Kiwi accent shining through.The sound quality was a bit patchy – unfortunately something that is fairly common at outdoor gigs – but this didn’t detract from the set too much. The Beths delivered a set of irresistibly fun and catchy hits. Seriously, check them out if you haven’t listened to them already.

Stellar*

It was a pretty spread demographic attending the fest, split among gender and ages. But looking at the lineup, the promoters were clearly targeting a younger audience. This makes Stellar* an outlier, seeing as most of what they’re known for having happened 20+ years ago.

I’d seen Stellar* open for Shihad in Riwaka (just out of Nelson) on New Years Eve a few years ago. I was shocked at how similar this set was to last time, with singer Boh Runga introducing the songs almost exactly as she had last time I’d seen them play. They should at least be able to mix the banter up so they don’t feel stagnant. The audio mix was also quite bad, noticeably worse than The Beths’ mix had been. The set was fine. I do enjoy their music but it looked like they were struggling to garner much of a reaction from the audience. Stellar* need to work on freshening up if they want to be more than a boomer nostalgia band.

Foley

I’ll admit I hadn’t really heard Foley before today. But they were fun. I always prefer a band over a DJ or backing track, and they were full of energy. I don’t have much more to say, but I enjoyed them.

Ladi6

Ladi6 was sliiiick. You can tell that she’s been doing this for a while, because this was a performance in every sense. There were three DJs (?) at the rear, manning decks and a mini drum kit and I’m not sure what. Ladi6 was front and centre, commanding attention. She used Samoan fans as props (and I’m sure to keep her cool – it was hot!), and had dancers dressed in bright orange to either side of her. The dancers were super effective – totally in sync and they really stood out with their orange attire. Peachy Keen was all about feminist representation, and Ladi6 upped the ante by making a point to address cultural inclusiveness as well, with the dancers incorporating Pasifika flags into their routines. I’ve gotta say it was certainly the most professional and polished set of the day, and visually it really stood out.

Ladyhawke

By contrast, Ladyhawke fell a bit flat. The acts had been running progressively later throughout the day and there was quite a wait before she came on. I don’t know what the cause of this was but I’m guessing it was something to do with soundchecking and set ups? Sweet Mix Kids helped to amp the crowd up during these breaks with their DJ sets but that energy dispersed when Ladyhawke came on.

It was finally dark by this point, making the lights onstage effective, but there was just something missing from this set. A few of the better known singles caused ripples of excitement among fans, but overall it was underwhelming.

Gin Wigmore

Gin Wigmore knows how to party. Brimming with confidence, she showed us a good time. Her band rocked. I’d heard a rumour that one of her guitarists had caught covid on the way to NZ so she’d had to recruit a ring-in, but honestly, you wouldn’t know it. They played flawlessly.

Wigmore also joined in, playing guitar on a few tracks, and thumping the hell out of a floor tom drum towards the end of the set. You could tell she was enjoying herself and it was infectious.

Jason Aalon Butler in the mosh pit during Gin Wigmore’s set at Peachy Keen

Her husband Jason Butler managed to get on someone’s shoulders in the mosh pit. He stripped of his shirt and beanie and threw it onstage. Security guards quickly flashed their torches at him and made him get down, but Wigmore lapped it up, flirting with him from onstage. “Hey sexy man, I think I’ll marry you and have your babies!” she shouted. “Hmmmm I can smell some weed. I live in LA, where you can have someone deliver it to you in a three piece suit. Not like here in NZ, where you have to go to a dodgy area to pay $20 for something wrapped in aluminum foil. Anyone want to share?” she joked.

Benee

And now for the big act. The stage was noticeably bigger, with some of the clutter from the wings removed to make space. The drums looked formidable, with odd perspex shields set in front (I guess for acoustic mix reasons). Benee was the big draw card that many people had come for.

She came onstage rocking a red puffer jacket and a fluffy bucket hat. And fair enough – it’d been a scorcher earlier on, but there was a definite chill in the air now it was past 10pm. The stage was quite dark despite the lights, and Benee nonchalantly walked from side to side as she sang.

I don’t know if it was forced or is she’s just odd, but Benee was full of quirks. She adopted different accents every time she addressed the crowd. She made animal noises during the pauses between lyrics. At one point she just lay on the floor of the stage as she sang.

I’ll be honest, the appeal was lost on me, but obviously my opinion didn’t matter because thousands of adoring fans were hanging onto every word. Benee’s set started more than an hour later than scheduled, but there was a strict sound curfew of 11pm, so her set was cut a lot shorter than anticipated.

There was a bit of an outcry over the drastically shortened set, but there’s nothing that could be done.

All in all it was a fantastic day. Thankfully it was sunny. The Basin Reserve was a suitable venue, with plenty of space for a stage and dancing area, as well as surrounding banks for those who just wanted to lay back and soak it all in. Most of the acts played well, although it was possibly a bit ambitious booking so many. Once events like this start falling behind time it can snowball, and it’s a real shame that the two last acts had to cut songs from their sets.

Sure, there were a few teething problems, but overall it was a great success, and it’s very likely that we’ll see another Peachy Keen event in years to come. It had a unique vibe that I hope they can replicate in the future. I wonder if they’ll aim to pull international acts or if they’ll stick to Aotearoa artists, but either way, they deserve congratulations for taking such a progressive stance and making a point of celebrating women in music.

Words and photos by Joseph James

Premiere: Sora Shima – At the Edge of Hope Is Despair

Sora Shima were staples in the New Zealand post-rock scene for some time. They shared the stage with royalty like Jakob and Mono, and put out some great music.

The band slowed down and fell into a hiatus about five years ago. You know the score – guys get a bit older, work commitments start taking over, suddenly they have families, and the band goes on the back burner. Their last release was the 2014 album You Are Surrounded.

I remember in late 2016 my friend David Zeidler (of Young Epoch fame) asking me to recommend some post-rock acts from my neck of the woods for an A Thousand Arms compilation, which were relatively new at the time.

From memory I suggested Jakob, Sora Shima, Hiboux, Into Orbit and Kerretta. Three of those acts made it onto the first edition of Hemispheres (Hiboux featured in the following edition).

Chatting with Jason from Sora Shima, the fresh surge of interest in his band as a result of that compilation inspired him to revive the band and get things up and running again.

They’ve had a handful of gigs in the past year and have been working on new material and getting back on track. Out of nowhere they’ve dropped two fresh songs.

“At the Edge of Hope Is Despair” is a brilliant return to form. A guitar line at the start reminds me of Tides of Man – which can only be a good thing. And the drums sound immense – really full and vibrant and spacious. So many drummers try to emulate that sound that John Bonham gave us in the song “When The Levee Breaks” and Sora Shima have come darn close. All the instruments come together in a searing, triumphant crescendo that leaves you panting for more. I’m reminded of the recent Hubris album.

“Loss” is more cinematic ambient, full of mournful swells and dense textures. A nice counterpiece to the first track.

There’s no story behind these tracks, no waffly bio. It’s just shy of 7 minutes worth of music. But it’s damn tasty and exciting to have new content from such a great band. Keep an eye out on the Shora Shima Facebook page for some news being announced in the next week.

While you’re at it, buy their back catalogue off Bandcamp. They’re only asking for $3 for their entire collection, which is criminally underselling themselves.

EP Review: distance – over time

Sam Butler is likely best known for his time as the bass player for Banks Arcade. Recent life changes have signaled time for new opportunities, allowing Butler to explore different avenues.

He put the word out last year, wanting to start a post-rock group. I even had him over at one point for a jam in my bedroom. But a shift to the sleepy town of Nelson put those plans to rest, so Butler decided to see what he can do on his own. The result is the over time EP, put out under the moniker of Distance.

The timing seems slightly comical, considering all the jokes circulating about how we are about to get flooded with bedroom albums and solo projects due to the covid 19 lockdown period, but don’t worry, this is actually quality output.

Butler shares with me about the inspiration behind the EP. The immense Nelson Pine factory plant in Richmond is responsible for producing a lot of the MDF, plywood and timber that we use in our part of the world. You can see the constant plume of “steam” churning out from it’s chimneys at all hours.

Butler noticed this during a commute to work one day and it got him thinking about the water cycle. One thing led to another, and before long he’d formed a song in his head that revolved around the concept of water. Wanting to extend himself, he expanded upon the theme, introducing other elements of nature, and in the end settling on five elements he loved about New Zealand: water, trees, sky, mountains and people.

Most post-rock music is instrumental by nature, leaving the music open to interpretation by the listener. But I do love when post-rock artists use an overarching concept to influence and inform the songwriting process. It can result in a more interesting final product, which invites the listener to interact with the themes and messages of the music on a deeper level. Take Ranges, hubris. or Lost in Kiev, for example.

“coalescence” is the original water themed track that jump-started this project. Butler shares that “throughout the song, raindrops fall, coalesce, create puddles, rivers and streams, and then finally join the ocean, where they crash about in the final climax.” Guitar notes with plenty of delay and thunderous drums echo within a sparse chamber before sharply plucked bass and monstrous layers of guitar consume everything and engulf you. I especially love the blink-and-you’ll-miss-em drum fills towards the end of the track.

It’s clear that Butler is a fellow believer, having paid his dues at the altar of Jakob. The rolling bass line in “coalescence” and the hollow snare tone on “tectonic” – there’s no mistaking where he drew key inspiration for those aspects of the music from.

Butler utilises wonderful field samples, of rolling water, of crashing waves upon the shore, of tranquil birdsong, of people chatting. These recordings lend themselves to the concept that anchors the music, as well as adding an georgeous textural layer to the sounds.

I just adore the birdsong in “undergrowth”. The music contains tribal percussive elements and grunty riffs that sound like the lovechild of Jakob and Tool.

The heaviest track is “firmament”. It sounds crushing and huge, a dense slab of noise which threatens to overwhelm everything.

One of the better known Māori whakatauki (proverbs) is:

He aha te mea nui o te ao. He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata

What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people.

It’s a nice touch naming the final track “(treasure)”, knowing that the working title was “People”, making me guess that the name is alluding to the whakatauki.

The track is very much a nod to the origin of ambient music: Brian Eno’s Music for Airports. We hear hustle and bustle, distant sirens, people connecting. Similar to “Coda” from Pillars’ outstanding 2019 record Cavum, it’s a touching track that explores mundane yet magical aspects of life, and a brilliantly soft finish to a great collection of music.

This is an extremely promising release from Butler, and certainly exceeds all expectations in terms of quality, considering it’s a lock-down bedroom project. Looks like I missed a grand opportunity, given that we could have teamed up to start a band when he lived in Wellington. That aside, over time is well worth your attention, with well crafted songs that sound great, and an understated concept of gratitude that we would all do well to remember in trying times such as these.

distance links:

Bandcamp: https://distancenzl.bandcamp.com/album/over-time

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkFeC2SN-QY

Spotify et al: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/distance2/over-time

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/distancenz

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/distancenz/

Merch: https://distancestore.printmighty.co.nz/

Album Review: Hubris. – Metempsychosis

Hubris. was birthed amongst giants, playing their first ever show with our very own Jakob in May 2015, which also happened to be the release show for their debut album Emersion.

Five years on the Swiss post-rock quartet have made a bold statement with their third album Metempsychosis, a stunning musical exploration of Greek myths and legends.

I’ll begin by discussing the first track I heard: lead single “Heracles”

Choosing to locate their lead single as the final track on the album seems like a odd, if not potentially risky choice. Metempsychosis is just shy of an hour long, and in this current age of singles and shuffled playlists, how many listeners are going to last throughout the entire album to reach the best song?

I guess it is in keeping with the theme. If you’re discussing legends and writing an opus of an album, you want to end it by smashing it out of the park with a grand climax.

“Heracles” commences with some reverberating guitar chords and some lovely percussive elements that slowly grow, adding wondrous dynamics that sweep you away. They suck you in with fully fledged passages, just to drop out and leave you panting for more. The sleepmakeswaves influences are apparent, and that is definitely a good thing. “Heracles” is a damn strong song and you’d be surprised to find out that it’s almost ten minutes long, seeing how it carries such great momentum.

If you read the description of the track, you can start to understand some of the story behind its composition:

“the song Heracles tells the story of the Greek Hero Heracles, also known as Hercules. He was not only given the chance to be born in the first place when Zeus intervened at the trial of Heracles’ mother who had been sentenced to burn at the stake, but was the only mortal who was granted access to Mount Olympus after his death. The song’s repeating patterns echo Heracles’ own life, as he was constantly tried, most famously by Zeus’ resentful wife Hera. The song is divided into twelve parts alluding to both Heracles’ labours and the different stages of his life, the last two being musical illustrations of his rise to Mount Olympus and his place among the gods until the end of times.”

How cool is that? The composition of the song reflects the story, with twelve parts connecting to elements of the legend.

It’s a shame that I’m not more familiar with Greek legend, which would provide some great context for the stories that inspire these incredible songs. Have you ever considered that music can take on a personality? Thankfully “Icarus” has a spoken-word section detailing the flight and folly of the Icarus, who you may know as the boy who flew too close to the sun and lost the use of his wings when the wax that was keeping the feathers adhered melted.

It’s reminiscent of Range’s title track from God’s of The Copybook Headings, or plenty of Lost In Kiev songs. And true to post-rock convention, the moody music and suitably chosen spoken word track work together wonderfully. The narrative guides us through the tale. We revel in Icurus’ joy as he soars through the sky following his creative escape, and vicariously feel his Father’s terror when as he powerlessly witnesses his son’s demise.

One reason I love concept albums like this is that they invite the listener to unpack and explore the source story or material. Like Listener‘s last album about inventors, or Frank Turner’s recent record that explores inspirational historic female figures, or even Iron Maiden songs based off history, poetry and prose (“Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, for example) these themes and concepts are so interesting that they compel you to go searching down a Wikipedia wormhole to learn more about the Greek antagonists that loan their names to these song titles.

Conceptually, this album is stunning. Musically, it’s just as grand. It’s a soaring, sweeping, expansive masterpiece. Hubris. have crafted something legendary with Metempsychosis, befitting of the stories which guided their writing. It’s a stunning album that sweeps you away on a journey from epochs past, drawing from many conventions of the post-rock genre whilst managing to remain fresh and exciting.