New Zealand MP3s: Skallander’s The Camels, Confucius’ Newsoundlandscapes
It's raining and windy here in Manhattan. And as cold as a witch's teat. Skallander's glowing New Zealand-born electronic pop is the perfect accompaniment for the day. By turns gleaming and gloomy, sun soaked and as dark as a rain holding cloud, Skallander sound like they never leave the house...better to stay warm by the electronic fire.
"Skallander is the earth bound name for the ethereal collaboration between Matthew Mitchell (ex-Wellington jazz scene) and Bevan Smith (Aspen, Signer, Marineville). As tracks and ideas are ferried across the new spice trail that is P2P (peer to peer digital sharing networks), Smith and Mitchell find themselves unearthing genres, slipping across style-scapes, riding the wave-verge.
Mitchell's feel is for glitchy oozing surfaces that arise UFO-like amid The Camel's sandpaper-meets-silly putty vocals. As finely grained as shifting bags of rice selling for $400 a sling, the vocals they play against paper cut clicks and doleful melting brain beats.
Moving away from the subliminal, half-twilight realms of uninspired electronic hacks so prevalent today, The Camels sounds open, light and crisp. Skallander's vistas are open to the horizon, the air dry and rough, the way supposedly camels like it.
Bevan Smith has lately returned to New Zealand from a tour of the UK/US/Europe, where he played 50 shows, had his guitar nicked, recorded a Breeze Block Session (UK Radio) and crisscrossed cities searching out galleries. As composer/creator he has worked on music for art projects, theatre shows, dance works, TV adverts and films, notably the Bafta award winning Touching The Void (dir. Kevin McDonald).
Matthew Mitchell, when not tending the car or taking his dog for a wee, is a tour warrior, having played throughout the UK, Eastern and Western Europe with Signer as well a number of free jazz and improvisational music groups. He is now undertaking a daring transformational concept of the Eastern European music scene with the release of new recordings on his own IMPROVART label."
Skallander
"Saint" (mp3) from "The Camels"
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Skallander "Phantom Phone Flash" (mp3) from "The Camels"
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More On This AlbumSkallander "The Camels" (mp3) from "The Camels"
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More On This AlbumConfucius' Newsoundlandscapes: Who knew New Zealand was sprouting such musical wings? Downtempo, dubtempo, soulful singing and grooves unit Confucius give a further NZ taste with their debut, Newsoundlandscapes.
Confucius "Back To The Basix" (mp3)
from "Newsoundlandscapes"
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Confucius "Lavinia's Dub" (mp3)
from "Newsoundlandscapes"
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Confucius "Immortal Lion" (mp3)
from "Newsoundlandscapes"
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