OFF TOPIC
Pippa Trotman is the host of a weekly podcast about local music called Off Topic. You can listen to it on Fridays at 4pm on 105.4 FM (Otago Access Radio) and also on Apple Podcasts and Spotify under the name "Off Topic Youth Zone". The other day I talked to Pippa about herself and her show.
"I don’t actually listen to a lot of the older Dunedin music but I’ve heard about the Dunedin Sound from back in the day. The sound at the moment is harder to pin down. There’s a lot of experimental stuff coming out and indie/alternative shoe-gaze style stuff and metal is pretty popular."
I asked Pippa to tell me about her favourite local musicians and venues.
"I really love Talking Furniture, everyone in that band looks like they’re having a lot of fun when they’re performing and the energy in the room when they’re playing is amazing. Anna Laurence’s music is great, it’s very ethereal. Her song Swing of Things is honestly some of the best music from a youth artist I’ve heard recently.
"Yours is my favourite venue. The energy in there is great and it’s very easy for youth to organise inexpensive gigs. There’s also the big cafe area at the front of the venue if you want to take a break from the band. It’s a great space."
When I asked her if she thought the local music scene was in a good place she was a bit more guarded.
"I think that the music scene is growing but it’s hard to say that it’s in a good place. There are a few really good bands and dedicated music lovers out there that are holding it together by showing up to the gigs to either perform or show support.
"I think a great way to encourage people is by posting and reposting stuff about gigs on social media but also as someone interested in visual media I’d love to see bands filming their sets and making cool videos as a way to stand out and capture attention. Not to mention coming on shows like Off Topic."
If you’re a local band or musician and you’d like to be on Off Topic you can message Pippa @offtopicdunedin on Instagram.
SUBLIME STUDIOS
A number of local bands, including Saurian and IVY, have recently been raving about recording at Steve Harrop’s Sublime Studios halfway between Duntroon and Kurow.
Steve is a talented musician himself and is a trained double bassist and piano player with a lot of experience playing both jazz and hip-hop. In 1992 his group Freebase won a New Zealand music award along with Ben Harrop, Joel Haines and his "more famous" brother, Nathan.
Steve and his family originally bought the old farm to grow grapes but there were a lot of buildings on the property and it seemed like a good place to accommodate all of the equipment he’d accumulated over the years. The old wool shed was originally renovated to make an art studio for his partner but after a while this area somehow turned into what is now the recording studio and her art studio is now in the stables.
Sublime has a focus on making music and recording with old analogue equipment but of course this can all be transferred to digital at any stage later on or people can go straight to digital if that’s what they want.
Steve suggested this recent track by young heavy rockers Powder Chutes, from Wānaka, as an example of what the studio could do: tinyurl.com/bddjcu23
BOTTOM FEEDER
You may have heard the name Tane Cotton in association with local band the Allophones, but Tane has a new project called Sivle Talk (pronounced "civil talk") and a new single and video evocatively entitled Bottom Feeder. This is the taster for a new album, which is primarily written, performed and recorded by Tane himself.
THE THIN WHITE UKES
The Thin White Ukes feature the ukulele and vocal arrangements of David Bowie’s stupendously awesome back catalogue.
These hard-core uke addicts have struck a chord with acoustic music lovers worldwide and after nine years the Melbourne trio is finally jumping the ditch for their first tour of Aotearoa. You can catch them at the Te Anau Ukulele Festival (October 10-13) and at Dunedin Musos’ Club on October 15.
