Kiwi - On The Move Review

 

Artist: Kiwi

Album: On The Move

Label: Self Release

Released: Jan 2013

Coming from New Jersey NY this eight piece reggae unit would have you believing (through the warm sunny feel of the music) that they come from much warmer climes. Although, their lead singer Alex Tea. Has probably brought some musical influence to the band from his time spent in Brazil.

The bedrock and overall feel of the album is built around traditional reggae rhythms but within this the band explore and play with different style's (blues, soul, jazz), and also different tempo's and instrumentation. Yet none of these excursions ever lose the overall chilled vibe of the album, there is even the beat less Eno’esque excursion 'Expanse' that also works with its rising and falling strings.

Then it’s right back to the skankin once more with that soulful tight horn section and accomplished rhythm, guitar. With Alex even singing in what I believe to be Brazilian Portuguese. If I was to compare them to someone then most definitely Bob Marley and The Wailers or The Skatalites spring to mind but there is no direct copying of sound, just influence. With all this diversity of genre's and tempo you may think that the album wouldn't have an overall cohesive feel to it but it does.

Further to this Alex's voice and intelligent lyrics add extra depth to each song. Kiwi to my mind, have created a great album of reggae tunes but with an added dimension to them. I'd strongly recommend it especially with summer just round the corner.

Reviewed by CKA John

http://www.reverbnation.com/kiwirootsmusic

Matt B of RND interview

1. Which artists/clubs inspired you to form this electro-dub act?

The obvious answer would be DUB of course even tho my very 1st contact with playing live music was punk music. Dub is a quite simple music still very complex at the same time. I myself being interested with music production and sound engineering since day 1 , dub literally opened a new way to look at it. Also on a composition level and of course when it comes to performing a piece of music live. The mixing desk becomes an instrument itself with an endless number of possibilities and tricks. Dub was my foot in the door with electronic music. From there I was lucky enough to live in London during the time labels like WARP and REPHLEX were leading and inspiring the underground music scene.in the 90s. Which were a very interesting time for me and being in UK when bands like Prodigy and Meat Beat Manifesto were making history I was very lucky indeed.

From then on, there have been so many outstanding artists that directly or not inspired me I would find very hard make a comprehensive list .
Lee "Scratch" Perry, Twilight Circus, Mad Professor , Creation Rebel, Rhythm & Sound, Scape music, Soul Jazz Records are some of the artists and labels that I feel particularly attached to.

2. You appear to be a bit of a globe trotter residing in Italy, London and now Tokyo as well as touring widely. Where do find seems to have the most innovative music scenes at the moment?

I think you can find innovative music a bit everywhere really,the problem is wheter or not that music is coming to the surface and as consequence being approached by the masses. Right now Montreal is definitely somewhere to look at , with the Turbo Crunk crew doing some awesome stuff.

I have always been a bit of a fan of some of the Canadian hip hop since back in the 90s actually.Here in Tokyo the Made In Glitch crew is basically the only party existent in Japan offering something trurly different from any other promoter. We have been working hard trying to build this scene with our trademark Made in Glitch blend of hip hop and glitch, powered by laser basses .

3. Were you aiming to combine the electronic with the organic for the live tours? By adding Viscount on bass & programming and Shinsuke Inoue on tablas to the act and even featuring the Londonreggae m.c. Brother Culture.

Viscount: I think these days audiences want to see more of a live act than a few guys behind laptops. Although live digital manipulation is a fundamental part of dub, we also wanted the feel and energy of a live bass (probably the essence of dub itself), and of course an m.c to cheer things along. Any percussion or drums are basically the icing on the cake......

4. D.J.'ing wise do you prefer decks, cd decks or laptop software?

Dj'ing wise I prefer vinyl's simply because that’s what I started with and I'm ok using CDj's. It's honestly not much fun doing a djset on a laptop. Myself I prefer using laptops for live sessions.

5. What was the first record/c.d. you brought with your own money?

It was a tape and it was Kick by INXS in the ‘87
I still quite like some aspects of that album.

6. Do you have any current releases and where can people hear the music?

As for RND ,there is the full length album Ask The Dust that came out last spring. There is also ‘Tortuga’ , an RND’ track we wrote in collaboration with recently released on this compilation called Brixton Session out on Celestial Dragon.

And we just finished recording some new tracks with Mikey Murka.Currently doing the mixdown.

7. Your also involved in glitch and dub-step projects do you see these scene's fizzling out or as a whole new generations underground scene that will eventually become part of popular music?

I don’t know if we can talk about a scene as a whole. I mean a scene is made up by people, people do their things, grow up and pass away. The regeneration of a scene will always lead to a shift from the original purpose/direction, so I am not sure how any scene is truely existing as a whole or a passing fad. Dub-step has been out there for 10 years almost, it is morphing into something different from what it was but that really applies to any other style of music.If you listen to some 90s dub is very different from a classic ’70 plate and really that’s the way it should be.It's evolution and it is a natural process.

glitch-hop is something that interest me also, being a fan of hip- hop. I especially got the 90s sounds (Six Too, Latryx, Company Flow, Anti Pop Consortium). I see glitch-hop as the combination of hip-hop with some sort of idm'ish sounds and some electro-punk feel ; the results is something definitely accessible to the masses. More of a party vibe, especially compared to something like dub-step.

Liquid Stranger Interview

1.Which artists or clubs inspired you to work in the dub genre?

To me, dub is more a way of manipulating and reshaping recordings than it is a certain style of music. I do enjoy the roots dub from Augustus Pablo, and King Tubby. However, I also find inspiration from all kinds of different music, and life in general. Funny enough, the music from vintage computer games has been a great influence. Then again, most of the time a melody or rhythm usually pops up in my head when I am driving, working out, or making food...

2. Is your music entirely synthetic or do you add live instrumentation at gigs?

Whether I use acoustic (live) elements depends on the track. If I am after something organic, I might add live percussion, guitar, flutes, etc. Since I am mostly playing gritty dubstep when I am performing live nowadays, I do not normally add acoustic instrumentation. I bring my analogue modular system to every gig, creating bass lines and fx as I go. It is a very flexible and creative way of performing live.

3. You seem to be quite experimental in fusing genres and the use of sound fx. Do you try and push the musical boundaries of dub or does it just come out unconsciously?

It is not something I think about.

4. Which artists are impressing you recently?

.

I do not search for music much nowadays, and I am not keeping up to date with what is being released. A lot of people send me music, so most of the music I listen to is either made by my friends, or something I hear when I am out playing. Dorothy's Magic Bag and Goto80 always impresses (amuses) me, I like the hard dubstep/techstep from Rottun recordings, and yeah, I heard this great marimba band when I was touring Canada. They were brilliant!

5. What direction do you see electronica heading in the future?

Well, ten years ago the genres were more easily defined. Lately there has been so much fusing of genres, so I do not even know what electronica is anymore. I like that evolution. No style, no boundaries, just good vibrations!

6. Do you have any new releases in store and where can people hear your music?

Yep, I have a bunch of dubstep releases coming up, for example on Rottun Recordings and Adversion Records. Planning a new album that might come out on Interchill next year. Where can people hear your music? Ha ha, just Google Liquid Stranger. There are tons of sites/stores with my music out there. It is so easy to get hold of music today. “underground” does not really exist anymore.

7. Any advice for people getting started with electronic music?

Start simple - do not buy too much gear, you do not need it. Get productive - Do not focus too much on tiny production details. Make more songs instead.Have fun - Experiment, do not take it too seriously.

For a more up-to-date interview here's one I did for Chillbase http://www.chillbase.org/interviews/172-liquid-stranger-interview.html

Jiang Liang Interview

When I came across Jiang Liang on Sly & Robbies Myspace friends. I immediately took notice of the traditional reggae and dub vibe of tracks like "Kong" and "Ye Gou Shan" as well as what this artist is trying to accomplish. I hope you can take the time to read the interview and listen to his music. I think this guy could make an impact on the reggae scene in the future.

http://www.myspace.com/reggaechina

1. Which artists inspired you to work with the Reggae sound?

Bob Marley, Burning Spear, Sly & Robbie, King Tubby,etc.....At the beginning, I like roots reggae very much. Then, I was interested in DUB and music of instrumental performance.

2. You say you aim to make Reggae big in China. With such a vast population that sounds like a big task. Are there any Reggae radio shows in China that would reach the rural communities or do you hope to achieve this with live performances?

In China, people rarely listen to radio shows. The source of information and the ways Chinese people getting to know different kinds of music are TV, Internet, magazines, CDs, live performances. I do hope to achieve my goal with live performances. But, recently, I am playing music all by myself. I am playing all the instruments and recording my own music all by myself. I am need people to play with me. I am really longing for finding some musicians to play with me as a band. I am looking for help and support. So far, Reggae is not a major popular music in China yet, coz there is a large number of people don’t know about reggae. At the beginning, it’s hard to get reggae into the major media in China. But, I still see a big market for reggae in China. There are already so many people are crazy about reggae music and this kind of culture, especially among the young generation. Everyone who has ever listened to or gets to know reggae falls in love with this music. I am sure there will be more and more people in China love reggae. I am very confident about the success of reggae in China. So I hope to promote reggae as a way of life and a culture. it’s very fresh to Chinese people.

3. Where can people hear and purchase your music?

Recently, people can only hear my music on My space. I am looking for producers or records companies who could co-operate with me or publish my music.I would also like to learn more ways to let more and more people to get to know China’s reggae music.

4. Which artists are currently impressing you?

There are so many, any good music or musician would impress me. I like listening to various kinds of music, in addition to reggae. In China, listening to music is the best chance to study music. I am craving for the chance to see the authentic reggae masters perform live in person and communicate with other outstanding artists.

5. Which clubs/venues would you recommend for people visiting China?

I'd like to recommend a town called Yangshuo. Yangshuo(part of Guilin city) is a world famous small town in China. I am living here now. Coz, personally, I don't prefer the life of the big city. Here is a peaceful countryside with one of the most breathtaking scenery in the world. It's one of the most popular attractions in China and a must-see place for all the travelers coming to China. Yangshuo is also a great place for creation and composition for all the artists. Where it gives you a lot of inspirations. There is also a reggae bar here by the name of KAYA，If you search “Yangshuo” in internet, you will find a lot of information and great pictures about this place.

6. Do you prefer to use synthetic or organic instruments?

I like either. I like to use both of them depending on my tracks. I play guitar and bass and make the rythum and percussion with my laptop. sometimes I use synthetic and organic at the same time. I don’t usually spend much time on choosing the sounds. I emphasize more on the substance of music.

7. In which direction do you see style of Reggae music heading in the future?

I think reggae music could be merged with many other music styles. I hope I can make my reggae with Chinese music style and music melody. I hope reggae will develop and be varied while keeping the roots. Personally, I haven’t got to know about the situation of reggae in other countries. But in China, if I could receive some support and help, I am very confident that the development, achievement and success will be seen.