February 2009: J Williams, Kidz In Space, Lawrence Arabia, Luger Boa, Midnight Youth, Mumsdollar

A rainy night in Kingsland, eight-bit space adventures, a swingin’ good time, black on the outside, purposeful Manhattan, and one last gig.

Continue reading February 2009: J Williams, Kidz In Space, Lawrence Arabia, Luger Boa, Midnight Youth, Mumsdollar

October 2007: Salmonella Dub, Tahuna Breaks, The Black Seeds, The Brunettes, The Phoenix Foundation, Tiki Taane

Sunny Vanuatu, alluvial planes, epicĀ littering, alien love, a Hadlee shrine, and a one-man show.
Continue reading October 2007: Salmonella Dub, Tahuna Breaks, The Black Seeds, The Brunettes, The Phoenix Foundation, Tiki Taane

June 2006: Samuel Flynn Scott, Stylus, The Black Seeds, The Feelers, The Mint Chicks

Face photocopying, the goth life, a social network, nowhere, and the curious case of the street that wasn’t there.
Continue reading June 2006: Samuel Flynn Scott, Stylus, The Black Seeds, The Feelers, The Mint Chicks

April 2006: Juse, Katchafire, Lemuel, Luke Buda, Luke Thompson

A really unflattering pink jumper, a rool-trippy-as road trip, a fairly straight road trip, and so much wood panelling.
Continue reading April 2006: Juse, Katchafire, Lemuel, Luke Buda, Luke Thompson

The Phoenix Foundation “All in an Afternoon”

This video is animated, but it took me a while to work out what exactly was going on. It involves simple doodles and line drawings, in black on a curious honeycomb-shaped grid. There was something strangely familiar about all of it, but it wasn’t until near the end of the video that it becomes obvious – it’s in the style of a Magna Doodle.

As it happens, the animation has been made in a much higher resolution than the pixelly magnetic cells of an actual Magna Doodle, but the video takes inspiration from the random stuff that kids create on such toys. There’s optical illusions, chunky lettering, and 3D backgrounds.

It’s almost a bit disappointing when likenesses of the band appear, as it’s obviously based on actual video footage and not a drawing. I think I’d enjoy this video more if it looked like it had been made on a Magna Doodle. (BTW, it can be done – I found this video that was animated using actual Magna Doodle sketches.)

But as things are, it’s still a delightfully quirky video. The only thing missing – the video didn’t end with the image being wiped across.

Best bit: Luke Buda cutting shapes with the autoharp.

Director: Luke Savage
Nga Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… the man makes everything ok.