Report back from Katipo gig 3

The third Katipo gig was a lot more even-keel than previous our previous outings. We both kept the silly stuff to a minimum: I briefly played a hyperspatial treatment of the Robin of Sherwood theme, while Michael ended the set in spectacular fashion by dredging up a Bonanza Christmas special song and then redrowning Lorne Green in a pool of quicksilver reverb.

Elsewhere, Michael played a couple of Jet Jaguar classics, while I made a brief foray into 80s techno and dropped a bit of Alison Holst from the Nice One Stu Christmas Special '78 (TVNZ on demand has some good stuff) over a warm ambient wash.

I also played a Group Five's remix of one of my own tracks (Gravity Waves from my self-produced, self-released 'debut' CD International Travel (</plug>). This is the first time anyone has remixed a track of mine, and I have to say I was both pleased that he had done such a good job and dismayed that he had vastly improved on the original. According to Andy, the end part of the remix features a recording of his primary school orchestra doing the MASH theme in an arrangement that's heavy on recorders. When I first heard it I was convinced that it must be some sort of misguided 'ethnic' arrangement of MASH (eg by a Chinese Orchestra), and I was reluctant to accept Andy's explanation.

I repaid the favour (though not to Andy) by playing a remix of some samples by Filmic, a Christchurch duo, who have recently released an album Peacock People, which I thoroughly recommend. There are a lot of electronic 'producers' in New Zealand, but the thing about Filmic that you don't often get with others is that they have a bit of spirit about them, like the mean something. It's really great to hear this.

As for Malty Media, we're going into a bit of a break over Christmas and New Year, and with tentative plans to resume Katipo duties in late January. We will of course keep you posted. The challenge for next year will be to do a little more refining of our gear and style, and continue to hunt for that elusive audience.