95bFM: The Swap Meet

It was the four o'clock roadblock this week, with in studio crew pulling up to the Swap Meet including: heavy collectors Campbell Ngata & Cassawarrior from Tairāwhiti, and also local hearoes Dylan Biscuit & Leon Aoki of Arcade Radio.

We kicked off with two cuts from the unreleased Stevie Wonder EP that dropped this week marking 50 years of Songs in the Key of Life. The Mighty Sparrow's passing gets its due, and there's a first play of two tracks from Nathan Haines' new Soft Chaos album, "The Answer" and "Modulatea" getting an early airing ahead of release.

From there the five of them more or less split off into their own territory, which makes for a set that moves around more than usual, soul and boogie rarities running alongside Brazilian and heavy West African that will put your Shazam on the fritz. 

Good people and fine tunes for your earholes...

This week the show is brought to you by the don Campbell Ngata, broadcasting out of Gisborne/Tairāwhiti. As the 28th September 2026 marks a half century since Stevie Wonder's "Songs In the Key of Life" - which we need mark obviously! From there Boogie and post-disco rarities sit next to newer material from Paris Ford, Summer Vee and Another Taste, moving thru African funk and highlife heaters, K Frimpong and the Nkengas alongside a couple of Sun Ra and Marvin Peterson cuts that push things toward jazz for a while.

For the second half he showcases Cymande, Ralph MacDonald, The O'Jays, Rufus & Chaka Khan before closing out with Funkadelic and a small clutch of contemporary tracks from Sault, Jeroboam and Aphrose.

Press the damn button!

K & J back for te reo for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, a handful of waiata reo. We selebrate anniversaries for Funkadelic Tales of Kidd Funkadelic, James Brown Gravity, DJ Shadow Entroducing, The Roots Illadelph Halflife and Jeru the Damaja Wrath of the Math (all landing on round numbers this year).

Birthday boys Eric Gale and Eddie Bo get a spot in the mix, and newies including Dawuna and Ezra Collective. Campbell up next week - see u next month!

Kirk's back, fresh from 'The Other Crate Record Fair' the day before. This week we had 2 birthdays, Don Was & Gene Page both on the 13th, so played a few from them. Also this week marking 50 years since the 'Car Wash Soundtrack' was released & 40 years for 'Cameo's - Word Up!' LP. Plus 2 years since we lost Frankie Beverly from Maze. Some old stuff & new stuff. 

This week it was the guy with the strange name's turn up to bat. We ran some fresh 2026 heat from corto.alto, Batuk & Spoek Mathambo, Sløy Gange, Nebraska & Dubi Drat, Akusmi, Dudù Kouate, Alex Nut/Steve Spacek and Inter-City repping the new stuff, before folding in classics from Ethiopian jazz, 80s and 90s hip-hop, the ever-present Brazilian rare groove, smatterings of dub and cumbia, and generous helpings of our comfort food: 70s deep soul, jazz, disco and boogie.

RIP to soul giant Latimore, hip-hop OG Keith Keith, and jazz guitarist Gene Bertoncini. And happy celestial birthday to the one and only Sylvester.

Commander Campbell Ngata helms this interstellar funk mission to round out your August Swap Meet flight schedule, bringing only the tippity-topshelf business with well-loved American boogie and soul - a lot of obscure, small-label club and radio tracks interspersed with gospel-funk. We're never too far away from jazz, with  Ramsey Lewis, McCoy Tyner, Bobby Hutcherson, Errol Garner holding the torch, plus a few detours into reggae, Caribbean dance, Ghanaian highlife, and Ethiopian jazz-funk. Blast-off commences when you press that button: Five... four... three.. ignition sequence starts...

This week we're joined by the don Kọ́lá Ògúndípẹ́ for some Drunk Elephant Soundclash thru the music of Malawi, Nigeria, USA, and many other points on the map. 

This week we're joined by the don Kọ́lá Ògúndípẹ́ for some Drunk Elephant Soundclash thru the music of Malawi, Nigeria, USA, and many other points on the map. 

Sorry for pod tardiness - here is last sunday's show with a bunch of new and classic bits 4u.

J&K bring their record nerdiness to the new bFM studio on Karanghape Road. Al Jarreau's Glow turned 50 on the day of broadcast, so "Have You Seen the Child" opened the show, paired straight after with JJ Farley's "God Will Understand It". A Tribe Called Quest's Beats, Rhymes and Life hit 30 a few days prior, marked here with the tribe's first Dilla production "Get a Hold". Fela's death anniversary fell on the same day, honoured through Sub_ModU's rework of "Expensive Shit" rather than the version everyone knows, and Fat Larry got three cuts in a row for his birthday, which is as good a reason as any to play a run of Fat Larry's Band.

Around those anchor points the set moves through Brazilian boogie, British soul-jazz and rare groove without losing the plot, Sandra De Sa and Bossa Nostra sitting comfortably next to Young Disciples and Drizabone. New material from Homeboy Sandman and Jack Splash's "Resonance Frequency".