A retrospective of the band Grand Prix Download the Counting The Beat - Grand Prix podcast

New releases April 09 Download the Counting The Beat - New Releases April 09 podcast

My recent rediscovery of the Arclife Records catalogue unearthed some amazing female artists, some of whom featured in a recent Counting The Beat episode. However, that wasn't all that deserved an airing so this episode continues the exploration of the Arclife catalogue, the recording offshoot of Dunedin's Arc cafe. Download the Counting The Beat - Arclife 2 podcast

Arclife was the recording and distribution arm of a Dunedin not-for-profit community organisation run by a charitable trust as an adjunct to their cafe and performance space, Arc Cafe. From 1997 until the mid 2000s the label released a number of albums and compilations, mainly from artists that performed at the cafe itself. I recently had a listen to some of the recordings that came out on this label and I was really taken by the strength of the female artists on the label's catalogue. Download the Counting The Beat - Arclife podcast

The music scene on Waiheke used to be dominated by older white guys playing the blues but in more recent times that's changed with some great new and recent releases from Waiheke musicians. Download the Counting The Beat - Waiheke: My Home Town podcast

"We don't like hip hop, Oh no, We love it" - Three the Hard Way, 'Hip Hop Holiday' You don't hear a lot of hip hop on Counting The Beat, so to put that right I've put together a few songs from that genre that have a uniquely kiwi sound and perspective. Download the Counting The Beat - We Don't Like Hip Hop podcast

I was rummaging around in the record cupboard under the stairs looking for a single I wanted to feature in the podcast when I came across a magazine in one of the record crates. It was Spunkzine, issue 4 of an Australian alternative music fanzine that usually went by the title Spunk Magazine. This particular issue included Startrackers, a giveaway cassette (remember those) featuring 22 bands from around the world, bands that were breaking through on the alternative scene of 1995.Most of the songs on the cassette are exclusives, including the five contributions by New Zealand acts. Download the Counting The Beat - Out of Print: Startrackers podcast

New releases March 09 Download the Counting The Beat - New Releases Mar 09 podcast

I haven't had a catch up on new releases for a while so here's some new songs and some that aren't so new that I've just caught up with. Download the Counting The Beat - New Releases Feb 09 podcast

Lost for Words features great kiwi instrumentals, songs sans vocals. Download the Counting The Beat - Lost for Words podcast