As sure as amorous swooping kereru herald the warmer weather, so the new releases of New Zealand’s brand of soul-dub-groove-hip-hop herald the promise of beach parties and backyard dancing.
First off the block is the phonically rebranded B2KDA (once were “Batucada Sound Machine” – geddit?) with their first offering since 2013 and a slight departure from the overtly world rhythms that have marked their past decade.
BSM and now B2KDA are renowned for having an open-door policy when it comes to the multiple horns, vocals, percussionists and guitars required for the big-band sound that makes them such a live-wire spectacle, and once again there’s been a reshuffle ahead of Rising.
The result is a more Kiwi sound. Sure, the beats aren’t your usual four-on-the-floor, but you’ve got to wait until the final track of 11 before you hit the South American-influenced Por La Noche – just the sort of track that has been meat and drink for the Batucada boys over the years.
Instead, there’s a far heavier guitar influence from the dirty funk-rock of We Do It, the reverb-heavy solo on The Greatest Step and the outrageous metal riff that underpins the title track’s stunningly dark, bouncing dub.
Of course, this is still music written for musicians to enjoy playing and for dancers to enjoy grooving to. But as well as the skankin’ Same Old Thing and the sunshine shuffle of Tear My House Down, B2KDA have introduced far more electronica – from the occasional synth effects in Can’t Give You and the epic tones of Watching the City Fall to the full-blown drum machine and sine-waved samples of the cosmic-consciousness-obsessed I’m a Physicist.
Although B2KDA know they can produce Kiwi summer tunes as familiar as pohutukawa stains on hot pavements, Rising is peppered with surprises.
Stars: 3.5/5
Words by: James Belfield
