I expect  this finds you in a good space. We all in the same old boat aren’t we? in the  mind forged manacles of media it’s easy to believe we are doomed but another way of seeing it is that this is just another ground hog day and we been through this before many times. A kind of pass the parcel until the four horsemen arrive. Something to look forward to.

But that’s not what you are reading this for is it? No.

You are wanting to know what the latest recordings are and I’ve been remiss by not announcing the long awaited Mona Lisa released not so recently on Bandcamp but totally unheralded. It’s not the original track of ” Im in Love With The Mona Lisa”…this is kinda like  The album I meant to release but better. It’s a Mona lisa sandwich.

Here’s a link to the Mona Lisa which I hope you will download. A Koha would be nice but that’s up to you. You can listen to the whole album and stream or download in the format you prefer.

First and last tracks are different  versions of the song and between them there’s a bunch of recordings you will never have heard. This came about because Arnie at Nightshaft Studios Christchurch  was able to bake some reels from long ago and discover these lost singles recorded long ago.

Jan Bille produced and mastered it using a new mastering system….which he can explain   if you are interested. By the way…if you are looking for a fast efficient and profoundly capable producer I can recommend Jan. Give me a call 021 0259 2919 and I can pass you on. Also I can recommend Alex Sound in Auckland if you want purist acoustic (of which more to relate soon).

There haven’t been many calls of late and I’m counting my fingers waiting for the announcement of a gig*. I will play anywhere  so long as expenses are covered. I live in Auckland. Airfares are cheap if you go standby 0800 737 000.

*Actually doing a mini tour in South Island starting 15th of Feb so more dates soon.

See you at yours soon once you invite me.

One day I will write at length about these songs and the circumstances around the recording thereof. It’s a tale from long ago when life was harder but perhaps less scary.

Talk soon
God bless us and save us!
Luke

In Levin playing at Firebird again . Be there or be square.
The latest idea is a ticket price but with the proviso its Koha if you are broke.
So if you are a povo there’s no disgrace…I’ve been a povo most of my life.

Visit bandcamp.com if you haven’t visited lately. We got a new one called Express Emotion that was recorded by Facundo. Listen below.

He is a music producer and filmmaker who is keen to come back from Costa Rica and travel with me all over this beautiful New Zealand and document the lives of the  wonderful supportive  people who help me…….so one day we are gonna call on ya with a production manager and all the bells and whistles. It will be all about you too.

Thanks to those of you who have given expressemotion a listen and few who have bought it. Very grateful.

Also last month an old instrumental song of mine was released by Strawpeople. It is called Busker. Give that a listen below and support if you want. What do you think?

And if you are in Wellington this weekend come along to Moon Bar for pizza and live music. I’m playing there on Sunday night.

Back in Auckland for November and expect to be playing some more at Scarecrow but will add those dates when confirmed.

Hope to see you all soon.
Luke

Expressemotion is a bunch of new and previous ideas. The previous you could call skeleton keys. Songs that have been done before but perceived in another way…..added to and sometimes transformed to something else.

A style defining song is like a skeleton key that opens up to or morphs with other songs…..

For instance these songs: Reha, Ghandis Rag, Ghandis Ghost, and The Sound
all derive from the skeleton key of Ghandis Rag first released in 1986 on Make Room.

It’s a style that keeps giving.

Expressemotion is a new album I released this week. It was recorded live back in 2014 and has 5 tracks on it you won’t get anywhere else plus some of your favourites.

Getting Closer, Nobody is Good, Walk in the Light, Direct from the Cosmos and American Express are all new releases.

Yes and some of the other songs you have heard before but every time they get played they are somehow different. It’s like that story where “no man steps in the same river twice”. Because the stream is flowing and each time we go through we are different also.

Anyways I make no apology for repeats and its not due to a lack of ideas especially in light of the fact there’s so much material in a holding pattern.

In conclusion please note the song about getting closer to the light. This is also a song called everything is already ok. It explores life after death…..something that fascinates me greatly. I believe in spirit and in a creator and in love from which we were made. We have an operating system of freewill and that’s the best and worst of everything worth dying for.

By the way two other gigs of note. FIREBIRD Levin 19th and The Moon Bar Newtown 22nd. Be there or be square and please take care…there are cameras everywhere

The photo is Mt Taranaki from the air full version is here.

God bless

Hello friends and new subscribers. Allow me to introduce the concept of “as well as- ism.” When faced with two options try to get the best of both of them.

Example: Auckland vs Dunedin. When you are a resident of Dunedin visiting Auckland you normally say…”Auckland sucks I never wanna come back here”. Your host isn’t too thrilled by this but he does his best to make your stay memorable.

You make some friends and have some good experiences. You may come to the conclusion Auckland is ok. Unlikely but who knows. In all probability when you return to Dunedin you revert to factory setting of “Auckland sucks I never wanna go back there.”

Well…

How about adopting the ‘as well as ism’ approach. Tell yourself, Auckland has the best and the worst of everything….thus you are freed of vexation. You know what’s coming and you know what’s going.

With this in mind – please allow me to invite you to the dreaded city. There are good studios here I can show you around.

The best time to come is in August when it’s quiet. Come to my shows at The Scarecrow. It’s a nice cafe and the people are right friendly. You can crash on my couch and drink my tea and see the worst and best of everything here.

Let’s get out of this “oooooooorrraaagh Auckland. Who wants to love there?” And start collaborating. It’s possible to merge the interests of studios here with studios in Dunedin. Why not?

Jan Bille came to stay and I showed him Alex Sound. It’s a great studio but it needs to collaborate with Jan’s connections in Christchurch.

We have begun this interdigitation process and welcome other studios to hop on board. Come on people. It’s about small enterprises joining up….its not about competing and claiming “I’m better than…..”….even if it’s true who cares? It’s not about better it’s about interdigitation.

I had this word pointed out to me in 1975. My father was reading the latest Gray’s Anatomy he had just bought. He was relishing the discovery of a fascinating new word describing the way nerve cells interact. Interdigitate! Awesome isn’t it? He had the foresight to know this was a word of the future with wider application.

Incidentally we are recording his ( my Dad’s) talking book at Alex Sound Studio and the Narrator is Charles Pierard. He is awesome. Jan is very impressed and so is Alex. Two producers working side by side…not competing doing the “as well as ” shuffle.

Ok so here is what we need. We need your support. There are a number of albums to get out and the backlog is getting problematic. All you have to do is support this bandcamp Gaff. Download and contribute so we can afford to keep pumping it out. There are approximately four or five albums that we could put out within the next year but only with your support.

Come to the live shows. Invest in the records. Let’s make America Great Britain Again.