Merry Xmas for all of us here at www.groovefm.co.nz

Christmas Books for Lil' Groovers

'Tis the season for putting your feet up, reading, grabbing a long tall drink, a handful of lollies and getting stuck into a good book.
We here at the Groove Book Report celebrate children's fiction.
So, here's a few suggestions for under the tree.
I've added a recommended age and price (all but one are in in NZ$). 

Most are available at all good book stores around the country and on line.  

Click here to read about what we've found for your lil' Groovers.  

Rattle Records - 33% Off to award winners

What a GREAT year it has been for Rattle

NZTrio and Jonathan Crayford took out the honours with their BEST CLASSICAL and BEST JAZZ Tui Awards for SWAY and EAST WEST MOON

Mike Nock & NZTrio were the Best Jazz Artist finalists, while Te Kōkī Trio and Jenny McLeod were the Best Classical Artist finalists — a welcome clean sweep for Rattle

To share the love, we're offering the entire Rattle catalogue at a special 33% off from now until the end of December


Simply type 'AWARDS' into the coupon box at checkout

The Rattle catalogue champions a diverse mix of instrumental music across a range of contemporary genres (including world, jazz, and classical) with a primary focus on small-group chamber ensembles.

For more go to : http://www.rattlerecords.net/

Lorde's Melodrama up for album of the year at Grammys

Lorde has been nominated for album of the year at the Grammy Awards for Melodrama. Lorde in Berlin, March 2017.Lorde in Berlin, March 2017. Photo: AFP Lorde will compete against Jay-Z's 4.44, R&B star Bruno Mars' 24K Magic, Childish Gambino's Awaken, My Love! and Kendrick Lamar's Damn. Jay-Z topped the overall nominations for music's top awards with eight.

4:44's title track and 'The Story of O.J.' songs were nominated in song and record of the year. Lamar landed seven nominations overall, Mars got six including the top three categories and Childish Gambino, the alter-ego of actor Donald Glover, scored five nominations. Despacito, the hit from Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi featuring Justin Bieber and Daddy Yankee landed three nominations including record and song of the year. The 60th Grammy Awards, music's biggest night honouring the year's achievements across more than 80 categories, are scheduled for 28 January at New York City's Madison Square Garden. JayZ in concert in Canada, 2014.Jay-Z topped the list with eight Grammy nominations. Photo: AFP Music released between October 2016 and September 2017 qualified for this year's awards and will be voted for by members of the Recording Academy, made up of music industry professionals. Newcomer R&B singer SZA was the most-nominated female artist with five nods including best new artist, in which she will face singers Julia Michaels, Alessia Cara, Khalid and rapper Lil Uzi Vert.

 The absence of some of the biggest female artists marked a stark contrast with the 2017 awards, when Beyonce led the nominations and Britain's Adele swept the top awards. Neither released new music this year. Taylor Swift's Reputation album will not be eligible this year due to its November release, but she garnered two nominations including writing country group Little Big Town's Better Man. Katy Perry, who is yet to win a Grammy award, did not score a single nomination for her Witness album. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and director Andrew Dominik were named in the best music film category for One More Time With Feeling. The most notable omission from Tuesday's Grammy nominations was Canadian hip hop artist Drake, whose More Life album dominated streaming, charts and radio play since its March release.

British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, whose Divide album topped charts around the world, garnered two nominations in the pop categories. Lady Gaga and Kesha landed two nods each in the same categories as Sheeran.

Here's the full list:

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are nominated in the Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package category for Lovely Creatures: The Best of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (1984- 2014), and the documentary about the band One More Time With Feeling is nominated in the Music Film category.

Bob Dylan is nominated for Traditional Pop Vocal Album with Triplicate, Leonard Cohen has been posthumously nominated in the Rock Performance category for his swan song You Want It Darker. The War On Drugs are nominated in the Rock Album category with their critically acclaimed record A Deeper Understanding.

Dance nominees include LCD Soundsystem, Kraftwerk, Odesza and Gorillaz, and Brian Eno's abum Reflection is nominated in the New Age category.

Lisa LoebLisa Loeb Photo: Supplied
Nominees in the Best Alternative Music Album category include Arcade Fire, Gorillaz, LCD Soundsystem, Father John Misty, and The National who are also nominated in the Best Recording Package category for Sleep Well Beast.

Perfume Genius' album No Shape is nominated for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, Beck's producer Greg Kurstin is nominated for Producer of the Year for the track 'Up All Night' (among others), with the song's video also nominated for Best Music Video.

The Children's Album category includes records by 90s chart-topper Lisa Loeb and South African singers Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Nominations were announced early this morning (NZ time) and the winners will be revealed at a ceremony in late January.

Full list of nominees:

Album Of The Year
Kendrick Lamar – DAMN.
Lorde – Melodrama
Jay-Z – 4:44
Childish Gambino – Awaken, My Love!
Bruno Mars – 24K Magic

Song Of The Year
Jay-Z – “4:44”
Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber – “Despacito”
Logic – “1-800-273-8255”
Julia Michaels – “Issues”
Bruno Mars – “That’s What I Like”

Record Of The Year
Childish Gambino – “Redbone”
Jay-Z – “The Story Of O.J.”
Kendrick Lamar – “Humble.”
Bruno Mars – “24K Magic”
Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber – “Despacito”

Best New Artist
Alessia Cara
Khalid
Julia Michaels
Lil Uzi Vert
SZA

Best Pop Solo Performance
Kelly Clarkson – “Love So Soft”
Kesha – “Praying”
Lady Gaga – “Million Reasons”
P!nk – “What About Us”
Ed Sheeran – “Shape Of You”

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
The Chainsmokers & Coldplay – “Something Just Like This”
Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber – “Despacito”
Imagine Dragons – “Thunder”
Portugal. The Man – “Feel It Still”
Zedd & Alessia Cara – “Stay”

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
(For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new traditional pop recordings.)
Michael Bublé – Nobody But Me (Deluxe Version)
Bob Dylan – Triplicate
Seth MacFarlane – In Full Swing
Sarah McLachlan – Wonderland
Various Artists – Tony Bennett Celebrates 90

Best Pop Vocal Album
Coldplay – Kaleidoscope EP
Lana Del Rey – Lust For Life
Imagine Dragons – Evolve
Kesha – Rainbow
Lady Gaga – Joanne
Ed Sheeran – ÷ (Divide)

Best Dance Recording
Bonobo Featuring Innov Gnawa – “Bambro Koyo Ganda”
Camelphat & Elderbrook – “Cola”
Gorillaz Featuring DRAM – “Andromeda”
LCD Soundsystem – “Tonite”
Odesza Featuring Wynne & Mansionair – “Line Of Sight”

Best Dance/Electronic Album
Bonobo – Migration
Kraftwerk – 3-D The Catalogue
Mura Masa – Mura Masa
Odesza – A Moment Apart
Sylvan Esso – What Now

Contemporary Instrumental Album
The Jerry Douglas Band – What If
Alex Han – Spirit
Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge – Mount Royal
Jeff Lorber Fusion – Prototype
Antonio Sanchez – Bad Hombre

Rock Performance
Leonard Cohen – “You Want It Darker”
Chris Cornell – “The Promise”
Foo Fighters – “Run”
Kaleo – “No Good”
Nothing More – “Go To War”

Metal Performance
August Burns Red – “Invisible Enemy” —
Body Count – “Black Hoodie”
Code Orange – “Forever”
Mastodon – “Sultan’s Curse”
Meshuggah – “Clockworks”

Rock Song
James Hetfield & Lars Ulrich, songwriters (Metallica) – “Atlas, Rise!”
JT Daly & Kristine Flaherty, songwriters (K.Flay) – “Blood in the Cut”
Ben Anderson, Jonny Hawkins, Will Hoffman, Daniel Oliver, David Pramik & Mark Vollelunga, songwriters (Nothing More) – “Go to War”
Foo Fighters, songwriters (Foo Fighters) – “Run”
Zachary Baker, Brian Haner, Matthew Sanders, Jonathan Seward & Brooks Wackerman, songwriters (Avenged Sevenfold) – “The Stage”

Rock Album
Mastodon – Emperor of Sand
Metallica – Hardwired…to Self-Destruct
Nothing More – The Stories We Tell Ourselves
Queens of the Stone Age – Villains
The War on Drugs – A Deeper Understanding

Alternative Music Album
Arcade Fire – Everything Now
LCD Soundsystem – American Dream
Gorillaz – Humanz
The National – Sleep Well Beast
Father John Misty – Pure Comedy

R&B Performance
Daniel Caesar featuring Kali Uchis – “Get You”
Kehlani – “Distraction”
Ledisi – “High”
Bruno Mars – “That’s What I Like”
SZA – “The Weekend”

Traditional R&B Performance
the Baylor Project – “Laugh and Move On”
Childish Gambino – “Redbone”
Anthony Hamilton teaturing the Hamiltones – “What I’m Feelin'”
Ledisi – “All the Way”
Mali Music – “Still”

R&B Song
PJ Morton, songwriter (PJ Morton) – “First Began”
Alfredo Gonzalez, Olatunji Ige, Samuel David Jiminez, Christopher McClenney, Khalid Robinson & Joshua Scruggs, songwriters (Khalid) – “Location”
Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson, songwriters (Childish Gambino) – “Redbone”
Tyran Donaldson, Terrence Henderson, Greg Landfair Jr., Solana Rowe & Pharrell Williams, songwriters (SZA) – “Supermodel”
Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters (Bruno Mars) – “That’s What I Like”

Urban Contemporary Album
6lack – Free 6lack
Childish Gambino – Awaken, My Love!
Khalid – American Teen
SZA – Ctrl
The Weeknd – Starboy

R&B Album
Daniel Caesar – Freudian
Ledisi – Let Love Rule
Bruno Mars – 24K Magic
PJ Morton – Gumbo
Musiq Soulchild – Feel the Real

Rap Performance
Big Sean – “Bounce Back”
Cardi B – “Bodak Yellow”
Jay-Z – “4:44”
Kendrick Lamar – “Humble.”
Migos featuring Lil Uzi Vert – “Bad and Boujee”

Rap/Sung Performance
6lack – “Prblms”
Goldlink featuring Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy – “Crew”
Jay-Z featuring Beyoncé – “Family Feud”
Kendrick Lamar featuring Rihanna – “Loyalty.”
SZA featuring Travis Scott – “Love Galore”

Rap Song
Dieuson Octave, Klenord Raphael, Shaftizm, Jordan Thorpe, Washpoppin & J White, songwriters (Cardi B) – “Bodak Yellow”
Judah Bauer, Brian Burton, Hector Delgado, Jaime Meline, Antwan Patton, Michael Render, Russell Simins & Jon Spencer, songwriters (Danger Mouse featuring Run the Jewels & Big Boi) – “Chase Me”
K. Duckworth, Asheton Hogan & M. Williams II, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar) – “Humble.”
E. Gabouer & M. Evans, songwriters (Rapsody) – “Sassy”
Shawn Carter & Dion Wilson, songwriters (Jay-Z) – “The Story of O.J.”

Rap Album
Jay-Z – 4:44
Kendrick Lamar – DAMN.
Migos – Culture
Rapsody – Laila’s Wisdom
Tyler, The Creator – Flower Boy

Country Solo Performance
Sam Hunt – “Body Like a Back Road”
Alison Krauss – “Losing You”
Miranda Lambert – “Tin Man”
Maren Morris – “I Could Use a Love Song”
Chris Stapleton – “Either Way”

Country Duo/Group Performance
Brothers Osborne – “It Ain’t My Fault”
Zac Brown Band – “My Old Man”
Lady Antebellum – “You Look Good”
Little Big Town – “Better Man”
Midland – “Drinkin’ Problem”

Country Song
Taylor Swift, songwriter (Little Big Town) – “Better Man”
Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally & Josh Osborne, songwriters (Sam Hunt) – “Body Like A Back Road”
Mike Henderson & Chris Stapleton, songwriters (Chris Stapleton) – “Broken Halos”
Jess Carson, Cameron Duddy, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne & Mark Wystrach, songwriters (Midland) – “Drinkin’ Problem”
Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert & Jon Randall, songwriters (Miranda Lambert) – “Tin Man”

Country Album
Kenny Chesney – Cosmic Hallelujah
Lady Antebellum – Heart Break
Little Big Town – The Breaker
Thomas Rhett – Life Changes
Chris Stapleton – From A Room: Volume 1

New Age Album
Brian Eno – Reflection
India.Arie – SongVersation: Medicine
Peter Kater – Dancing on Water
Kitaro – Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai, Volume 5
Steve Roach – Spiral Revelation

Improvised Jazz Solo
Sara Caswell, soloist – “Can’t Remember Why”
Billy Childs, soloist – “Dance of Shiva”
Fred Hersch, soloist – “Whisper Not”
John McLaughlin, soloist – “Miles Beyond”
Chris Potter, soloist – “Ilimba”

Jazz Vocal Album
The Journey — The Baylor Project
A Social Call — Jazzmeia Horn
Bad Ass And Blind — Raul Midón
Porter Plays Porter — Randy Porter Trio With Nancy King
Dreams And Daggers — Cécile McLorin Salvant

Jazz Instrumental Album
Uptown, Downtown — Bill Charlap Trio
Rebirth — Billy Childs
Project Freedom — Joey DeFrancesco & the People
Open Book — Fred Hersch
The Dreamer Is The Dream — Chris Potter

Large Jazz Ensemble Album
MONK’estra Vol. 2 — John Beasley
Jigsaw — Alan Ferber Big Band
Bringin’ It — Christian McBride Big Band
Homecoming — Vince Mendoza & WDR Big Band Cologne
Whispers On The Wind — Chuck Owen And The Jazz Surge

Latin Jazz Album
Hybrido — From Rio To Wayne Shorter — Antonio Adolfo
Oddara — Jane Bunnett & Maqueque
Outra Coisa — The Music Of Moacir Santos — Anat Cohen & Marcello Gonçalves
Típico — Miguel Zenón
Jazz Tango — Pablo Ziegler Trio

Gospel Performance/Song
“Too Hard Not To” — Tina Campbell
“You Deserve It” — JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise featuring Bishop Cortez Vaughn
“Better Days” — Le’Andria
“My Life” — The Walls Group
“Never Have To Be Alone” — CeCe Winans

Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
“Oh My Soul” — Casting Crowns
“Clean” — Natalie Grant
“What a Beautiful Name” — Hillsong Worship
“Even If” — MercyMe
“Hills And Valleys” — Tauren Wells

Gospel Album
Crossover: Live From Music City — Travis Greene
Bigger Than Me — Le’Andria
Close — Marvin Sapp
Sunday Song — Anita Wilson
Let Them Fall In Love — CeCe Winans

Contemporary Christian Music Album
Rise — Danny Gokey
Echoes (Deluxe Edition) — Matt Maher
Lifer — MercyMe
Hills And Valleys — Tauren Wells
Chain Breaker — Zach Williams

Roots Gospel Album
The Best Of The Collingsworth Family — Volume 1 — The Collingsworth Family
Give Me Jesus — Larry Cordle
Resurrection — Joseph Habedank
Sing It Now: Songs Of Faith & Hope — Reba McEntire
Hope For All Nations — Karen Peck & New River

Latin Pop Album
Lo Único Constante — Alex Cuba
Mis Planes Son Amarte — Juanes
Amar Y Vivir En Vivo Desde La Ciudad De México, 2017 — La Santa Cecilia
Musas (Un Homenaje al Folclore Latinoamericano En Manos De Los Macorinos) — Natalia Lafourcade
El Dorado — Shakira

Latin Rock, Urban Or Alternative Album
Ayo — Bomba Estéreo
Pa’ Fuera — C4 Trío & Desorden Público
Salvavidas De Hielo — Jorge Drexler
El Paradise — Los Amigos Invisibles
Residente — Residente

Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)
Ni Diablo Ni Santo — Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda
Ayer Y Hoy — Banda el Recodo de Cruz Lizárraga
Momentos — Alex Campos
Arriero Somos Versiones Acústicas — Aida Cuevas
Zapateando En El Norte — Humberto Novoa, producer (Various Artists)

Tropical Latin Album
Albita — Albita
Art Of The Arrangement — Doug Beavers
Salsa Big Band — Rubén Blades con Roberto Delgado & Orquesta
Gente Valiente — Silvestre Dangond
Indestructible — Diego el Cigala

American Roots Performance
“Killer Diller Blues” — Alabama Shakes
“Let My Mother Live” — Blind Boys of Alabama
“Arkansas Farmboy” — Glen Campbell
“Steer Your Way” — Leonard Cohen
“I Never Cared for You” — Alison Krauss

American Roots Song
“Cumberland Gap” — David Rawlings
“I Wish You Well” — the Mavericks
“If We Were Vampires” — Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
“It Ain’t Over Yet” — Rodney Crowell featuring Rosanne Cash & John Paul White
“My Only True Friend” — Gregg Allman

Americana Album
Southern Blood — Gregg Allman
Shine On Rainy Day — Brent Cobb
Beast Epic — Iron & Wine
The Nashville Sound — Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit
Brand New Day — The Mavericks

Bluegrass Album
Fiddler’s Dream — Michael Cleveland
Laws Of Gravity — The Infamous Stringdusters
Original — Bobby Osborne
Universal Favorite — Noam Pikelny
All The Rage – In Concert Volume One [Live] — Rhonda Vincent and the Rage

Traditional Blues Album
“Migration Blues” — Eric Bibb
“Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio” — Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio
“Roll and Tumble” — R.L. Boyce
“Sonny & Brownie’s Last Train” — Guy Davis & Fabrizio Poggi
“Blue & Lonesome” — the Rolling Stones

Contemporary Blues Album
Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm — Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm
Recorded Live In Lafayette — Sonny Landreth
TajMo — Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’
Got Soul — Robert Randolph & the Family Band
Live From The Fox Oakland — Tedeschi Trucks Band

Folk Album
Mental Illness — Aimee Mann
Semper Femina — Laura Marling
The Queen Of Hearts — Offa Rex
You Don’t Own Me Anymore — the Secret Sisters
The Laughing Apple — Yusuf / Cat Stevens

Regional Roots Music Album
Top Of The Mountain — Dwayne Dopsie And The Zydeco Hellraisers
Ho’okena 3.0 — Ho’okena
Kalenda — Lost Bayou Ramblers
Miyo Kekisepa, Make A Stand [Live] — Northern Cree
Pua Kiele — Josh Tatofi

Reggae Album
Chronology — Chronixx
Lost In Paradise — Common Kings
Wash House Ting — J Boog
Stony Hill — Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley
Avrakedabra — Morgan Heritage

World Music Album
Memoria De Los Sentidos — Vicente Amigo
Para Mi — Buika
Rosa Dos Ventos — Anat Cohen & Trio Brasileiro
Shaka Zulu Revisited: 30th Anniversary Celebration — Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Elwan — Tinariwen

Children’s Album
Brighter Side — Gustafer Yellowgold
Feel What U Feel — Lisa Loeb
Lemonade — Justin Roberts
Rise Shine #Woke — Alphabet Rockers
Songs Of Peace & Love For Kids & Parents Around The World — Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audiobooks & Storytelling)
Astrophysics For People In A Hurry — Neil deGrasse Tyson
Born To Run — Bruce Springsteen
Confessions Of A Serial Songwriter — Shelly Peiken
Our Revolution: A Future To Believe In (Bernie Sanders) — Bernie Sanders and Mark Ruffalo
The Princess Diarist — Carrie Fisher

Comedy Album
The Age Of Spin & Deep In The Heart Of Texas — Dave Chappelle
Cinco — Jim Gaffigan
Jerry Before Seinfeld — Jerry Seinfeld
A Speck Of Dust — Sarah Silverman
What Now? — Kevin Hart

Musical Theater Album
Come From Away — Ian Eisendrath, August Eriksmoen, David Hein, David Lai & Irene Sankoff, producers; David Hein & Irene Sankoff, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Dear Evan Hansen — Ben Platt, principal soloist; Alex Lacamoire, Stacey Mindich, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, producers; Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Hello, Dolly! — Bette Midler, principal soloist; Steven Epstein, producer (Jerry Herman, composer & lyricist) (New Broadway Cast Recording)

Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media
Baby Driver (Various Artists)
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2: Awesome Mix Vol. 2 (Various Artists)
Hidden Figures: The Album (Various Artists)
La La Land (Various Artists)
Moana: The Songs (Various Artists)

Score Soundtrack For Visual Media
Arrival — Jóhann Jóhannsson, composer
Dunkirk — Hans Zimmer, composer
Game Of Thrones: Season 7 — Ramin Djawadi, composer
Hidden Figures — Benjamin Wallfisch, Pharrell Williams & Hans Zimmer, composers
La La Land — Justin Hurwitz, composer

Song Written For Visual Media
“City Of Stars” — Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, songwriters (Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone)
“How Far I’ll Go” — Lin-Manuel Miranda, songwriter (Auli’i Cravalho)
“I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Fifty Shades Darker)” — Jack Antonoff, Sam Dew & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Zayn & Taylor Swift)
“Never Give Up” — Sia Furler & Greg Kurstin, songwriters (Sia)
“Stand Up For Something” — Common & Diane Warren, songwriters (Andra Day featuring Common)

Instrumental Composition
“Alkaline” — Pascal Le Boeuf, composer (Le Boeuf Brothers & JACK Quartet)
“Choros #3” — Vince Mendoza, composer (Vince Mendoza & WDR Big Band Cologne)
“Home Free (For Peter Joe)” — Nate Smith, composer (Nate Smith)
“Three Revolutions” — Arturo O’Farrill, composer (Arturo O’Farrill & Chucho Valdés)
“Warped Cowboy” — Chuck Owen, composer (Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge)

Arrangement, Instrumental Or Acappella
“All Hat, No Saddle” — Chuck Owen, arranger (Chuck Owen and the Jazz Surge)
“Escapades for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra From Catch Me If You Can” — John Williams, arranger (John Williams)
“Home Free (For Peter Joe)” — Nate Smith, arranger (Nate Smith)
“Ugly Beauty/Pannonica” — John Beasley, arranger (John Beasley)
“White Christmas” — Chris Walden, arranger (Herb Alpert)

Arrangement, Instruments And Vocals
“Another Day Of Sun” — Justin Hurwitz, arranger (La La Land Cast)
“Every Time We Say Goodbye” — Jorge Calandrelli, arranger (Clint Holmes featuring Jane Monheit)
“I Like Myself” — Joel McNeely, arranger (Seth MacFarlane)
“I Loves You Porgy/There’s a Boat That’s Leavin’ Soon For New York” — Shelly Berg, Gregg Field, Gordon Goodwin & Clint Holmes, arrangers (Clint Holmes featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater and the Count Basie Orchestra)
“Putin” — Randy Newman, arranger (Randy Newman)

Recording Package
El Orisha De La Rosa — Claudio Roncoli & Cactus Taller, art directors (Magín Díaz)
Mura Masa — Alex Crossan & Matt De Jong, art directors (Mura Masa)
Pure Comedy (Deluxe Edition) — Sasha Barr, Ed Steed & Josh Tillman, art directors (Father John Misty)
Sleep Well Beast — Elyanna Blaser-Gould, Luke Hayman & Andrea Trabucco-Campos, art directors (The National)
Solid State — Gail Marowitz, art director (Jonathan Coulton) Gail Marowitz, art director (Jonathan Coulton)

Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package
“Bobo Yeye: Belle Epoque in Upper Volta” — Tim Breen, art director (Various Artists)
“Lovely Creatures: The Best of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (1984- 2014)” — Tom Hingston, art director (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds)
“May 1977: Get Shown the Light” – Masaki Koike, art director (Grateful Dead)
“The Voyager Golden Record: 40th Anniversary Edition” — Lawrence Azerrad, Timothy Daly & David Pescovitz, art directors (Various Artists)
“Warfaring Strangers: Acid Nightmares” — Tim Breen, Benjamin Marra & Ken Shipley, art directors (Various Artists)

Album Notes
Arthur Q. Smith: The Trouble With The Truth — Wayne Bledsoe & Bradley Reeves, album notes writers (Various Artists)
Big Bend Killing: The Appalachian Ballad Tradition — Ted Olson, album notes writer (Various Artists)
The Complete Piano Works Of Scott Joplin — Bryan S. Wright, album notes writer (Richard Dowling)
Edouard-Léon Scott De Martinville, Inventor of Sound Recording: A Bicentennial Tribute — David Giovannoni, album notes writer (Various Artists)
Live At The Whisky A Go Go: The Complete Recordings — Lynell George, album notes writer (Otis Redding)
Washington Phillips And His Manzarene Dreams — Michael Corcoran, album notes writer (Washington Phillips)

Historical Album
Bobo Yeye: Belle Epoque In Upper Volta — Jon Kirby, Florent Mazzoleni, Rob Sevier & Ken Shipley, compilation producers; Jeff Lipton & Maria Rice, mastering engineers (Various Artists)
The Goldberg Variations — the Complete Unreleased Recording Sessions June 1955″ — Robert Russ, compilation producer; Matthias Erb, Martin Kistner & Andreas K. Meyer, mastering engineers (Glenn Gould)
Leonard Bernstein — The Composer — Robert Russ, compilation producer; Martin Kistner & Andreas K. Meyer, mastering engineers (Leonard Bernstein)
Sweet As Broken Dates: Lost Somali Tapes From The Horn of Africa — Nicolas Sheikholeslami & Vik Sohonie, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer (Various Artists)
Washington Phillips And His Manzarene Dreams — Michael Corcoran, April G. Ledbetter & Steven Lance Ledbetter, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer (Washington Phillips)

Engineered Album, Non-Classical
Every Where Is Some Where — Brent Arrowood, Miles Comaskey, JT Daly, Tommy English, Kristine Flaherty, Adam Hawkins, Chad Howat & Tony Maserati, engineers; Joe LaPorta, mastering engineer (K.Flay)
Is This the Life We Really Want? — Nigel Godrich, Sam Petts-Davies & Darrell Thorp, engineers; Bob Ludwig, mastering engineer (Roger Waters)
Natural Conclusion — Ryan Freeland, engineer; Joao Carvalho, mastering engineer (Rose Cousins)
No Shape — Shawn Everett & Joseph Lorge, engineers; Patricia Sullivan, mastering engineer (Perfume Genius)
24K Magic — Serban Ghenea, John Hanes & Charles Moniz, engineers; Tom Coyne, mastering engineer (Bruno Mars)

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
Calvin Harris
Greg Kurstin
Blake Mills
No I.D.
The Stereotypes

Remixed Recording
“Can’t Let You Go (Louie Vega Roots Mix)” — Louie Vega, remixer (Loleatta Holloway)
“Funk O’ De Funk (SMLE Remix)” — SMLE, remixers (Bobby Rush)
“Undercover (Adventure Club Remix)” — Leighton James & Christian Srigley, remixers (Kehlani)
“A Violent Noise (Four Tet Remix)” — Four Tet, remixer (The xx)
“You Move (Latroit Remix)” — Dennis White, remixer (Depeche Mode)

Surround Sound Album
Early Americans — Jim Anderson, surround mix engineer; Darcy Proper, surround mastering engineer; Jim Anderson & Jane Ira Bloom, surround producers (Jane Ira Bloom)
Kleiberg: Mass for Modern Man — Morten Lindberg, surround mix engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround mastering engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround producer (Eivind Gullberg Jensen & Trondheim Symphony Orchestra And Choir)
So Is My Love — Morten Lindberg, surround mix engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround mastering engineer; Morten Lindberg, surround producer (Nina T. Karlsen & Ensemble 96)
3-D the Catalogue — Fritz Hilpert, surround mix engineer; Tom Ammermann, surround mastering engineer; Fritz Hilpert, surround producer (Kraftwerk)
Tyberg: Masses — Jesse Brayman, surround mix engineer; Jesse Brayman, surround mastering engineer; Blanton Alspaugh, surround producer (Brian A. Schmidt, Christopher Jacobson & South Dakota Chorale)

Engineered Album, Classical
Danielpour: Songs Of Solitude & War Songs — Gary Call, engineer (Thomas Hampson, Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)
Kleiberg: Mass For Modern Man — Morten Lindberg, engineer (Eivind Gullberg Jensen, Trondheim Vokalensemble & Trondheim Symphony Orchestra)
Schoenberg, Adam: American Symphony; Finding Rothko; Picture Studies — Keith O. Johnson & Sean Royce Martin, engineers (Michael Stern & Kansas City Symphony)
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Barber: Adagio — Mark Donahue, engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
Tyberg: Masses — John Newton, engineer; Jesse Brayman, mastering engineer (Brian A. Schmidt, Christopher Jacobson & South Dakota Chorale)

Producer Of The Year, Classical
Blanton Alspaugh
Manfred Eicher
David Frost
Morten Lindberg
Judith Sherman

Orchestral Performance
“Concertos for Orchestra” — Louis Langrée, conductor (Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)
“Copland: Symphony No. 3; Three Latin American Sketches” — Leonard Slatkin, conductor (Detroit Symphony Orchestra)
“Debussy: Images; Jeux & aa Plus Que Lente” — Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)
“Mahler: Symphony No. 5” — Osmo Vänskä, conductor (Minnesota Orchestra)
“Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Barber: Adagio” — Manfred Honeck, conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)

Opera Recording
“Berg: Lulu” — Lothar Koenigs, conductor; Daniel Brenna, Marlis Petersen & Johan Reuter; Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra)
“Berg: Wozzeck” — Hans Graf, conductor; Anne Schwanewilms & Roman Trekel; Hans Graf, producer (Houston Symphony; Chorus of Students and Alumni, Shepherd School of Music, Rice University & Houston Grand Opera Children’s Chorus)
“Bizet: Les Pêcheurs de Perles” — Gianandrea Noseda, conductor; Diana Damrau, Mariusz Kwiecień, Matthew Polenzani & Nicolas Testé; Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
“Handel: Ottone” — George Petrou, conductor; Max Emanuel Cencic & Lauren Snouffer; Jacob Händel, producer (Il Pomo D’Oro)
“Rimsky-Korsakov: The Golden Cockerel” — Valery Gergiev, conductor; Vladimir Feliauer, Aida Garifullina & Kira Loginova; Ilya Petrov, producer (Mariinsky Orchestra; Mariinsky Chorus)

Choral Performance
“Bryars: The Fifth Century” — Donald Nally, conductor (PRISM Quartet; The Crossing)
“Handel: Messiah” — Andrew Davis, conductor; Noel Edison, chorus master (Elizabeth DeShong, John Relyea, Andrew Staples & Erin Wall; Toronto Symphony Orchestra; Toronto Mendelssohn Choir)
“Mansurian: Requiem” — Alexander Liebreich, conductor; Florian Helgath, chorus master (Anja Petersen & Andrew Redmond; Münchener Kammerorchester; RIAS Kammerchor)
“Music of the Spheres” — Nigel Short, conductor (Tenebrae)
“Tyberg: Masses” — Brian A. Schmidt, conductor (Christopher Jacobson; South Dakota Chorale)

Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
“Buxtehude: Trio Sonatas, Op. 1” — Arcangelo
“Death & the Maiden” — Patricia Kopatchinskaja & the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
“Divine Theatre — Sacred Motets by Giaches De Wert” — Stile Antico
“Franck, Kurtág, Previn & Schumann” — Joyce Yang & Augustin Hadelich
“Martha Argerich & Friends — Live From Lugano 2016” — Martha Argerich & Various Artists

Classical Instrumental Solo
“Bach: The French Suites” — Murray Perahia
“Haydn: Cello Concertos” — Steven Isserlis; Florian Donderer, conductor (The Deutsch Kammerphilharmonie Bremen)
“Levina: The Piano Concertos” — Maria Lettberg; Ariane Matiakh, conductor (Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin)
“Shostakovich: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2” — Frank Peter Zimmermann; Alan Gilbert, conductor (NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester)
“Transcendental” – Daniil Trifonov

Classical Solo Vocal Album
Bach & Telemann: Sacred Cantatas — Philippe Jaroussky; Petra Müllejans, conductor (Ann-Kathrin Brüggemann & Juan de la Rubia; Freiburger Barockorchester)
Crazy Girl Crazy — Music by Gershwin, Berg & Berio” — Barbara Hannigan (Orchestra Ludwig)
Gods & Monsters — Nicholas Phan; Myra Huang, accompanist
In War & Peace — Harmony Through Music” — Joyce DiDonato; Maxim Emelyanychev, conductor (Il Pomo D’Oro)
Sviridov: Russia Cast Adrift — Dmitri Hvorostovsky; Constantine Orbelian, conductor (St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra & Style of Five Ensemble)

Classical Compendium
“Barbara” — Alexandre Tharaud; Cécile Lenoir, producer
“Higdon: All Things Majestic, Viola Concerto & Oboe Concerto” — Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Tim Handley, producer
“Kurtág: Complete Works for Ensemble & Choir” — Reinbert de Leeuw, conductor; Guido Tichelman, producer
“Les Routes de l’Esclavage” — Jordi Savall, conductor; Benjamin Bleton, producer
“Mademoiselle: Première Audience — Unknown Music of Nadia Boulanger” — Lucy Mauro; Lucy Mauro, producer

Contemporary Classical Composition
“Danielpour: Songs of Solitude” — Richard Danielpour, composer (Thomas Hampson, Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)
“Higdon: Viola Concerto” — Jennifer Higdon, composer (Roberto Díaz, Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)
“Mansurian: Requiem” — Tigran Mansurian, composer (Alexander Liebreich, Florian Helgath, RIAS Kammerchor & Münchener Kammerorchester)
“Schoenberg, Adam: Picture Studies” — Adam Schoenberg, composer (Michael Stern & Kansas City Symphony)
“Zhou Tian: Concerto for Orchestra” — Zhou Tian, composer (Louis Langrée & Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)

Music Video
“Up All Night” — (Beck) Canada, video director; Laura Serra Estorch & Oscar Romagosa, video producers
“Makeba” — (Jain) Lionel Hirle & Gregory Ohrel, video directors; Yodelice, video producer
“The Story of O.J.” — (Jay-Z) Shawn Carter & Mark Romanek, video directors; Daniel Midgley, video producer
“Humble.” — (Kendrick Lamar) The Little Homies & Dave Meyers, video directors; Jason Baum, Dave Free, Jamie Rabineau, Nathan K. Scherrer & Anthony Tiffith, video producers
“1-800-273-8255” — (Logic featuring Alessia Cara & Khalid) Andy Hines, video director; Andrew Lerios, video producer

Music Film
One More Time With Feeling (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds) Andrew Dominik, video director; Dulcie Kellett & James Wilson, video producers
Long Strange Trip (The Grateful Dead) Amir Bar-Lev, video director; Alex Blavatnik, Ken Dornstein, Eric Eisner, Nick Koskoff & Justin Kreutzmann, video producers
The Defiant Ones (Various Artists) Allen Hughes, video director; Sarah Anthony, Fritzi Horstman, Broderick Johnson, Gene Kirkwood, Andrew Kosove, Laura Lancaster, Michael Lombardo, Jerry Longarzo, Doug Pray & Steven Williams, video producers
Soundbreaking (Various Artists) Maro Chermayeff & Jeff Dupre, video directors; Joshua Bennett, Julia Marchesi, Sam Pollard, Sally Rosenthal, Amy Schewel & Warren Zanes, video producers

Join Randell Cottage at the National Library on 28 November, for an evening of conversation with Randell Cottage writer in residence, Stephen Daisley and Wellington writers, Catherine Robertson and Tracy Farr.

Stephen’s work addresses themes of masculinity and love, frequently in an historical context. He’s used his time at the Randell Cottage to work on two projects: A Better Place Than This is a picaresque tale of return home – from the mines of Australia to a New Zealand farm, and a meditation on the various forms love assumes in our lives, while The Clearances is an historical novel set in 18th century Scotland, after the Battle of Culloden.

Click here for more: http://groovebookreport.blogspot.co.nz/2017/11/an-evening-with-stephen-daisley.html

Works of the late, great John Clarke - The Tournament; A Pleasure to be here & Tinkering

Check out the Groove Book Report - featuring three books by the wonderful, late John Clarke.

The CoffeeBar Kid interviews author Sebastian Hampson

Sebastian Hampson has studied and written on the history of modern art and urban design. He has lived in Europe and the United States and is currently based in Auckland, New Zealand. His first novel, The Train to Paris, was published by Text publishing and received critical acclaim.
His new novel is a profound insight about the complexity of human relationships, morality and the transformative power of art, set in New York’s glittering world of galleries and high-end fashion.

Click HERE to listen to the interview.

Books for Lil' Groovers: Inspector Brunswick - The Case of the Missing Eyebrow - by Angela Keoghan and Chris Lam Sam ($27.99)

Click here for the review by the CoffeeBar Kid : http://groovebookreport.blogspot.co.nz/2017/11/books-for-lil-groovers-inspector.html

Robert Langdon is back!!! Read all about Dan Brown's New Book - Origin

Read the review here: http://groovebookreport.blogspot.co.nz/2017/11/the-groove-book-report.html

by The Coffeebar Kid

Groove has a new place for Book Stuff - The Groove Book Report

The Groove book report has now got its own site.  Check in here for reviews and information about books - poetry, novels, interviews with authors, new releases and other reporting.

http://groovebookreport.blogspot.co.nz/

Sad day for Wellington with the end of the much loved Trolley buses :(

After 68 years Wellington's much loved Trolley buses tool their final ride yesterday and the power to the network was shut down today in readiness for dismantling the 50 km network of cables. A job that will take a year and cost approximately $34 Million. We were the only city in Oceania to have a Trolley bus network.

This is a shameful and short sighted decision by the Greater Wellington Regional Council in a city that prides itself in being an environmental leader in clean, Green New Zealand. As of today we now have at least 40 more diesel buses on the road and a hope that we might get some hybrid buses next year (are they designed yet?) when we had 60 perfectly good 100% electric ones already running, many only 8 years old. Other countries are powering forward with positive climate change action and with this step we're going backwards. Our household has made a big difference by switching to a 100% electric car (apparently driving it for 6 months saves the planet more than my family recycling for the rest of their lives) but it feels like Greater Wellington have just cancelled out that effort. Even more so when I hear that we in NZ have the 2nd highest percentage of renewable electricity of any major country at 90% (behind Norway).

RIP our clean, quiet, iconic buses...please upgrade the trolleys to battery power ASAP.

Go Wellington Trolley Bus

Groove Book Report - Imagine - Illustrated by Jean Lennon (with a foreword by Yoko Ono Lennon) - Allen & Unwin - $27.99

This book is produced in association with Amnesty International

Imagine all the people living life in peace.
You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.
I hope some day you'll join us, and the world will be as one.

Join one little pigeon as she sets out on a journey to spread a message of tolerance around the world. Featuring the lyrics of John Lennon’s iconic song and illustrations by the award-winning artist Jean Jullien, this poignant and timely picture book dares to imagine a world at peace. Imagine will be published in partnership with human rights organization Amnesty International.

"This book is about peace," goes the afterword, " which helps us enjoy a happy and safe life.  For peace to flourish, we need to treat everyone kindly, equally and fairly."

In the age of Trump, North Korea, Australian cruelties to refugees, BREXIT and ISIS this book offers the simplest of please.  It is, of course, John Lennon's immortal lyrics, written as part of his own peace movement.  The illustrations are simple, too.  Because they want to convey simple messages.  Using the analogy of friendship between birds, Jean Lennon's pictures break away from racial stereo types and potential cultural barriers.  As far as I know birds are not considered to be offensive in any language or culture.  For each stanza, there is a new picture.  Hugs, smiles and the image of a dove, or collection of doves holding an olive branch is universal.

Jean Jullien

Illustrator Jean Jullien was born Cholet and lived in Nantes before moving to London in his twenties to study at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and the Royal College of Art.  His work has appeared in publications including Télérama, Le Nouvel Observateur, The New York Times and The Guardian, and his clients have included the Pompidou Centre, Yale University and Nike.

More importantly, he also was involved with  Peace for Paris.  In the wake of the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, Jullien created a variation of a classic peace symbol invoking the Eiffel Tower.  The image swiftly went viral via social media and news coverage of worldwide sympathies and affirmations of solidarity against terrorism.

He has illustrated several books for children, including Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise by Sean Taylor, and is the creator of This Is Not a Book, named a Best Picture Book of 2016 by Publishers Weekly. Visit him online at jeanjullien.com.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-produced the original song and album of the same name with Phil Spector. Recording began at Lennon's home studio at Tittenhurst Park, England, in May 1971, with final overdubs taking place at the Record Plant, in New York City, during July.

One month after the September release of the LP, Lennon released "Imagine" as a single in the United States; the song peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and the LP reached number one on the UK chart in November, later becoming the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed album of Lennon's solo career. Although not originally released as a single in the United Kingdom, it was released in 1975 to promote a compilation LP and it reached number six in the chart that year.

The song has since sold more than 1.6 million copies in the UK; it reached number one following Lennon's murder in December 1980. In 1985, the Central Park Conservancy memorialised a portion of the park in honour of Lennon, called Strawberry Fields, with a mosaic that reads "Imagine".

 Shortly before his death, Lennon acknowledged Ono's role in inspiring the concept behind "Imagine"; as of June 2017, plans were underway to ensure that she receives a co-writing credit for the song.  in this book, Ono gives us a short introduction.  "Imagine.  Together we can make peace happen.  Then the world truly will live as one."

BMI named "Imagine" one of the 100 most-performed songs of the 20th century. The song ranked number 30 on the Recording Industry Association of America's list of the 365 Songs of the Century bearing the most historical significance.

It earned a Grammy Hall of Fame Award and an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.  A UK survey conducted by the Guinness World Records British Hit Singles Book named it the second best single of all time, while Rolling Stone ranked it number three in their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Since 2005, event organisers have played it just before the New Year's Times Square Ball drops in New York City.

Dozens of artists have performed or recorded versions of "Imagine", including Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Joan Baez, Elton John and Diana Ross. Emeli Sandé recorded a cover for the BBC to use during the end credits montage at the close of the 2012 Summer Olympics coverage in August 2012. "Imagine" subsequently re-entered the UK Top 40, reaching number 18.

Groove Book Report - Swan Lake - by Anne Spudvilas - $32.99

A magnificent visual retelling of the classic ballet story from a much-loved, award-winning illustrator.

'Anne Spudvilas is one of Australia's most talented visual artists. Her illustrations are full of emotion and beauty. Anne's Swan Lake is simply enchanting and sublime!' Li Cunxin, author of Mao's Last Dancer and Artistic Director, Queensland Ballet

The iconic ballet Swan Lake, the tragic love story of a princess transformed into a swan by an evil sorcerer, has been revered for more than a century. In this atmospheric adaptation, Anne Spudvilas reimagines the classic tale of passion, betrayal and heartbreak in the dramatic riverscape of the Murray-Darling.

My girls, all three, love Ballet - at least the idea of it.  The older two have both been to professional productions and both were mesmerised as the by the figures twirled and glided across the stage.  The music, the costumes and the wonderful sense of occasion.  Say what you will about Ballet but you can't deny the spectacle of a show done well.

Author and illustrator, Anne Spudvilas grew up, just like my daughters, entranced by Ballet.  As a young girl she read Stories of the Ballets by Gladys Davidson, especially the story of Swan Lake as retold in the ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.  So it is no surprise that Spudvias' illustrations as so magical, dark, haunting and beautiful.  For anyone reading you can't help getting something of a physical reaction and a little bit of a shiver running up your spine.

NZ Bookshop Day 2017 Saturday 28 October.

NZ Bookshop Day 2017  'Bookshops are gateways to a thousand other worlds, ten thousand imaginations and a million possibilities,’ wrote Marcus Hobson in his winning Love Letter to your Bookshop entry last year.   Discover these worlds at your community bookshop this NZ Bookshop Day, no matter where you are in New Zealand on Saturday 28 October.

What's happening in Wellington

Unity Books, Wellington
Explore and win NZ books
Visit Unity Books Wellington on NZ Bookshop Day and take part in the 'Explore and win competition'.  You get to select your chosen NZ book title and author, your name and email address to go in the draw. This competition is open only on NZ Bookshop Day, and the draw will take place on  Tuesday, the 31st of October.
Also, Tom Scott will be in-store at 11am to celebrate NZ Bookshop Day. Get your copy of his fantastic new book Drawn Out, A Seriously Funny Memoir for Tom to sign and go into the draw to win a Tom Scott original drawing.

Vic Books, Kelburn
Storytime extravaganza
Vic books Kelburn are doing a storytime extravaganza with a specially constructed  theatre inside the store. There will be children's performances and a more performative version of Baz MacDonald's story time.

The Children's Bookshop, Kilbirnie 
Get to The Children's Bookshop at 11am for storytime for preschoolers up to age 7, featuring Sacha Cotter and Josh Morgan (Keys; The Marble Maker) and Ruth Paul (Dinosaur Dad, Stomp, My Meerkat Mum), as well as Sarah Grundy (The Curious Ar-chew).
From 5pm to 7pm they are hosting the book launch for How Not to Stop a Kidnap Plot by Suzanne Main, published by Scholastic NZ.
On Sunday 29 October at 10am, they will host the book launch for The Longest Breakfast, by Jenny Bornholdt and Sarah Davis.



Take Note, Tawa
Take Note Tawa is celebrating all month with 'Your Book Pick & Purchase Competition'. You can go into a draw to win by filling in an entry card telling us why you picked and purchased the book (one entry per book purchased). This will be drawn on Saturday 28th October at close of business. The competition runs along aside the 'Love Your Bookshop competition' at our store.
NZ Bookshop Day is also the Tawa community day, called Spring into Tawa 2017. Come in-store that day and chat to our staff, who will be celebrating all dressed up in book/character themes. We have a prize draw for correct entries, which must include at least one correct book or character.

Ekor Bookshop & Cafe
Ekor's staff will be treating their wonderful customers to a little day of Scandinavian wonders! Beautiful Scandinavian books (some Scandinavian books in their original languages) and food - including our ever popular Moomin range and traditional hot Danish pancakes made specially on the day by our resident Danish Ekorian, special cold Flat Whites on sale one day only from People's Coffee, with the best Swedish barista in town, Lars Bringzen serving up wonderful coffees all day, and gifts from all over Scandinavia!

Come and experience a little Scandinavian magic for NZ Bookshop Day at Ekor Bookshop & Cafe!

Millwood Gallery, Thorndon
An Afternoon with Stephen Daisley
Millwood Gallery is hosting Stephen Daisley at 3:30 pm, a special opportunity to hear the current Creative New Zealand Randell Cottage Writing Fellow read. In 2016 Stephen won the inaugural Ockham Book Award for Fiction with his novel Coming Rain and, in Australia, Stephen won the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction for his first novel Traitor.

Other bookshops celebrating in Wellington include Marsden Books, Karori and Arty Bees Books Ltd, with event details to be confirmed.

Fats Domino has died at 89 years old.

Fats Domino, one of the most influential rock and roll performers of the 1950s and 60s, has died aged 89.  The American rock and roll artist was best known for his songs Ain't That A Shame and Blueberry Hill. The New Orleans singer sold more than 65 million records, outselling every 1950s rock and roll act except Elvis Presley.

His million-selling debut single, The Fat Man, is credited by some as the first ever rock and roll record. An official from New Orleans coroner's office confirmed the death, which was earlier announced by Domino's daughter to a local television station.

Fats Domino - whose real name was Antoine Domino Jr - was one of the first rhythm and blues artists to gain popularity with a white audience and his music was most prolific in the 1950s.
Domino had a string of number ones and more than 30 top 40 hits.

His music is also credited as a key influence on artists during the 1960s and 70s.

Elvis Presley referred to Fats Domino as "the real king of rock n roll" and Paul McCartney reportedly wrote the Beatles song Lady Madonna in emulation of his style.
In 1986 he was among the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but by his later life Domino would no longer leave his Louisiana hometown - not even to accept the award.
New Orleans-born musician and actor Harry Connick Jr is among those who have paid tribute to Domino on Twitter, saying he had "helped pave the way for New Orleans piano players".
Antoine "Fats" Domino Jr was born in New Orleans on 26 Feb 1928, the son of a violinist. His parents were of Creole origin, and French Creole was spoken in the family.
He was musically inclined from an early age and learned piano from his brother in law, the jazz banjo player, Harrison Verrett.

He was given his nickname by bandleader Bill Diamond for whom he was playing piano in honky-tonks as a teenager. He said the youngster's technique reminded him of two other great piano players, Fats Waller and Fats Pichon. Domino left school at the age of 14 to work in a bedspring factory by day, and play in bars by night. He was soon accompanying such New Orleans luminaries as Professor Longhair and Amos Milburn. In the mid-1940s, he joined trumpeter Dave Bartholomew's band, and the two co-wrote Domino's first hit The Fat Man. Suddenly, the New Orleans sound became popular nationwide.

The Groove Book Report: 'A Short History of New Zealand Wars' by Gordon McLauchlan Penguin, $29.95

Following the ongoing success of A Short History of New Zealand, Great Tales of New Zealand History and Great Tales of Rural New Zealand - all reprinted and still going strong - Gordon McLauchlan has turned his masterful storytelling skills to one of the most important periods in this country's history. Published to coincide with New Zealand's first national day commemorating the wars on 28 October, this insightful and accessible book will be of interest to New Zealanders wanting to find out more about the New Zealand wars and the Maori struggle over land and political power (rangatiratanga) and their consequences for our country without having to wade through heavy tomes

Gordon McLauchlan was born in Dunedin and is well known to many New Zealanders as a tv presenter, radio announcer, journalist and author.

His latest book, A Short History of New Zealand Wars, has also been published in time for October 28, the first annual day of commemoration of the New Zealand land wars. His book is an authentic but informal and personal history.

He acknowledges up front that many New Zealanders of his 'era' were almost totally unaware of the significant moments of our own history.  He also notes that while that was the case most school kids back then could tell you the origins of WWI and the order of kings of queens in the English monarchy.  Yet they had no clues about the battle of Gate Pa or the significance of the first use of trench in the battles around Ruapekapeka.

Kea wins Bird of the Year

The kea has been crowned New Zealand's Bird of the Year after two weeks of heated campaigning.

It is the first time the endangered, large, green mountain parrots which are known for their curiosity and intelligence, have won the competition.

The kererū came in second with 4572 votes, followed by the kākāpō with 2554 votes.

Team Kea co-campaigner Laura Young said: "We literally went out to every single person we knew and asked them to vote kea. We lobbied hard to get votes up on the first day, which I think made a big difference."

No captionThe kea has been crowned New Zealand's Bird of the Year. Photo: supply
She said the competition did not come without surprises for Team Kea, who were on the "campaign trail" while monitoring the birds in Kahurangi National Park, with no reception.

"One day we climbed to the top of Mt Patriarch to get reception and check in on the campaign. We saw that the Green Party had made an official announcement in support of the kererū, so we used what little phone battery we had left to hit back at them with a retaliation video."

"We're proud to say we ran a peaceful campaign compared to many other birds. There were no attack politics from Team Kea, we just did our own thing and went at it hard."

Team Kea hopes the Bird of the Year title will raise awareness for kea and all of New Zealand's birds, many of which are threatened with extinction.

There are only 3000 - 7000 kea remaining.

"Everyone needs to see how vulnerable kea are in the wild. We often hear of them hanging out in car parks, being cheeky and stealing things, but don't realise they are in decline. You can't not love them."

The competition raised over $10,000 in donations to help protect and restore New Zealand's wildlife and wild places and attracted over 50,000 votes from people who were asked to vote for their favourite species.

Nice Work NZ First! Congratulations to the Labour and Green Party's!

Most of us agree that we wake up this morning to a better future for New Zealand with Winston Peters and the NZ First party deciding to form a coalition government with Labour and the Greens.

Jacinda Adern is now our Prime Minister elect, our first Labour Prime minister in 9 years.

With a mix of policies from the 3 party's most Kiwi's will be better off financially, more people will be able to buy their own house, the environment will be better cared for and we'll be doing a bit more of our fair share towards slowing climate change...and lots more.

A reminder to anyone worried about the change: Last time they were in power, Labour made a surplus every one of the 9 years in Goverment apart from the year they took power whereas National has had a deficit for each of the 9 years they were in power except 2017.

A final thought: In NZ in the end, lying still doesn't pay.

WOMAD 2018 LINE-UP ANNOUNCEMENT

Tonight, Wednesday October 18, at an esteemed event at The Grand Hall in Wellington's Parliament Buildings, surrounded by international delegates and WOMAD advocates, WOMAD NZ announce the 2018 artist line-up.


The internationally established three day world music, arts and dance festival is known for its exciting and diverse line-up and next year’s event is no exception.

WOMAD NZ 2018 is a melting pot of folk, afro-funk, hip hop, classical, jazz and punk rock performed on violins, ouds, koras and squeeze boxes. With artists from countries as varied as Canada, Chile, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon and Mauritania delivering a blend of traditional and modern performances; expect diverse languages, cultures, harmonies and rhythms from the big names and to discover glorious artists you’ve never heard of.

Announced this evening are familiar festival favourites; the pioneer of bass-dominant, dub flavoured dance tunes, UK’s Adrian Sherwood, the heavy metal inspired acoustic guitar duo from Mexico, Rodrigo y Gabriela and Washington D.C. based DJ collective, the uniquely diverse dub inspired Thievery Corporation.

Over the weekend Brooklands Park will ring with sounds from Brazilian 10 piece, Bixiga 70 and their dizzying heights of progressive Afrobeat, Tinariwen's scorching Mali desert blues and Havana Meets Kingston's sound-clash of reggae, dub and dancehall with salsa and rumba.

Lebanon’s soulful classically trained Ghada Shbeir and Israel’s vocal hip hop star Victoria Hanna will deliver tales from ancient texts and stories of current social injustices. Chilean political-punk-poet Nano Stern and Ghanaian Jojo Abot who seamlessly blends electronica, indie-soul, reggae and hip hop will be  part of a growing global conversation with audiences.

Always a highlight of WOMAD are the talents of local artists and 2018 looks to be one of the most exciting yet with the “toweringly talented song writer” Aldous Harding and Auckland city’s Hopetoun Brown, who will stomp and parp their way into audience hearts with nothing but brass, a bass clarinet, two sets of tambourines and tonsils. West Auckland newcomers, The Miltones will deliver some excellent knee slappin’, foot stompin’ and booty shakin’ and from Taranaki, The Slacks will bring home some classic kiwi messages of unity, aroha, and community.

Previously announced; Los Angeles saxophonist, composer and jazz superstar Kamasi Washington, the Indian classical and progressive sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar and classic Kiwi band Dragon complete the 29 exciting and eclectic artists from across the globe who will be performing at WOMAD 2018.

“WOMAD 2018 is a fantastic representation of World music of today and continues supporting diverse voices on stages. An incredible weekend of musical discovery with artists from around the globe.” - Emere Wano, WOMAD Event Director & NZ Programme Manager.
Artists appearing at WOMAD 2018 in alphabetical order:

ADRIAN SHERWOOD (UK), ALDOUS HARDING (Aotearoa), ANOUSHKA SHANKAR (India/UK), BIXIGA 70 (Brazil), CHICO TRUJILLO (Chile), CONSTANTINOPLE (Canada), DAYMÉ AROCENA (Cuba), DRAGON (Aotearoa), GHADA SHBEIR (Lebanon), HAVANA MEETS KINGSTON (Jamaica / Cuba), HOPETOUN BROWN (Aotearoa), JAMIE MCDOWELL & TOM THUM (Australia), JOJO ABOT (Ghana / USA), KAMASI WASHINGTON (USA), LEMON BUCKET ORKESTRA (Canada), LE VENT DU NORD (Canada), MY BUBBA (Sweden/ Iceland), NANO STERN (Chile), NOURA MINT SEYMALI (Mauritania), PAT THOMAS & KWASHIBU AREA BAND (Ghana), RAHIM ALHAJ TRIO (Iraq), RODRIGO Y GABRIELA (Mexico), SPOOKY MEN'S CHORALE (Australia), THE MILTONES (Aotearoa), THE SLACKS (Aotearoa), THIEVERY CORPORATION (USA), TINARIWEN (Mali), VICTORIA HANNA (Israel), VIOLONS BARBARES (France/Mongolia/Bulgaria)

FROM SWAN LAKE TO STAR WARS: 2018 NEW ZEALAND FESTIVAL LINE-UP REVEALED

New Zealand Festival Artistic Director Shelagh Magadza has announced the New Zealand Festival’s programme, which takes place in Wellington over three weeks from 23 February – 18 March 2018. New Zealand Festival is Aotearoa’s largest celebration of cutting-edge arts and culture. One of the five biggest festivals in Australasia, it has sold over two million tickets to an audience of more than five million since it began 1986.

Artistic Director Shelagh Magadza said, “After marking a major milestone in 2016 with our 30th anniversary, the 2018 programme looks to the future – inviting audiences to explore ground-breaking arts experiences made by some of the world’s most inventive artists. Opening with the free harbour spectacular A Waka Odyssey, in Wellington on 23 February, the themes of that event echo through the rest of the programme: epic journeys; a sense of discovery; home, and belonging – themes that are universal to all cultures, but it is wonderful to be able to use our own Pacific story as the starting point for connecting with the rest of the world.”

A headline series of what Shelagh calls ‘must-see’ theatre and dance leads the 2018 line-up.  The Select, an ingenious, riotous, stage adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises is brought to the Festival by New York theatre company Elevator Repair Service, famous for their riveting live productions of the texts of great American novels. Straight from a sell-out season at London’s National Theatre is the five-star musical Barber Shop Chronicles by writer-of-the-moment Inua Ellams – in which the audience is privy to the confessions made from the barber’s chair. Festival favourite and top choreographer Michael Keegan-Dolan returns, this time with his award-winning take on the ballet classic Swan Lake – a contemporary version mixing dance and theatre, filled with pathos, joy and plenty of feathers; while audiences will be captivated by Betroffenheit, a hybrid of theatre and dance that meditates on the aftermath of unexpected trauma, and ultimately searches out a place of comfort.

Barbershop Chronicles

And for something completely different, audiences can wash away the cares of the day with the mesmerizing movement and rumbling taiko drums in Beyond Time from Taiwan, a fusion of martial-arts inspired choreography and percussion, against a backdrop of stunning visual projections.

In music the Festival welcomes a roll-call of icons of today and tomorrow.  Opera star Anne Sofie von Otter and early music master Jordi Savall both have exclusive one-night-only concerts in Wellington, while indie rock band Grizzly Bear will play two shows at The Opera House.  One of the highlights of the 2016 New Zealand Festival was a series of sell-out gigs by Wynton Marsalis, so it was natural to invite his protegee and one of the biggest names in jazz right now, Cecile McLorin Salvant, for a Michael Fowler Centre one-nighter. Outside the concert hall is a three-week line-up of gigs, cabaret and circus in the Festival Club partnered by award-winning craft beer impresarios Garage Project; as well as a series of chamber music with works by Orava Quartet, Stephen de Pledge, Dylan Lardelli, Rob Thorne & New Zealand String Quartet in the stunning surrounds of the newly renovated St Mary of the Angels church.

For an extraordinary passion project which has been years in the planning, an ancient icon – the god Orpheus – is celebrated by New Zealand’s own icon of dance, arts laureate Michael Parmenter. The result is a new dance opera, OrphEus, performed by New Zealand Dance Company with live music from Latitude 37 and Grammy Award-winning American tenor Aaron Sheehan.

Furure Playground

Future Playground is an arts exhibition with a difference, where ‘Do Not Touch’ signs are nowhere to be seen, and everything is playable. Shelagh says, “We had great success with walk-through, immersive arts experiences like Power Plant at the Botanic Gardens and For the Birds out at Otari-Wilton’s Bush. Future Playground will be just as enchanting. Bring the kids or head to it for a fun night out with friends; you’ll encounter the creations of some of the world’s most imaginative artists who have crafted a wonderland of pure artful inspiration, where you make the magic.”

There’s plenty to keep the family entertained this Festival, with delightful circus from Vietnam, À Ố Làng Phố where woven baskets become trampolines and bamboo poles create a playground for daring acrobatics, and Star Wars fans will be out in force when New Zealand Symphony Orchestra perform legendary composer John Williams’ extraordinary film score to Star Wars: A New Hope alongside the movie, in a once-in-a-lifetime treat for New Zealand audiences.

David Byrne

Visit festival.co.nz to see the full programme.

Victoria Uni will host the 2016 Venice Bienniale installation at its art gallery.

Future Islands exhibition installed in Palazzo Bollani, Venice 2016,
Photo: David St George

Wellingtonians have their first opportunity to view the New Zealand exhibition from the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale when the Adam Art Gallery launches its final shows for the year on Friday.

It will be only the second time the installation Future Islands has been on public display in New Zealand since its premiere at the world-leading architectural event in Italy.

Gallery curator Stephen Cleland says exhibiting Future Islands is a “major coup” for the Victoria University of Wellington art gallery.

“Future Islands was designed specifically to showcase the depth of our national architectural scene at what has been described as ‘the Olympics of architecture’. As Wellington’s sole venue for this touring exhibition, it’s a fantastic opportunity for us to celebrate and share with visitors the best of contemporary New Zealand architecture.”

WOMAD NZ wins ‘Best National Event of the Year’ at the 2017 New Zealand Event Awards

WOMAD NZ has won the prestigious National Event of the Year’ at the inaugural 2017 New Zealand Event Awards presented last night at a gala ceremony at Sky City in Auckland.  They were nominated finalists for ‘Best National Event of the Year’ and the the public voted ‘Eventfinda / New Zealand’s Favourite Event of the Year’.

The Awards are hosted by the New Zealand Events Association (NZCEA) who was set up provide leadership and representation to inspire a world class events industry.  Nominees covered a wide range of different events from the Farmers Christmas parade to Lantern festivals to Shearing competitions to the World Masters games.  You can read all about the nominees and see a full list of winners on their website: https://nzea.co/awards/

WOMAD NZ’s Marketing and Communications Manager, Cleopatra Wood, was also named as a finalist in the ‘Emerging Event Professional’ category.  WOMAD is hosted by the Taranaki Arts Festival (TAFT). Their CEO Suzanne Porter said of this nomination “We are incredibly proud of our marketing manager, Cleopatra Wood, for her nomination. The calibre of finalists is a true testament to her great achievements working on WOMAD”. TAFT have been responsible for producing WOMAD at New Plymouth for 13 years.  The launch of the 2018 Festival programme will be at a special event to be held in Parliament next week. Previously announced artists for the 2018 festival include Los Angeles saxophonist, composer and jazz superstar KAMASI WASHINGTON, the Indian classical and progressive sitar virtuoso ANOUSHKA SHANKAR and classic Kiwi band DRAGON who will be joined by many more exciting and eclectic artists from across the globe.

Originally founded by Peter Gabriel, and now held at a number of locations around the planet, WOMAD is an internationally established three day festival brings together international artists to celebrate the world’s many forms of music, arts and dance. The New Zealand event is in the stunning 55-acre Brooklands Park and TSB Bowl of Brooklands, New Plymouth, WOMAD NZ has rightfully gained a reputation as one of the most beautiful outdoor festivals in the world.

WOMAD New Zealand 2018 is on at Brooklands Park, New Plymouth, from March 16 to 18. Tickets on sale from womad.co.nz

Nobel prize in literature 2017: Kazuo Ishiguro

The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2017 is awarded to the English author Kazuo Ishiguro

"who, in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world".

Japan-born Ishiguro won the Man Booker Prize for the 1989 novel that was made into an Oscar-nominated movie. The Swedish Academy hailed his ability to reveal “the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world”.

Kazuo Ishiguro OBE FRSA FRSL (石黒 一雄; born 8 November 1954) is a Nobel Prize winning British novelist, screenwriter and short story writer. He was born in Nagasaki, Japan; his family moved to England in 1960 when he was five. Ishiguro graduated from the University of Kent with a bachelor's degree in English and Philosophy in 1978 and gained his master's from the University of East Anglia's creative writing course in 1980.

Ishiguro is considered one of the most celebrated contemporary fiction authors in the English-speaking world, having received four Man Booker Prize nominations and winning the 1989 award for his novel The Remains of the Day. His 2005 novel, Never Let Me Go, was named by Time as the best novel of 2005 and included in its list of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005. His seventh novel, The Buried Giant, was published in 2015. Growing up in a Japanese family in the UK was crucial to his writing, as he says, enabling him to see things from a different perspective to many of his British peers.

In 2017, the Swedish Academy awarded him the Nobel Prize in Literature, describing him in its citation as a writer "who, in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world".

The works of Ishiguro, who moved to Britain as a young child, often touch on memory, time and self-delusion, the Academy said.

“He is a little bit like a mix of Jane Austen, comedy of manners and Franz Kafka. If you mix this a little, not too much, you get Ishiguro in a nutshell,” said Sara Danius, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy.

Ishiguro began to gain attention in the 1980s for works such as “A Pale View of the Hills” and won global fame for “The Remains of the Day,” a story of a fastidious and repressed butler in postwar Britain. The movie version starred Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.

Ishiguro takes his place beside Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Doris Lessing and Ernest Hemingway as winner of the world’s most prestigious literary award.

Critics said the decision to give last year’s prize to Dylan was a snub to more deserving candidates and strayed beyond what is traditionally deemed literature.

The prize is named after dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel and has been awarded since 1901 for achievements in science, literature and peace in accordance with his will.

https://twitter.com/NobelPrize