A Preview of the Christchurch Arts Festival

Hera with support from Nadia Reid
Thursday 18th August

This Icelandic born singer-songwriter, based in Christchurch, is set to deliver a show "full of surprises".

Looking at her track record, this is no cliché or unsubstantiated claim. For starters, Hera preps for performances by painting a moko/Celtic design on her face – the symbolism changing depending on her mood. She was also named the Best Female Artist at this year's Icelandic Music Awards, has played at Glastonbury, and, oh yes, conducted an on-stage exorcism on a Twilight book when touring with Amanda Palmer. Reading from an Icelandic spell book before throwing the book into the crowd, she admits, "It was possibly one of the strangest things [she's] ever done."

Never fear, an exorcism saga will not be repeated at the arts festival – Hera wouldn't want to take the surprise element out of performance now would she? We can however look forward to hearing Hera give the ukulele a whirl with country/bluegrass band, The House of Mountain Boys.

CPIT Musical Arts Students
Thursday 25th August & Thursday 1st September

I couldn't get riveting enough information from these guys. Typical.

Ed Muzik
Thursday 8th September

Ed Muzik front-man James Dann is out to reclaim fluorescence "for the people". Known to exhibit a striking clash between his orange hoodie and unruly ginger hair, he believes in the late '80s ethos of radicalism and freedom of expression.

Yet the earthquakes are shattering his electric dreams.

Since February, everyone's been wearing high vis. In doing so, "They're telling you what you can and can't do. It's all about 'don't touch this' – an interesting control paradigm that's come down from bureaucracy."

Plus, "If everyone's wearing high vis, then no one stands out."

James is working on some new material to tackle such big issues one comical sing-talk at a time. "Im not sure whether anyone will be particularly grateful," he jokes, yet his thumping beats, electronic baselines, and jittery synths will provide the perfect excuse to cut up some quality 80s shapes on the d-floor.

If all else fails, James will continue pursuing his mission to open for Lady Gaga. At this stage, he thinks scoring a casual deal to open for Elton John will be his most promising opportunity, as Lady Gaga is godmother to Elton's son. Good luck, James.

The Unfaithful Ways
Thursday 15th September

These Lyttelton lads are bringing the country spirit to the mainland with a contemporary take on old music. The four-man band will be blending the textures and presence of Neill Young, with the contemporariness of the Fleet Foxes and Felice Brothers, in a gig previewing the release of their debut album.

For vocalist and lead guitarist Sebastian Warne, Lyttelton is a hub for harbouring such revived country blues.
"Folk comes with Lyttelton's tight-knit community ethic, based around working hard and the arts in general. There is a real archaic feel to it."

So if the closure of Wunderbar, The Dux, and Al's Bar has forced you into a state of hibernation, this may be your chance to surface.

The Unfaithful Ways are making their mark on the New Zealand music scene. They have played at the Silver Scrolls and supported international acts including Band of Horses and Justin Townes Earle. Watch the space.

Alastair Galbraith, Bruce Russell and A Handful of Dust
Thursday 22nd September

For those too technically-minded for whimsical melodies, noise artists Alistair Galbraith and Bruce Russell are sure to impress. The duo take pride in "challenging ears to new experiences" through their on-stage "physics experiment".

Alistair – a music-science pioneer – will be revealing his glass harmonium and flame organ (if we're lucky), while Bruce – a Cultural Studies expert – will be using the feedback field between his two guitar amps to engineer improvised sounds.
"I'm partly in control and partly out of control." (Oh-so post-modern.)

These blokes are not to be taken lightly. They have known each other for about 30 years, been involved with the Flying Nun record label since its birth, and made their marks on the global stage.

Bruce warns, "It might be gracing. It might be off-putting. Anything I've ever done has been described as a fucking noise and I love that."

Amiria Grenell and Family
Thursday 29 September

Sunny singer-songwriter Amiria Grenell may be just what you need after your ears have recovered from A Handful of Dust.
Encapsulating an eclectic mix of styles, her acoustic-folk sound is occasionally tinted with reggae beats and Latin guitar solos.
She describes her music as "exciting, rhythmic and beautiful".

Adding further variety, Amiria will be joined on stage by her family. Her dad, John Grenell is quite the country legend, one of her brothers the former Shapeshifter drummer, and the other a hip-hip/electronic producer. I'd say her family rate pretty highly on the "cool-factor" scale.

All shows will be held in the TestraClear Club in Hagley Park.
Tickets will only set you back $10.
Check out www.artsfestival.co.nz for more details.