Live Review: SPLORE 2012

SPLORE 2012
Fri 17 - Sun 19 Feb

The size of the first drop suggested this was real deal rural rain. Sure enough, within seconds it'd arrived, water cascading down the hill to the main stage where Erykah Badu was holding court. Seemingly only minutes later thousands of people were desperately seeking cover in the bar, under tress, flags, awnings and marquees. A few brave souls discarded clothing and danced in togs, while others began the trek home to sodden sleeping quarters. In the glorious Saturday morning sunshine there were tales of collapsed tents, mud-caked sleeping bags and broken legs on the goat track, but that's the rough and smooth of buying into the festival vibe, I guess. Sure, there were a handful of logistical issues (the state of the portaloos and size of some of the queues at peak times), but they're minors and didn't diminish the overall experience. An experience which saw any desire to stick to a timetable cast aside early in the piece. Not only was this incredibly freeing, it meant I was able to see the Cuban Brothers, who were easily one of the funnest acts of the weekend, leading the main stage audience in a sing-a-long tribute to Whitney Houston. It also meant when the bro step and glitch hop of some DJs got a little tiresome I could embrace the full-frontal fruity-fun of the Living Lounge, where acts like Labretta Suede and the Motel 6, Macombee and the Absolute Truth and the In Flagrante burlesque dancers (which, despite being totally NSFW, are well worth a google) encouraged folks to unleash their inner freaks. Aside from the generally positive and accepting atmosphere, it was these 'second and third tier' of performers, artists and extroverts who added the flavour which engaged punters beyond the main stage, while local acts like Funkommunity, The Yoots and Lord Echo were easily the equal of the internationals. Having said that, the really big names didn't disappoint. Mostly. While a lithe and majestic looking Erykah Badu pleased the heads by playing songs from Mama's Gun and Baduizm among tracks from her more recent New Amerykah albums, hers was a set in which she captivated much, though certainly not all of the crowd. Around ten minutes before the rains came, Badu had stopped her band and launched into a monologue about oppression and occupation and the people of Mexico, something which seemed to confuse a great number of the younger audience members, who seemed to like her OK, but were eager for more. Hudson Mohawke had more. More of almost everything, except soul. His blunt trauma assemblage of sounds created walls of noise which saw a significant number of punters seriously lose their shit. Speaking of which, I heard the grassy bank above the main stage on Friday night described as 'Magic Cardboard Hill', and it's not really a festival without that sort of behaviour, is it? The quite remarkable Earl Gateshead showed the Serato-toting DJ youngsters how it's done, spinning dubplates and seven inch vinyl records while getting on the microphone to chat, bigging up the tunes, explaining the history of the riddim or encouraging us to join him in celebrating the "Heroes! Heroes! Legends and heroes who smuggled weed across borders, and through customs!". Quite. Both his DJ sets were among the finest of the weekend, alongside those by Hudge, Mo' Horizons, Spikey Tee and the Soul II Soul Sound System, with Jazzie B and Caron Wheeler who, despite some understandable sound problems following the torrential downpour prior to their set, threw down to those who remained or returned. There are many other moments which stand out, like swimming in the ocean with friends while watching Barons Of Tang work a sweltering mid-afternoon crowd into a dancing frenzy, or sharing in the crazy costumes which the majority of the punters changed into for Saturday night's dress-up theme, 'The Island Of Hooha'. From the heavily-pregnant to the SuperGold card eligible, from tourists who'd built Splore into their New Zealand holiday itinerary to girls in bikinis and gumboots - even those privileged few on yachts in the harbour, lights twinkling under Saturday's cloudless night sky - it was the people who ensured Splore 2012 was a proper party.

An edited version of this review appears in Volume magazine

Interview: Erykah Badu

ANALOG GIRL IN A DIGITAL WORLD

After fifteen years in the music business, Erykah Badu remains a fiercely indpendent spirit and genuinely inspiring artist. From the multi-platinum success of her 1997 debut Baduizm to collaborations with Dilla, Madlib and Flying Lotus - and her three famous "Baby Daddies" - she confidently walks her own path. VOLUME spoke with her prior to her first visit to New Zealand...

Erykah Badu is as famous for her deeply spiritual - some would say seriously weird - personal beliefs and influence on former partners Common and Andre3000, as she is for her award-winning debut album, Baduizm and the impressive run of releases that followed it, but it really is her music that makes her a true original.

Her sensual blend of soul, hip hop and R&B allied to an undeniably sassy and classy attitude and exotic good looks has set her apart from the pack for more than a decade. It began with a debut album which exposed Badu to the kind of attention most folks would've struggled to deal with - but Erykah Badu is definitely not most folks: "I think it would've been difficult if I hadn't been aware what business I was getting into, because you get into the music industry, you gotta sell units," Badu states, "Then when something wonderful like gaining a cult following, multi-platinum sales and all that stuff happens, that's some extra shit! I had my year like that in '97: won about fifteen awards, two albums came out, met the love of my life - one of 'em - I had a son the same day my second album came out, met The Roots, started the Soulquarians; it was an amazing time for me.Just think: I had my whole life to write my first album. I took my time, and I feel I was rewarded greatly for something."

She pauses, gathering her thoughts: "But even with the career I've been afforded, the large platform I've been given and the great spotlight, we still have to keep evolving in everyday life. I've learned that, no matter what your position is, you still have a responsibility to the people around you and closest to you. My focus is on my evolving."

Part of that evolution has involved collaborating with artists like Common, Dilla, The Roots - all of whom Badu took both musical and personal pleasure from working with: "Common came to my place in Brooklyn one time, and we connected very, very well, became best friends," Badu says, "With The Roots, I had Baduizm, but I didn't have the song I thought would round the album out. So I got on the train, went to Philly, met with Amir and stayed at his house for a couple weeks, and came through with the rest of the album."

She continues: "I got to meet amazing people just doing that: Dilla. Madlib. Bilal. D'Angelo. Sa-Ra. Jill Scott. It connects like that. I think people who vibrate at the same frequency, vibrate toward each other. They call it, in science, sympathetic vibrations."

This was the Erykah Badu I was hoping to hear more from and, as it turned out, she didn't need a lot of encouraging: "I don't know if it's because I just turned 40, but my mind's in another, totally different place now, I don't really give a fuck about anything right now - in the best kinda way," she chuckles, "But since the earth is taking its polar shifts, as it does every 2500 years, it does something weird to the earth's core, makes it heat up and you get these different disasters and things."

"The Mayans said in 2012 there would be a shift, or an ending, or a beginning, or a return of something, and I think it co-relates with what's going on with the planet. Because we are earthlings, very much connected with the planet, made of the same carbon and hydrogen and oxygen as the planet's made of, it's quite natural for us to behave the same way - it's a recalibration."

While Badu's explanations for the turmoil of recent years goes some way to justifying her out-there reputation, it seems there is a growing reaction to perceived injustices globally, from established protest groups to ordinary folks. "I don't know a lot of details about what's going on politically," she admits, "I just feel that our children's minds are a lot different to ours. That's a result of being born in this age and time and frequencies where there's karma that's had oxygen and boron and all those other chemicals that are vital to our bodies, so I think our children are in a more unique, concentrated state."

"We're evolving as a race and as a planet, and I do hope there's some sort of rebirth," she concludes, "But not without the labour pains first."

Considered words from a woman entering her fifth decade, a mother-of-three who has seen more of the world and the people in it than most, and experienced first-hand how harsh the glare of the spotlight can be. Analog Girl in a Digital World maybe, but there can be no doubt Erykah Badu is fully prepared to stand up for what she believes in. We could learn a lot from her.

Interview originally appeared in VOLUME magazine...

ESSENTIAL ERYKAH


'Apple Tree' (1997) from Baduizm
Where it all began...

'Call Tyrone' (1997) from Live
Has a "diss" ever been delivered with such sophistication as this?

The Roots featuring Erykah Badu 'You Got Me' (1999) from Things Fall Apart
After the record label baulked at Jill Scott's involvement, Erykah re-recorded Jill's part and a classic was born - and Jill and Erykah are still friends too.

Guru featuring Erykah Badu 'Plenty' (2000) from Guru's Jazzmatazz
Listen to this track and try not to fall completely in love. We bet you can't.

'Bump It' (2003) from Worldwide Underground
Her languid, lyrical vocals in full effect on a track so laidback it's almost sideways.

Erykah Badu with Common 'Love Of My Life (Ode To Hip Hop)' (2003) from Brown Sugar OST / bonus track from Worldwide Underground
A pairing of the two most conscious artists in hip hop - also romantically involved at the time.

'Turn Me Away (Get MuNNY)' (2010) from New Amerykah Part Two: Return Of The Ankh
A loose-limbed monster groove sampling the Roy Ayers/Sylvia Striplin classic 'You Can't Turn Me Away'.