Fearless Bueller, Ill's third album, marks his return after being dropped by major label EMI following sophomore effort New Hat and a Haircut.
Fearless Bueller is business as usual for the MC, with his range of relatable party topics, jokes and sing-along flow, Ill's strengths translate perfectly to a live setting.
During a visit to Dunedin in 2010, Ill rapped to a crowd who seemed to know every lyric. It's music perfect to party to - something he has in common with beatmaker/producer Totems.
Getting his start in the Auckland all-ages scene, playing in punky outfits Bandicoot and Kitsunegari, Totems, aka Reuben Winter, has recently been focusing on his electronic beat project.
A blend of electronic and hip-hop genres inhaled through a cloud of smoke, Totems is the soundtrack to late nights.
Filled with glitched buzzy textures, stoner vibes, occult imagery, and 808 trap beats, it's a based out sound influenced by the likes of Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label and rapper Lil B.
Winter is also part of the Kerosene Comic Book (KCB) collective, a group of New Zealand musicians and producers, which includes Race Banyon, Yvnalesca (pronounced Yu-Nee-Les-Ka) and Muirs among others.
The collective released The 420 Tape in April. Alongside his work with KCB, Winter also plays in Auckland trio Caroles (whose album Hollow Trophy is out soon), and produced Auckland rapper Randa's latest single, Frankenstein.
Fearless Bueller is available for free download via Tommy Ill's bandcamp, as is Totems' entire discography.
• Kirin J Callinan brings his rhythmic, confronting, and utterly compelling style to Queens on Thursday as part of a national tour in support of debut album Embracism.
Contradictions don't strictly exist in Callinan's world, and his range of modes, on both his debut album and in his live show, is startling, with elements of Tom Waits and Nick Cave set against an almost ambient post-dubstep feel in the backing tracks.
Shifting from the brute force white-noise attacks of buzzsaw guitars to melancholic ballads, it's a polarising sound, but one thing is certain: Callinan will not go unnoticed.
Be there
- Radio One & The 91 Club present Tommy Ill (Wellington) with Totems, Love You To, The Heads Up Hip Hop Show, and Southern Lights at Re:Fuel, Friday, July 12. Free with your activated 2013 Onecard or $10 on the door without. Doors open at 9pm. Listen at tommyill.bandcamp.com/ and totems.bandcamp.com
- Kirin J Callinan Embracism Release Tour with Dear Time's Waste at Queens (1 Queens Gardens), Thursday, July 11. Doors open at 8pm. Tickets $10 from www.undertheradar.co.nz/
