Release Roundup: Al Park, Dion Lunadon, Karl Sölve Steven x Anna Fält, Borrowed cs, KOMMI, Créme Jéan + More

Revisit this week's coverage of Holly Arrowsmith, Jeiel, Louisa Nicklin, Mike Hall and Club Ruby x FINNSOFT, enter our UTR 20th anniversary prize giveaway / order a limited edition tee HERE if you haven't already (get in before 16th August), then discover more recently unearthed Aotearoa release highlights below by Dion Lunadon, Karl Sölve Steven x Anna Fält, Borrowed cs, Al Park, KOMMI, Créme Jéan, Hazel Elder, Nathan Haines ft. Eo, Katchafire, Marlin's Dreaming, Wet Denim, and Morris St Network.

Icon of Aotearoa garage-punk through his world-conquering work with The D4 and beyond, Dion Lunadon unleashes six tracks of searing heat on his new mini-album Memory Burn — out today via French imprint BEAST RECORDS in sync with an eleven date EU tour. Smash play and nab the vinyl LP edition HERE.

Based in Pārāwai / Thames, multi-award winning composer / producer Karl Sölve Steven's new project V Ä V A is a full-length collaboration with Sweden-based Finnish avant-folk vocalist Anna Fält — unveiled earlier this week via Sunreturn. Steven shared, "The V Ä V A project is definitely a special one for me. It marks the first time in my musical journey that I’ve had the opportunity to explore my Swedish roots, in particular those of the Värmland / Finnskog regions where my Mother’s Mother’s family comes from and where my Uncle still lives (out in the forest in a house that has sheltered the family for multiple generations). The lake behind the house has been a touchstone throughout my life (there’s literally a stone which I touch whenever I visit!); I helped my Grandmother set up her loom (vävstol) there as a child, went ice-fishing with my uncle, and explored the forest (and picked berries and mushrooms!) with my Mother and family there many times”.

Lynchpin of Aotearoa's adventurous club and jazz communities, multi-instrumentalist / producer Cory Champion (Clear Path Ensemble) shared new long player Creative Writing earlier this week under his Borrowed cs moniker. Available now in a highly covetable limited cassette edition (natch) orderable via the Bandcamp link below, immerse your body and mind in the maestro's impeccably crafted, open-eared beatscape journey.

Representing a new generation of Ōtautahi talent, KOMMI (Kāi Tahu, Te-Āti-Awa) recently played an all-accounts stunner set (it was too packed for me to get in!) at Port Noise festival with Delany Davidson and Marlon Williams — who features on the second track of the rapper's new all te reo collaborative EP with producer Infectiouss. Don't go thinking the cover artwork for the seriously bumping collection of Witch-Hop / Swamp-Hop / Reo Kāi Tahu songs is digital, it's actually a beautifully hand-painted creation as seen HERE.

Legendary figure in Lyttelton's folk / songwriting community, Al Park follows his first album in 20 years Pony (released in 2022) with news of relatively rapid-fire follow up Monkey — out in full on 16th August. Presumably unrelated to the action-packed late '70s Japanese kids TV show of the same name, Park has unveiled first single from the record 'Twilight Hour'. Preorder Monkey on limited edition compact disc via the Bandcamp link.

Also making a grand return is Tāmaki Makaurau's Créme Jéan, aka Brad Fafejta of Teen Wolf (with Princess Chelsea and Vincent H.L) plus a tonne more crucial combos for nearly two decades now. Recently spotted busting loose at the Karangahape Road Block Party, Créme Jéan hints at a forthcoming deluge of new tunes and live outings with the sultry rock croon of 'Buttercup' — declaring "I'm not a jealous guy / You can do what you want baby / I just want what's mine".

Hazel Elder's darkly atmospheric, industrial-textured new single 'morning star" feels like a gothic / trip-hop distant cousin to bedroom pop, a compelling first cut revealed from the Te Whanganui-a-Tara's artist's debut album pincushion. Also known as ambient / drone practitioner Thursday Decibel, Hazel Elder is playing an album launch event at Valhalla on 28th August with Direct Plant Sound ("environmentalist anti fascist noise music") and Ailing ("Transmasculine death industrial noise for degenerate freaks") — snag tickets HERE and listen up.

Tāmaki Makaurau jazz icon Nathan Haines joins forces with vocalist / visual artist Eo (formerly of the The Grow Room / Badcrop) on silky smooth new jazz-rap groover 'Just Holdin' On' — featuring Michal Martyniuk on Rhodes and and produced by Phil Asher — from Haines' forthcoming latest long player NOTES. Sounds like a low-key hit to these ears.

Aotearoa roots figureheads Katchafire get on a mellow tip with their acoustic guitar-strumming, spiritually empathetic new ballad 'Commit'. "This song is about humans making a commitment to each other to choose life, communication, love and understanding, over all. A commitment to treating others how you would like to be treated. To have the empathy to look through another's eyes, and come to peaceful resolutions... Imagine a future where we commit to avoid violence and war, at any cost? If I had one wish, it would be for us all to get along. No matter our indifference!"

Marlin's Dreaming unveiled the third single / video in a row directed and produced by frontman Semisi Ma'ia'i. The latest teaser for the group's imminent new album HIRL, the peppy indie-pop reflections of 'Lucky Star' are accompanied by an affecting montage of interpersonal moments and connections filmed around Tāmaki Makaurau.

Rising Tāmaki Makaurau rockers Wet Denim keep the energy high and the yearning melodies soaring on new anthem 'Again and Again', out today with claymation style digital visuals by multimedia artist EwSplat. "At the time of writing this song, I was listening to a lot of Nothing But Thieves, and was very inspired by their drum style and musical narratives. We’d won a free recording session at Auckland’s Parachute Studios and went overtime, working on the tune into the night, heading directly to the airport afterwards for our 6am flight that morning".

live at brodfest documents Te Papaioea's BRODFEST in late 2023, "an independent, DIY festival organised by members of the Morris St Network, put on to recognise the contributions of Brodie Jenkins to the local music scene, ahead of his move to Europe". An audio-visual keepsake of the eight hour house party festival, you can watch the full length (nearly four hours) footage compiled HERE, plus a shorter excerpt showcasing all acts featured on live at brodfest below — B, (Wet) Mouth, New Mind, SGP, Pining Radiata, Rug Doctor, Fouler, Feilding's Best Dancers, Khaki Department and Teams Meetings & Coffee Breaks.