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A Note:

Look!  We’re shaking the dust off of this Monday Mix series after a month-long “vacation” of sorts, and I think you’ll find today’s mix to be worth the wait!  Danny, an ATV fan from New Zealand, wrote in to suggest a themed mix full of New Zealand’s finest, and the next thing I knew, I had it in my inbox!

Enjoy, and if you’ve been on the fence about sending us a Monday Mix, now would be a great time to get yours in the mail, or you can also send it via email to us here!  We’re having a contest here at ATV – can you get your mix in before Michael Parr gets his mix submitted?

Season’s greetings!

About Today’s Mix:

Time to repay all the great mixes nabbed from ATV…

Here in NZ we are gearing up for summer. Our Christmas is spent on a beach, in the hot hot sun, with cold beer and hot barbeques. The Kiwi summer mixtape is a staple of the season.

This mix is a primer only, with a variety of songs from different NZ artists. Some have reached different degrees of international fame, most haven’t, but they are all well regarded. I’ve glossed over details on the more well known artists.

I stress again this is a taster only – entire genres have been overlooked and there is little thought given to flow or theme. It’s simply a collection of what we love down here in the South Pacific.

Hope you enjoy it and discover more – leave some feedback if you’d like to see a second volume!

complete zipped download (download link is good for one week)

1.Anytime – Neil Finn. A little known gem from one of our favourite sons (Split Enz, Crowded House, 7 Worlds Project with members of Wilco, Radiohead and Pearl Jam. And Johhny Marr). This is from his second solo album, One-Nil.

2.So True – The Black Seeds. The Dub scene is huge here, and The Black Seeds are one of our most prolific bands.

3.It’s Too Late – Evermore. Despite the Lep-Zep inspired bandname, these guys are U2 sound-alikes. This is off their debut album.

4.Think About It – Flight of the Conchords.

5.Fingers of Love – Crowded House. More Finn magic.

6.Deb’s Night Out – Shihad. Criminally overlooked, they are big here and in Australia but nowhere else. This is a slower track from their second album.

7.Lullaby – Liam Finn. Building a profile like his Dad’s, I’ll Be Lightning was probably better received overseas than it was here. It’s not an immediate classic but reveals itself with repeated listens.

8.Victoria – The Exponents. Again, big here but nowhere else. This track is a national treasure. Represents their sound well.

9.A Day Away – Shihad. Again, a national favourite played at every sports game. Says something profound about our isolation from the rest of the world we think.

10.Begin Again – The Veils. Yes they are from NZ as well.

11.All the Way to Her – Dimmer. One of my favourites. Shayne Carter’s band rose from the ashes of Straightjacket Fits, one of the seminal “Dunedin Bands” so beloved by Stephen Malkmus etc.

12.You And I – Cut off Your Hands. One of the new breed of NZ bands.

13.Delight – Bic Runga. Again, big here but nowhere else. Beautiful Collision is a classic album and well worth tracking down.

14.Simmer Down – Salmonella Dub. More summer dub (the name gives it away) from a band who first made their name covering The Stranglers. Big back catalogue and well loved down here.

15.Ballroom Baby – The Checks. Another of the new breed. The album, Alice by the Moon, is patchy but occasionally brilliant.

16.My Delerium (Craig Williams remix) – Ladyhawke. Blown up this year (again, more internationally than down here), this remix puts a different tempo on the original.

17.Unity – Nesian Mystic. Pacific-flavoured hip hop. I can take it or leave it normally but this track soundtracked summer a few years back, so here it is.

18.When I Return (Live) – Shapeshifter. Awesome drum n’ bass band (yes, band) who have just released a killer CD “The System is a Vampire”. This track is from an earlier live album and features Ladi6 on vocals – an up-and-coming vocalist in her own right.