Audacious Awards

Below is my speech I gave at the Otago University Audacious Awards Dinner in Dunedin, 22 Sep 2011.  This was an entrepreneurial innovation competition for students, and my topic was based on encouraging them to carry on their idea on once they completed their study.

I was down in Dunedin when we decided to organise a new year party for friends at my flatmates vineyard in Gisborne.  The first year we had 1800 people, many friends from Otago University. Last year, with our 8^th event, we entertained 25,000 at our now three-day world class music festival, winning a NZ Tourism Awards in the process.  I like you began with an idea formed right here at Otago University.

As I found when you set out building your venture you will come across much adversity. Not just in a business sense, raising capital, dealing with technology issues, staff management, financial challenges -  but also personal adversity and challenges. One of these is staying on tracks while others try and tell you otherwise, and that is what I will speak to you about tonight.

Background

I was studying law at the time I came up with the idea for R&V, and had been organising a few events around Campus. Like a lot of you here I just loved action, ideas and getting them off the ground.  My parents were living in Thailand at the time and I bought back a stack of Diesel  t-shirt and sold them at Uni market day.  I formed a covers band because I thought it would be a great way to have fun and make beer money.  Back then we didn’t even have grad party.  People coming back to town and nothing to do so I put my hand up and put together the ran the first Grad events.  If I came up with an idea my theory was someone has to do it and that someone is going to be me.

When I left University I had 2 years of R&V under my belt.  I had visions of working as an entertainment lawyer,  or for companies like MTV or EMI.  I had visions of working in London, New York with famous artists, talent.  Still do! 

But it was time for a break I completed my 4 month bar exam in Wellington, signed an up-and-coming band called Fat Freddy's Drop for the next instalment of our NYE party and headed out on an OE, first to California, then on to London and Europe.

It was while I was in Europe that I experienced a couple of big music festivals, and was suitably inspired.  I also realized this was a huge industry and business.  Everyone was hooked on festivals, they were the talk of the town, and a huge past time.  Glastonbury, Exit, Sziget – they dominated the press and conversations.  Being a musician with my own little event I was suitably impressed and interested.

I thought hang on we don’t have anything like this in NZ yet.  What a great chance to build our little party into this realm.  We had a world class venue, a great brand, limited competition and more than anything a great hook - a festival in a vineyard held in the first city in the world to celebrate the new year. All the bones are there to build a world class festival.  The vision was there I just didn’t have the skills or contacts to realise it.

Returned home to NZ

I returned to NZ and decided to pass up a job as a lawyer like my fellow grads.   I didn’t think I would be able fast track my vision fast enough if I was tied down solving other people’s problems.  I needed to create my own.

Instead I got an extension on my credit card and went to Sydney to knock on doors and try and work out how I could get into the competitive Australian touring market.  As I slept on mates couches cold-called agents and told everyone of my vision - Rhythm and Vines – the first festival in the world to bring in the new year.  I found out a second cousin in Montreal runs the prestigious Just for Laughs comedy festival, so I went and learnt the inner workings of an international entertainment brand.  And I attended famous festivals like Lollapalooza and V Festival to get ideas about how we could grow R&V to international calibre, opening my eyes to possibilities.

While I was away I remember my parents calling me up and saying they had been to so and so friend’s place. ‘Blair was doing well as an Accountant, Dan doing well as a Dentist.  Everyone asking what you are doing? What do we tell them?'

I said 'tell them I am on my way to creating NZ premier music festival, building a business and having fun while doing it'.

I returned to NZ with a signing of our first international act Mylo, some key industry contacts and a truck load of inspiration to pour into our festival, along with a massive debt! This was at the time when we were still only one-day backyard party full of BBQ reggae acts.

Still I would go to parents friends house for dinner ‘When are you going to get a real job?’ they would ask. 'What is a real job?’ I said.  Working 9 – 5 for someone you don’t like, doing work you don’t enjoy, on a product that you don’t believe in?’ That wasn’t for me.

‘Hamish you are always on holiday! Travelling the world or down in Gisborne for the summer, surfing and drinking wine'.  Holiday? Not yet but maybe in 10 years time when I sell my world reknown festival brand and company, then I’ll  be sitting on a beach!  My life may have seemed like a holiday but the whole time I was working hard on my vision – meeting contacts, pitching, planning, scheming, hustling, inspiring those around me towards my goal.

Yes you will get questioned

So yes you will get questioned. You will get concerns. It may be people looking out for you. It may be jealousy. But don’t let it sway from your vision.  Never have to question or justify your existence for building growing your idea. Always follow that dream.

Just this year Mum was telling me the family is worried about a cousin of mine.  He is 25 and quit his job, moved home and is becoming an entrepreneur.  All the family are scratching their heads wondering what he is doing. Setting up some website – a job website. Flying up and down the country meeting with some mentors and incubators.  Staying up late on his computer. Single minded and obsessed with some wild idea and all the aunties and uncles are worried.

I said 'Mum that is exactly what I was doing three years ago!' She said yes but you have something to show for it. Something tangible. I said yes but those are the steps you have to take to get to something tangible.  It takes a while until you have something to be able to sit around the dinner table and say ‘Granny guess what I did today? Ran a party for 25,000 people and won a Tourism Award!'

I bet Bill Gates parents were saying 'what the hell are you doing on those bloody computers all day and night – get a real job'!. Or the Beatles family friends saying 'What the hell are you boys doing over there in Hamburg?  Playing all day and night! Where is that going to get you! Get a real job!’

Friends and peers

You will also get pressure and confusion from friends and peers.

I had this from were friends who I graduated with, who took jobs as lawyers in the big firms, accountants.  They pulled me aside and said 'Hamish you really need to settle down.  You are having far too much fun, and R&V is not going to last forever’.  I smiled because in my mind I could see my vision. I could see that if we keep diversifying our product each year, continuing to build on the core idea of a party for NYE, establish key industry relationships and partners, it could be sustainable.  ‘Yes but don’t these festivals have a lifespan?’ Heck Glastonbury has been going for 40 years! That festival where they dance around the Stonehenge has been going for 500! Christmas has been going for 2000! It would be hard work and commitment but we could get there. I have an idea, a vision, someone is going to do it and that someone is going to be me!

I ran into one of these friends in London this year. He slapped me on the back and said, mate I am proud of you.  And I said why.  He said because you stuck with it. Didn’t give in.  Didn’t listen to anyone else.  Just hung in there. Persevered. It meant a lot as I knew it was true.

It is not always easy.  I have had fights with my business partners,  bullied by agents, had the IRD on my back. When we expanded to 3 day model we didn’t have a clue what we were doing.   We blew our budget on program and security.  The sell out crowd we were expecting didn’t arrive.  They were still wanting a one day model and stuck on kiwi dub bands.  We lost nearly $500k and needed to borrow money on personal loans and high interest rates to keep our dream alive.  I decided it was time to take stock and focus on convincing the market what our core product is.  We let go a lot of staff and worked hard on our marketing, messaging and PR.   Three day world class music festival.  Now people understand the product and vision.  Our sales are already at the same level as last December and still climbing. Competition are also trying to copy us now, going multi day and international acts.

So there is a bit of feedback about my journey from where I was sitting with you all, to where I am today.  Don’t get me wrong, I get huge amount of support from family and friends.  I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for them believing me and my vision. But it is a hard road. You will get people questioning you.  You will get people undermining you. You will get people jealous of you. You will even start to question yourself.

But as Winston Churchill said – ‘Don’t ever ever EVER give up’.

H

M Y L O - back in Enzed!

You know those seminal albums that are engrained in your ipod, reminding you of blissful youth, of warm summer nights smashing the back out of it.  Mylo's 'Destroy Rock and Roll' is one of those for me.

Myles MacMannus quit Uni to write his debut over two years in his bedroom on the Isle of White. Taking influences of 1980's Tv show', pop anthems mixed with simple electro beats you could bounce around to.

Rumours has it Myles was staying above Pete Tong in Ibiza when he gave him a copy of 'Drop the Pressure'.  Tongy was blown away and played it the next weekend on his Essential Mix.

Since then Mylo lived the dream, travelling the world as hottest producer in the dance genre. He first came to NZ for Deep Hard and Funky at the St James. He got a hard time for not being able to mix by some of the heads, but who cared – the tunes speak for themselves.

He was our first international act at R&V back in 2006. I went all the way to London and knocked on the agents door, made a stupid offer in UK pounds. In the twilight of first album he took it and came to our little party on the East Coast of NZ. I even got up on stage and danced with him!

Myles even came to my NZ showcase gig in London 'Endeavour'. He invited me around for dinner to hear the new album but never got back to my text.

That album has never been dropped since, amongst widespread speculation and anticipation of where he will take his unique disco electro pop next.

Will he ever drop it? Or will it become the Brian Wilson's Smile? Gun's Roses Chinese Democracy? Blackbird's East Coast Toast?

Looking forward to this one in Auckland later in the month! 

H

R&V 2011 - First Release!

Concrete Playground asked me the big questions last month about the first installment of R&V2011:

Hamish, you have just released the first installment of the 2011 Rhythm and Vines lineup, with Pendulum Live and Calvin Harris as your two headliners. Talk us through what Festival attendees should expect to see and why you hedged your bets on these two heavy hitters?

Pendulum are the defining act for a popular genre here in New Zealand and an act we have been looking at for a while. After their memorable performance at Big Day Out a few years ago, I think kiwis fell in love with the big riffs and deep bass lines. After seeing their live show at Glastonbury this year (in the comfort of my own home on youtube) I was blown away. Can't wait to see the Wai-O-hika hillside get their stomp on for this hard hitting band. Calvin Harris is one of the hottest artists in the world today. By the end of the year he will be a number 1 artist and it is a cool to have him in New Zealand to help us celebrate the new year. Perfect summer beats in the vines.

There are a number of relative unknowns in the Lineup in terms of mainstream appeal. Rhythm and Vines has built a reputation for doing this and the public come to trust the Festival and its selection of performers. Who is your “Tinie Tempah” of 2011 and why?

I'm excited by an act like Foreign Beggars. They are taking their hip hop infusing it with dubstep and taking it to the masses. They will own the Vines stage, the crowd will love it. In the past the most memorable acts at R&V have been urban MC-driven acts like Santigold, Major Lazer and Tinie Tempah - I feel Foreign Beggars are on set to bag this award for 2011.

There are a couple of returning artists also. Cut Copy and Netsky stand out. Tell us more about why they are coming back. Did they request to come back? I know Boris had a ball last year.

I'm excited by an act like Foreign Beggars. They are taking their hip hop infusing it with dubstep and taking it to the masses. They will own the Vines stage, the crowd will love it. In the past the most memorable acts at R&V have been urban MC-driven acts like Santigold, Major Lazer and Tinie Tempah - I feel Foreign Beggars are on set to bag this award for 2011.

Cut Copy we hosted for the first time in New Zealand back in 2008. They were already hugely popular in Australia with their sun drenched electro pop, they were relatively unknowns here. With the new album out this year it only made sense to have them back on the big stage. Netsky after last years memorable performance closing the vines stage we just had to ask him back. Probably the most talked about act from last years lineup. Plus he enjoyed the local wine too much.

Who are your pick of the Kiwi Artists and why?

Six60 have built a huge following in New Zealand. It is great to see young talent coming through. Their new album is about to set the bench mark for the roots sound in NZ. Plus I used to live across their flat Six60 Castle Street in Dunedin so a bit of a soft spot for their Scarfie roots.

Also great to have Ruby Frost back at the festival, a real performer with tons of talent.

You're turning the big 3 0 this year. How do you keep in touch with what the core audience are listening to and latest trends?

It just means I have to go to more University parties. No, I have a passion for the music and try to follow the trends. Luckily enough to visit some festival overseas and see what is working. Plus a great team behind us, everyone is pretty passionate about working on this show. We have a few new young interns at the office who are always happy to add their thoughts on the direction the program is going.

How is Jimmy the R&V Protégé going? Will we see another Protégé?

He is doing great. Often rolls in slightly late on a Friday morning but it is great to have him in Auckland. A fast learner he really gets the brand and what we are trying to achieve with the festival. We are going to look for a new position towards the end of the year so stay tuned on this.

Is there more to come? And when can we expect to see the full lineup in all it’s glory?

Stay tuned for further release at the end of September. Full day lineup should be out then as well. Also stay tuned for accommodation and pool party madness. Bringing some of the Coachella vibe to little old East Coast NZ. For the full lineup and details.

Mozzapalooza

I was invited last month by some Chilean contacts to check out Lollapalooza held over two days in downtown Santiago. It was a week before I was heading that way anyway so after a short detour I was locked in to my first trip on this continent.

Not only was I looking forward to catch up with some of our olds friends from R&V including Boys Noize and Empire of the Sun, it was a chance to connect with the Chilean industry and show some support for our southern hemisphere neighbours.

It was also a great chance to witness behind the scenes world class festival. With 50,000 people, five stages and this was one hell of a beast. Having AAA passes meant I could hop from stage to stage with ease.

Lollapalooza started as a touring festival by Janes Addiction frontman Ferry Parrell in 1994. After a short break it has since been reincarnated as a three day fest each August in Grant Park, Chicago. Promoters C3 (who also run Austin City Limits) have been looking for an alternative venue for the festival for some time, and settled on Santiago. With a burgening local music scene, a developing festival market and stunning down town park overlooked by the city skyline - this was the site for the debut of Lollapalooza Chile.

It is funny at a festival trying work out who is with who. The attractive tattooed Goths, who I thought might singers with Jane’ Addiction, were just girlfriends of the roady from Steel Pulse. The short black man who looked like a hip hop star from Def Jam label was actually the bassist for hardcore band Deftones. Me - well I could have been the drummer for the Flaming Lips for all anyone knew.

There was also this short man with a goatee and aviators who sat right in front of the stage during Cypres Hill’s set. He looked like a prize winner as he danced like a mad man whilst wearing a Hawaiian shirt. I later saw him push his way in front at Edward Sharp much to the bands disgust. It was only til he turned up the next day looking suave in a dapper jacket and skinny tie that I realised his star power. It was none other than David Arquette, obviously enjoying some relatively anonomity away from the bright lights of LA.

My trip was a good chance to sow a few seeds with potential artists for R&V this year. I got a lift back to the hotel with CSS who giggled and grinned at the thought of another NZ soujourn. I met the Cold War Kids back at the hotel who seem dead keen to get out to NZ. What about a summer holiday I asked or do you like to try and play as many shows as possible? Have you seen a spider crawling out of my room the singer dryly responded. No I replied. ‘Good cause we are not here to fuck spiders’. I took that as a yes.

Staying at the same hotel as many of the support acts, it was interested to witness the behaviour of different stars on the road. Relatively new kids on the festival circuit Edward Sharpe were still at the hotel three days later, loitering around the all you can eat BBQ. Alex aka Boys Noise was in and out first thing back to LA to record and prepare for his closing set at Coachella. The Drums were happy with their own company, keeping each other entertained with what looked like frat-boy humour. The EOTS dancers sunbathed in the hot Chilean sun.

In all was a great festival, held in a city I would well recommend spending time in. Headliners Killers showed the depth of their back catalogue and why Flowers has developed into one of the best front men around. Kanye West show was but the verdict is out, I still find it difficult to watch one man prancing around on stage for 90 mins. In saying that Fat Boy Slim kept my attention. The National I now understand the hype. The reincarnation of Sublime bought back some memories of my youth. How good would they be in Gissy!

As I left the hotel on Monday I saw crowds of groupies outside, not to wave me good bye but waiting the arrival of the next star in town - Slash! Would be great to hang around but this circus needs to keep moving.

Next stop – Coachella!

Audacious Launch

Last month I was invited to speak at the NBR online Challenge at Otago University. The Audacious program in association with School of Business were giving away $60,000 in prizes to start your own business. Around 350 students gathered for free beer and listen to my wise words.

There was nothing like this in my day. Mind you being a Law and Arts student I didn’t venture into the Business Faculty much.

It fact we had little mentors for our business when we got started apart from my partners the Witters family.  I had done a little bit of entreprenuering since my school days mowing lawns before playing in pub bands at Uni to get beer money.  As my family lived in Thailand I used to head over for the uni holidays. I was blown away by the shopping potential and decided to bring back as many fake Diesel and Polo $5 tshirts as I could fit in a Samoan suitcase.  I would then sell them down at Market day for $20, ($25 to the Asian students). Thursday night were also a roaring trade in my bedroom before a night on the town.  ‘Good for me Good for you’. was my motto.  That was til the t-shirts were returned two washes later, half the size!

Tom Gibson said to me one night at the Steinlager over a late night nitchy session that we should get all our Dunedin mates together for NYE my band to play for some friends.  We were sick of seeing everyone heading to Sydney for NYE, why couldn’t we meet up in NZ to celebrate the new year?  The penny dropped for me.  What a great idea.  Lets meet at Gardies on Saturday after the Muddies v Matadors game to talk this through.

This party could really go off we discussed over a few cold Speights.  If I got my friends from the Bay, you got your mates from Massey, we get the Chch crew, half of Dunedin mates, we could put on quite a show. The ideas started flowing. Stumps got a batch in Waimarama, or what about Nelson? Riversdale? Wanaka? Lets get AJ and Bonners bands? What about a big name DJ. Hey if everyone put $100 in the hat I bet we could convince Dave Dobbyn to play?

Anyway I returned back to the flat to see a photo of the venue on my flat mate Andrew Witters wall,.  It wasn’t half bad, all landscaped and lush.  Gisborne sounded like an ideal summer location.  And a decent road trip to get people to.

Having run summer fruit truck operation successfully back in Gisborne. Andrew was never one to shy away from a good idea.  He encouraged us to write to Dean Witters. I wish I still had a copy of the letter but we worded it in such a way that we were saying all the things he would want to hear. 200 young New Zealander whose parents come next year will be drinking your wine. NZ best acts coming to your venue.  Making sense of the investment you have put into Waiohika etstate.

It must of worked as next thing we were on a plane up to see Witters senior in Gisborne. We had little in the way of planning and as Gibbo sat across from each hungover other at Wellington airport trying to think of a name for our proposed party. Before I left Adam Matson had said to me get the 'Vines' involved. So we had that aside. We looked at various words that  went with vines, settling on Open Vines – with the selling point being ‘the one day the vines open up and let the party begin’. It was all a bit hippy, trippy, enchanted woods for me and I swayed back to the music connotations.  Bass. Melody. Rhythm . Rhythm and Vines.

After shaking hands on that little ditty we went to the coffee shop and bought a post card to send back to our respective flatties. 'See you at Rhythm and Vines – New Years Eve 2003’ we wrote. And that was our name.

On the short pencil train to Gisborne we decided we needed some action points to move on. I was set on booking up and coming funk band the Black Seeds.  But we would need some capital to do it.

We walked into Deans office pitching Black Seeds. Give them a call ask how much they are then offer them 2k more and lock them in. One of my first lessons in business. Action.  There is no time like the present.

We awoke the next morning to Dean having created a full spreadsheet of how the intial plan would roll out. We would start a company 50/50. Revenues lines for ticket, sponsorship, beverage sales. Outgoings for artist cost, production, venue. We would move to Gisborne for summer. We were away.

Tom and I flew back to Dunedin with a spring in our step.  We used to meet feverishly promoting our new idea to anyone that would want to listen.  Andrew put some money up to print out posters and we dropped them around the library.   We gathered friends at Gardies shouted them crates and asked them support our idea.  We pursued our idea with vigour and audacity.

And that is how it began.

I told these stories to a group of students at the launch last month.  I told them there was no better time to start an idea.  You are young, keen, enthusiastic and energetic.  Being at University you have direct connections with people from all over NZ. You are naive enough to not realize the potential risks and pitfalls. Just have a go like we did.

Audacious weren’t we?

Doing New Years Justice

Justice have been one of my favourite acts of recent years.  My friend Tom Bates introduced me to them when I was in Sydney for a summer holiday back in early 2007. Everyone seemed to be going nuts for the french electro sound and Bondi had become Paris by the beach.


There was something about the weight of the tracks.  Real balls. Guitar music played by DJ's. Drum programming is original as well, staccato and broken.  I loved the sound of the open snare that has become a signature of their remixs.  The slapping, bouncing bass lines also tickled at one nostalgia from watching too many old 80 TV shows.

So I took some tracks back to NZ.  I remember when I dropped 'Waters of Nazereth' on the decks during a friends farwell party. Everyone cupped their ears in horror at the distorted heavy fuzz and thought the speaker had blown.  I had a good laugh to myself and realised NZ wasn't quite ready for this sound!

Justice - Waters of Nazereth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqJu_3CPhC4

In September 2007 I was in London getting ready for my Endeavour concert at Koko when the venue manager asked if I wanted to come to a gig at the venue.  It turned out Justice were playing that week so I jumped at the chance. I asked all my banker friends in London if they wanted to come but none of them had heard of the band, or wanted to go.  I couldnt believe it! So I went by myself.

This was a Wednsday night in trendy Camden and it was full of uber cool hipster kids of the American Apparel generation.  The Klaxons DJ as well then watched from side of stage and it really felt like the center of the scene at the time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWpEpmXn8Jo&feature=related

I hung around afterwards and saw the group's manager Pedro Winter loitering in front of the stage.  He is the founder of Ed Banger Records, ex-manager of Daft Punk and is a legend in his own right. I plucked up enough courage to approach him and introduced myself.  I asked if the duo were booked for NYE and interested playing at R&V. He said they were tossing up between Birmingham and Los Angles but would consider up for offers. He liked the idea of coming to NZ for summer and seemed interested in the surfing and wine tasting. So he pulled out his Blackberry and sent an introduction email to his agent.

Pedro Winter aka Busy P

The next day I conversed with the agent over the bands availability. She asked if I was interested in the 'LIVE' or the 'DJ' set? I said DJ like the one I saw at Koko the previous night. Two guys standing over a desk of knobs and buttons, looked like they were playing records to me!

She was horrified saying 'how could that set be 'DJing? Did you not see the guys making music??'  Turns out the LIVE set is performed and mixed in real time on keyboards and computers via software called Ableton live, with a full specced production and lighting show, and a crew of 12. I had a lot to learn.

Unfortunately my kiwi peso offer just couldn't compete with the other extravagant offers from around the world and to my dismay the act ended up being booked in Los Angeles.

My instincts were right and by the end of the 2007 Justice were one of the hottest tickets in the world. They came to Australia for the Parklife tour, an epic lineup with Digitalism, M.I.A and our own Shapeshifter, but didn't come to New Zealand.  However the heavy Ed Banger sound swept through this part of the world and had everyone chanting 'We Are Your Friends' and 'D.A.N.C.E' all summer long.

Justice - D.A.N.C.E http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49esza4eiK4

In 2008 R&V expanded to three days and began working closer with our festival booking partners in Australia and UK.  When the booking options came through they included Pedro Winter - djing as his alter ego Busy P - along with Mehdi, A-Trak and Switch.  We HAD to invite him to come and check out our amazing festival for himself!

Busy P, Switch, Mehdi, A-Trak - Gisborne Airport, Dec 2008

At the festival I made the effort to go up to Pedro and re-introduce myself. He thought R&V was amazing festival and even said he thought it was 'the new Coachella'.  I mentioned to him I still had my sites set on Justice and to spread the good word. His set went off and the guys had a ball playing in the Cellar stage amongst the native trees.   It still goes down as one of the most memorable nights of the festival and those who were there were treated to a set they will never forget.

Busy P and Mehdi at R&V 2008

I thought we would have to wait a full album cycle until we got the opportunity to offer on the Justice boys again. Word was they were not playing gigs just recording their sophomore album.  Even still, I still dropped Pedro my annual email to remind him we would love to host the guys in Gisborne.

This year I got a call in June from the guys at Fuzzy in Sydney asking if we like to offer on Justice DJ set.  They were breaking from their recording schedule to fly out to Australian for three dates only but had a break chance NYE was available! It is fair to say a few fist pumps were going down at the office!

After a bit of back and forth, talk of private jets and crazy 30 hour schedules subsided and we decided that the date of 30th Dec would suffice for a New Zealand show at Rhythm and Vines, meaning the duo could rest before the hectic Australian leg in early Jan.

It will not be the LIVE show I saw in London. The new live edition will be rolled out in 2011 along with the new album.  It will no doubt consist of full production, light show, the walls of Marshalls, black leather jackets and whatever other new tricks the Parisian will unleash on the world.

However the DJ set will be just as memorable. It will be both Xavier and Gaspard playing their favorite tracks in true mash-up party form. It will cover the back catalouge, the hottest tracks in the world right now, and even a sneak peak at the sound they will be unleashing on the world next year. Remember this is their first appearance in months and with a new album out next year it is a huge coup!

So there you go - a bit of back story to how we got Justice to visit our shores.

As a side note I finally met up with their agent in person in London this month.  She said that she had never seen the boys jump at an offer like they did for R&V when it came through this year. She said they get dozens of offers every week and turn them down but replied straight away to our email! Pedro must have put in the good word:)

So they are obvioulsy pumped and so am I! Time to do new years Justice!

Justice - Genesis

H

Netsky - Get Lost in this World

Kiwi's love their drum and bass.  I don't know if it because they think of their beloved pub dub/BBQ reggae being sped up to 190 BPM.  Or they remember their older brothers/sisters catching the likes of the legendary Goldie and Roni Size while in London on their OE back in the 90's. 

Is it because of the memorable nights they had out in christchurch visiting their mates at Uni visiting Concrete and Base?  Or they can they not get over Shapeshifter's stella performance at R&V four years ago, before they came the biggest live act in NZ?

What ever it is - Kiwis love their drum and bass.

Last year R&V coped a fair bit of flack when we didn't have any drum and bass headliners at the festival.

It didn't matter we had the Bloc-party-starting production team of the year (Major Lazer), a UK number one indie band (Editor) or the hottest export to come out of Australia in years (Empire of the Sun). 

It didn't matter we had one of the world most popular mash up DJ (2manydj's), a legendary underground hip hop crew (Roots Manuva), or a bespectable legend with over 20 years in the industry (Moby)

It didn't even matter when we continued our vision to have the stand out kiwi band of the year (Midnight Youth) or established DJ's (P-Money, Dick Johnson).  It didn't even matter than we catered for the tried and tested, kiwi love affair with roots music (John Butler Trio)!

Kiwis love their drum and bass, and get shirty when they don't get it.

So I took it upon myself to make sure we had this genre covered this year.  Once Shapeshifter declined our offer to perform again, and I found out Pendulum were already playing here in Ocotber, we needed to look offshore.

Dan Maas put me on to the DJ Netsky. I checked out his Youtube links and was mesmorised. Suddenly I thought of this liquid funk creeping up the hills of Gisborne. I listened to the track 'Lost in this World' and could imagine dawn breaking over the Vines stage, the stragglers still there holding on to see the first sunlight of 2011.

The snare was so electric, the bass so muffled, the synths so captivating - and with the provocative lyrics it would be an almost perfectly euphoric way to end what would have been a memorable three days.

Netsky - Lost in this World

I checked out his Myspace.  Wow this guy is playing small little clubs in Bristol, Sheffield, Bath. He doesn't have any of the big festivals lined up!  Whats going on? Turns out he is only 20 years old from Belgium and was discovered after making tunes in his bedroom, probably every night after he finished his home work!

This could work, he surely would be up to play in a country where Drum and Bass is so revered.  So I mailed his agent in the UK.  She seemed to be immediatley on the back foot asking me who my headliners were. It was almost - why would you want this young guy on your bill?

I asked if he had been down under before but no, he hadn't even been on an international tour!  The agent was looking at working with a couple of the keys touring agents in Australia but nothing had eventuated. 

I knew one of them so suggested to her that we put a tour together for him and bring Netsky to New Zealand. She liked the idea and told me to find a run of dates.  Wheels were in motion!

In the meantime friends Jeremy and Joe in London who were experienced Hospital Record- heads (the label that signed him) gave me some hugely positive feedback.  His album was gaining traction in underground drum and bass circles. His mini-mix on Annie Mac's show blew people away and showed the extent of his mixing skills.

Netsky Minimix - aired on Annie Mac's show, BBC Radio 1

I desperately tried to get him on our first R&V lineup release but the tour was still not confirmed. What would be the reaction if we didn't have any drum and bass!! Would NERD, Justice, Shiahd, Boys Noize, Chromeo, disappoint people again?!

After a few month of back and forth the tour dates were coming together, and R&V had the essential date of 31st December!

Then finally yuss - we got it locked in. Netsky - the world most up and coming drum and bass act was coming to NZ to Rhythm and Vines!

We released it and the hype spread. Facebook seemed to be going nuts. I had DJ's ringing me going 'WTF bro!'

And yet his profile still continues to build.  Last month he played at the annual Hospitality at Brixton.  BTV was able to get in and have a chat with him - he is pretty damn excited - as are we!

Behind the Vines - Netsky interview, Hospitality, Brxiton Academy

Just last week Nestky held the enviable position of hosting the essential Mix on BBC's Radio 1.  It is fair to say this mix will be similar to what he plays at the festival.  It covers everything from the Danny Byrd 'Ill Behaviour' to label boss.  He even drops in remix's of Swedish House Mafia's track of the year 'One', even some Bloody Beetroots!

Essential Mix - Netsky - 09/10/2010

So for Kiwis that love drum and bass - here you go.  No complaining now.  There is something about Netsky AND his music that IS mesmerising, and I look forward to catching him on NYE Vines stage. 

And getting lost in the world that is Rhythm and Vines.