Hikoikoi: Walking the Walk

Wellington based, Hikoikoi (Maori for “to walk”), is turning Reggae Dub up a notch.

“We started out quite ‘loungey’ – playing house parties and small gigs – but as we road tested our sound the influences of our personal music experiences started to develop,” says Paul Wickham, frontman for the group. Eight years later, they have left New Zealand to tour Europe for the first time, bringing us their infectious hybrid of soaring melodic vocals, dubbed out dance rhythms and sub-sonic roots vibrations.

Hikoikoi have been hailed for their blending of psychedelic rock and reggae dub and their lyrical positive message.  Admitedly they don’t consider themselves to be a protest band, but Wickham adds, “we do try and keep our finger on the pulse as far as being a watchdog for people who get the raw end of the deal in society.”

This hasn’t hurt them when booking their big European tour; Hikoikoi are playing the UK’s top reggae festival, One Love Festival in London, and the Vale Earth Fair, which donates proceeds to causes like Oxfam, Free Tibet and Burma Campaign UK. “I’m very aware that while one third of the world is in pleasure, two thirds is in a lot of agony… Ultimately through the music and what we support, we hope to be more uplifting for people in a difficult position”.

We are very lucky that that tour’s bringing them to Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands: with Leipzig being one of their stops.

Go see them play Monday, 8 Aug at Basamo 9.00.

Hikoikoi live are well worth the 3.50€

Octothorpe………………..cool!

I really really like this! These guys are playing tonight at Cafe Schwarz at 9.00. Be there or be square daddy-O.

Let’s Give a Warm Welcome to Aaron Kaufman

Leipzig’s sister city, Houston, is sending us one of her own: Aaron Kaufman.

When you hear “All My Life” you’d never expect Aaron Kaufmann to have just graduated from College. He has the voice and depth of lyric of someone whose life has been considerably longer. But this kind of talent often shows itself early on. He made his first album of original songs with a friend when he was a junior in high school and his first solo CD, “For the Long Ride Home” was released the following year. He describes his sound as “jazzy folk pop”. I describe it as silky seduction. It’s the kind of stuff you can listen to over and over and never tire of. It just gets better.

I’m not the only one who feels this way. In 2008 he was one of the winners of the BMI John Lennon Songwriting Scholarships. With the song I referred to before, “All My Life” from his second solo album, he  won the “NPR whad’ya Idol Competition,” (kind of like American Idol for radio). Aaron Kaufman has been playing to happy crowds all across the United States both on his solo tour and while touring with his folk band, Edmund Evans.  In March, he performed in this year’s South By Southwest Music festival, one of the biggest music events in the US.

He’s not all big brown eyes and sensitively soothing tones. Aaron has been actively involved with the Arts in Medicine program at the Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston as both a guest artist and as an intern. He was lead to Houston by the Purple Songs Can Fly project, an organization that pairs professional songwriters with children undergoing cancer treatment. Under the guidance of the songwriter, the patients write their own songs and record them in the clinic’s recording studio.

He’s just released a new EP, “Hello, Dear!” today and you can download it here for free!

Busy, busy, right? Well, his schedule is just as busy and as diverse while he’s in town. Be sure to see him while he’s here.

In addition to doing a Workshop on American Pop Music und Songwriting at the Musikschule Leipzig „Johann Sebastian Bach“, Petersstraße 43 on Wed, 29. June, 5-6pm, Aaron can be seen at the following venues.