Various - The Strip Soundtrack

THE STRIP SOUNDTRACK

01 Cloudboy Red Rubicon
02 Gramsci feat. Anika Moa Don't
03 Lucid3 Shake the Smooth Machine
04 Cassette Nothing To Do
05 The Feelers Fishing for Lisa
06 Goodshirt Sophie
07 Bressa Creeting Cake Palm Singing
08 Twinset Sunny
09 Che Fu Waka
10 The Black Seeds Coming Back Home
11 Phoenix Foundation This Charming Van
12 Gramsci Beautiful Life
13 Goldenhorse Golden Dawn
14 Pluto Hey Little
15 Greg Johnson Beautiful Storm
16 Pine Days On End
17 STYLUS77 Goodbye
18 Garageland Life is So Sweet (Theme Song)

Currently touring Europe, Cloudboy step up with their orchestral-psychedelic dreamy pop single 'Red Rubicon' from the album Down at the End of the Garden. Gramsci represents with two tracks, 'Don't' featuring the sweet tones of Anika Moa, and 'Beautiful Life' from his latest offering Object, each evoking sound canvases which are mesmerising, chilling and soothing. Lucid3's 'Shake The Smooth' from their album Running down the Keys effectively combines blues guitar styles with strong rhythm loops and soft vocals. Lo-fi band Cassette feature with 'Nothing To Do' from the EP Emo, a track that has made its way onto a recent Rolling Stone magazine CD. New Zealand Music Awards 2003 winners Goodshirt present their winning track 'Sophie', a playful acoustic guitar-driven number guaranteed to turn heads. 'Palm Singing' from the album Papa People showcases Bressa Creeting Cake's unique brand of uplifting pop inventiveness with a witty twist. From the new album Mystical Soul, Twinset track 'Sunny' is a gently funky remake of the Bobby Hebb classic, featuring vocals from the Black Seeds frontman Barnaby.

Homegrown superstar and multi-award winner Che Fu features with 'Waka' from 2 B Spacific, as ever a proud flag-bearer for original Aotearoa hip-hop and r+b. All stars The Black Seeds contribute their hit 'Coming Back Home' from the gold-selling album Keep On Pushing, with their singular style of funk/soul/dub/reggae fusion. Wellington's latest big thing The Phoenix Foundation come to the party with the gently melancholy 'This Charming Van', taken from their excellent new album Horse Power. 'Golden Dawn' by Auckland pop craftspeople Goldenhorse is an infectious song from the gold-selling album Riverhead. Five-piece Pluto's 'Hey Little' is all catchy chorus and tight melodies, from their album Redlightsyndrome. Leading singer/songwriter Greg Johnson contributes 'Beautiful Storm', from the album Sea Breeze Motel. Pine represent with 'Days on End' from the album Longplayer, and are currently playing shows in London and New York. 'Goodbye' by Wellington three-piece STYLUS77 gives a taste of what to expect from their forthcoming EP. Finally, 'Life is so Sweet' by old-schoolers Garageland is The Strip theme song, and it's a highlight with their best hook-laden guitar rock'n'roll, marking a definitive closure to the soundtrack of the year.

In summary, The Strip Soundtrack compiles the best of today's overall music scene, stripped down to the bare essentials, reflecting the hip factor of the show and representing for New Zealand music.