New Zealand

New Zealand (/njuːˈziːlənd/ new-ZEE-lənd, Māori: Aotearoa [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa]) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses – that of the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu – and numerous smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long isolation, New Zealand developed a distinctive biodiversity of animal, fungal and plant life. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland.

Somewhere between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that were to become New Zealand, and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Abel Tasman, a Dutch explorer, became the first European to sight New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the British Crown and Māori Chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, making New Zealand a British colony. Today, the majority of New Zealand's population of 4.5 million is of European descent; the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealand's culture is mainly derived from Māori and early British settlers, with recent broadening arising from increased immigration. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, with English predominant.

Acid Jazz Records

Acid Jazz is a record label based in east London. It takes its name from acid jazz, a genre of jazz music. Alternative version states that the genre itself was named after the record label. Radio and club DJ Chris Bangs is credited with coining the phrase acid jazz in the late 1980s.

Founding

“We put on this old 7-inch by Mickey and the Soul Generation which was a rare groove record with a mad rock guitar intro and no beat. I started vari-speeding it so it sounded all warped. Chris Bangs got on the microphone and said, 'If that was acid house, this is acid jazz'. That's how acid jazz started, just a joke!”

Gilles Peterson teamed up with Eddie Piller to form the record label Acid Jazz, shortly after Bangs had coined the phrase. Piller had previously managed the James Taylor Quartet.

The label's first signing was singer-songwriter Rob Gallagher's band, Galliano.

Records

The first single from Acid Jazz was "Frederick Lies Still" from Galliano and was followed by albums by individual bands such as the Brand New Heavies, New Jersey Kings, Mother Earth, the Sandals, as well as the production of compilation albums such as the Totally Wired series, and compilation albums with a focus on music emerging from a particular country (for example, Sweden). Acid Jazz has released material covering jazz (Ed Jones, Ulf Sandberg), soul (Brand New Heavies, Rose Windross, D-Influence), jazz rap (Humble Souls, Sandals), retro-kitsch (Corduroy) and dub (Hazardous Dub Company). Despite releasing a number of Latin-inspired albums, Snowboy produced a number of twelve inch singles reminiscent of 1970s soul, such as Lucky Fellow (with Noel Mckoy) and Girl Overboard (featuring Anna Ross).

Pee Wee

Pee Wee and Peewee may refer to:

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See also

Acid jazz

Acid jazz, also known as club jazz, is a musical genre that combines elements of jazz, soul, funk and disco. Acid jazz originated in the London club scene of the mid-1980s in the rare groove movement and spread to the US, Japan, Eastern Europe and Brazil. Major acts included Brand New Heavies, Incognito, Us3 and Jamiroquai from the UK and A Tribe Called Quest, Buckshot LeFonque and Digable Planets from the US. The rise of electronic club music in the mid to late 1990s led to a decline in interest, and in the twenty-first century, the movement became indistinct as a genre. Many acts that might have been defined as acid jazz are now seen as jazz-funk, neo soul or jazz rap.

Name and characteristics

Various origins have been attributed to the name of the genre, including claims to have coined the term by DJs Gilles Peterson and Chris Bangs. The name is a play on the acid house genre, which was flourishing in the UK club scene in the 1980s.

Acid jazz consisted of two related movements. The first was based around records released by DJs and producers that included rare jazz tracks, particularly from the 1960s and 1970s, often mixing them with percussion tracks and electronic dance beats. The second were groups influenced by these recordings and who emphasised a groove-based approach to music. Acid jazz uses elements of jazz, funk and hip-hop. Because of its existence as a percussion-heavy, primarily live music, it was closer to jazz than any other dance style, but its focus on maintaining a groove allied it with funk, hip-hop, and dance music. The style is characterised by danceable grooves, and long, repetitive compositions. Typical ensembles include horns, a full rhythm section (often with a drum set and additional percussion), a vocalist that may sing and rap and often a DJ.

News to Me

News To Me is an American television program on HLN weekends hosted by Emmy award winning talent, Eric Lanford.

"News To Me" was canceled in March, 2009 after two years on the air. It had formerly been broadcast Saturday at 7:30PM & 9:30PM ET. Sunday at 12:30AM, 5:30AM, 7:30PM & 9:30PM ET. Monday at 12:30AM & 5:30AM. The program consisted of user-generated video clips and reports uploaded through iReport.com, in addition to Blip.tv, Jumpcut.com, and Revver. The program was the first on cable news television to focus on user reports vs. actual reporting by the television network itself.

Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell has replaced the show.