Ed Muzik - 'Hates It'

Christchurch musician / producer / cynic ED MUZIK has released his latest e.p. "HATES IT", a pointed, satirical response to the traumatic events his city has gone through in the last year.

The name and the cover of the record are a conscious dig at the council's "Loves It" campaign. Ed explains "it was a bit of a tipping point for me. Stiff upper lip us all well and good, but this campaign pretends that we haven't lost anything at all. The earthquake was a disaster - we don't need to pretend it wasn't."

First single "EQC Are Looking At My House" is a Weird Al-style cover of LCD Soundsystem's "Daft Punk Are Playing At My House" - and all the more poignant due to what happened to the band after the quake. "On the morning of the 22nd, I got a call from the promoters of the Weird Al show at the Theatre Royal. They told me that we'd be opening for Al in just a couple of weeks. Three hours later, the 6.3 hit, seriously damaging the Theatre Royal and forcing Al to cancel his show. But for 3 hours I was on top of the world." The song itself is a daed-pan take on some of the frustrations Canterbury residents have had in their dealings with EQC bureaucracy.

"Double Brownlee" is a none-too-subtle dig at earthquake recovery czar Gerry Brownlee, as well as a tribute to the epoch -defining trash beer of the title. What it lacks in nuance, it makes up in witty one-liners. "It's Grim Out East" channels acid-house prophets the KLF, a hoover bass oder to the worst hit suburbs in the city's east. The "Merivale Working Men's Club" looks at the two Christchurchs, the haves and have nots in the divided city. Finally, "I Once Was An Orange Parka" is a piano house ballad, told from the point of view of New Zealand's most famous piece of protective clothing.

Ed Muzik has used the EP to channel some of his anger and frustration into something strangely positive. "Humour has been really good therapy for me, and I think people down here have really appreciated it. A guy who worked for the EQC came up to me at a pub to tell me that he really enjoyed the song." Dunedin, September 21st - Blue Oyster Gallery Dunedin, September 24th - Mou Very Auckland, October 1st - Golden Dawn with Rose Quartz DJs

Dunedin, September 21st - Blue Oyster Gallery
Dunedin, September 24th - Mou Very
Auckland, October 1st - Golden Dawn with Rose Quartz DJs