Celebrate the music of Hawai’i, and the undying spirit of Puna

IN YOUR EARHOLE

IN YOUR EARHOLE

Lapwing Takes Flight

by Niko Rivas | Aug 17, 2011

IN YOUR EARHOLE / The diligent and modest Matthew McVickar studied Japanese language and literature at UMass, with a brief sojourn in Japan. Although the next logical juncture would not typically point towards moving to Hawaii to make music and build websites, that’s the trajectory McVickar seems to be following; and no one’s complaining either.

Well, maybe a few people, but their only qualms have manifested into impatience regarding whether or not McVickar will release new material from his solo electronic music project, Lapwing. His (absolutely free) first five-track EP Live Start was released two weeks ago, mirroring the same free-download format Clones of the Queen–a three-piece electronic pop band McVickar is also part of–utilizes. “I’ll always strive to make Clones’ EPs free; it’ll come down to [lead-singer] Ara and [guitarist] Paul’s decision, too. My music will be free now and forever–the physical artifacts may not be free, but you’ll be able to get it for free digitally with high quality,” vows McVickar.

Lapwing’s five-song ambient attack falls somewhere between the electronic spectrum of Four Tet and Baths. McVickar cites the combination of beat-centered explorations and dance music, in general, as some of his influences.

Laden with looping, delay and unidentifiable textures, the first song, “Leaving,” sets the tone with bells and shakers. The midsection of “Nerves” and “Downhill” is saturated with reverb-heavy skittering beats and swift arpeggios that will make you want to un-focus your vision until it’s a twinkling light matching the songs’ ethereal quality. The upbeat closing song, “Tiny Island,” samples the song “Ghost on the Beach” by local artist Andy Iida from Color Pixel and “Don’t Worry Baby” by the Beach Boys.

McVickar says, “I’d love to release a full-length. I thought [the EP] was going to be a lot harder than it was, because I’ve talked about it and thought about it for years, and then I sat down and did it in about two weeks.”

–Niko Rivas

[lapwinglapwing.com]

Celebrating Hawaii, nature, culture and wellness for over 35 years!
SURFER, The Bar

COMMENTS

We often print online comments in our “Letters to the Editor” section of Honolulu Weekly. While submitted letters are often edited for length and clarity, online comments we use are printed entirely as they are written for the website. If you do not wish for your comment to be used in Honolulu Weekly print issues, please write “Don’t Print” at the end of your comment. For questions, e-mail editorial@honoluluweekly.com. Thank you!

blog comments powered by Disqus

This week

Still on Board

Given the city’s crumbling infrastructure and rail controversy, it’s hard to believe anyone would want to be the next mayor of Honolulu. But a few do want the job, including the incumbent, Mayor Peter Carlisle, the former Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney who won a 2010 special election to fill the remainder of Mufi Hannemann’s term.

City Council 101

I’d never been to a Honolulu City Council meeting until a few weeks ago. Features, not politics, was my beat.

Nurturing a living culture

Victoria Holt Takamine is a kumu hula, a cultural activist and a teacher and has an impeccable pedigree to back up all these titles. Born of an alii family whose kuleana was in Moanalua, she graduated as a hula teacher under the legendary Auntie Maiki Aiu Lake and taught hundreds of students in her own halau (Pua Alii ‘Ilima) and at the University of Hawaii.

Public access

On April 25, a state judge dismissed trespassing charges against a Kauai man after finding that he had been exercising traditional native Hawaiian rights hunting wild pigs on private land. Kui Palama, 28, was arrested on Jan.

transitional Housing

The city plans to dish out $3.5 million from its Affordable Housing Fund and either purchase or renovate a structure to provide transitional housing for Honolulu’s special needs homeless population. “Our community has invested considerable effort and resources in addressing homelessness,” Mayor Peter Carlisle said in a statement, “but there remains a population whose disabilities or chronic conditions make it difficult for them to participate in traditional shelter programs.” Carlisle is referring to those homeless with mental illnesses, addictions and physical disabilities.

Poi Mill shut

Makaweli Poi faces an uncertain future after its owner, a corporate subsidiary of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) ordered the West Kauai mill to suspend operations May 23. Mona Bernardino, chief operating officer of the corporation, Hiipoi LLC, says the move to shut down Makaweli Poi was prompted mainly by financial concerns.

Sewage study

A resolution adopted by the City Council will solidify an agreement between the City and County of Honolulu and the University of Hawaii Water Resources Research Center (UH-WRRC) to conduct an analysis of impacts from ocean sewer outfalls on the marine environments off of Oahu. The city will pay UH-WRRC as much as $2.5 million for biological and sediment studies in portions between now and June 30, 2017 .

pedaling 9-5

Along with the deep, verdant growth of spring sprouts an unyielding desire to spend more time in the open air. That’s why it should come as no surprise that National Bike Month falls in the sun-drenched time of May.

Billions of …

Of the many letters you publish against rail, how many offer an alternative that won’t send us into further economic demise? Billions of gallons of oil are imported for us from every oil-producing nation on this planet so that we can buy billions of gallons of gasoline.

Goodbye bus, hello rail?

TheBus is taking a back seat to rail. At the May 3 Downtown Neighborhood Board meeting, an audience member asked city Transportation Director Wayne Yoshioka when we could expect the bus route cancellations and changes to be reversed.