Ladi6 Live at The Powerstation, Auckland, 13/07/13

There is one thing that I look forward to every summer and that is the NZ Music summer tours, and this year I had to wait until July for Ladi6 who is definitely a favourite of mine when she graces us with her definitive presence. She paired with @Peace at Auckland’s Powerstation, in an interesting NZ collaboration of low freq beats and impressive rhyming skills. @Peace started off the night with a playful but solid 40 minute set that reverberated through the room and on ending received an enthusiastic applause.

Waiting for Ladi6 (Karoline Tamati, the 6^th girl in her family hence the name) there is much anticipation and the atmosphere is always electric, what will she be wearing, will she play Bang Bang? It never ceases to amaze me how much presence one person, some drums and a microphone can have. It also never ceases to amaze me that each time I see Ladi6 on stage it is so much better than the last, her repertoire of songs and ability to drop an unforgettable set is like no other female MC in NZ. She is also an impressive figure on stage, always stylish and elusive in the sense of she is so calm. empowered and really just so cool.

This night was very special, Ladi6 kicked out some old fan favs Like Water, Call You Out and 98 Til Now, which got the crowd pumped dancing and singing like everyone knew the words and introduced the crowd to her new album Automatic which is to be released on August 16th. The title track of Automatic was outstanding and is branching our into a new style of experimentally tingly tracks on the album, including the recently released Shine On and the first single Ikarus, which with the same hype of Like Water seeing the crowd sway with swag fully captivated. But don’t get me wrong, there are still the classic Ladi6 beats provided by an immensely talented backing band including producer Parks Brent, @Peace keys player Brandon Haru, and the rhythm master Julien Dyne. This ensemble is a force to be reckoned with, and only gets better. Watch out on August 16^thfor the new album and hopefully another summer tour!