Dancing Queen

2010 has produced Queensland’s wettest spring ever, which, to some, would seem like a bad omen for the Island Vibe festival. But if Straddie happens to be rained out, New Zealand’s finest soul sister, Ladi6, has her own solution. “We'll breakdance? If it's rained out we'll just carry on and get the party started. We'll party in the rain.”

As a divinely talented vocalist and MC, Ladi6 (or Karoline Tamati) is no stranger to spontaneity and unusual circumstances. Her second album, 'The Liberation of', was thrown together in Berlin with only two months left on her visa. “It was so hectic. In the beginning it was alright because you never feel like you're under any time pressure when you start a project like that. But by the last two weeks when we were also packing and trying to get ready to come home to New Zealand it was such a fucking headache. It was unbelievably hard.”

After a combination of no sleep and a super-creative atmosphere, Ladi6 and her musical partner in crime, Parks, managed to complete the record. But not before a complete overhaul of material.

“I don't know if every musician does this, but we certainly do underestimate the time it takes to do post-production stuff and just the last little detail-y bits and pieces. We went through a period of not liking heaps of the stuff in the songs and wanting to completely change them, but only having like three days to do it and it was just so fucked up. But we wanted that challenge. We went into it knowing that was going to happen and I think we came out pretty good, the album is pretty sweet. But of course I'd say that, I made it.”

The 'pretty sweet' album is a natural progression from Ladi6's debut, and was inspired by the chaotic lifestyle and creative atmosphere that came from touring Europe and the UK. But Ladi6 says though she tried to make it more of a party album, some of her soulful, emotive side still shines through, at least, according to her friends.

“We took two months to make it from beginning to end and I suppose each song is more connected to one another. It's definitely more of a punchier sound but it also deals with the same writing style and themes I had on 'Time Is Not Much'. A lot of people who have heard it have said it's still quite heavy and emotive, which I thought was weird because I really tried to make it more of a party album. What I think of it is different to what everyone else hears when they listen to it.”

Punchy is an understatement when describing this lady. Nominated for four Pacific Music Awards in 2009, Ladi6 took home the 'Best Female Artist' award for 'Time Is Not Much', and has been described as 'one to watch' by London's Metro Magazine. But Ladi6 says her family's background would make anything but music strange for her.

“Music is a major thing for us. My family raised us all to sing and dance and it was always featured heavily at all of our family gatherings - Christmas and birthdays and things like that. It was always a natural thing to sing and perform.”

Music does run through the veins. Ladi6's cousin is one of Aotearoa's finest male musicians. How many dudes you know flow like this? Scribe. “We were in a band together when we first moved to Auckland, which would have been around 2002-3. It's not unusual that I'll pop up on his sets or he'll pop up on mine. Whenever we're in the same town together and I have a show, he'd most likely be there if he wasn't busy. We're really close.”

CATCH LADI6’S SUPREME BREAKDANCING SKILLS AT THE ISLAND VIBE FESTIVAL, NORTH STRADBROKE ISLAND, OCT 29-31.