Ladi6 – Time Is Not Much

9 July 2009, Murielle @ 4:56 pm Ladi6 Time Is Not Much

As I continue in my quest to bring you the best in music Aotearoa has to offer, I introduce to you to one of my favourite soulsters: Ladi6.

Ladi6 (real name Karoline Tamati) has spent ten years or more touring with and backing up NZ artists like Fat Freddy’s Drop, Shapeshifter, Scribe, and Opensouls, but finally, and thankfully, she came out with a debut album of her own, Time Is Not Much.

The album, three years in the making, doesn’t read as a who’s-who of NZ music collaboration list, which is something that easily could have happened considering Ladi6’s musical connections. While breaking out on your own can be a daunting task, Ladi6 has done it well, and you can only give the woman props for doing it her own way.

Opener Give Me The Light launches into a classic funky beat that compliments her soul diva voice, chopping and changing with a hip hop chic that few female artists can achieve.

Question? and Down And Out, two of the more forlorn tracks off the album showcase Ladi6’s talent, emotion, and song writing skill as she serenades the listener. The album, dedicated to her late ten year old cousin, could have easily played the sympathy card, but the songs have a quiet confidence that resonate throughout, and the type of take-it-on-the-chin mentality that most New Zealander’s relate to.

While paying her respects, Ladi6 is quick to move on to a slinkier latter half of the album. Dark Brown and Believe Me’s striking bass works well with its electro-esque beat that continues into middle-finger gesturing Jacknife, brimming with attitude.

It’s refreshing to have a debut album that mixes all the musician’s strongest elements together without getting repetitive. As an artist who can’t escape the “cousin-of-Scribe” tag, Ladi6 threads her hip hop roots with the dub, soul, and reggae that have come to define her sound. Her ability to switch between powerful, soulful croons to rhythmetic raps are the basis of her success and the components that cement her place at the top of the NZ music scene. 9/10 for an album that does all the right things.

AWmusic