USA Today called him “one of hip-hop’s most inventive lyricists” and People Magazine named his 2004 album The Beautiful Struggle, “rap album of the year”.
Brooklyn hip-hop artist Talib Kweli brings his “rhymes” to Splore 06.
Talib Kweli has been penning lyrics since childhood and gained notoriety as one half of the group Black Star (with childhood friend Mos Def) in 1998 and later with Cincinnati DJ Hi-Tek in Reflection Eternal.
Known as “the scholarly MC”, Talib delivers insightful well-crafted lyrics with passion and is considered one of the most prolific rappers in the game.
He released his first solo album Quality in 2002 and followed it up in 2004 with The Beautiful Struggle. Talib has collaborated with many of rap’s A-list producers and artists.

TALIB KWELI www.talibkweli.com

New York-based Jean Grae is said to be the most gifted and critically well received MC in the past five years and was recently voted PLUG Awards (USA) ‘Best Female Artist Of The Year’. She’s guested on many hip hop records, has released two albums and her singles are on regular rotation on Triple J Radio. Last year she furthered her fan base with a sell-out tour of Australia and recently toured the US with Mos Def, Talib Kweli and Pharoahe Monch.
www.jean-grae.com

Recently voted world number one vj act by the UK’s DJMag, Hexstatic has been consistently breaking new ground in audio and visual entertainment since 1995.
Stuart Warren Hill and Robin Brunson started experimenting with video at the first Big Chill festival and then went on to become resident VJs at Ninjatune’s famous Stealth night and a host of other UK clubs.
They’ve collaborated with Coldcut, Greenpeace and David Byrne, are regular contributors to new media festivals including onedotzero, have produced work for the BBC and Channel 4 and released two AV albums – Rewind in 2000 and last year’s Master View featuring the lush Hexstatic beats with synchonised videos for every track and extras including 3D anaglyph versions of selected videos.
Hexstatic performs at Splore 06 thanks to the support of British Council New Zealand.
 

They’ve performed for crowds from London to New York, Havana to Ibiza, Cannes to Rome, entertained at private parties for Elton John, Madonna and Robbie Williams and they’ve got their own MTV show … now they’re coming to Splore 06 in Auckland, New Zealand!
The Cuban Brothers are unique – melding music, riotous comedy and sensational dancing for an unbelievable entertainment experience.
Visit www.thecubanbrothers.com for more!

Splore 02 audiences were among the first to recognise the superb talent of Fat Freddy’s Drop and the band has since gone on to be acclaimed as one of New Zealand’s finest live acts.

Purveyors of a hypnotic groove of skanking urban Pacific roots, dub and electronica, this Wellington-based band has gone from strength to strength in New Zealand and internationally. The Splore 06 gig follows the band’s huge successes in 2005 – a platinum-selling debut studio album, Based On A True Story and four Tuis at the 2005 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards!

Having pumped their way through New Zealand’s electronica music scene since their first performance at The Gathering in 1997, Pitch Black have spent the past eight years rousing dance music punters, collecting rave reviews, winning awards and gaining thousands of fans around the world.
Michael Hodgson and Paddy Free head to Splore 06 with their distinctive sound ranging from organic ambient beginnings and layered soundscapes to skanking keyboards, cutting acid riffs and thumping rhythmic grooves. Pushing audio and visual boundaries, Mike and Paddy are renowned for their high energy, innovative performances.

Fort Knox Five has had a huge impact on the international funk and breaks scene over the past couple of years.
FK5 flawlessly fuse live instrumentation with modern electronics to create their signature funk-driven sound. Their highly sought-after production style has been called upon to remix incredible artists, including the legendary Tito Puente, Louis Armstrong, Tower of Power, A Skillz and Krafty Kuts, Dynamo Productions, and Mo'Horizons.
They have rocked dancefloors in Russia, Germany, Hungary, Holland, Switzerland, Australia, Thailand, and Canada and this year they opened sellout shows with Gwen Stefani, and the Black Eyed Peas and played arenas including the Hollywood Bowl and Madison Square Gardens.

Widely regarded the globe over as the two most indispensable ingredients for a blazing party, amiable Cambridge-born duo The Nextmen (Brad Baloo and Dom Search) have set 2005 alight.
In the wake of two internationally successful albums Amongst The Madness (75 Ark) and Get Over It (Scenario Records), countless mixed releases, singles, remixes, bootlegs and the launch of their own label Custom Records, this pair continue to up the ante for home-grown hip-hop and eclectic electronic music in general.
Their music, in both performance and production, is an eclectic, uncompromising sound – a blend of their own razor sharp slice of forward-thinking UK production which reconfigures the format for British urban music, drawing on lessons learned from diligent drum ’n’ bass programming, the highest grade riddims of dancehall, the sway and seduction of classic soul, and their families’ musical backgrounds, channeling a supremely funky groove that’s reminiscent of New York’s formidable defining hip-hop blueprint.

Six years since lift-off and Sola Rosa is flying high. Sola Rosa is headed by Andrew Spraggon, and features a roll call of highly experienced musicians with strong links to Dimmer, Trinity Roots, Che Fu, Nathan Haines, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Anika Moa and King Kapisi … get the picture?
With three albums now released, Sola Rosa also boasts a clutch of awards from B-Net Music Awards and the New Zealand Music Awards and is very much in demand playing festival dates in NZ and Australia with track licensing in the UK, Germany and USA.

The sumptuous mix of funk, dub and reggae beats combined with rich vocal harmonies is fast gaining this five-piece a reputation as a band to watch.

Formed in 2002, Kora released a limited edition EP in 2004 that reached number 4 on the Independent Music New Zealand charts and a debut album is in the offing.

The four Kora brothers plus Dan McGruer have an amazing stage presence with outstanding organic beats.

www.kora.co.nz

Hollie Smith is the name on everyone’s lips right now. Staking her reputation on the strength of stand-out collaborations and performances with the likes of Trinity Roots, Fat Freddy’s Drop and Recloose, she has turned heads with her deep, rich and soulful singing and songwriting style which has drawn widespread praise from all who have had the pleasure of hearing her perform.
Hollie began writing her own songs at age 12, was performing live a year later and then recorded and toured in the US as a 16-year-old, before returning to NZ and establishing herself as a regular fixture on the jazz scene.
Her new release, ‘E.P.’, represents the first official recordings of her original music and features an impressive lineup of local musicians including Rio Hemopo & Warryn Maxwell [Trinity Roots], Dallas Tamaira [Fat Freddy’s Drop], Jeremy Toy [Opensouls], Chris Yeabsley [Twinset] and Nick Gaffaney [Anika Moa Band].

Welcome to the world of Module, where classical meets futuristic, where man meets machine. Module (aka Jeramiah Ross) draws on the roots of his strong classical music theory and live-band experience to produce an organic style of electronica that is played and not programmed capturing elements of broken-beat, electro, 80’s rock and trip-hop styles.
Module released his first solo album Remarkable Engines in November 2005. Collaborating artists include Paul McLaney (Gramsci), Rhian Sheehan, Tom Firth, and Jessica Chambers.
Module has performed in The Black Seeds, Fly My Pretties, Rhombus and with Rhian Sheehan, and has played alongside Pitch Black, Salmonella Dub and Fat Freddy’s Drop.
He recently toured Australia playing live with Rhian Sheehan to packed venues in Sydney and Melbourne, and played sold-out shows with Fly My Pretties in New Zealand.

Over the almost 20 years that Spikey Tee has been working in the music industry he has progressed from being a warehouse DJ in London, to band member of the avant-garde The Sindecut, to lead vocalist in Jah Wobble’s Invaders Of The Heart. All the while Spikey continued to DJ, mixing hip-hop, R&B, ragga, and drum ‘n’ bass.
Spikey has also teamed up with the Manchester hip-hop label Grand Central for a number of collaborations, appears on the Morcheeba album Big Calm, and most recently he can be found on Mark Rae’s debut solo LP, Rae Road.
Spikey is now putting the pieces together for a solo project, collaborating with Morcheeba, Massive Attack, Tim Simenon, Rae and Christian and Australian band 2 Dogs.

An acclaimed New Zealand based producer of sublime downbeat cinematic-style electronica and expansive multimedia live performances, Rhian Sheehan has released three albums and has been tipped by leading UK magazine Future Music as “The Next Big Thing” in electronic music.
Rhian’s debut album Paradigm Shift has been released in the UK and throughout Europe to critical acclaim and his second album Tiny Blue Biosphere is due to be released in the UK/Europe this year.
Rhian’s music has appeared on an array of major international compilations; including the massive selling legendary Café del Mar series (volumes 10 & 11) and his music has been heard on MTV and BBC television.

Whirimako Black's distinctive sound, her lyrics in te reo Maori, her use of traditional Maori musical forms and collaboration with traditional taonga puoro instruments make her a unique and powerful voice for Maori music and culture.
Her debut album Hinepukohurangi: Shrouded in the Mist won Best Maori Language Album at the 2001 New Zealand Music Award and she has since released three more albums.
She collaborated with internationally renowned Grammy-nominated oboe player Russel Walder on her latest album, Kura Huna and Russel will join Whirimako to perform at Splore 06.

Ladi6 (Karoline Tamati) was part of the all-girl hip hop group Sheelahroc which had the hit track “If I Gave You The Mic” and Ladi6 was for Best Vocalist/MC at the 2003 bNet music awards.
With her band Verse Two, Ladi6 won the bNet Best New Act award in 2004 and toured New Zealand supporting international acts including The Roots, De La Soul and 50 Cent.
Ladi6 has featured on tracks of some of New Zealand’s finest acts including Shapeshifter, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Scribe and 50 Hz. Her debut solo album is due to be released in 2006.
www.ladi6.com

The Turnaround Trinity of Submariner, Cian, and Manuel Bundy have been doing the damage on a ‘last Friday of the month” basis, for the past three years in Auckland, first dishing it up in the Basement of Galatos, then moving across the road to the Rising Sun, and taking the show on the road up and down the country.
Mixing up their sets with a proper mash-up of soul, reggae, hip-hop, funk, dance hall, Latin, dub, rare groove and anything else they can find, the Turnaround DJs enjoy an unparalleled reputation for partying ‘til the break of dawn.

Goldenhorse is an accomplished 5-piece band from Auckland. Their music is a hybrid of a number of influences including Bjork, The Cranberries, Robbie Robertson and Burt Bacharach. Their songs are intelligently crafted with clever three part harmonies and at times complex chord structures complimented by string and horn arrangements.
Their album Riverhead was nominated for three Tuis at the 2003 NZ Music Awards including Best Album and Best Female Vocalist.
Goldenhorse appeals to a wide audience - their infectious, sometimes dark, epic love songs and exaggerated quirky pop are a new and exciting frontier for New Zealand music to discover.

 This dynamic collaboration from Golden Bay and Christchurch perform an upbeat blend of funk, soul, dub, house and jazz. Their feel-good grooves, noted for their spontaneity and improvisation successfully merge electronic elements with live instruments and lush vocals.

Renowned producer Max Maxwell with highly acclaimed album Continuous Play and remixes of Pitch Black and Trinity Roots to his credit, supplies beats and samples, over which are layered the arresting saxophones and vocals of Carmel Courtney ( Sabor, The Jews Brothers Band, Hampster) and guitar, keys and vocals of  songwriter Sam Hopley (Superdexta and Landline).