Artists

Sir-Vere

There are many DJs in New Zealand, but none with the combination of skill and musical knowledge that DJ Sir-Vere has. He has that special quality that places him above all others, an honest and never cynical love of the music that flows from his albums and live work. Just look at the covers of all the Major Flavours, all feature his family and extended whanau, his love for the music he has championed since the early 80's is obvious and true.

Sir-Vere is a hip hop pioneer, he's always been at the forefront of the movement, learning the secrets and tricks of people like Grandmaster Flash, Jam Master Jay and DJ Premier from their records, accumulating knowledge of what makes a good and popular sound. Gradually training himself how to use the turntables and how to move a crowd through mixing, when he was ready he just seemed to explode with talent and the ability to entertain. Record spinning runs in the family, his father ran mobile discos and the young Sir-Vere helped out whenever he got the chance, this early baptism into the world of using records as a tool, stood him well as his own hip hop career took off. For he knew that it was more than just sounds, That it was an important cultural development with opportunities to expand upon. In a way he became an ambassador of the growing culture, moving from live work to the world of radio. The True School show on B.F.M. started in 1993 and gained adherents to its exciting mix of tunes that most of us had only heard of, this led to the popular television version and then to the Wrecognise show on M.T.V., he is now the popular host of the Major Flavour on Mai FM, and The Hook Up on Channel Z.

He has also become a TV personality in his own right as the host of the Holla Hour on C4. What is important about all these media appearances is the promotion Sir-Vere gave to hip hop in general and in particular to local acts, presenting them in conjunction with international acts showed that Aotearoa had its own hip hop voice, different from America but just as vital and interesting. Any sense of embarrassment or self doubt found in early Aotearoa hip hop began to disappear as Sir-Vere opened the gates to the amazing local talent we have.

His hugely successful Major Flavours compilations are now in their sixth instalment. Every Major Flavours album features local acts and are packed with free-styles from our best artists, that's why they are so popular, that mix of big international hits and the local hip hop dialect all swirled together.

Always a promoter of local skills he took it further by running the I.T.F. (International Turntable Federation) in 1997, using that to give local DJs their chance to shine and the winner to travel to the finals and compete with the world's best. P-Money and DJ CXL (Ill Semantics) have all benefited from Sir-Vere's knowledge. He also has a busy touring schedule, taking the Major Flavours road show around the country to great response. DJ Sir-Vere was also one of the original masterminds of the Hip Hop summit, now entering it's seventh year. The Aotearoa Hip Hop Summit has firmly established itself as the largest, most respected, and most successful event on the local hip hop Calendar. Held annually in central Auckland as an all-ages event, and running over the course of two days, the Summit attracts an ever- increasing audience from throughout the country.
Major Flavours 06 continues the tradition of excellence established in the previous releases. Featuring a diverse collection of styles and jam packed with hits and presented with wit and exuberance.
All the previous Major Flavours albums have sold in massive amounts, the first hitting gold, the second reaching platinum, the third also went Gold, and Volume 4 and 5 selling in excess of Double Platinum.

Combined sales of the series are now over 100,000 units, which shows that there is a fan base for hip hop as a musical form and as a culture in Aotearoa, even more it establishes DJ Sir-Vere as our premier practitioner of the art of mixing and cutting music. Like a magician Sir-Vere transforms one thing into another, changing the beats and re-working sounds by scratching or juggling between one record into another.
Along with the Major Flavours series, Sir-Vere brings out a number of immensely popular mixtapes throughout the year.

"Scratch LIVE has changed my DJing experience so much, it's like a revolution. From saving me countless dollars from not hauling around loads of records on flights, to having thousands of records at my fingertips, it is just so different for me now without losing that great vinyl feel. It's so good, I'm speechless..."