Sound Republic: Live Reviews

Massey Smith�s MAP Project @ Upfront Club, Maleny 18/09/09

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By Lisa Mora
25 September 2009

Massey Smith�s MAP Project @ Upfront Club, Maleny 18/09/09

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Massey Smith

It’s official. The Sunshine Coast is creating its own genre of music that is truly reflective of the laid-back vibe of sun, surf and inspirational scenery. And one band that truly captures the essence of this unique coastal sound is Massey Smith’s MAP Project.

On Friday night the MAP Project played at the Upfront Club in Maleny. The stage at the Upfront is only a small platform in the corner of the cafe and was filled to maximum capacity on Friday night as four members of MAPP crammed into the tiny space. Despite its size, the Upfront has a really friendly, inviting atmosphere and hosts some amazing local musical acts that are always well worth checking out.

Massey did a few numbers solo on acoustic guitar before inviting fellow MAP’ers to join him on stage and the three half hour sets were divided into some solo performance, a few covers and the full band, albeit with a much smaller drum kit, for the rest of the gig. During this time MAPP played all the tracks from their latest album The MAP Project: Chapter One – Massey.

Introducing the track “Antz” Massey explained the song is about sometimes feeling like an ant in an anthill, but that he’d recently welcomed his new baby girl into the world, so that made everything OK. A hilarious fusion of Mustang Sally with 50 Cent’s In Da Club proved a real treat with the crowd and showcased Masseys’ rapping talents brilliantly.

Massey Smith is the brains behind the MAP Project and the writer of the band’s extensive and unique original repertoire. Originally from NZ he moved to Oz when he was four years old but still strongly maintains his roots to the influential Kiwi music scene citing Kora and Sublime as strong influences. Massey met fellow band member drummer Chris Anderson “Ando” at Caloundra High School where they played in a band together. Since then they have been playing acoustic duo sets for the past five years at gigs around the coast. The MAP Project is the next step in the evolution of this union with the addition of Jack the Ripper on bass guitar and Rob McErvale on electric guitar providing some extra bump and grunt to the band.

Describing the MAP Project’s sound is quite a challenge - it’s such a blend of styles -its funky soul, boppy dub reggae meets hip-hop with overtones of jazz. The playing is smooth, the lyrics are soulful and the vibe is friendly and fun. Massey describes the sound as “soul fusion – a fusion of all music projected with soul”.

Chatting to the band members between sets was a great chance to garner some inside info on what and who the MAP Project is about. Hailing from all across the Sunshine Coast the guys speak eloquently of their motivation and desire to see the coast’s music scene recognised as a hothouse of natural talent that they think is inspired by this unique location. The boys said they can’t wait to come back up to the hinterland again next weekend for the Utribe Festival so they can really “belt it out” as noise restrictions at the Upfront meant a slightly toned-down performance than usual. The MAP Project will be appearing on the MASC stage just before the Utribe opening ceremony at 5.50pm on Friday.

Check out the MAP Project at http://www.myspace.com/themapproject and at the Utribe Festival 25th September or on Friday 30th October at Currimundi Hotel.

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