Stand Up to those Ockers, Scribe

By SCOTT KARA

It's the How Bizarre hoodoo. The Don't Dream It's Over curse. Yes, it's the impossible search for this country's next international hit song.

Ask Australians which is the last New Zealand song to be as big as Scribe's Stand Up or Not Many and most snigger: "Slice Of Heaven". Then they'll remember OMC's 1997 hit How Bizarre.

Considering all the awards, No 1 hits, and his popularity here and in Australia - it's Scribe who is surely the New Zealand musician most likely to make the world listen up. It's been a year since Stand Up and Not Many - the B-side of which became its own hit after a remix - were dominating New Zealand singles charts.

If the tracks - especially the hooky Not Many - were going to break big overseas, shouldn't it have happened by now?

It's not that easy, though. There have been only two New Zealand songs of real prominence in the history of the international charts - Crowded House's Don't Dream It's Over in 1986, and OMC's one-hit wonder.

Scribe was not available for comment. But producer P. Money says Not Many - The Remix is still a contender, though he also rates other local rappers' chances.

But he's seen how excited people get in Britain and the States - be it audiences, industry people or music people in general - when they hear Not Many, or see the video.

"They don't come from here, it's not part of their culture, but they can't get that hook out of their heads. It's that hook that transcends everything. So the right song in the right position at the right time is gonna do it. Not Many is definitely the right song. It's about getting it into the right position and that process is still going on with Scribe in the UK. It's about getting the bastard heard. Once the record gets heard, it's a wrap."

Adam Holt, head of Universal Music, says the "pop factor" in local hip-hop is the key to international success. He predicts there will be a huge international hit by one of the acts from that genre in the next 18 months.

"New Zealand hip-hop has always been progressive, but possibly just slavishly following the Americans. But just recently this pop-hip-hop is really starting to work and Australia is starting to adopt it. If it works in Australia it shows that a New Zealand artist can travel, and that's critical to [enticing] other international markets."

As Mark Ashbridge, the head of Scribe's record company FMR says: Who would have thought you could sell a hip-hop record to Australians?

"It would have been a joke to say you could 12 months ago.

"We think Scribe will sell 50,000 records in Australia - he's on 33,000 at the moment - and fundamentally you've got to look at it and ask: When was the last time a New Zealand artist sold 50,000 records in Australia?" Not since Crowded House, or possibly OMC. For Ashbridge, it's proof that Scribe has the songs, "the drive" and the "star factor" to make it elsewhere overseas.

Rob Logan, from Channel V in Australia, says that when Scribe performed on the live show VHQ it was one of the channel's biggest days.

And he thinks Scribe's music will translate overseas. "The essence of the song is about what hip-hop is, but it's not alienating to any international culture.

"These guys haven't walked away from their culture, or New Zealand, but it does have a flavour that is accessible in an international market to any viewer that is into that style of music.

"The key thing for record companies that sign these bands is to never, never give up. They've got to take them to the international conferences, profile them and tell the story of their success. And they've got to get their international partners to commit to a long-term plan for these artists or they'll get lost."

Triple J music director Kirileigh Lynch says it's taken nearly a year but everyone in Australia knows Stand Up.

"If you're down at the pub and someone starts singing it, everyone knows the words. It's that kind of song."

Scribe's second single, Dreaming, has been added to Channel V, and Mareko's Stop, Drop, and Roll is tipped by Lynch as the the next big New Zealand song.

Dei Hamo's We Gon' Ride is on high rotate on Channel V and Universal's Holt says there is strong interest in Savage, whose album is expected early next year.

LOWDOWN:

WHAT: Scribe, the success story.

AWARDS: Three bnet awards (outstanding achievement, best remix, best hip-hop album); seven NZ Music Awards (including best single, for Stand Up; best songwriter, for Not Many; best album, for The Crusader). APRA Silver Scroll winner, for Not Many.

THE SINGLE: Stand Up. No 1 for a record 12 weeks. Sold more than 20,000.

THE ALBUM: The Crusader. Sold 3500 copies on first day, debuted at No 1, sold more than 70,000.

NEXT MOVE: Focus on Brit radio stations and distribution deal for Not Many.