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Joe Kaptein

@joekaptein

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Latest record - Live at The Upside Down Lounge Vol. 1 - ltd. edition vinyl LP out now!! link below....
@jandal.records

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Joe Kaptein’s range also extends to being Six60’s onstage keyboard player and a couple of self-released albums.

🔗 To subscribe and read the full story, follow the link in our bio. by @joekaptein

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10 days ago

My new album The Soft Chaos is out 💙🎵💙

Recorded over just a single day at Auckland’s @lab_studios_nz The Soft Chaos is a project I put together with the amazing @joekaptein on crazy analog synths and the incredible @elijah_whyte drums. I also produced and mixed this album and for me personally, it’s a record I have been wanting to make for a long, long time.

The term Soft Chaos came from an interview I read with one of my favourite writers - Haruki Murakami - when he was describing his creative writing process and this term clicked for me…soft not in sound or loudness but a softness of approach when improvising and creating with other musicians. And there always has to be chaos somewhere going on in the creative process as out of that comes the real stuff.

I formed this band with Joe and Elijah about 3 years ago as I wanted to explore a more collaborative and live approach to music making and this album is a result of us doing our thing live and in real time and it was captured amazingly well by Oli at the Lab. There’s even some first takes in there! No room to hide and no time for second guessing, this was us putting it down as honestly as we could. It was also FUN and playing with these 2 dudes is really something. It keeps me exploring and hungry and I have to keep reaching for those extra notes and phrases as otherwise these guys will kick my ass!

If you’ve read this far swipe along and you’ll see us playing live @jazzauckland

Hit the link in bio to get the album on vinyl and please support us on Bandcamp!

This album is distributed by @rushhourmusic so also check your local record store

Big thanks to Jason Cambridge for the fantastic master @zenithmastering Alessia @language_of_sound and @antalheitlager @rushhourmusic Rush Hour Distribution and also @sambro_south for the sick design , @jaimiewebsterhaines for the pics and Zoot for the cool drawings + Peter Lee for filming by @joekaptein

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We are delighted to announce the forthcoming vinyl release of Joe Kaptein “Live at The Upside Down Lounge Vol.1” via Music First and Jandal Records in collaboration with Holiday Records.
Recorded live at Goblin on Wednesday 27th May to celebrate the first anniversary of his Upside Down Lounge residency, this album captures the magic that Joe and his rotating cast of musicians have created and helped build over the past year. The album features Hank Trenton, George Brajkovich, Ruby Fainaa and special guest Nathan Haines, and was recorded live by Tom Healy, and mastered at Downbeat Mastering.
This Wednesday 30th September, we are going to have a playback session of the record in advance of the album being released to the world next week!
Album playback begins at 7.30pm followed by Joe Kaptein playing live, his final Upside Down Lounge appearance for a couple of months before he goes globe trotting!
We will have QR codes for album pre-orders on the night.
Keep the Music First! X by @joekaptein

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19 days ago

An honour to support @hiatuskaiyote during their Aotearoa tour alongside my <3 ☯️☯️☯️ also my debut album turned 1 yesterday… what an epic journey it has been and thank you to everyone involved.

Tq bestie @annikaranii for the pic & @taliarosevintage for the dream dress! by @joekaptein

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a month ago

New tune from Bikes In Space out now 'Electricity' - the joint project of @joekaptein and @jocrayford double-keyboards-improvised-space-junk-synth-jazz-experimental-groove ensemble. This tune a sneaky slice of kosmiche keyboard krautrock, plucked from a gig last year, featuring the wonderful @juliendyne on drums and percussion. From the upcoming album 'Live On Planet Earth', released later this year on Jandal. Check it on Bandcamp or YouTube or Spotify or wherever you get your music. Link in bio.

Plus! Bikes In Space are also playing music at Goblin in Ponsonby the next two Wednesdays, 19th and 26th August, 8-10pm, free entry, with Chris O'Connor on drums.

Recorded and spontaneously composed live 14 June 2025.
Jonathan Crayford - Rhodes, Bullfrog, Muse, Grandmother, effects
Joe Kaptein - Clavinet, Micro Preset, CS-5, HP-70, dub siren, effects, additional editing
Julien Dyne - drums, cymbals, additional percussion

Recorded and mixed by Steve Garden.
Mastered by @andrewisdale
Cover artwork by Seb Hart @beingseb taken in Planet Earth by @joekaptein

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2 months ago

A stripped back version of ’Bloom‘ the first track from my album, made with my best friends. I’m playing the 葫芦丝，a traditional Chinese instrument made with a gourd and bamboo, the first instrument I learned how to play on. On Bandcamp! Full vid on YouTube x

@joekaptein on Rhodes
@harri_harps on Harp
Filmed by @kc.yoo
Lighting, edit and 葫芦丝 by Cc @cryddlefilm

#nzmusic #soul #jazz #rhodes #harp by @joekaptein

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4 months ago

Setting up for Bikes In Space recording. Watch this (bikes in) space…. @fromthenoisefloor @djguestspeaker by @joekaptein

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4 months ago

Setting up for Big Foot vinyl album release with @jocrayford @cave_circles @mfuentesdrum @lisatomlins tonight and tomorrow night on K Rd @fromthenoisefloor - handful of tickets left online - keyboard madness - get a copy of this wwwWICKED record and hear it in real life this weekend only!!! @crayonrecordsnz by @joekaptein

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5 months ago

This time last year, as we settled into Winter, we discussed what to do with midweeks at the venue we book acts for in the heart of Ponsonby, Goblin. With fond memories of The Circling Sun residency that occurred up the road at PSC, We thought that a mid-week jazz night was something that had been missing from the Tāmaki Makaurau landscape, especially in Ponsonby.

Having heard a rough mix of the now-released Circling Sun “Orbits” album which featured him heavily - Joe Kaptein seemed like a natural successor to this legacy. Joe has an affinity for everything from avant garde jazz to Burt Bacharach; Charles Stepney to the Doobie Brothers. It made sense for him to have his own night where he could develop and experiment with a rotating cast of exceptional local musicians. Over the past year, The Upside Down Lounge has built a cult following that means Wednesdays at Goblin draw a passionate audience of listeners, jazz heads and hip cats!

Live recordings have a strong heritage within jazz music and are some of our most cherished albums, so we decided it would be a wonderful way to celebrate not only NZ music month, but also our partnership with Goblin to try and capture some of that magic and put it on our favourite format: a vinyl record! Also, it marks almost a year to the day since the Upside Down Lounge started - Cosmic!

After a couple of quick chats with our pals at Holidays Records, we are delighted to have joined forces with not only them, but Joe’s label Jandal Records to capture “Joe Kaptein: Live at The Upside Lounge”. The recording will take place on Wednesday 27 May, and the record will be pressed subsequently.

Secure your ticket now to be a part of this live recording and hear some magic being bottled
Limited tickets available and all proceeds will go towards covering the costs of recording and production. Attendees will have first access to the pre-sale of the record once announced.

Keep the Music First! by @joekaptein

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5 months ago

#livepost #allblacks by @joekaptein

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7 months ago

JANDAL1001LIVE - BIKES IN SPACE - Live at Somethin' Else 2026 - out now on Bandcamp!

Jonathan Crayford and Joe Kaptein introduce their project Bikes In Space, an electronic vintage keyboards and drums driven fully improvised psychedelic groove space junk ensemble that sounds like what it might be like to be in the brain of Philip K Dick, Ursula Le Guin or Margaret St Clair - except more. Maybe a sonic smoothie of certain elements of Silver Apples, Can, Weather Report, Andy Kaufman, and Rodney Dangerfield. Decide for yourself.

Each and every Bikes In Space gig is a plunge into the unknown, enhanced and elevated by the exciting unpredictability of a different drummer for each performance. This unedited, instantaneously composed set was recorded live at the Aotea Centre, in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland, with Chris O'Connor @djguestspeaker featuring on the drums on this occasion. It was captured on stereo room mics, to accurately transport any future listeners straight back to the moment of the gig - and was described by audience members on the day as various things from "magical" to "a mindfuck".

Bikes In Space have a forthcoming album out on LP/digital later in 2026 on Jandal Records, a hybrid live album featuring a selection of performances and instant compositions from gigs across 2025-2026. Stay tuned.

SWIPE for some snippet samples ......

Jonathan Crayford - Rhodes, Bullfrog, Muse, Grandmother
Joe Kaptein - Rhodes, Pianet, Clavinet, Mellotron, CS-5
Chris O'Connor - drums and cymbals

Recorded by @jocrayford and @joekaptein
Mastered by @andrewisdale
Cover design by Joe Kaptein.
Photography by Frances Chan.

Performed, composed and recorded 6th Feb at Aotea Square as part of the Somethin' Else Jazz Festival 2026. Thanks to Nathan Graves and Hudge. by @joekaptein

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8 months ago