A recent review by 13thfloor.co.nz of a Pachyman set at Whammy celebrated the way Pachy used his magic sound to "immediately create a space nobody wanted to leave". We didn't want him to leave either, so we're bringing him back to Aotearoa this January. On Sunday 24 January he takes over Pōneke's hallowed San Fran for a double header with Trans-Tasman supergroup The Lahaar.

Over four albums, Pachyman has proven himself a dedicated craftsman in the lineage of dub reggae. He has mastered the methods of King Tubby and Scientist: vintage gear, glorious walls of sound, and an intuitive grasp of the power of repetition. Since his triumphant last visit in early 2025, Pachy "Pachyman" Garcia has released what critics are calling his most adventurous record yet, the dubtastic Another Place. On it he brings together the many scenes that have recontextualised dub, from the synth-pop of William Onyeabor and Yellow Magic Orchestra to Basic Channel's amniotic dub techno. With even stronger Latin flavours running through his sublime Lovers Rock and Studio One-inspired sounds, this will be a supercharged version of the Pachyman shows we've seen before.

Standing toe to toe with him are The Lahaar. The band brings together some of the brightest lights of the Australian and New Zealand jazz and electronic soul scenes: Julien Dyne, Horatio Luna and Lachlan Stuckey (Surprise Chef), and a revolving cast featuring members of Fat Freddy's Drop, The Circling Sun and Avantdale Bowling Club. Their self-titled debut on the UK's Soundway Records draws on late-'70s New York proto-rap disco instrumentals, Nigerian boogie, Jamaican dub and vintage cop-movie funk. Live, they're a full-blown big band of horns, flutes, vibraphone and congas, moving from high-energy percussive dance-floor heat into deep, meditative dub. It's the perfect match for Pachy's dubwise science.

Two headline acts and one very big night. Don't sleep on it.

"Pachyman is not to be slept on" – Aquarium Drunkard

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