Coco SolidCoco Solid

Coco Solid (Ngāphuhi/Sāmoan) is a multi-media artist who writes, raps, makes music and art. In between freelance and community projects Hansell is working on her animated webseries ‘Aroha Bridge’, a comic/poetry book about food and race, and a feature length project for Piki Films. She is the founder of Equalise My Vocals, a series of events and stories based around the experiences of women, trans, gender diverse and non-binary musicians.

Equalise My Vocals: A Retrospective

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After last month’s Equalise My Vocals events on gender equality in music, Coco Solid reflects on the project and shares video and audio of the panel discussions. Equalise My Vocals was a project about everyone being treated fairly within all factions of New Zealand music. That’s it. Over a year in the making, the project – … Read more

‘Colonisation is still dominating our culture’: Sarsha-Leigh Douglas on Māori identity and wahine power

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As part of Equalise My Vocals, a new Spinoff project focusing on equality in the music community, Coco Solid speaks with musician and multi-disciplinary punk Sarsha-Leigh Douglas. Sarsha-Leigh Douglas (Ngāti Maru, Te Arawa, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Kahungunu) is a local punk icon with an array of bands, underground projects and achievements under her heavy belt. … Read more

‘Hell yes I’d be happier with more wahine around me’: What it’s like to be an audio engineer and a woman

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As part of Equalise My Vocals, a new Spinoff project focusing on equality in the music community, Coco Solid speaks with musician and audio engineer Jana Whitta.  Jana Whitta (Ngāti Kahungunu) is a local audio engineering/music community overachiever who has seen and literally heard it all. Her journey in music has taken her from a teen … Read more

‘Some people treat you like toilet water’ – What it’s like to be a K’ Rd bartender

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As part of Equalise My Vocals, a new Spinoff project focusing on equality in the music community, Coco Solid speaks with Auckland musician and bar-keep Dorian Noval.  Raised in the Philippines as a child, Dorian Noval’s family moved from the city of Cebu to New Zealand when she was ten. Coming of age in Wellington … Read more

‘Everyone wants to shake they ass’: Fully Explicit, a club night for the queer community, people of colour and all genders

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As part of Equalise My Vocals, a new Spinoff project focusing on equality in the music community, Coco Solid speaks with the DJs behind Auckland club night Fully Explicit. Fully Explicit is a monthly club night held in Britomart, downtown Auckland. Free to the public, the night specialises in club bangers, explicit rap and R&B (of … Read more

‘In all honesty it’s a hostile environment’: A music promoter on kicking down the boys’ club doors

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As part of Equalise My Vocals, a new Spinoff project focusing on equality in the music community, Coco Solid speaks with Marie Celeste Lawrence about her work as a promoter, event manager and musician. In Auckland, Marie Celeste Lawrence is a fixture within the male dominated worlds of event management and music promotion. A music … Read more

Equalise My Vocals: ‘People want a reward for ticking the boxes … That’s not going to cut it. That’s not equality.’

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As part of Equalise My Vocals, a new Spinoff project focusing on equality in the music community, Coco Solid speaks with Jessie Moss about her research on gendered participation in the music industry. Jessie Moss is an educator, musician, writer and Te Reo Māori enthusiast who lives in Newtown, Wellington, with her partner and two … Read more

Equalise My Vocals: An update on Coco Solid’s campaign to fix NZ music’s gender problem

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An update from Coco Solid on Equalise My Vocals, a new project focusing on gender equality in the music community. Ngā mihi nui! Firstly I’d like to thank everyone, including The Spinoff, for supporting the Equalise My Vocals crowdfunder to get this mini-summit off the ground. Gender equality in New Zealand music is something we … Read more

Announcing Equalise My Vocals: A conversation about gender inequality in NZ music

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Coco Solid and The Spinoff wants to have an actual conversation about gender equality in New Zealand music. That’s why we’ve teamed up to launch a new project focusing on sexism and sexual assault in the music community – and we’re inviting you to get involved. Writing was always the more traditional interest of mine, … Read more

Build a bridge and get over it: Coco Solid on why making a cartoon is both hard and magical

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Coco Solid reflects on the state of adult animation and representation in New Zealand, and reveals the inspirations and motivations behind her own animated web series Aroha Bridge. Friends hate picking movies with me because they know my preferences. I’m one of those ageless hams who love cartoons, generally any type. I watch them all the … Read more