Henry Oliver talks to Denver McCarthy, who made perhaps New Zealand’s best techno album nearly 20 years ago. In 1998, a 20-year-old Denver McCarthy released perhaps New Zealand’s best techno album, Inside a Quiet Mind, on Kog Transmissions. It was a more-than-promising debut for a young producer, combining dancefloor-ready four-to-the-floor bass drums with ethereal, introverted synths. … Read more
Ahead of his four New Zealand solo shows starting this week in Auckland, singer/guitarist Steve Gunn discusses the decline of the mom and pop guitar store, childhood buddy Kurt Vile, and the colourful characters and misadventures of his youth. While laconic musicians playing lo-fi rock will never totally go out of style, popular culture has … Read more
Last week, after seeing her first four singles rack up a combined 9 million plays on Spotify, Christchurch’s Theia released her first EP. She spoke to Henry Oliver on the eve of her first New Zealand tour. New Zealand pop acts just seem to appear out of nowhere these days. It’s not uncommon for someone … Read more
To commemorate 20 years since Fugazi’s tour of New Zealand, Henry Oliver presents an excerpt from his 1997 interview with Ian MacKaye and some never before seen photos of the tour by Amber Easby. Twenty years ago today, Fugazi played the last show of what would be their final New Zealand tour at Caledonian Hall … Read more
Ten years ago, HBO screened the first episode of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement’s Flight of the Conchords. And look, there, sitting outside that shop. Isn’t that Spinoff music editor Henry Oliver? If it’s 10 years since the first episode of Flight of the Conchords aired in the US, that means it must be about 11 years … Read more
Henry Oliver reviews L$D Fundraiser’s new album StreetNOISE, which led to a sizeable section of Dunedin’s CBD being shut down after a cassette copy was mistaken for a bomb by a concerned citizen. ‘When There’s Nothing Else To Lose’, the first half of L$D Fundraiser’s new album, StreetNOISE, begins with a gentle sweet of repeating … Read more
Lorde: Behind the Melodrama, an 11 episode track-by-track podcast interview with Lorde about her new album is out now. Spinoff Music editor Henry Oliver introduces the series. Read our definitive review of Melodrama here and our interview with Lorde about her return to the stage at Coachella here. Over two afternoons in May, I sat in the … Read more
Paula Bennett is reportedly keen to see tipping introduced to New Zealand. Henry Oliver explains why this is a terrible, terrible, terrible idea. There’s a lot to love about eating out in the US. The food is usually fatty, salty, sweet and delicious. And the portions are fucking huge. But there’s a downside too. When you … Read more
A couple of years ago Aldous Harding was just another New Zealand folk musician. Then she found a fierce voice, and started playing a string of mesmerising live performances which now have her on the cusp of international stardom. Henry Oliver sat down with her to try and find out what sparked her transformation. Aldous … Read more
As TechWeek’17 comes to an end, Henry Oliver spoke to national director Jennifer Clamp about what she’s learned from the newer and bigger 2017 event. TechWeek’17 has wrapped up after 173 events in 24 towns across the country. Branching out from an Auckland-focused week last year, TechWeek’17 went national, with events even being held in Mahia, … Read more
At Techweek’17, over breakfast baps and muesli cups, Henry Oliver looked into the future. Of money. In the ASB cube in Wynyard Quarter, upstairs from an enormous version of Michael Parekowhai’s Six60 cover art (jokes – it’s called ‘Achy Breaky Heart’ and it’s cool), a room full of young bankers in smart casual, ex-bankers in … Read more
Next week is Techweek’17! So if you’re planning on attending one of the 100+ events across the country, but don’t know your pivots from your MVPs because you’re not in scrum sprints and hackathons in your everyday life, we’ve got you covered. Here are the 13 words and phrases you’re most likely to hear, explained! … Read more
Over lunch at Balmoral Chinese restaurant Spicy House, Henry Oliver asks David Dallas about how growing older, getting married and watching Roger Federer all influenced his new album, Hood Country Club. This has been the longest gap between albums for you, right? Everyone’s saying that. It doesn’t seem as long as it is, but when … Read more
In her first New Zealand interview since the release of ‘Green Light’, Lorde talks about her return to the stage at Coachella last weekend, Melodrama‘s surprisingly traditional roll-out, and what the deal is with the party tank. On Easter weekend Lorde played her first major show in nearly three years, sub-headlining the main stage at … Read more
Henry Oliver talks to Emily Edrosa, the creative force behind Street Chant, whose second album Hauora won the Taite Music Prize this week. On Tuesday night, Street Chant won the 2017 Taite Music Prize for their second album Hauora. The band’s singer/guitarist/songwriter/producer/etc, Emily Edrosa, was in Los Angeles where she has lived since shortly after the … Read more
A new report from Recorded Music NZ shows two years of growing revenues after 15 years of decline. But not everyone is convinced the news is as good as it seems. New figures released by Recorded Music NZ show that in 2016, the New Zealand music industry increased by 16% to $86 million, up from … Read more
From his home in Mt Eden, Paul Crowther makes one of the best distortion pedals in the world. Henry Oliver asks him how he does it. The first distortion pedal I ever wanted was a Boss DS-1. But only because I knew that Kurt Cobain used one and I was learning guitar by playing his … Read more
With stores closing and the sales never ending, it has to be asked – what’s going on with New Zealand’s fastest growing fashion brand? Things aren’t looking good for I Love Ugly. The Auckland-based men’s streetwear brand, which in fewer than ten years has grown from a one-person operation run out of a closet to … Read more
Mitch James spent two years busking and playing open mic nights around Europe, sleeping in hostels and on park benches, before getting signed to Sony. Henry Oliver asks him how he did it, and what songs make buskers the most money. Mitch James, a 21-year-old Auckland singer/songwriter has released two singles after being signed by … Read more
Coldly objective music journalist Henry Oliver DMs two Lorde superfans who run Lorde news-related Twitter feeds. Spoiler: they’re fairly excited. @Lorde_fix @Lordedaily The Spinoff’s music content is brought to you by our friends at Spark. Listen to all the music you love on Spotify Premium, it’s free on all Spark’s Pay Monthly Mobile plans. Sign up … Read more
Arriving out of a clear blue sky during the 7pm news/soaps came a maddeningly short slice of the first single from Lorde’s second album, out this Friday, 3 March. Lorde previewed the first single from her forthcoming album across New Zealand’s major TV channels on Monday night. Here’s everything we know: It’s upbeat, got cool house … Read more
Next month, Spark presents Seamless, an all ages show at Auckland’s Tuning Fork. Henry Oliver talked to headliner, and winner of Best Male Solo Artist at last year’s VNZMAs, MAALA. The Spinoff: So you released an album last year, have just finished a run of festivals and have a new single out. What are you up to … Read more
Henry Oliver talks to Savage about getting his songs on big Hollywood movies, outlasting so many of his New Zealand hip hop contemporaries and why he’s not interested in recording any more albums. Two weeks ago, during the Super Bowl, over 110 million people heard a minute of ‘Push’, a year-and-a-half-old song that Savage, perhaps … Read more
While walking through the Volume: Making Music in Aotearoa exhibition at the Auckland Museum, Henry Oliver thought to himself: which decade had the best music? Rather than telling you his answer, he’s asking for yours. Final Round: which decade is definitively The Best? First, the results from last week’s vote: Top seed, the 2000s, continued it’s … Read more
While walking through the Volume: Making Music in Aotearoa exhibition at the Auckland Museum, Henry Oliver thought to himself: which decade had the best music? Rather than telling you his answer, he’s asking for yours. This week, round two: only the strong decades survive. The votes are in, the first round is over. Time to … Read more
While walking through the Volume: Making Music in Aotearoa exhibition at the Auckland Museum, Henry Oliver thought to himself: which decade had the best music? Rather than telling you his answer, he’s asking for yours. We, as both high-functioning mammals and low-functioning music fans, love to categorise things. Years, decades, generations, eras and genres are … Read more
Henry Oliver talks to Mick Jenkins, playing at this month’s Laneway Festival, about his new album and his capacity for love and optimism in the face of a Trump presidency. On his debut album, The Healing Component, Mick Jenkins investigates the meaning of love – romantic and otherwise – and places his optimism in its … Read more
Henry Oliver watches the award-winning series Mozart in the Jungle, one of the lighter offerings from an era of often-traumatic Peak TV. Things are getting dark in this Golden Age of Television. ‘Drama’ is now a synonym for existential dread, bloody violence and sexual assault. ‘Comedy’ is now a synonym for existential dread, relationship problems … Read more
Henry Oliver sits down with Connan Mockasin and Liam Finn ahead of their collaborative performance, with Lawrence Arabia, at Wondergarden, a new music festival in Auckland this New Year’s Eve. The Spinoff: Have you been preparing musically or do you just need to be mentally prepared? Liam Finn: We’ve been preparing via email and text … Read more