Martyn PepperellMartyn Pepperell

Martyn Pepperell is a freelance writer, broadcaster and DJ from Wellington, New Zealand.

Dictaphone Blues: ‘We’ll all end up at the Grey Lynn RSC playing as 50-year-olds. That would be success’

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Martyn Pepperell talks to Dictaphone Blues’s Ed Castelow on Tinder, synths and redefining indie success.  Auckland singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and studio tinkerer Ed Castelow has been a regular fixture on stages around New Zealand and Australia since the mid-2000s, playing in bands like degrees.k, The Ruby Suns, The Brunettes, Anthonie Tonnon and The Conjurors, and his own … Read more

Girlboss show there are second acts in indie rock lives

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Martyn Pepperell talks to Girlboss about the transition from Christchurch to Wellington – and from music’s blog-era to its playlist-era. It’s a warm Tuesday evening. Inside a warehouse practice space in Newtown, Wellington, Lucy Botting, the lead songwriter of breezy guitar-pop band Girlboss and her bandmates – Darian Woods, Douglas Kelly, and Olivia Campion – … Read more

R&B singer-songwriter Villette: ‘I’ll do whatever the fuck it takes’

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Martyn Pepperell talks to R&B and neo-soul singer-songwriter Villette about making it from the Mad Butcher to Los Angeles. “You have to decide what you want out of music,” says Villette Dasha, better known under the mononym Villette, when we meet in Auckland on a warm afternoon in April. A Samoan-Chinese singer, songwriter and producer … Read more

Wellington electronica act Groeni: ‘I feel like I have come back to life’

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Martyn Pepperell talks to Alexander Green of Wellington electronica act Groeni about their new album, Nihx, and new sandwich and coffee shop, Good Boy. At the end of March, Groeni, the vocal electronica project of Wellington musicians Alexander Green, James Paul, and Mike Isaacs, released their debut album Nihx. Around the same time, Groeni members Green … Read more

Folk singer Julie Byrne: ‘Music is a space where I don’t have to conceal my pain’

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Martyn Pepperell talks to American folk-singer and park ranger Julie Byrne before her two shows with Nadia Reid in Christchurch this weekend. In August last year, I was lucky enough to watch folk singer, songwriter and guitarist Julie Byrne perform a blissed-out daytime set at Finland’s Flow Festival in Helsinki. While traces of folk titans … Read more

How Noah Slee’s new album saved him from himself

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Berlin-based Tongan-New Zealand musician Noah Slee talks to Martyn Pepperell ahead of his appearance at Laneway Festival next week. “It’s great when people pick up on certain lines in my songs,” says Noah Slee. The singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and electronic music producer is telling me how the relationship between his audience and his music has intensified … Read more

Jordan Rakei, the introverted multi-instrumentalist: ‘My only hurdle is shyness’

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Martyn Pepperell talks to New Zealand-born, Australia-raised vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Jordan Rakei about his shyness and his new album Wallflower, out now on Ninja Tune. “I have a friend who thinks that being an introvert just means you don’t need stimulation from other people,” says New Zealand-born, Australia-raised vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and producer Jordan Rakei … Read more

An enigma wrapped in a musician: A chat with Ben Lemi

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Martyn Pepperell hangs out at the library with musical polymath Ben Lemi to talk about Lemi’s debut solo EP as Courtesy Caller. “He’s quite an enigma,” muses Brooke Singer, the frontwoman of Wellington dream-pop band French For Rabbits. “Although I’ve known him for a few years, he is still a surprise. When you meet him, … Read more

Music is just whatever sounds you’re willing to hear as music: Jet Jaguar on his eclectic new album

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Martyn Pepperell talks to Jet Jaguar about his new album ‘Grounded’, the transportive power of field recordings, and the unreliability of memory. “I find it hard to relate to music critics or fans who only like music they see as some kind of direct personal outpouring of that musician’s thoughts and feelings,” explains Michael Upton, … Read more

How two artists on opposite sides of the planet fused electronics and Māori instrumentation on their new album

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Martyn Pepperell talks to Fis and Rob Thorne about their new album of trans-continental experimental collaboration, Clear Stones. “There is more to be experienced than can be seen with the eyes or spoken about with language,” muses Christchurch-raised electronic music composer Fis (Olly Peryman), speaking by video chat from Zaragoza, Spain. “Language is just a … Read more