To celebrate the eighth season of this local institution, Hussein Moses goes behind the scenes of the series putting New Zealand rappers to the test. David Dallas is waiting. It’s mid-morning on a weekday in May and as he sits in the control room of Red Bull Music Studio Auckland, a camera crew sets up … Read more
Jogai Bhatt talks to Abdul Kay, a young Auckland rapper who rose quickly from obscurity only to go silent, about his comback single ‘September Freestyle’. By this time last year, Abdul Kay had already caught the attention of the local hip-hop scene. With a co-sign from industry heavyweight David Dallas, the newcomer was able to … Read more
Yesterday, Jogai Bhatt talked with the people behind creative collective Nah Zone. Today, she talks with one of its closest musical collaborators, Church & AP. Church & AP is a rap duo comprised of Elijah Manu (Church), Nah Zone’s head writer, and Albert Purcell, the younger brother of Nah Zone’s founding director Jonique Purcell. The … Read more
Jogai Bhatt talks to the talent behind Nah Zone, a new underground collective showcasing music, writing and art on the internet and in the club. There’s no shortage of young talent in Aotearoa – it’s just a matter of keeping your ear to the ground. This is the ethos embodied by Nah Zone, an ambitious … Read more
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
Square Dance Discotheque, a silent disco presented by Spark and Spotify, is set to be the hottest dancefloor in Auckland this weekend – and certainly the most interactive. So you’re not completely unprepared, here are five guaranteed bangers from David Dallas and Shapeshifter’s playlists. One hand raised vertically, the other placed horizontally on top, together … Read more
On the first day of New Zealand Music Month, Max Tetlow introduces a new monthly round-up of some of the best things to happen in New Zealand music in the previous month. Unknown Mortal Orchestra drop Sex & Food ahead of a world tour This album made headlines for two reasons. First, it’s very good. Second, during … Read more
Earlier this week, the ‘handpicked’ support acts for Lorde’s New Zealand tour were announced. In case you weren’t up with all of them, Lauren Spring has made you a playlist. New Zealand’s high priestess of pop is coming home for a string of shows in early November, supporting her sophomore album Melodrama. She recently announced … Read more
Henry Oliver rants and raves about the 2017 New Zealand Music Awards finalists then lists them all at the end. They got it (mostly) right The names you see most on the list – SWIDT (six nominations), Lorde (five) and Aldous Harding (four) – made the best albums in New Zealand in the last year, … Read more
The Spinoff Music team review albums from David Dallas, Gorillaz, John Mayer and Craig Finn. ALBUM OF THE WEEK David Dallas – Hood Country Club D.Dot grows up gracefully Aging gracefully in the world of rap has never been easy, especially not in New Zealand. Name an artist that has come anywhere close to longevity and there’s guaranteed … 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
The Spinoff and Spark proudly present Pod On The Couch, a weekly podcast exploring music and the people that make it. This episode: Kate Robertson and Matthew McAuley join host Henry Oliver to talk about recent new releases. Spinoff Music editor Henry Oliver talks to contributing critics Kate Robertson and Matthew McAuley about new music from Lorde, … Read more
It’s not just Lorde releasing hot singles today. The Spinoff Music critics are divided over David Dallas’ latest, ‘Fit In’. Robyn Gallagher Yes, Ddot. This is what getting older feels like. ‘Fit In’ doesn’t have the sound of super-edgy hip hop from 2017, but it doesn’t have to. The lyrics provide Dallas with a clever … 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
Duncan Greive interviews David Dallas about his furious new single ‘Don’t Rate That’. David Dallas might have the most consistent trajectory in New Zealand hip hop. He’d established an instantly familiar style, and spent his last couple of albums polishing it, crafting huge hooks and eyeing up the America. It worked out pretty well by him: he got … Read more