Auckland live music is booming, actually

Despite what some critics claim, there isn’t a ‘gig problem’ in Auckland, writes Josie Adams. You just need to look beyond indie rock. There are around 20 gig spaces in Auckland’s CBD. Over a three-day period last month, Whammy Bar alone hosted the Laneway afterparty, the bFM anniversary weekend party, and an Eartheater show. The … Read more

Making space on the dancefloor: Friendly Potential want to change club culture

The Auckland-based collective talk origins, ambitions and making the rave accessible to everybody. Friendly Potential is an outfit that defies easy summary. They’re among the country’s most ambitious and prolific club promoters. In their almost five-years of operation, they’ve been responsible for the local debuts of electronic music icons including Detroit techno godfather Omar-S, Siberian … Read more

DJ duo Optimo: Krautrock and techno and disco! Oh my!

Optimo, the Glaswegian DJ duo of JD Twitch and JG Wilkes, are a byword for open-minded, anything-goes club nights, their sets incorporating anything from mutant disco to krautrock, techno to samba, industrial to ‘Dueling Banjos’ and John Carpenter themes. Stevie Kaye talks to the duo ahead of their return to New Zealand this weekend. Founded … Read more