A pioneering New Zealand voice, a neighbour, and not finished yet. Ahead of the 20-year anniversary concert for his great album, Michelle Langstone talks to Che ‘Fu’ Ness. Portraits by Edith Amituanai. I lived next door to Che Fu for a year when I was a Uni student. It was in between his breakthrough debut … Read more
Some of our strongest solo hip hop acts have formed a supergroup: BLKCITY. Jonique Purcell talks to its five members about changing the landscape. Within recent years the names Raiza Biza, JessB, Abdul Kay, Blaze The Emperor and Mo Muse have become synonymous with Aotearoa’s simmering hip hop scene. Last year, after recording Raiza Biza’s … Read more
Music has long been used as a balm to soothe the pain of a broken heart, but, as Sherry Zhang explains, not just any old soundtrack will do. Valentine’s Day is the time for it. Other than the weeks leading up to Christmas, no other time spurs on the “it’s not you, it’s me” convo … Read more
From pop-punk frontman to big-name producer, Joel Little’s musical career has followed a rare trajectory. A new Audioculture feature traces his path – here are a few of the highlights. The early years Joel Little’s introduction to the New Zealand music industry came as the frontperson of pop-punk band Goodnight Nurse in the early 2000s. … Read more
In the new episode of Final Mix, music journalist Yadana Saw takes Anna Coddington out to road test songs from her new album Beams. Along the way the kōrero moves from te reo journeys to sexism in the music industry. Anna Coddington’s song ‘Night Class’ describes a uniquely Māori experience – taking night classes in … Read more
From 2000 to 2007, the party drug BZP was legal to buy and available from your local dairy. What happened? ‘This is what movies say drugs are like,” says Jim*, remembering how he felt when he took six party pills in one night. He was a musician, student, and regular drug taker – he’d munted … Read more
On Sunday, Stuff published a months-long investigation by Alison Mau detailing allegations of harassment and exploitation within the local music industry. The piece, ‘Music industry professionals demand change after speaking out about its dark side’, includes allegations of inappropriate behaviour and abuse of power by male artists, international acts and executives; the men named are … Read more
Duncan Greive and Leonie Hayden were young hip hop heads and music journalists during the era captured in a new documentary about the rise and fall of South Auckland hip hop label Dawn Raid. Here they discuss the film and their memories (what’s left of them) of that time. Duncan Greive: It’s great to see … Read more
We are drowning out the natural world with synthetic sounds, and it’s getting worse, writes Michelle Langstone. It used to be quiet once. Remember that? Remember the hush that settled over the cities like the silence that comes down in a snowstorm? It’s less than a year since Aotearoa first locked down, and the unexpected … Read more
Wellington artist Estère isn’t just breaking boundaries, she’s dissecting them. Maddi Rowe spoke to her about her new album, Archetypes. “That’s the story of pelicans, they’ll stab themselves in the heart to feed their young.” Despite the somewhat dark subject matter, Estère Dalton’s eyes sparkle with fascination. We’ve met to discuss Archetypes, her third solo … Read more
Joel Little with Lorde, Dera Meelan with Church & AP, Josh Fountain with Maala and Randa and Benee – producers make good songs great. Now a new fund from NZ on Air is putting the focus on them. Six months ago it looked like the music industry was on the brink of collapse. Independent venues … Read more
If you’ve been on social media this week, you may well have come across a surge in interest in sea shanties. We asked a veteran of the style why. In case you missed it, soon may the Wellerman come, to bring us sugar and tea and rum. If that sentence is even remotely comprehensible to … Read more
Summer reissue: To see someone like us – a band geek, a joyful dancer, a plus size beauty – being unapologetically who she is, is powerful. Applying that to your own life for the better is precious. And then she gives you a shout-out on the radio? Beautiful. First published January 20, 2020. Last week … Read more
Summer reissue: Last December, Side Eye cartoonist Toby Morris joined The Beths in the studio while they recorded ‘Just Shy of Sure’ off their 2020 album Jump Rope Gazers. First published July 10, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click … Read more
Summer reissue: In the last year, Benee has taken the world – or at least TikTok – by storm with her viral hit singles ‘Glitter’ and ‘Supalonely’. Ahead of her debut album release, the young star spoke to Elle Hunt about going international from her Auckland home. First published November 13, 2020. This time last … Read more
Summer reissue: If you’ve listened to New Zealand music from the last decade-and-a-half, chances are you’ve heard the influences of Josh Fountain. He has collaborated with Benee on a string of hits. He’s just collected the Aotearoa Music Award for producer of the year for the second year running. And he’s achieved it all with … Read more
Summer reissue: In the first episode of Melodownz’ new show, Kava Corner, John Campbell got a bit lit on kava, and it was utterly bloody delightful. First published August 18, 2020. Watching John Campbell do just about anything is guaranteed to make your day a bit better. His calm, empathetic style has been a balm … Read more
Summer reissue: In the latest episode of Final Mix, Yadana Saw and The Phoenix Foundation’s Samuel Flynn Scott road test new songs from the band’s forthcoming album Friend Ship. First published August 31, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click … Read more
Summer reissue: In Final Mix, music journalist Yadana Saw chats with local musicians and listens to their latest tracks in the ultimate testing ground: the car. This episode is with young-gun hip-hop duo Church & AP. First published April 14, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism … Read more
Summer reissue: In Final Mix, music journalist Yadana Saw chats with local musicians and listens to their latest tracks in the ultimate testing ground: the car. The first episode is with cross-Atlantic country maven Tami Neilson. First published April 1, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism … Read more
After a three-year wait, Imugi 이무기 have just released their sophomore EP, Dragonfruit. Matt McAuley caught up with the Auckland band to learn what they’ve been up to since their 2017 debut. Attending Rangitoto College on Auckland’s North Shore in the mid-2010s, Yery Cho and Carl Ruwhiu first entered each other’s orbits mostly because they’d … Read more
On the back of the arrival of his debut album late last month, we caught up with the fast-rising young New Zealand artist to learn how it came together and what’s led him to this point. Niko Walters grew up immersed in music, but it wasn’t until he left the country that he found himself … Read more
Imagine a raucous garage party, with better talent, lighting and sound: welcome to the Modern Māori Quartet’s new show at Auckland’s Civic. There are many lessons to learn from 2020, but if there’s one I hope sticks, it’s the lesson to not to take shit for granted. Seize the day, seize the minute, seize the … Read more
Beams is Anna Coddington’s fourth solo outing, and her first since the acclaimed Luck/Time dropped in 2016. We asked her to explain what’s changed since then, and what inspired this new batch of songs. 1. Motherhood (Part 1: Sleep Deprivation) Before I became a parent, I thought I’d be okay with being tired. I’m a … Read more
Linda Burgess on the soundtrack to her life. We drove up to Auckland last month. Our darling Edward, who, if suddenly out of sight, could well be found waving from the roof, was turning four. Unlike the time before, we weren’t turned back at Havelock North, when our phones, and the phones of the friends … Read more
Can we ever get enough of Dolly Parton? The answer is no. Dolly Parton is everywhere right now. Put the TV on and you’ll see the award-winning actor, writer and singer shimmering back at you, radiant with yuletide joy as the star of a new Netflix movie. Turn on the wireless and you’ll hear her … Read more
Six60: Till the Lights Go Out tracks the wildly successful Dunedin band’s evolution from three guitars at UniCol to selling out Western Springs. I was at 660 Castle St some time around the turn of the last decade when I first saw Matiu Walters. Someone pointed him out to me: solemn-looking, standing on a box … Read more
Before Splore, there was a South Island music festival that celebrated ‘unity through diversity’ in the final years of the 20th century. In this piece originally published on AudioCulture, Gary Steel tells the tale of The Gathering. To paraphrase a famous hippie festival homily, if you can remember it you probably weren’t there. Despite its … Read more
Four Auckland POC women have kicked aside the old bros’ club to create three Auckland club nights that represent the power of music, culture and dance. Makanaka Tuwe talks to JessB, Yordi and Half Queen for Ensemble. It was 2008, just before the bell for morning tea rang, when I dropped down, squatted and flashed … Read more