Under Cover is a new series that brings musicians together via video link to bond, chat and play each other’s songs. The fifth episode features Troy Kingi and Warren Maxwell. Troy Kingi and Warren Maxwell have shared stages and many musical memories together. Kingi still cites opening for Maxwell’s band Trinity Roots at the Leigh … Read more
Oliver Tree is a semi-pro scooter athlete, a brilliant character actor, and a musician with a breadth of experience rare for any millennial. And he’s finally released an album. That skater-emo voice, those dirty pop beats, the tearing lyrics and absurdist videos – and then, out of nowhere, ska. Oliver Tree’s inspiration must come from … Read more
The 2020 longlist for the APRA Silver Scroll Awards – New Zealand’s premiere songwriting awards – have just been announced. Here’s the full list of the 20 finalists, with the songs themselves to listen to. This morning saw the announcement of the longlist for the APRA Silver Scroll, New Zealand’s most prestigious music award recognising … Read more
As yet more male-led festival lineups are announced, Shaquille Wasasala, aka halfqueen, writes an open letter to the industry. To those whose career it is booking talent for music festivals, punters, and people who listen to music. As a DJ and artist who exists at many intersections that directly inform my lens – booked artist … Read more
A new EP from an unknown Auckland singer ignited a bidding war before she’d released a single. Today ‘Call You Out’ is released, with eerie parallels to Lorde’s rise. Duncan Greive meets the artist known as Deryk. Madeline Bradley wasn’t expecting a lot. She’d been to dozens of these meetings over the past four years … Read more
Today The Beths release Jump Rope Gazers, the follow-up to their beloved and acclaimed debut album Future Me Hates Me. Back in December, Side Eye cartoonist Toby Morris joined the band in the studio while they recorded ‘Just Shy of Sure’, which you can listen to here: The Side Eye is a monthly non-fiction comic … Read more
With the world in lockdown, and a new album set for release, The Beths decided to keep playing live – from their living rooms. As the band prepare for their first show in front of a crowd in months, they tell Josie Adams the stories behind Live From ‘House’. When The Beths decided they wanted … Read more
Khruangbin have established their live reputation with spacious instrumentals, but the band’s third album, Mordechai, features prominent vocals and disco-funk jams. Andrew Drever interviews the Texas-based trio upon its release. While the Covid-19 pandemic continues to rage in the US, the situation has actually been a blessing in disguise for Khruangbin drummer Donald “DJ” Johnson … Read more
Under Cover is a new series that brings musicians together via video link to bond, chat, and play each other’s songs. The fourth episode features Sharon Van Etten and Hollie Fullbrook (Tiny Ruins). American singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten and New Zealander Hollie Fullbrook of Tiny Ruins found each other back in the MySpace days, but … Read more
As New Zealand’s musicians return to the concert hall, Richard Betts checks in with our classical music organisations for reasons to be cheerful. For a country that’s been shut since March, we’ve been surprisingly well-served by the performing arts. Most impressive was NZ Opera convincing TVNZ to broadcast a 2015 production of Puccini’s Tosca. So … Read more
A decade after ‘Young Blood’ was released, The Naked and Famous are still making hits. Thom Powers and Alisa Xayalith talk about their early years in Auckland, their present in locked-down LA, and how their new album was forged in between it all. A decade ago, there was a script musicians in New Zealand could … Read more
Under Cover is a new series that brings New Zealand musicians together via video link to bond, chat, and play each other’s songs. The third episode features Chelsea Jade and Liz Stokes. Liz Stokes (The Beths) and Chelsea Metcalf (Chelsea Jade) go way back. They were in the same guitar group in high school, just … Read more
Over the lockdown period, thousands of people joined a Facebook group dedicated to remembering the nightlife of inner-city Auckland. Its creator Simon Grigg explains why it touched a chord in lockdown. Within a few days of The Lost Nightlife of Inner-city Auckland Facebook page accidentally going live on May 12, we had several thousand members, … Read more
Blindspott’s self-titled debut album has just hit No 1 for the second time. Fiona Connor talks to the resurgent West Auckland band. Content with playing rock covers out of west Auckland garages, longtime friends Damian Alexander, Marcus Powell and Shelton Woolright never thought it was within their reach to write and release an album of … Read more
Lady Gaga’s sixth album, Chromatica, sees the popstar stepping back into big pop after the experiment that was Joanne, but at what cost, asks Sam Brooks. Since Lady Gaga’s last album, 2016’s critically shrugged off Joanne, the star has stepped as far away from her meat-dress persona as possible, collecting a Golden Globe and an … Read more
As part of a $175 million arts package, a new $7.5 million ‘Careers Support for Creative Jobseekers’ programme was announced today, building on ‘the most successful aspects’ of the former Pathways to Arts and Cultural Employment (Pace) programme, which ran from 2001-2012. Former Pace recipient Henry Oliver writes on what he learned on what became … Read more
In the spirit of international cooperation and mutual chair dancing, Sam Brooks and New York City-based culture critic Mark Blankenship are revisiting the top 10 singles from key weeks in their respective countries. This week, Sam and Mark discuss the top 10 singles from the chart dated May 28, 2000 in New Zealand and May … Read more
Under Cover is a new series that brings New Zealand musicians together via video link to bond, chat, and play each other’s songs. The second episode features Nadia Reid and Reb Fountain. In this episode of Under Cover, produced in collaboration with RNZ Music, Nadia Reid and Reb Fountain discuss changing career trajectories in a … Read more
Allegations have been made about Jason Derulo’s use of a New Zealand teen’s music for his new song. Here’s everything you need to know about the controversy, the teen, and how TikTok is driving it all. Who is the teenager? Jawsh 685 is a 17-year-old from Manurewa. He has some serious music production chops and … Read more
Four years after an acclaimed and awarded debut, Auckland pop singer-songwriter MAALA is finally preparing to release his sophomore album. He spoke to Matthew McAuley about how he’s been passing the time. When Evan Sinton began releasing music as MAALA, things progressed quickly. Arriving in 2015 with an era-typical air of mystery, his self-titled EP … Read more
What is it like to grow an album over two years and then labour it during a lockdown? Giantess frontwoman Kiki Van Newtown tells Emily Writes about making music in a pandemic. If you’re a mega-fan of Wellington’s witch-stoner-rock icons Hex, like I am, you’ll have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the debut Giantess … Read more
New Zealand’s live music venue owners have come together to crowdfund to save not just their venues, but their industry. Our entertainment venues were some of the earliest hit by Covid-19. Before we all shut our doors to each other, venues were shutting their doors to their lifelines: their artists and their customers. Gigs were … Read more
Over lockdown, a small team of music industry professionals have become emergency response workers. Josie Adams visited Spark Arena to meet them. Behind Spark Arena is a line of shipping containers filled with food and hygiene products. “Only a few months ago this was filled with Tool’s stuff,” said Tom Anderson, a coordinator of Auckland … Read more
American R&B artist Kehlani released her long-awaited sophomore album just before the weekend – here’s why you need to start paying attention. If you’re even the slightest bit invested in modern R&B, there’s a good chance you’ve already had Kehlani on rotate for a while. One of the genre’s most respected contemporary proponents, with a heaven-sent … Read more
With the third and final instalment of Petals for Armor, Hayley Williams has completed the extended birth of a very large child. She talks to Josie Adams about graduating from emo to goth. Our introduction to Hayley Williams, solo artist, was ‘Simmer’. Working from the vocals up, the song pulses, breathes and viscerally dissects the … Read more
The winner of the Taite Music Prize for 2020 is Troy Kingi, for his reggae album Holy Colony Burning Acres. Troy Kingi and the Upperclass have won the Taite Music Prize, an award for artistic and creative excellence in New Zealand music. Holy Colony Burning Acres is the third instalment of Kingi’s 10-year plan: 10 … Read more
Benee’s new tune ‘Lownely’, a remix of the international hit ‘Supalonely’, is premiering right here, right now. She tells us about making music in unprecedented times. Local lass and global superstar Benee is a 20-year-old with 23 million monthly listeners. She’s gone from strength to strength since last year’s EPs Stella & Steve and Fire … Read more
The Wellington-based musician’s new album is the culmination of 10 years of memories, YouTube, and jazz school. It’s been over a decade since ‘My Heart Will Go On – Recorder by Candlelight’ was uploaded to YouTube. It is a work of exceptional craftsmanship. The soft focus, the notes pitching in just the wrong places, and … Read more
With so many gigs and jobs cancelled over the past month, Covid-19 has devastated the New Zealand music ecosystem. But as Recorded Music NZ CEO Damian Vaughan writes, the right support can see the industry emerge even stronger. By the numbers, this should be a time of celebration for Aotearoa’s music industry. We just finalised … Read more