Sam Brooks went to the FOMO 2020 festival in Auckland, and was relieved to find it was more than just the final time that Lizzo will ever perform at 7:20pm. “Are you going to see Lizzo tonight?” That’s the question a lot of people asked me rather than the more standard, correct question: “Are you … Read more
Sam Brooks steps back in time to 2009, the year of Now! That’s What I Call Music 31. What did his younger self think of those songs – and do they still hold up today? This post was originally published on March 4 2019. The year was 2009 and it was full of, as your worst … Read more
Summer reissue: What’s it like to wait over a decade for a new record from one of your favourite bands? David Farrier writes about the joys, perils and embarrassment of being a Tool fan in 2019. This was originally published on 3 August, 2019. Before you say it, let me: Tool fans are the worst. … Read more
Radio competitions are won by impulsive decision-makers. A giveaway on RNZ taught one woman to never hesitate. About a decade ago, on a lazy hot afternoon in early January, I was at home listening to Matinee Idle, Radio NZ’s summer programme. I was a big fan of the programme. That afternoon they were running a … Read more
God may have created all of his children in his image, but the same cannot be said for his hymns. Some church songs are good, some are bad, and some are absolute bangers. Madeleine Chapman ranks the best of them. This was originally published on 31 June, 2019. Some say that in order to experience … Read more
19-year-old Benee’s track ‘Glitter’ is climbing international charts thanks to being given a TikTok dance. How does that work? Josie Adams explains what a TikTok dance is, and how this social media app is the new MTV. Who is Benee? Benee has had a huge 2019, with the Aucklander riding sparkling pop singles to multiple … Read more
Sam Brooks interviews Cecily, the local singer behind surprise sleeper hit ‘Thinking ‘Bout Me’. “Getting thinner, feeling fatter, laughing more, feeling sadder.” That’s one of a few killer lines that adorn Cecily’s gem of a sadbanger ‘Thinking ‘Bout Me’, which wound up on the top of every pop music nerd’s favourite New Music Friday playlist, … Read more
You’ve probably never heard of him, but an artist called Cavetown is coming to Auckland in January for a show that’s already sold out. We explain where he came from, how this happened, and why you should be listening. What, pray tell, is a Cavetown? Cavetown is the stage name of Robin Skinner, a 20-year-old … Read more
Frozen 2 is out, but more importantly the soundtrack is available for your kids to play on repeat. Sam Brooks ranks the songs by how likely it is that they’ll sing them into your face for the foreseeable future. Parents and caregivers, get your loins girded because Frozen 2 is here. The film came out last Thursday … Read more
The Spinoff presents the exclusive premiere of MAALA’s new music video, the Connor Pritchard-directed ‘Fire Burning’. Evan ‘MAALA’ Sinton says: I released Composure, my first album, in 2016 and then I did these two quite random singles – ‘In My Head’ and ‘Crazy’ – in 2017. Those songs were quite a weird tangent, which I … Read more
A te reo Christmas song, 2019’s favourite mumbler and music’s coolest sisters are all part of our songs of the month for November. International ‘Everything I Wanted’ by Billie Eilish I run hot-and-cold on Eilish as an artist. I think her album has a few great songs – ‘bad guy’ especially – but it feels … Read more
Tom Scott, otherwise known as Avantdale Bowling Club, has leaked his collaboration with producer choicevaughan, shortly after winning album of the year at the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards. Avantdale Bowling Club’s first, eponymous album propelled Auckland-based rapper Tom Scott to new heights. After working in groups Home Brew and Average Rap Band earlier in … Read more
Fast-rising Auckland rap duo Church & AP talk us through the ten tracks of their debut album, Teeth. A year ago today, Church & AP were set to explode. The pair were just weeks away from the release of ‘Ready or Not’, the single that would lead to everything from summer festival slots to an … Read more
The Spinoff presents the premiere of buzzed-about Auckland post-punk band Daffodils’ new music video ‘Boys’. Daffodils songwriter and frontperson Theo Spike Salmon says: I wrote ‘Boys’ two years ago, around the end of high school. We’ve revised stuff, and played around with slightly different structuring, but it’s honestly not changed much at all. When I … Read more
13 moments that prove the music awards are so much > than all other award shows BENEE cleaned up, every performance was somewhere between an eight and a ten, there was an unfeasible quantity of award presenter awkwardness and many nights ended very late. The music awards are over 50 and still absolutely rule. Here’s … Read more
The 2019 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards are just a few hours away and, believe it, we have reckons. Who will win? Who should win? Sam Brooks is ready for some prognosticating. It’s the biggest night in New Zealand music – the one that’s televised, the one that got (fake) Paula Bennett onstage with Jacinda … Read more
Fifteen years on, Sam Brooks looks at Gwen Stefani’s wet, weird, wild and wonderful debut album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. The first thing we hear on Love. Angel. Music. Baby. – No Doubt frontwoman Gwen Stefani’s first album – is applause and cheering. Then a piano. Then Stefani warbling, sweetly, mournfully, almost like a torch … Read more
The return of the original girl group babes, the twink Taylor Swift, and New Zealand’s most electrifying rap group are all part of our songs of the month. International ‘Flowers’ by DJ Spoony (feat. The Sugababes) An orchestral-ish cover of a early-00’s garage hit? Sure, whatever. But put the Sugababes, and I mean the original … Read more
Thirty years ago, a Lower Hutt intermediate school performed the full, unabridged, adult version of West Side Story. Jet gang member Morgan Davie looks back. September 24, 1987. My gang moves with purpose under the streetlights. In the middle of Lower Hutt, a rival gang is waiting. There’s gonna be a rumble. We walk tough, … Read more
Onehunga-bred hip hop collective SWIDT have released what might be one of the most politicised music videos in New Zealand history. They talked to Josie Adams about why it felt like the right time. At just over two minutes long, ‘BUNGA’ is short, but it says more about the Pasifika community than most Palagi will … Read more
It’s time we all accepted that James Blunt is good, argues Madeleine Chapman. “I woke up this morning and realised all I do is apologise for a song I wrote in 2005.” The song he wrote in 2005 was ‘You’re Beautiful’ and James Blunt is nothing if not self-aware. The above line is the opening … Read more
Madeleine Chapman took her piano-playing nephew Harper to see the orchestra for the first time. Madeleine: When I was very small, I used to sit in the hallway at home with my closest siblings and we would ask our brother Bernard, a teenager at the time, to play songs on the piano. We would name … Read more
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
New Zealand’s beloved singer-songwriter has been imprisoned for failing to finish school, prompting uproar across the internet. But we should have known it would come to this, writes senior crime correspondent Ernest Penman. The internet has gone into overdrive this week following revelations, first reported by The Spinoff, that New Zealand prime minister Simon Bridges … Read more
Four festival-goers were admitted to hospital with drug-related issues after Friday’s event at Mt Smart Stadium. A fellow partier shares her experience of the night. As told to Madeleine Chapman. I was hyping up for Schoolboy Q. Figured he’d play some old school tunes, some bangers. Honestly, I didn’t really care much for who was … Read more
Last night’s 2019 Silver Scrolls culminated with Aldous Harding taking the big prize for her song ‘The Barrel’. Stevie Kaye was there. The Silver Scrolls, the annual songwriting awards run by not-for-profit music copyright collective APRA, are the only New Zealand music prize-giving I’ve paid particular attention to over the years. My interest isn’t primarily … Read more
Before she presented the APRA Maioha Award at the Silver Scroll songwriting awards last night, 2018 winner Ria Hall (Ngāi Te Rangi) issued a challenge on representation in the New Zealand music industry to a standing ovation. Here’s what she said. Kia māia: it’s the act of having fortitude, resilience and bravery. Being bold. I … Read more
A re-recorded Kiwi classic, the best song by pop music’s greatest diva, a supergroup of country’s finest highwomen – they’re just some of the tracks gracing The Spinoff’s songs of the month for September 2019. International ‘Highwomen’ by The Highwomen There are many things I love about country music: it captures narrative better than any … Read more
When a Married at First Sight NZ contestant is a singer/songwriter, we simply have no choice but to listen to their entire back catalogue. It’s always exciting when a Married at First Sight NZ contestant has dipped their toes into some other public-facing arena. Bel Clarke gave The Bachelor NZ a go that time. Samuel … Read more