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
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
Former Street Chant frontperson Emily Edrosa releases her long-awaited debut solo album today. In honour of its arrival, we asked her to explain what inspired Another Wave Is Coming. 1. Mould I spent the four years that I lived in LA drying out, literally. When I lived in the Grey Lynn flat where Street Chant … Read more
After almost 15 years together, Cut Off Your Hands are officially disbanding. Frontman Nick Johnston spoke to The Spinoff about where he’s been and where he’s going. Three years into their decade-and-a-half-long career, Cut Off Your Hands needed a break. The Auckland band were high-energy, sweaty, and perpetual; frontman and singer Nick Johnston reckons they … 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
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
Marlin’s Dreaming have a new single out ahead of their next, ‘least accessible’ album. Frontman Semisi Maiai sat down to talk about how a bunch of jocks from Dunedin became indie darlings. Semisi Maiai embodies the duality of man. He’s a barista and a basketballer; he’s a jock and an indie musician; he’s from Dunedin … Read more
Blam Blam Blam’s records stunned Grant McDougall’s adolescent mind. He reflects on their impact and what it was like to finally see them live on their reunion tour, which brings them to The Others Way tonight in Auckland. It is winter, 1981. I am 12 and in Form 2 at Gisborne Intermediate. The Springbok tour … Read more
After a decade of making music, Sons of Zion are still refusing to settle into a genre. They sit down to talk about the joys of pop music and te reo Māori, and why a “reggae” band can do both. In 2009 Sons of Zion released their debut album, a self-titled fusion of rock, R&B, … Read more
Creative professionals struggle to make a living in New Zealand, according to new research by Creative New Zealand and NZ On Air. Is it hurting the country’s creative future? Just two months after releasing his critically-acclaimed album Avantdale Bowling Club, Auckland rapper Tom Scott tweeted that he might not be staying in the music industry. … Read more
Many of the great New Zealand songs have one thing in common: a woman’s first name as their title. Alex Casey went on a mission to find the real women who inspired them. She keeps me waiting in the morning by tying ribbons in her hair. She’s just so sweet, so fine, so polite too. … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews Anthems, a six-part documentary on New Zealand’s iconic hits, which starts tonight on Prime. New Zealanders are possessive as hell over our culture. Pavlova, Russell Crowe, Lord of the Rings, colonial racism – if it’s ours, we really own it. Where it really sinks into the marrow though, is our music. For better or … Read more
Last night Tom Scott won the 2019 Taite Music Prize for best album in New Zealand for Avantdale Bowling Club. This is his speech. Um. Fuck. I’ve lost this thing four times already, I was kind of hoping this would be the fifth because that would be a sick record. Something to be really proud … Read more
The rain held off for Six60’s record-smashing show at Western Springs Stadium in central Auckland, an inclusive celebration of Kiwi good times, writes Waveney Russ for RNZ. Last night Six60 attracted the largest crowd of any NZ band ever to Auckland’s Western Springs Stadium, playing to around 50,000 people at the sold-out venue. Sure, Eminem … Read more
Sam Brooks talks to ASHY about her brilliant new single ‘Temporary Crush’, the hustle of being self-managed, and her hopes for 2019. I ran into ASHY’s music completely by accident. Every week I do a trawl through a few new music playlists to make sure that I, as someone who writes opinions about music far … Read more
For the first and last time, Henry Oliver gives his definitive account of The Spinoff’s best New Zealand music of 2018. Read it and get angry. Here it is, my ten best albums and ten best songs, all from Aoteroa, all released in 2018. The one rule: appearance on one list disqualifies that artist from … Read more
We asked you, our loyal readers, what your favourite albums and songs of the year were, both from here and from elsewhere. Oh, and your favourite shows, your reflections on the year, and predictions for next year. This is what you told us. Best local album The Beths Future Me Hates Me (24%) Avantdale Bowling … Read more
Gareth Shute digs around to create a best-of-2018 music list with one criterion: the tracks all have less than 1000 streams on Spotify. One cruel thing about online music services like Spotify is that they instantly put a number next to every track, which is intended as a sign of its popularity. Particularly cruel is … Read more
In the mid-1980s, a teenager paid five dollars for a Katango fan club parcel. Thirty years later, her son attempts to track down the missing goods, or at least a refund. Katango was one of thousands of bands in the 1980s. Their members were effeminate young men who wore make up. Their fashion was loud … Read more
John Rykenberg ran a studio of Auckland photographers from the late ’50s through until the late 1970s. Last year, 900 boxes from his studio were donated to Auckland Libraries. One of the researchers investigating this massive collection of images was Gareth Shute, who shares some of his favourites. My interest in the Rykenberg collection came … Read more
The day after the end of New Zealand Music Month, Max Tetlow rounds-up of some of the best things to happen in New Zealand music in May. Villette’s VR video for ‘Money’ Villette’s Drip Crimson project proved she wasn’t here for just a few hits – her stellar lyrics and self-production across the album put … 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
Dream pop is the genre of the moment in the worldwide indie scene and New Zealand is no exception, with acts like Fazerdaze and Yumi Zouma gaining huge international audiences. Back at home, the associated sound of shoegaze has made a return, with a raft of new bands emerging onto the live scene. Gareth Shute … Read more
Erena Shingade talks to singer and big band leader Sal Valentine about originality, not fitting in, and his forthcoming album, This Party Blows. Plus – a video premiere! When we meet in St Kevin’s Arcade on a Sunday afternoon, Sal Valentine is a vision in monochrome. He wears a grey beanie, grey t-shirt (sleeves rolled … Read more
It’s New Zealand Music Month, an event started in part to encourage local radio to play local music. Did it work? Is it still working? We assigned Gareth Shute to take a sample of the most popular stations to find out. The battle to get homegrown music on local radio goes back a long way, … Read more
Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today we dissect the stats showing growth in New Zealand music revenue. I’ve been hearing about the decline in the music industry for as long as I can remember. Is it still that bad? Nah, that’s old news! Well, … Read more
Henry Oliver talks to JessB about her first EP and how her professional netball career is helping her in the music industry. JessB is a force of focus and energy, the kind of person that seems to, at all times, be moving toward some kind of achievement. A bit over a week ago, Jess (birth … Read more
Erena Shingade talks to Womb, a Wellington indie-folk sibling trio whose new album was released this month. When I first heard Wellington’s Womb back in 2016, I listened to the self-titled album ritualistically for months. Charlotte Forrester’s ethereal voice became my private, secret music of nights and dawns, colouring the interface between sleep and waking. … Read more