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
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
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
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 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
The Ones to Watch programme has landed in New Zealand, providing up and coming musicians with a platform for their work and an opportunity to showcase their music to a wide range of audiences. The Spinoff talks to emerging artists RIIKI and Park Rd about where they’ve come from, and where 2020 has taken them. … 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
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
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
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
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
The erstwhile Vodafone Music Awards returned to Spark Arena last night with a new format – and a new Covid-inspired appreciation for the joys of live music. Here’s what Spinoff’s staffers thought. There was a moment during the awards last night where I had a rare feeling (for 2020 anyway) of hope. Maimoa had just … Read more
Twenty years ago, TV made TrueBliss into New Zealand’s biggest girl band. In this piece, first published in 2019 by AudioCulture, Gabe McDonnell tracks the rise and fall of the country’s first made-for-TV popstars. Before “Our image is kind of like naughty but nice.” Once upon a time in 1999 Peter Urlich sat sipping wine … Read more
For an entire generation of music lovers, Ready to Roll was appointment viewing. In this piece, first published by Audioculture, Fiona Rae looks at the impact the show had on New Zealand and our appreciation of homegrown music. TVNZ’s news hour at 6pm has always rated big, but from the late 1970s it had a … Read more
Drax Project are back from LA, and finalists in next month’s Aotearoa Music Awards for single of the year. Sherry Zhang catches up with the band as they get ready to release their new single ‘Firefly’. In a corner of the lounge at Universal Music’s Auckland offices sits an oversized plaque, made to commemorate a … Read more
After a lockdown spent creating stop motion in their laundry, Sports Team is now nominated for an Aotearoa Music Artisan award. The duo talk to The Spinoff about making music videos. The first music video Annabel Kean and Callum Devlin made was accidental. It happened on a date, wandering around Auckland city, Kean wearing a … Read more
Simon Grigg writes on the phenomenon of the New Zealand records which now fetch thousands online – and details a few of the more interesting examples. Long before New Zealand had record fairs and online auction houses, we had hundreds of cluttered, dark and dusty opportunity shops, affectionately known by all as “opshops”. There’s even … Read more
They’ve been on the album charts for two years, they’ve had a number one single, and now they’re one of our biggest live draws too. So what comes next for L.A.B? Even in a year marked by disruption, L.A.B’s 2020 has been more eventful than most. Forced to postpone local shows and an Australian tour … Read more
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. Samuel Flynn Scott originally wanted to call The Phoenix Foundation’s new album Anxiety. “Everything comes back to anxiety on this record,” the songwriter says in the latest episode … Read more
Paige Tapara is a fast-rising young singer-songwriter whose debut EP explores themes of sexuality, coming of age, mental health and relationships. We asked her how it came together, and why she thinks it’s so important for NZ music to include voices like hers. Paige swoops into the room, a cream doughnut in one hand and a … 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
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
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
LA-based New Zealander Chelsea Jade’s latest single, ‘Superfan,’ is out now. She explains everything behind the stilts and the strangeness of her new video. Chelsea Jade calls herself DIY pop, and she really does do it all herself. After a couple of years touring North America with Muna and YourSmith, the songwriter, singer, director, and … Read more
In the new series Final Mix, music journalist Yadana Saw chats with local musicians and listens to their latest tracks in the ultimate testing ground: the car. The second episode is with young-gun hip-hop duo Church & AP. Their first big single, ‘Ready or Not’, dropped early last year. Almost immediately, Elijah Manū (Church) and … Read more
Auckland post-punk four piece Swallow the Rat embarked on a US tour just as Covid-19 started to really spread. Guitarist Brian Purington, originally from Austin, Texas, tells the story of a tour interrupted – and how he became one of New Zealand’s first 500 cases of Covid-19. Brian Purington and his partner Charlotte Hill spoke … Read more