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
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
Onehunga is one of the most eccentric suburbs in the supercity. Josie Adams got a tour of the beating heart of Auckland from its inventive locals. Onehunga sits at the very centre of Auckland, nestled between Mangere and Cornwall Park. Major transport arteries flow through and around the suburb connecting east to west and north … Read more
The Red Bull 64 Bars series has become a hotbed of local hip-hop. Hussein Moses asked the artists who had stepped up to the mic to break down their favourite one-liners from a series that’s full of them. Now seven seasons deep, and on the eve of the next group of young talent stepping up … 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
SWIDT, the self-proclaimed “most electrifying rap group in entertainment”, extend their impeccable run with new EP, The Most Electrifying. Jogai Bhatt reviews. Award-winning hip-hop group SWIDT are back with a highly-anticipated six-track EP entitled The Most Electrifying, their second cohesive body of work following last year’s breakthrough album Stoneyhunga. Spycc, INF, Smokey, JAMAL, AZA and … Read more
Yesterday, Jogai Bhatt talked with the people behind creative collective Nah Zone. Today, she talks with one of its closest musical collaborators, Church & AP. Church & AP is a rap duo comprised of Elijah Manu (Church), Nah Zone’s head writer, and Albert Purcell, the younger brother of Nah Zone’s founding director Jonique Purcell. The … Read more
Jogai Bhatt talks to the talent behind Nah Zone, a new underground collective showcasing music, writing and art on the internet and in the club. There’s no shortage of young talent in Aotearoa – it’s just a matter of keeping your ear to the ground. This is the ethos embodied by Nah Zone, an ambitious … 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
Kate Robertson talks to Auckland hip-hop/electronic/jazz band Yoko-Zuna ahead of Seamless, an all-ages show in Auckland this weekend. For Yoko-Zuna, 2018 looks set to be a tipping point. Consistently gaining momentum since their 2015 debut album This Place Here, the Auckland-based four-piece are finding themselves ready to break through the alternative sphere and well into the mainstream. … Read more
Miriama Aoake looks at the Taite Music Prize finalists and asks: Why are most of the finalists white? And why do they nearly all have guitars? The Taite Music Prize finalists for 2018 were announced today. Among them, the talent boasted by the finalists is unquestionable. The line-up is dominated by incredible women: Aldous Harding, … Read more
The Spinoff (or a sizeable chunk of it) went to Auckland City Limits on Saturday. Here’s our collective review. Head Like A Hole I’ve never seen a hard rock band perform at 1 pm. I’ve also definitely never seen a hard rock band do an energetic, spot-on and intermittently impressive cover of ‘Immigrant Song’ at … Read more
Sam Wicks talks to SWIDT rapper Spycc about the Onehunga group’s new EP and life after Stoneyhunga. With two Tui awards, a gang of iTunes chart entries, and a buzz that can’t be bought, Onehunga rap collective SWIDT was rightfully crowned 2017’s number one draft pick. Eager to capitalise on the wins, Spycc, INF and producers … 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. Okay, list season is underway. The arms race is escalating and best … Read more
Yesterday, Henry Oliver risked it all by predicting the winners of last night’s New Zealand Music Awards. Today he updates that post with the actual results and slightly jaded commentary. Okay, last night actually went pretty well. By which I mean that, yes, it was a good show, I was sitting at a good table with nice people, … Read more
The Spinoff vs Spotify. Narrative vs Data. Heart vs Head. Who can predict more winners of tonight’s New Zealand Music Awards – The Spinoff’s Henry Oliver or Spotify’s team of (probably) Stanford-educated computer-geniuses? A year ago, I proclaimed myself New Zealand music’s Nate Silver and made (not) data-driven predictions about the outcomes of the 2016 … Read more
Auckland City Limits (or ACL for short) returns on 3 March 2018 after a one-year hiatus. These are our favourite songs from the just-announced lineup. Beck – ‘Loser’ I know wanting Beck to play ‘Loser’ at a show in 2018 is as annoying as hoping Radiohead play ‘Creep’ or going to a Billy Corgan solo … Read more
Henry Oliver rants and raves about the 2017 New Zealand Music Awards finalists then lists them all at the end. They got it (mostly) right The names you see most on the list – SWIDT (six nominations), Lorde (five) and Aldous Harding (four) – made the best albums in New Zealand in the last year, … Read more
The Spinoff presents the video premiere of SWIDT’s ‘Ric Flair (Wooo!)’, featuring “Dirty” Dave O’Connor, “Onehunga Dragon” Jordan Invincible, “Phat” Paul Stoodon, Reggie Handsome and Israel ‘The Stylebender’ Adesanya. With their new single, SWIDT join the long line of rappers to pay homage to Ric Flair, a legend of American wrestling with championships spanning the WWF, WWE, … Read more
Henry Oliver watched ten hours of Neil Finn live-streaming in case you didn’t have time to. These were his highlights. Every Friday evening for the past four weeks, Neil Finn has live-streamed a recording session from his own Roundhead Studios, joined by, in his words, “a loose knit collection of impassioned and slightly random people, … Read more
Gareth Shute examines the varied ways songs are written in the modern era by speaking to three artists who’ve released work recently – Herriot Row, Raiza Biza and October. The last two decades have seen digital technology offering new possibilities not only for the recording process but also the act of songwriting itself. To get … Read more
Henry Oliver catches the 312 bus to Onehunga with SWIDT, whose debut album Stoneyhunga is out today. “We grew up on here,” says Spycc (Daniel Latu), one of SWIDT’s two MCs after we pile into the back of the 312 bus to Onehunga, the base of New Zealand’s most exciting hip-hop group. “This is our second home.” … Read more
The Spinoff presents the video premiere of SWIDT’s ‘Player Of The Day’, featuring UFC champion Dan “The Hang Man” Hooker and New Zealand Warrior Roger Tuivasa Sheck. SWIDT MC Spycc says: ‘Player Of The Day’ is stadium music. It’s a song about winning, beating the odds, and just owning whatever field you’re in, whether its music, sports, … Read more
Our regular round-up of new songs and singles, this week featuring Kesha, SWIDT, The National, Shania, Niall Horan & more… SONG OF THE WEEK Kesha – ‘Praying’ Kesha’s returns with a single of goddamn saintly compassion for her (alleged) abuser. Kesha, who has dropped the $ thanks to a long and ugly legal battle with producer Dr Luke, … Read more
Our regular round-up of new songs and singles, this week featuring SWIDT, Thomas Rhett and Maren Morris, Serge Beynaud and more… SONG OF THE WEEK SWIDT – ‘Alfred & Church’ New raps from Onehunga If SWIDT keep going, future historians will be able to recreate Onehunga from their discography – ‘No More Parties In Stoneyhunga’, the bus-route-repping ‘312’ and … Read more
The latest episode of our bi-weekly pop music chat for umusic, shot and edited by The Spinoff’s own José Barbosa. It involves two pop rookies – The Spinoff’s Alex Casey and bFM’s Joseph Harper – listening to state-of-the-art pop music and having a chat about it. Simple. This week they are joined on the couch … Read more