On first hearing Carnivorous Plant Society ’s Don’t Go Outside I felt transfixed by the performance, recorded live for RNZ in March. A seven-piece band packed the studio with vibraphone, keyboards, ...
READ MORE >The very first ever New Zealand Musician issue (with English drummer Simon Phillips on the cover!) was published back in September 1988 – which officially makes September 2018 the magazine’s 30th birthday ...
READ MORE >Organisers of the 2018 Waiata Māori Music Awards were dealing from a well-stacked deck for the 11th annual awards ceremony which took place in Hastings on September 14. Released in late 2017, Rob Ruha’s ‘Survivance’ album earned the acclaimed haka soul musician four trophies from seven nominations. Ruha’s wins included Best Māori Male Solo Artist | Manu Tīoriori Tāne Autaia, Best Māori Traditional Album | Kōpae Mōteatea Hira, Best Māori Urban Artist | Kaipūoro Māori-Noho-Taone ...
READ MORE >Hollie Smith has joined Wintec’s School of Media Arts to mentor and teach music students as the Waikato Institute of Technology's first Musician in Residence. “I hope that taking what I’ve learnt, and sharing that with students, is going to be gratifying for all of us,” says Hollie. “We can all learn from others and I’m really looking forward to that aspect of this experience.” ADULTING!!! I started a new job today as musician in residence at Wintec in Hamilton helping the adult ...
READ MORE >A brand new Tui trophy design is just one of a swathe of changes in train for this year’s NZ Music Awards – but it most certainly is an eye-catcher. Scheduled for 15 November at Auckland’s Spark Arena, the 2018 NZ Music Awards will establish a new sense of purpose backed with a widely revamped presentation – all the way from branding to event production. Event organisers Recorded Music NZ revealed the new direction with a fresh programme of build-up events and the new look Tui designed by ...
READ MORE >The Diploma in Contemporary Music is one of almost two dozen courses that Auckland’s Unitec Institute of Technology has announced will be suspended from 2019. Students currently enrolled will be able to complete their qualifications but Unitec will not enrol new students into the courses next year – and for the foreseeable future. Unitec has been in financial strife for some time now and has reportedly lost 600 full-time students over recent years, down from over 10,000 EFTS to fewer than 7000, ...
READ MORE >Put together Harvey Knows A Killer, Strangely Arousing, These Automatic Changers and The Wreckage and you have a mighty line up for a great hard rockin' night out. Kiko is a fun-lovin' combo comprising musicians from those variously well-respected Auckland rock acts, one that guitarist / singer Rewi McLay happily identifies as "a newly formed Māori band." Their song Ngā Hau E Wha made it onto NZ On Air Music's NewTracks compilation this September. What's the background of how Kiko came to ...
READ MORE >Promoting ‘Silver Bullets’, The Chills’ first full album in nearly two decades British indie label Fire Records described it as bursting with chiming Dunedin-pop anthems, the idiosyncratic underlying melancholy offset by signature catchy melodies and Martin Phillipps’ playful punk-rock tendencies. Talking about the 2015 album himself Phillipps expressed the sense that it was tying up loose ends, and so somehow managed to convey that it was perhaps his last. Good news Chills’ fans. It ...
READ MORE >Promoting ‘Silver Bullets’, The Chills’ first full album in nearly two decades British indie label Fire Records described it as bursting with chiming Dunedin-pop anthems, the idiosyncratic underlying melancholy offset by signature catchy melodies and Martin Phillipps’ playful punk-rock tendencies. Talking about the 2015 album himself Phillipps expressed the sense that it was tying up loose ends, and so somehow managed to convey that it was perhaps his last. Good news Chills’ fans. It wasn’t! ...
READ MORE >Born in Cape Town, Gino October was 12 when he emigrated with his family to Auckland. He talks about the influence this has had on him and what’s in store next. “When we came to New Zealand I was so culture shocked. That whole experience of going on a plane to this clean safe place, so different to Cape Town – it made me fall straight into hip hop.” And while coming from the different cultural background of South Africa has unsurprisingly had some musical effect on Gino, it rather less ...
READ MORE >On June 10 this year Bernie Griffen and the Thin Men were the last act to perform on Rotorua’s Rogue Stage, a “live music appreciation movement” with a roaming stage that Karin and Barry Vincent had been running for six years. Around 200 shows and three festivals later they decided to call it a day, a reluctant decision which in just the few months since has already had a huge impact on touring acts being able to play the central North Island town. NZM asked a tired but rightly proud Karin ...
READ MORE >Still attending Christchurch Boys’ High, Tarn PK wrote a song about teenage experimentations with alcohol that he initially titled Hurricane. Deciding later that was a bit too Bob Dylan-like he re-named the song Caught In The Wake, and submitted it to NZ On Air for consideration in the August 2018 NewTracks application round. It was one of seven ‘pop’ songs among the 28 songs that got through. We asked Tarn a few questions to introduce himself. What's your given name and musical background ...
READ MORE >It was through word of mouth that Aro aka Emily and Charles Looker got into performing on cruise ships. Though they say that personally, it’s not their ideal holiday, working on a big boat is essentially paid travel that Emily describes as “hard to say no to”. She was kind enough to write about their experience as performers aboard the Pacific Jewel this winter. Charles and I make up a duo called Aro, a husband and wife combo who live on the road pursuing music full time. We had just finished ...
READ MORE >Applications are now open for Girls Rock! Camp Aotearoa 2019. Girls Rock! Camp Aotearoa aims to help young women (including transgender, intersexual and gender non-conforming youth) form bands, learn instruments and write original songs. However, applicants don’t need any previous musical experience and participants will have a range of different experience. The holiday programme utilises music as a medium to build confidence and foster social change. It's a paid holiday programme with an allocation ...
READ MORE >On Friday, August 24 Vitamin S will host two meaningful tributes to valued local musicians at Auckland’s Wine Cellar (8pm, koha entry). Steve Cournane and John Bell will present two beautifully crafted pieces, in tribute to Auckland drummer Bruce Morley (d. 22 November 2012) and Dunedin guitarist Peter Gutteridge (d. 15 September 2014). Steve met Bruce Morley back in the ‘90s and struck up a friendship when both were early reviewers for NZ Musician magazine. John performed with Bruce on many ...
READ MORE >Invited as an SAE Auckland employee to observe and absorb APRA AMCOS NZ’s SongHubs Sphere event last week, Lani Purkis reports that it was “a life-changing experience.” After mulling it over for a few days she provided NZM with this intriguing personal account. I have been battling with how to put August 6 - 10 2018, into words. SongHubs Sphere was a week in the studio without men – something I didn’t experience much as the bass player for Elemeno P. Often on tour I’d be the only girl ...
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