Despite having debuted with their break-up album, Grawlixes ’ journey seems to be nowhere near an end, as Sam Vegar reports. The former Dunedin duo of Penelope Esplin and Robin Cederman are now both ...
READ MORE >Rotorua musician Rob Ruha has been named as one of five recipients of the coveted 2017 Laureate Award. Described as a 'Haka Soul Musician' Ruha is among the 11 extraordinary New Zealand artists to become 2017 New Zealand Arts Award recipients, chosen from the fields of classical music, popular music, film, theatre, contemporary dance, poetry, photography and illustration. Fellow awardee Jemaine Clement also has a musical connection, with 'Multi-Instrumentalist' listed alongside his other talents ...
READ MORE >SWIDT lead the pack with an impressive six finalist positions for the 2017 NZ Music Awards that will be held at the Spark Arena on 16 November. The Onehunga rap crew is up for Album of the Year, Single of the Year, Best Group, Best Hip Hop Artist and the People’s Choice award. In addition to all of which – as well as band member SmokeyGotBeatz standing in line for the Best Producer Tui, which will be presented earlier at the Artisan Awards. Remarkably SWIDT numerically head off Lorde, who is ...
READ MORE >The good people behind Auckland’s Golden Dawn bar and live music venue have announced their intention to shut up shop. With the venerable Kings Arms due to close in late Feb, the upstart Ponsonby venue will now follow at the end of March. ‘Throughout the past seven years, we have been humbled beyond belief at the response from our community of freaks and geeks, and the overwhelming amount of love that you all have shown our little hippie headquarters has made every second of this absolutely ...
READ MORE >Each year ahead of the NZ Music Awards the industry pays tribute to those whose talents get local music to our earbuds (engineers and producers) and screens (music video directors), with the Artisan Awards. Ahead of that ceremony on October 25, we asked the head of SAE’s film school, Michael Miller, to take a look at this year’s Best Music Videos and comment on what makes them stand out. The 2017 crop of NZ On Air Best Music Video finalists have been announced and the creations couldn’t be ...
READ MORE >It’s possible that ‘1995’ is the name Auckland hip hop artist Hanju Kim aka Hans has given his first EP because it was the year of hip hop that first caught his youthful attention. As Cassandra King reveals, his Korean origins and evidently classical sensibilities have since led him to create some uniquely interesting and increasingly meaningful music. Having discovered ‘90s hip hop at the age of 14, Hanju Kim started to explore the genre. Not only did it become a new hobby, but also a ...
READ MORE >David Friesen has performed and/or recorded with the likes of Stan Getz, Michael Brecker, Dizzy Gillespie, Freddy Hubbard, John Scofield, Elvin Jones and Jack DeJohnette. October 2017 sees the highly regarded American jazz bassist touring NZ for a second time, promoting an album of tunes recorded live at Auckland’s Creative Jazz Club back in 2015. Auckland jazz guitarist Dixon Nacey and Wellington drummer Reuben Bradley feature on that recording, and will again accompany Friesen on this local tour. ...
READ MORE >Dirty Pixels is the new solo project of Auckland musician Ethan Moore. Formerly bassist with indie band Charlie Freak, Moore began working on Dirty Pixels music back in late-2014, putting it aside while Charlie Freak recorded and performed. “I didn't touch Dirty Pixels for a few years, and when Charlie Freak stopped playing together last November I started recording songs again, and then realised I could potentially do an EP.” Spacesuit EP by Dirty Pixels A four-track EP titled ...
READ MORE >Helping to mark the day that our nation commemorates the 100th anniversary of the First Battle of Passchendaele, fought on October 12th, 1917, Auckland composer and musician Peter Hobbs has today released a poignant single titled 300 Yards of Ground. The lyrics to 300 Yards of Ground are based on a letter by Private Leonard Hart, one of the comparatively few Kiwi soldiers who survived what has become known as New Zealand’s darkest day. On October 12, 1917, an NZ division was among ...
READ MORE >Christchurch duo The Imposters, consist of singer Zoe-Eve Coetser (August Fields) alongside guitarist and industry veteran Marc Royal (The Easy Hearts). Having been creating their own brand of alt-pop for only a year the pair are excited about the imminent release of their debut EP 'Doomsday Anthems'. Silke Hartung quizzed them about the genesis of The Imposters' sound. You don't sound like imposters, you sound like you know what you're doing. So where did the name come from? MR: ...
READ MORE >First coming to public attention after placing second in the 2012 Smokefree Rockquest comp, Indira Force became part of the NZ alternative music scene during her time as lead singer of Doprah. When NZM caught up with Indi last year, Doprah's debut album ‘Wasting’ had just been released. Now Indi is stepping into her own light again, this time less mainstream than the first time around, with the dreamlike sound of solo album ‘Precipice’. She refers to Doprah as a huge learning curve for her ...
READ MORE >American upright bassist and rising jazz star Nathan Brown, one of the most in-demand bassists in New York City, will be playing a nationwide series of shows, and hold a masterclass workshop, to celebrate the release of his debut album, ‘This Is The Moment’. NZ Tour Dates Queenstown – The Queenstown Jazz Festival - Oct 21 / 22 / 23 Christchurch – Orange Studio - Oct 28 Nelson – Fairfield House - Oct 29 Wellington – Musicworks - Rhythm section master class & private lessons ...
READ MORE >The Auckland Folk Festival celebrates its 45th anniversary in January with an entertaining and inspiringly diverse line-up of local and international artists. New Zealand’s biggest annual folk music gathering will take place again at the Kumeu Showgrounds, over Auckland Anniversary Weekend, January 26-29, 2018. Featured in the first lineup announcement: The East Pointers (CAN) Nadia Reid Esther Swift (UK) Huw Williams (UK) Klezmer Rebs T-Bone Trio Reverie The Bollands The family-friendly ...
READ MORE >The IMNZ-organised Going Global Music Summit reached new heights at the start of September, with a sold-out two-day seminar event held at Roundhead Studios in Auckland. Ahead of the event, NZMusician.co.nz ran a Q&A with one of the many interesting speakers, Bandcamp’s chief curator Andrew Jervis. As a follow-up, we asked local musician Simon Comber (Herriot Row) to give a quick precis of his Going Global 2017 experiences as an artist attendee. My band Herriot Row was lucky enough to be one ...
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