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JessB: She Sells Sanctuary

Explaining the title she's given her debut album, JessB says it's about feeling at home with where you're at, where you've come from, and where you're going - a sense of sanctuary she's rightly celebrating ...

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Opportunities

2024 APRA Best Jazz Composition Award Entries Open

Entries for the 2024 APRA Best Jazz Composition Award are open for two weeks. The $1000 cash prize award will be presented at a private event in Te Whanganui-a-Tara this October. Previous winners include Lauren Ellis, Lucien Johnson, Jake Baxendale, and Louisa Williamson. Entries close July 26.  More information and how to apply here.

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Opportunities

Connections Through Culture Arts Grant Applications

Applications for the British Council's Connections Through Culture arts grants for 2025 are now open. Connections Through Culture grants support new international collaborations between the UK and New Zealand, offering support to organisations and artists in the development of creative projects. Grants are available up to GBP5,000, with applications to be submitted by September 2. Projects are eligible at any stage and across art forms, but may be prioritised if the theme revolves around diversity, ...

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News

2024 Pacific Music Awards Finalists

Finalists for the 2024 Pacific Music Awards, the 20th anniversary of the annual Pasifika artist celebration, have been announced. Fittingly for the 20th milestone celebrations, this year saw the highest number of entries in the awards' history, resulting in 27 finalists across 13 award categories. Leading the way among this year's finalists Shepherds Reign are nominated across six categories, Aaradhna is a finalist in five including as self-producer, and Diggy Dupé is a finalist in four categories. The ...

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News

2024 Silver Scroll Award Lists Announced

APRA AMCOS NZ have announced the top 20 songs nominated for the 2024 Silver Scroll Award Kaitito Kaiaka and the top 5 waiata nominated for the APRA Maioha Award. The winners will be announced at the Silver Scroll Awards ceremony on October 8 at the St James Theatre in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. The Silver Scroll top 20 list was decided by a panel of APRA members who are also well-respected songwriters, producers, and performers: Amelia Berry (Amamelia), Bailey Wiley, Godfrey de Grut, James Coyle, Justyn ...

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NewTracks New Artist

NewTracks New Artist: Eli Superflyy

Eli Superflyy is Te Whanganui-a-Tara musician Eli Chamberlain. Following a music degree from Massey as well as stints as a session and touring musician alongside higher profile local acts such as Riiki Reid, Eli recently released his debut album 'Motor'. Single No No featured on NZ On Air Music's NewTracks compilation this July. What's your name, where are you from and what instruments do you each play? My name is Eli Chamberlain, I’m from Wellington and I play the guitar and sing. Was ...

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Interviews

Mayjun: Genre Denialists

Tāmaki Makaurau-Polynesian pop-rock act Mayjun are In Denial, or at least that's the name of their new single, the follow-up to their debut track Jealous. Kat Parsons chatted with vocalist Jeremiah Fale (Hales) about the new track which denies genre barriers to encourage representation and collaboration. Made with support from NZ On Air Music. "I think we set out to do something that isn't normally done by people that look like us," says Jeremiah Fale. "When you think of Polynesians you think ...

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Interviews

Vera Ellen Wins Taite Music Prize

Having just won the 2024 Taite Music Prize, as a self-proclaimed underdog among a number of what could be called modern classics of Aotearoa music, Vera Ellen Williams remains charmingly grounded. Ideal Home Noise by Vera Ellen Officially now being a multi-award winning artist (the Taite comes on top of a Tūī for Best Alternative Artist, won in 2022) doesn't change the fact that she is still working a day job at Flying Nun's Te Whanganui-a-Tara record store on Cuba St, in between international ...

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On Foreign Soil

On Foreign Soil: Vera Ellen At SXSW 2024

2024 had already been a big year for Vera Ellen, even before she was invited last minute to perform at the Austin, Texas, South By Southwest Festival in March. Vera generously provided NZM with this summary of her very unusual experience, which played out just weeks before her album 'Ideal Home Noise' won the Taite Music Prize. heartbreak for jetlag by Vera Ellen Playing SXSW had been one of those career dreams of mine for a while. In 2020 before the pandemic hit, my band Girl Friday got selected ...

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Interviews

Marlin’s Dreaming: Oddly Familiar

Following a successful Australian tour in 2023, Ōtepoti-born-and-bred indie stalwarts Marlin's Dreaming have been back in the studio working up a fresh sound and direction for their forthcoming album ‘Hirl’, an onomatopoeia word for wind. Introductory single Hello My Dear is a raw and intimate story of a stagnant artist in an ever-changing world, as Jasper West reveals. Made with support from NZ On Air Music. Headed by vocalist Semisi Maiai, Marlin's Dreaming also includes, De Stevens on ...

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Interviews

Mazbou Q: Science In His Bag

We mostly know him as a solo and collaborative hip hop artist – which is to say the artist Mazbou Q and/or the artist previously known as Unchained XL. For some however those names may have stronger connotations with social justice movements, like his own push to support local African musicians or more recently the Aotearoan response to the global Black Lives Matter movement. Richard Thorne talked with the artist/educator these days much better known globally as The Rap Scientist. Actively present ...

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Interviews

Katie Thompson: Seeing Herself

Ōtautahi artist Katie Thompson has made a name for herself as an alt country singer-songwriter. Her latest single, I See You, sees her branching out into the alt pop realm, while still containing traces of country as well as rock. With this song, Thompson declares to the world that she no longer cares what people think of her, as Nur Lajunen-Tal finds out. Made with support from NZ On Air Music. Katie Thompson last spoke to NZM in 2019 about her third album, ‘Bittersweet,’ which had her ...

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Event Guide

2024 Going Global Music Summit & Artist Showcase

Tickets are on sale for Independent Music NZ's 2024 Going Global Music Summit and artist showcase, alongside an announcement of the first international speakers for the two-day event. The summit will take place on August 29 & 30 at Roundhead in Tāmaki Makaurau, with showcase performances on both nights at Whammy/Double Whammy on Karangahape Rd. The two-day conference is a gateway for any local artist, manager, publicist, A&R, producer, music writer, record label and venue manager to connect ...

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Event Guide

Super Saturday Coming In October: Eden Fest 2024

While initial plans were to run Eden Fest 2024 over two days, fan feedback has convinced organisers to combine the afrobeats, RnB, reggae and hip hop event into a 'Super Saturday' - with over 30 acts performing on the same day at Trusts Arena in Tāmaki Makaurau on October 12. Tickets Available Here An online survey with several thousand fans voting showed three quarters were in favour of combining all the acts into the one day. The move will offer Eden Fest 2024 festival goers amazing value with ...

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Photo Galleries

Photo Gallery: Mansfield In Her Own Words, New Plymouth, 2024

Charlotte Yates took a star-studded cast to New Plymouth's Winterfest for a live performance of 'Mansfield In Her Own Words', celebrating once more the legacy of Katherine Mansfield by performing her poems to contemporary music. Trevor Villers was there to take photos. Mansfield by Various

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