Since the release of their self-titled debut album earlier this year, Daniel Armstrong & The Monsoons have been busy playing around Australasia and Europe. With further overseas touring on the horizon ...
READ MORE >Performing in front of local music fans and international delegates at the recent Going Global Showcase, South Auckland singer/songwriter Paige had to hurry from her own 20-minute slot on one stage to ...
READ MORE >Behind-the-scenes superstars are the focus of the 2019 Artisan Awards. The prizes, part of the annual NZ Music Awards, celebrate top contributors in five categories. Simon Gooding, last year’s co-winner of the accolade of Best Producer for his work on Alien Weaponry’s ‘Tū’, is a repeat finalist. So is the prolific Josh Fountain who is up for his work on multiple projects. Ji Fraser, Eli Paewai (Mitch James - ‘Mitch James’), and Tom Healy (Tiny Ruins - ‘Olympic Girls’) are also ...
READ MORE >NZ On Air Music's October 2019 New Music Singles funding outcomes were revealed today. Out of 172 applications, 25 songs made it through thanks to the good ears of the panel which was made up of Niu FM's Lui Vilisoni, Felix Carr of Radio Control, NZOA's Jeff Newton, Audioculture's Renee Jones, Shawn Cleaner of George FM and Savina Kim of Auckland Live. The next New Music Singles funding round closes on the November 14 and you can apply here. We'd also like to give our long-running collaboration ...
READ MORE >Entry for Best Folk Artist 2020 is open to musicians with recordings released between October 1, 2018, and September 30, 2019. To submit a nomination, please log in here. Terms & Conditions are here. The deadline for submissions is 5pm on Friday, November 1. The winner/s will be announced and the Tui trophy presented at the Auckland Folk Festival on the evening of January 26, 2020.
READ MORE >Aldous Harding (Hannah Harding/Topp) has won the 2019 APRA Silver Scroll Award with her unsettling but incredibly beautiful earworm of a song, The Barrel, the first single from her third album 'Designer'. “I’ll put the money towards making the same happy mistake again,” she drily joked in her acceptance speech, recorded on video while on tour through the US along with fellow finalist Hollie Fullbrook of Tiny Ruins. The past three years have been busy for Harding. After signing to American ...
READ MORE >My name is Ben Glanfield. I’m 14 years old and live on the coast just north of Auckland, in Stanmore Bay. My sister Brody and I recently competed in the National Finals of the 2019 Smokefree Rockquest competition – in the solo/duo section. My sister and I have played music together from a very young age. I started learning the guitar from my dad when I was five, and Brody was seven. We’ve always had a passion for singing, and over the past three years or so, we’ve written and performed many ...
READ MORE >He's firmly Aussie-based, but Saint Lane is still very happy to call Auckland home, and clearly happy with life, despite its many challenges. He learned the guitar early in primary school and admits to always being a music nerd, but it wasn't until late teens that he began to think seriously about making music. A budding career as a stand-up comedian (often imitating rappers) got in the way, and certainly helps explain why his hip hop is so jaunty, buoyant and fun. Witness Sugary Sweet, Compliment ...
READ MORE >With an average age of just 17, it’s safe to say that Whanganui five-piece Late Night Tales have time well and truly on their sides. Despite their youth, the band has already independently released a full-length album, ‘Rosetta Road’. Recorded in just two days at Levin’s Tsunami Sound Studios, the 10 tracks on offer meld reggae, jazz and rock with lashings of hip hop. Standout tracks BumbleBuzz and Acidolem have racked up over 80,000 spins on Spotify alone since the album’s release late ...
READ MORE >Cantabrian Billie Leiataua started out with classical operatic singing lessons at a rather young age. Nowadays the 17-year-old's style swings more towards pop and RnB, something that shows through on her debut single, Mind, which made it onto NZ On Air Music's NewTracks compilation in September. She's prolific too, already following that up with a new song, Nights Like These. What high school or other music training was important to you? When I was really young, I began singing lessons with Lois ...
READ MORE >Departure Party is a folk-punk, maybe emo/anti-folk three-piece, that has released two albums (the first in 2017 under then-band name Yor Cronies, titled ‘I Want To Quit’) and the just-released ‘Departure Party’. Based in Wellington, they have supported the likes of Joyce Manor, Listener, Wolfpack and the Starving Millions, and have toured the North Island several times. Frank Eggleton did the honours. Departure Party by Departure Party Starting life in 2014 as a questionable two-piece, ...
READ MORE >It's about time to give a shout out to Auckland's Empire Records who seem to have a lot of great new talent coming through right now, including this week's 'new' artist, a stand out from NZ On Air's NewTracks compilation this September. Hawkes Bay's Cody Imua Te Waa Patea, aka Cody Wave, has recently worked on releases for the likes of TY, Smashproof, PT, Sid Diamond, Rei and Mikey Mayz. With his new single, I Love You, it's time for him to shine as main artist, performing his own hip hop ...
READ MORE >'We’ve got the mighty Southern Alps and the rugged Tasman Sea, hidden between the two is where you’ll find me.’ - aside from confirming that she remains fiercely proud to be labelled a West Coaster, that couplet from Katie Thompson’s newly released album, ‘Bittersweet’, seems a suitable metaphor for the accomplished and determined South Island country artist. First coming to attention in 2009 with the release of her debut album, Katie released her second just two years later. That one ...
READ MORE >Those Lethals' singer Liz Cameron and guitarist Lane Twigden have been playing together since 2015 – when a friend set them up on a musical blind date. The two amalgamated their songwriting into an indie-folk sound, joined by Raj Bakker shortly after on drums, jazz graduate Guy Harrison on trumpet and keys (Troy Kingi, Balu Brigada, Avantdale Bowling Club), and classically trained Tim Shacklock (Mice on Stilts, Pachucos) on bass. Now that Liz has finished her medical imaging degree, Those Lethals ...
READ MORE >Scheduled for the end of this month is Going Global 2019, the annual music summit organised by IMNZ which always attracts a number of well-known international industry professionals willing to share their accumulated wisdom with us Kiwi wannabes. Tickets cost $110. "That sounds a bit rich – why should I go?" you may be thinking. For those in need of convincing, here are just some reasons to consider it well worth the effort: You'll get first-hand and up-to-date information about various ...
READ MORE >Harper Finn celebrated his double single release of Conversations (With The Moon) and Teenage Queen with a sold-out gig at Ding Dong Lounge in Auckland on Thursday, July 25. Postponed for a week due to a last-minute sickness, the place was nevertheless packed with a lively, cross-generational audience. The singles have only been out for a week but people in the audience are avidly singing along to Teenage Queen, an upbeat pop number that has everyone dancing — no mean feat this early in a gig. ...
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