My Own Treachery: In Spite EP
Rock and metal have always been genres that empower us to confront problematic elephants-in-the-room that can otherwise be uneasy to face. Wellington artist My Own Treachery’s debut EP ‘In Spite’ ...
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News
# TagYourFolks 2021 Has You Covered This NZ Music Month
# TagYourFolks, an initiative created to showcase the talent of local musicians, is coming back for this 2021 NZ Music Month, its second go around. The local artist song-covers idea came about during 2020’s lockdown from Auckland-based Isla Norman, as a way to create a sense of community among musicians who lost countless gigs during the raised alert levels. Under the artist name Isla, she describes her own musical style as “… somewhere under the umbrella term ‘indie’, walking a tightrope ...
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2021 Aotearoa Music Photography Award Entries Open
Online entries are now open for the first-ever Auckland Festival of Photography and Auckland UNESCO City of Music 2021 Aotearoa Music Photography Award. The award forms part of the Auckland Festival of Photography, a city-wide contemporary art and cultural event which takes place within Auckland's major galleries, project spaces, non-gallery venues and public sites during June each year. The invitation to enter is extended to all NZ-based professional and community photographers, with the theme ...
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Entries Open for the 2021 APRA Silver Scroll Awards
Entries are open for the 2021 APRA Silver Scroll Awards. The awards presented include the APRA Silver Scroll, the Maioha Award, SOUNZ Contemporary Award, Best Original Music in a Feature Film Award and Best Original Music in a Series Award. The date and venue for the 2021 APRA Silver Scroll Awards ceremony have yet to be confirmed, but it will again be held in Tāmaki Makaurau, scheduled for some time in October. Deadlines for entries are May 31. For more information and to apply click here.
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Hastings Band Third In 2020 International Songwriting Competition
Young Hastings band Arlo Mac has impressively claimed third place in the Teen category of the 2020 International Songwriting Competition with their song Ease My Mind. The International Songwriting Competition (ISC) is an annual song contest with a mission to provide the opportunity for aspiring and established songwriters to have their songs heard in a professional, international arena. With a song written by member Harry Mason, the band were the only Kiwi act to place in last year's competition, ...
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Interviews
Michael Aisuru: Moving Upwards
Electronica artist Michael Aisuru (real name Michael West) moved from Christchurch to Auckland for the opportunity to grow as a musician. His recent EP ‘Fantasy’ is a blend of dubstep and dnb that was compiled over the span of two years and both cities. It’s a collection of songs that reflect on his feelings towards his childhood. Jason Chan caught up with him for NZM. “I played the saxophone when I was around 10, and then I moved on to guitar when I was 14 and started thrashing away, ...
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Tia Drumma: Feeling The Love
Reported by the Bay of Plenty Times in early November, Mount Maunganui College students released what they claim as the first original school album coming from the BoP. The album features songs from school bands and artists Vegan Funk Machine, Emily Tattersall, Skye Hine & Malakhai Sadler, Good Morning Good Night, Kofe Table, Mabel George and El’fah.01 & TJ. Driver of this ambitious project was teacher and music producer Tia Beaufort, aka Tia Drumma. ‘MMC 2020’ caught the ear of NZM ...
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NewTracks New Artist: Volts
Formerly part of Christchurch rockers The Valves, guitarist Marc Royal has a new project on the go in the form of pop-rock band Volts. He talks to NZM about the group’s exuberant new single Glass Walls which features as part of April’s NewTracks compilation by NZ On Air Music. What’s your full name, where are you from and what instruments do you play? Marc Royal from Christchurch - guitars and chief band wrangler. Was any high school or other music training especially important ...
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My Song: Lunar Intruder – Angel
Cameron Buyers of Christchurch psychedelic indie rock band Lunar Intruder wrote the lyrics to their new single Angel within an hour. He tells NZM this was one of the first songs he’s written where he was truly satisfied with the outcome by the end of the songwriting process, indeed that completing the song has itself brought the four-piece band closer. Angel, a dreamy journey through a psychedelic atmosphere, attempts to suck the listener in from the moment it begins, progressively ramping ...
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Mini Simmons’ Mixtape
Since appearing on the scene in 2017, high-energy retro blues-rock five-piece Mini Simmons have been bringing a colourful ’70s West Coast vibe to our ears and stages. Celebrating the release of their recent single Push And Pull with a nationwide tour, we asked the band to capture the spirit of their own favourite tunes and influences in a Spotify playlist, and provide a few words about some of their picks. Brad Craig (vocals, guitar) and Emily Mackie (vocals/keys) compiled a list of explosive, ...
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Truth: It’s All About The Bass
After shifting into the dubstep area for an extended period, Christchurch electronic duo Truth have made a return to their dnb roots with new single Pass Me By, the opening track of their 2020 EP ‘Without You’. Members Tristan Roake and Andre Fernandez spoke to Sam Smith about how they wrote and recorded the song. Based across different time zones, with Tristan Roake living in their mutual hometown of Christchurch while Andre Fernandez is much further north in Washington state, the duo ...
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Flynn Cranston: Making a Splash
With last year’s whirlwind success of Jawsh685, still fresh in minds, another young NZ beatmaker has seriously cracked the big time in the United States. Christchurch-based Flynn Cranston has only been making beats for two years, but the 15-year old’s work now features on a Top 40 single and a US chart-topping album. Flynn Cranston has co-write and co-production credits on the single Richer by Rod Wave, which also features on the US rapper’s album ‘Soulfly’ that went to #1 in the States ...
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Live Reviews
Live Review: Echo Children, April 22, Wine Cellar
It’s been a busy 2021 so far for The Wine Cellar on Auckland’s K’ Rd, but near the end of April, Echo Children brought a striking new character to the venue. By the end of the night the local band had compelled their cross-generation audience to scream for ‘one last song’, even after an encore. In celebration of their latest EP, ‘Toxic Happiness’, the three-piece brought their cutting edge, alt-country sound, joined by vivy alt-punk band, Running Stitch and striking blues-rock band, ...
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Live Review: NZTrio’s Dramatic Skies Stratus, April 18, Auckland
NZTrio launched their 2021 series Dramatic Skies at the Concert Chamber of Auckland’s Town Hall on Sunday April 18 with a programme that was bursting with colour. Stratus is the first of three concerts of a cloud theme, but the evening was very far from being overcast or grey. Two works by New Zealand composers were at the centre of the evening - Claire Cowan’s Ultra Violet and a new commission in Reuben de Lautour’s An Auscultation of Water. As respected ambassadors of contemporary classical ...
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Adam Hattaway & The Haunters, April 17, The Thirsty Dog
Christchurch troubadours Adam Hattaway & the Haunters took over the Thirsty Dog last weekend with support from Daniel Armstrong & The Monsoons. The show was to promote Hattaway's new album 'Woolston, Texas.' Photographer Trevor Villers was there for a night of good old-fashioned rock and roll revelry and reported his great admiration for frontman Hattaway, paired with multiple mentions of how he's "one to watch".
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