Erakah’s Story of Musical Success
Born in Fiji, Erakah spent part of her early years in the country before being adopted by a family in New Zealand. Over there she discovered she had a talent for singing resulting in…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Conductor Grant Cooper Brings a Heavy Hitter
Guest conductor New Zealand-born Grant Cooper recently packed his SUV with a homemade, giant hammer and drove from West Virginia to Albuquerque to lead the New Mexico Philharmonic through the hammer blows of fate…
Ladyhawke Truly Compels in Manchester
“Synth-pop legend Ladyhawke delivered a flawless performance at the intimate Manchester Academy 3 venue” playing “a set of old and new tracks from her decade career in the music scene,” Mancunion journalist Lydia Ransome…
Neil Finn’s Sound a Lifelong Process
Neil Finn will headline the second Skyfields outdoor concert at the picturesque Bluff headland in Devonport, Tasmania on 11 March, and will be joined on stage by Crowded House member Nick Seymour. “We’ll be able…
Kane Strang’s New Tunes Very Good Indeed
Newly signed to American label, Dead Oceans, singer-guitarist New Zealander Kane Strang is “amping up and plotting a new record,” according to DIY magazine’s El Hunt. “‘Oh So You’re Off I See’ is one of two…
Parris Goebel Was Born to Dance
Parris Goebel’s father tells the BBC that his daughter, “a blessing”, was dropped off by a space ship. And it’s a good thing it did. The 24-year-old choreographer from Manurewa, South Auckland is changing…
Hucci Puts Life to Trap in New Single
Trap is a genre born and bred in the American South, but it is a sound Britain’s grimiest producers have embraced as their own, including Brighton-based New Zealand-born Ollie O’Neil, aka Hucci. Trap mixes slow,…
Ten Memorable Flying Nun Moments
To mark a new LP from New Zealand’s The Bats, the Guardian takes a look back at ten of the best moments from the label that spawned them. “Founded in 1981 by Christchurch-based Roger Shepherd,…
George Ash Driving Australian Music Industry
Meet the third most important person in the Australian music industry – none other than Universal Music Group’s head honcho, New Zealander George Ash. Ash’s pursuit of creating new “revenue streams” for his artists…
2017 Will Be the Year of Our Lorde
With Coachella and Governors Ball 2017 festival announcements, it has become clear that New Zealand alt-pop singer Lorde’s comeback is about to happen, according to Billboard. “Most popular artists announce they are returning from an…
Connan Mockasin’s Faking Jazz Together in Spotlight
A Connan Mockasin song features on an Independent list of most-listened-to tracks the UK newspaper’s staff played the most last year on Spotify. “Oddly, my most-listened to track of 2016 wasn’t from this year at all, but…
Aaradhna Singer Putting NZ R&B Scene On Notice
In 2016, Aaradhna Patel put NZ’s R&B scene on notice with her fourth LP, Brown Girl, going to number one and her refusal to accept the award for Best Hip-Hop Artist at this year’s…
Tami Neilson Shows Soul & Sass On ‘Don’t Be Afraid’
New Zealand-based “songstress Tami Neilson delivers a powerful blend of soul and sass on her sophomore LP, a combination that’s compelling enough to convince anyone who was heretofore unawares just how powerful her potential…
Producer Kamandi Releases New Track The Mould
New Zealand-raised producer Kamandi, aka Tyrone Frost, “has been changing the game across the globe”, according to EDM-culture blog Magnetic Magazine, who caught up with the artist to talk about his influences and his…
Singer Kimbra Teams up with Wrangler
New Zealand Grammy award-winning recording artist Kimbra is already taking the music world by storm, but she’s also dabbling in the fashion world teaming up with Wrangler. Marie Claire UK caught up with her…
Crowded House Play to Adoring Fans in Sydney
“The decision as to when to call time on a band must be a truly wretched one,” Alexandra Spring writes for the Guardian. “, Crowded House returned to the place where they called…
NZ Folk Singer Who’ll Put A Spell On You
“New Zealand’s Aldous Harding –who was recently recommended by Charlotte Church in the Guardian” is “a folk artist whose performances strike that rare balance between fragility and full-blown possession,” writes Kate Hutchinson in an…
Violinist Benjamin Baker Wins NY Music Prize
Violinist Benjamin Baker, 26, has been named one of four first prizewinners at the 2016 Young Concert Artists (YCA) International Auditions in New York. The four artists were selected from a pool of nearly 200…
NZ String Quartet Communicate a Culture
If you were to listen to the New Zealand String Quartet (NZSQ) with your eyes closed, could you tell that they were from halfway around the world? The Hamilton Spectator classical music writer Leonard Turnevicius…
Connan Mockasin’s Soft Hair Swampy Psychedelia
Connan Mockasin “a recluse from New Zealand” and Sam Eastgate of UK band Late of the Pier have teamed up to form Soft Hair, “a reverie of swampy psychedelia”, writes NME journalist Ben Homewood in a…
What Sets Conductor Holly Mathieson Apart
Several factors set Holly Mathieson apart, according to the Herald Scotland. Mathieson, 35, who has just made her debut as assistant conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, comes from the Antipodes, for starters,…
Holly Mathieson Conducts Illinois Philharmonic
New Zealand-born Holly Mathieson, who has been named assistant conductor for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, was at the helm of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) for a recent concert at Governors State University…
The Naked and Famous Match Sound to Vision
The New Zealand-born, Los Angeles-based group The Naked and Famous are pairing a striking visual story with their new album Simple Forms, which was released this month via their own label Somewhat Damaged. Each of…
Musician Roy Montgomery Returns to the Fold
Following a decade long hiatus, Christchurch-based musician Roy Montgomery is about to release a new album – a four LP box set titled RMHQ. Featured in the latest issue of The Wire, Montgomery explains…
Lawrence Arabia’s Breezy Absolute Truth
Included in a roundup of the best Australian LPs that might have passed you by in the past months, (the Guardian includes a caveat) is Christchurch-born Lawrence Arabia’s latest, Absolute Truth. “The lyrics of musician
Thomston Making Unashamed Pop Music
There’s a tendency for males making pop with any sort of prefix to skew themselves towards less mainstream channels. That’s exactly why 20-year-old New Zealander Thomston could be the next best popstar, according to…
Flying Nun History with Pictures
Following a review of founder Roger Shepherd’s memoir In Love With These Times: My Life With Flying Nun Records, Wire magazine has published the stories behind some of the photographs included in the book. The…
Shifting Sands take Gorgeous Guitar Pop to US
Dunedin psychedelic pop trio The Shifting Sands were encouraged to tour the United States by a big fan, American singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten. Etten said: “I fell in love with The Shifting Sands music a…
Why 2016’s Exciting New Americana is Antipodean
New Zealanders Nadia Reid and Marlon Williams are part of “a bold young Oceanic Americana cohort” according to the Guardian’s Laura Snapes. A new wave of young New Zealand and Australian-based artists are giving Nashville’s…
Kimbra’s New Single Sweet Relief Praised
New Zealand pop singer Kimbra, 26, has released a new single, the first since the release of her sophomore album The Golden Echo in 2013. “Sweet Relief” is “bloody excellent,” according to online music…
Carrie Beehan Premieres “Ass In The Middle”
“An artist in the truest sense of the word, Carrie Beehan is now gearing up to unveil her latest sonic self and narrative,” as reported in article in GroundSounds. The New Zealander…
Fis Creating Eco-Conscious Electronics
“Before I was producing music electronically I was a drummer, and I really loved just trying to stop thinking and just play rhythm,” New Zealand-born producer Oliver Peryman aka Fis tells The…
Flying Nun History Recounted by Roger Shepherd
“We forget, or don’t know, or don’t think about it – how difficult it used to be to release records if you weren’t signed to a major label, pre-digital download, pre-social media, pre-internet, never…
The Naked and Famous Lay Low
“All The Naked And Famous do is deliver hits,” according to Boston-based online music magazine, Vanyaland. “The New Zealand-, Los Angeles-based electronic pop group first crashed our playlists with 2010’s incredible Passive Me, Aggressive…
Marlon Williams Celebrates Where He’s From
Marlon Williams’ renown started spreading outside of New Zealand in 2015 when the highly renowned Bloomington, Ind./Austin-based label Dead Oceans released his excellent, self-titled solo debut, Justin Joffe reports for the Observer. Williams, 25,…
Mikey McCleary Subtly Redefining Bollywood Music
Mumbai-based New Zealand composer and producer Mikey McCleary, 47, has been steadily changing the face of Bollywood soundtracks since he moved to India in 2007. His latest movie project is Aditya Chopra’s upcoming film, Befikre…
Crowded House to Be Inducted into ARIA Hall of Fame
Cherished rock-folk group Crowded House will be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame during the ARIA Awards in Sydney on 23 November. Crowded House’s induction has a touch of serendipity about it. This year,…
Producer Joel Little Teams up with Ruth B in LA
Lorde’s former producer, Grammy-award winning New Zealander Joel Little, 33, is now working with Canadian singer-songwriter Ruth B on her first LP, Vine. Little became intrigued with Ruth when a friend sent a demo of…
Conductor Gemma New Makes Music Holistic
The newest classical music rising star, New Zealander Gemma New’s reputation continues to ascend internationally. New takes up the resident conductor role at the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) on 6 September. New’s duties include…
Future Soul Singer Wallace Looks Ahead
When it comes to jazz and soul in Australia, few are on the same level as future soul singer Wellington-born Wallace Gollan, aka Wallace onstage. With her smooth and dusty tone reminiscent of the…
NZ Musicians To Pay Homage To Bob Marley
Reggae music has always found favour in the music market of New Zealand, and 35 years after the death of reggae star Bob Marley the country continues to pay homage to the man and…
Obama Picks Gin Wigmore for Summer Playlist
New Zealand musician Gin Wigmore’s “Man Like That” has made President Barack Obama’s “hand-selected” summer playlist, alongside classics from Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis and Prince, and more recent artists Common, Jay Z and Wale. The…
Parris Goebel Gets the Planet on the Dance Floor
World-famous choreographer Parris Goebel, 24, is making her own music now, because she can. ELLE magazine goes behind-the-scenes on the Auckland set of her new music video, “Friday.” You’ve definitely seen her in…
Adventures in Pianoland a Sister Act
Greymouth-born sisters, composer and songwriter Jan Preston (pictured), 65, and writer and director Gaylene Preston, 69, have combined talents to collaborate on their first stage show, Adventures in Pianoland, which is on at The…
Fat Freddy’s Drop Chat Ahead of BoomTown
Internationally regarded as one of the world’s finest live draws, seven-piece band Fat Freddy’s Drop has a sound that has developed over the years, TNT Magazine reports ahead of the group’s show on the…
Aaradhna: Brown Girl Review
Sometimes you hear a song and “you feel the passion, dance the groove and, for a split second, the world makes glorious sense. Affirmation, validation; that’s all many of us are seeking.” Among “the…
MAALA Rolls out Debut Album Composure
The past few years has seen Aucklander Evan Sinton, better known as MAALA, transform from New Zealand’s Got Talent star to brooding, mysterious electronic artist. With his debut album, Composure just out, Rolling Stone…
Singer Mukuka Musowa Keeping Her Roots Close
Hamilton singer-songwriter Mukuka Musowa, 22, talks to Zambia’s Lusaka Times about her latest single “Just Fine”, her musical inspirations, and New Zealand television show Both Worlds, in which she features. Musowa, who was…
Broods Video Brings Technology to Next Level
New Zealand indie electropop duo Broods incorporates technology in an unexpected and intimate way, with its enthralling new music video for the latest single, “Heartlines,” off their sophomore album, Conscious, according to Entertainment Tonight. In…
Ladyhawke’s Favourite Top Five Albums
Despite Ladyhawke’s busy schedule, the New Zealand musician talked to ELLE.com about the albums that have changed her life and turned her into the synth-pop maestro she is today. Ladyhawke, aka Pip Brown, has already…
The Dead C’s Latest Trouble Strangely Beautiful
New Zealand band The Dead C’s latest album Trouble, which is out on 12 August, is reviewed by Mike Barnes for The Wire magazine, who describes the trio’s new work as “strangely beautiful and…
Yeongrak Online in Search of Scuzzy Beats
With the Christchurch earthquake wiping out all of Yeongrak’s previous hangouts, he took refuge in his bedroom, where he withdrew from regular socialising and immersed himself into the dark, distant corners of the internet….
Flight of the Conchords Aimless and That’s Okay
There was a time, about 10 years ago, when this unassuming pair seemed to have it all figured out in their own quiet way. The Flight of the Conchords had a well-received HBO series…
Québec Music Fans Enjoy Neil Finn’s Summer Set
Neil Finn performed at the recent Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) playing a mixture of Split Enz and Crowded House favourites, as well as some of his own tracks, “in smooth style” according to…
Getting to Know Thomston
Auckland-based musician Thomas Stoneman, aka Thomston, 20, is gearing up to release his highly anticipated debut album, which is “shaping up to be a really interesting, emotive release”, according to Australian entertainment site Howls…
How Flight of the Conchords Outlasted the Hipster
“Despite breaking out at a specific cultural moment – an era during which America, at any rate, was seething with ironic hauteur and fetishised authenticity – penchant for loving…
