What's New in New Zealand Music?

And of course I'll also buy you a pint when I get there.

In terms of a unique NZ sound, a couple of acts from Wellington are making huge waves with the public, and bypassing the music bizz circus – Fat Freddy’s Drop and Trinity Roots. Trinity have two self-released albums, Freddy’s have some 12”s on overseas based labels, but rumour has it a (double?) album in the works. Both acts fuse soul/dub/reggae/funk/electronic but in a very deep, very cool way. New Zealand hiphop has been getting the big push recently too – Scribe, Deceptakonz, P-Money, Che Fu etc.

On major labels, there's the straight up rock of The Datsuns, The D4 and about a hundred thousand million lesser bands...

In Wellington there’s real healthy little avant rock (if that’s what you call it) scene based at a venue called Happy – saw an incredible band there last night called The Elephant Men- manic vaguely free jazz but with trad rock line up and f*cked up vox. In terms of indie guitar music, Marineville (Wellington) are fine band – due to release their second album this year some time. And of course the Phoenix Foundation (Wellington) are great. Lots of other little bands here doing cool stuff – The Chandeliers, The Timeless Sounds, The Labcoats. Plenty of talented musicians with open minds…

There’s always exciting sh*t happening here underground, eh? Most of those great Dunedin bands are still going in some capacity and tour every once and a while. Saw The Renderers here in Wgtn last week and they were incredible (still).

Hmm this probably didn’t help – it’s mostly pretty hard to access if you don’t live here! Try googling ‘bnet awards” – that’ll list the nominees for the national “college radio” (in American parlance) awards – most good new acts will be there…

NZ artists to check out:
mint chicks (auckland spazz-new-wavey-punk with real good songs)
pumice (ultra-varied lo-fi/experimental outfit)
futurians (fucked-up dunedin yobbos with a penchant for noise)
disasteradio (c64-totting keyboard whizzo)
die! die! die! (ex-carriage h - explosive scuzz-rock / screamo from auckland)
silo (former substandard guitarist danny bare's new chch neu-type krautrock duo with rustle covini on drums - ex-aesthetics)

+ birchville cat motel, sunship, crude, spacedust, renderers, terminals, greg malcolm, bruce russell, minisnap, bats, shocking pinks, trillion, operation rolling thunder, undercurrents, coolies, international telepaths, goldenaxe etc etc all making great shit..

the a low hum fanzine / tours are always a good place to start..oh and my site too, of course..

terminals are godlike, are they still going? stephen cogle, sigh.
where's the new bats album, i know someone stole their computer with the album on it but i think that was a long time ago.

Ugly roolz OK. Then again I love the Dead C.

last i heard of the terminals people, three of them were carrying on as the minus two.

Don't know how new they are but they are new to me.

hey cameron, i run the http://thebigcity.co.nz nz music site, and you guys keep coming up, but ive got fuck all info on contant pain or your and roddys other stuff..

did you get a copy of the ep?, i seem to be getting good comments about it so far.. i might do a 2nd run if the foxy digitalis review comes out positive

btw, im the bass player for the idols, and dj as 'self-titled'.. Fleurs' got a great night planned!

http://thebigcity.co.nz/posters/images/100904.jpg

https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/nat-music/audio/2018690578/auckland-rapper-mo-muse-dedicates-friday-to-the-victims-of-the-christchurch-attack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go5gvtQ8WLg

A benefit concert is taking place in Christchurch on Wednesday, featuring nearly everyone in NZ music. Absolutely no idea what it'll be like, but please give generously.

The concert will be live on the radio from 07:00 GMT / 19:00 NZT, and locally on TV Three.

Some related links:

- https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/nat-music/audio/2018690891/marlon-williams-in-auckland

- https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/111954347/shihads-jon-toogood-on-being-muslim-changing-his-bands-name-and-keeping-the-faith

- https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/nat-music/audio/2018689779/illbaz-racism-in-the-music-industry-it-s-always-there

https://cdn.eventfinda.co.nz/uploads/events/transformed/1268658-564668-34.jpg

In the U.S., there are two benefit concerts: in Jersey City (Wed.) and Los Angeles (Thursday), with music by New Zealand artists who are based there. Like the concerts in New Zealand, they're named You Are Us/Aroha Nui

- http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1904/S00104/us-iyou-are-usi-concert-announcement.htm (Archived)
-

The concert will be live on the radio from 07:00 GMT / 19:00 NZT, and locally on TV Three.

Worldwide livestream video too, here.

It was a triumph, for the most part – showed NZ music in a fantastic light, and was planned in such a short time. The full concert video is online at the moment, with TV Three's ad-riddled and vapid coverage. Enjoy!

https://www.radionz.co.nz/assets/news/192543/eight_col_P4179695.JPG
Estère! - (Article on RNZ)

NZ music is at a low ebb in popularity, so they'd probably raise more money by asking the All Blacks to sing, or getting Jacinda Ardern to pander to the business community. But that's beside the point. :)

A slight dampener: it turns out NZ's most successful apolitical party band are not so bright

"How dumb do you gotta be to sing a song with the lyrics 'I'm a loaded gun, got my aim on you' and 'Turns out you ain't bulletproof' at a benefit concert for a mass shooting?"

The song was Six60's "Vibes", mentioned earlier - they'd already played at the Auckland benefit concert and didn't notice any problem with it. Possibly even dumber, the Otago Daily Times printed this actual headline:
"Six60 blasted for inappropriate lyrics at Chch concert"
The band probably didn't change anything at all from their usual concert - they also introduced their own song as a "national anthem" when the show included the actual anthem and Dave Dobbyn.

Other things:

Should Spotify be forced to play more Kiwi music? (yes, duh)
- https://thespinoff.co.nz/music/05-04-2019/the-music-quota-debate-has-finally-arrived-on-spotify

or Spotify could help music even more by shutting down, frankly

AND Tom Scott has won the Taite prize for the rap-jazz Avantdale Bowling Club – some astonishing poetry on that album.

Name-change alert - hitmaker Bene has changed her name to Benee, possibly for google reasons like when the Beetles did it.

Her follow-up track to "Soaked" was "Evil Spider". One-listen verdict: she's lost it! nah just kidding, it's more of the same.

- https://youtu.be/uQ983htswu8

ILM fan's favourites Yumi Zouma are one member less, and they've gone weird with their weird single, "Bruise" (Warning: not weird)

- https://i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/bj9748/yumi-zouma-is-back-with-a-new-unexpected-single

They're also trying to get into one of those endless "band photo" threads

https://video-images.vice.com/articles/5ce46f88d10c93000bb3840b/lede/1558536018603-Yumi-Zouma-Henry-Hargreaves-II.jpeg?crop=0.7762xw%3A0.6678xh%3B0.0844xw%2C0xh&resize=700%3A*

Olivia Foa'i released her second solo song, after her band Te Vaka's great success with the Moana movie soundtrack. "My Way" includes lyrics in Tokelauan, and good god she can dance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8iaJoTsw88

Maisey Rika has posted some demos from years ago, it's the new Basement Tapes

- "TUHOE"

- "KEEPING IN CONTACT" AD JINGLE (for Telecom, before it became a television channel)

- "CERVICAL CANCER AWARENESS JINGLE DEMO" ... Maisey Rika with the "O Superman" voice effect. Track of the year

On TV, Aroha Bridge is back for a series of full episodes - with the voices of hip hop's Coco Solid and Rizván, about the adventures of their band Hook Ups

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceWeQxZe2t4

Also, Moana Maniapoto has become the country's most serious journalist in her show, including the immortal line, "Coming up after the break: How can we avoid the apocalypse?"

This is an extremely useful thread. Many thanks sbahnhof for your diligence.

Making good progress catching up on this year's music, I'm nearly at mid-April.

Astro Children's Millie Lovelock goes solo on her confessional debut album, she's never been better

Repulsive Woman - Relief
- https://repulsivewoman.bandcamp.com/album/relief

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a3712362028_7.jpg

Ria Hall has seriously found the core of classic reggae as protest music. Almost as if it's still relevant today! #ihumātao

Ria Hall - "Cause and Effect"
- https://riahall.bandcamp.com/track/cause-effect

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a3393789660_7.jpg

Imugi can't get any cooler, it's not humanly possible

Imugi 이무기 - "Be Here Soon" / "Greensmoke"
- https://soundcloud.com/a-label-called-success/imugi-be-here-soon
- https://youtu.be/Psce1BtWC-g
-

Yes, I would like to listen to the Kora/Katchafire supergroup from Whakatane with slight Dire Straits influences, thank you for asking

L.A.B. - "Personify"
- https://labmusic.bandcamp.com/track/personify

And an album curated by Hinewehi Mohi, Waiata / Anthems, has some of NZ's biggest music stars doing their songs in Māori, released for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori - it was a heck of an effort:

“It was initially meant to be a bilingual album, but the artists said to me ‘I want to do it all in Maori’. Only one is a fluent speaker, so for most of them this was their first real opportunity to sing in Māori. The artists have been brave and inspirational through the recording process which has ultimately been extremely challenging for the majority of them having little or no Maori language skills,” said Mohi. “It is testimony to how important they each view Te Reo Maori as the cornerstone of our culture. This music will help us all to feel like we can participate and celebrate in the uniqueness of our national identity.”
– Music News - Introducing Waiata/Anthems, music.net.nz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BFFXEhpthI

Unsatisfied with the old Views, JessB brought out her New Views

Her 2nd EP features tracks with Paige and Church Leon, who is not a man of the cloth, I fear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF5DAeMHcG0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDOhuyx76QQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft-nT9dizLo

Nadia Reid's third album will be out in March 2020, Out Of My Province

- https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1912/S00045/nadia-reid-announces-new-album-out-of-my-province.htm

“The song [Best Thing] is about relationships, childhood and nostalgia. It is about intimate love and about the love between a mother and a daughter. In it, I am rigid and almost emotionless. But perhaps that is because we shot in Dunedin at 6 am... in the wintertime!” Reid quips. – (The Label/Scoop)

You've heard the quips, now see the vid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osWgE_Y5Z0M

Nadia Reid is so good.

Six60 are so bad.

Are they as interesting as that? :-)

It is strange how popular Six60 are in NZ, breaking some chart records recently... More popular than Lorde, and their concerts this summer might make them the country's biggest act ahead of Ed Sheeran. If it's any consolation, on their radio session they kinda looked like they couldn't be arsed. Only gave the poor drummer a tambourine. I can't see much reason other countries would take to them, though they've nibbled the Aussie charts this year.

Ooh, what is everyone's favourite NZ track or album of the 2010s? (apart from ilm's obvious faves The Beths and Six60.) Would love to know. I'm still not very familiar with 2010-2014 – will post a few retrospectives that are online later.

My favorite NZ albums of the 2010s:
John White - The Inkadies (2010)
Die! Die! Die! - Form (2010)
Cut Off Your Hands - Hollow (2011)
Punches - Etheria (2011)
Opossum - Electric Hawaii (2012)
The Shifting Sands - Cosmic Radio Station (2015)
Bespin - Osiris EP (2015)
avoid!avoid - Particle And Wave (2016)
Doprah - Wasting (2016)
Street Chant - Hauora (2016)
Fazerdaze - Morningside (2017)
Death And The Maiden - Wisteria (2018)
David Kilgour - Bobbie's A Girl (2019)

I dig The Beths, Aldous Harding, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Mermaidens, etc but have never fallen for entire albums.

Cheers, Gerald! I need to give Doprah another spin, I really loved Indira Force's other band New Dawn.

If I'd known before now that the choreographer Parris Goebel did a rap album where she shouts song titles over a banging donk, I would've listened solely to that for the past three years

each to their own of course but that list up there is pretty dull and leaves off a whole shit tonne of great music -heres another decade perspective:

Maxine Funke - Lace
Negative Nancies - You Do You
P.H.F - I Hate Myself
Centre Negative - Emotion is Cringey
Coolies - Kaka
SWIDT - Bunga
Unsanitary Napkin - Orgasmic Capitalism
Coco Solid
Opposite Sex - Hamlet
Kraus -Pudding Island
It Hurts - Estuary
Piece War- Apathy
Thistle Group
Futurians - Robots in Disguise
Randa - Orange Juice , singles etc
Vincent H.L - Weird Days
Terminals - Antiseptic
Purple Pilgrims - Perfumed Earth
Pumice - Puny
The Biscuits - The Dolly Dog Seems Alright

prob some I have forgotten ten yrs is a long time

Thank you for these dangerous sounds! That's my Christmas party sorted.

But please, less of the "pretty dull" comments - everybody's perspective is welcome.

Having this many recommendations is a nice surprise, especially when there aren't so many fans of Kiwi music on here

https://i.postimg.cc/fygTbBnQ/aroha-bridge-audience.png
(visual approximation)

UnderTheRadar: years gone by
From the archives, these were the UTR site's best-of lists during this decade:

2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018

* (2015 page was lost, possibly Kim Dotcom has it)

Radio New Zealand has done a staff poll of the 2000s + 2010s combined. It somewhat dilutes everything by trying to cover a 20-year period, but perhaps they never did a 2000s albums list.

As you'd expect, it's a triumphant victory for Pacifier, nah just kidding

"RNZ Music's top 21 NZ albums of the 21st century"
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/nat-music/audio/2018724138/rnz-music-s-top-21-nz-albums-of-the-21st-century (Archive)

More from the 2010s, what did real people actually listen to? These are the NZ artists' charts for each year.

While Lorde is the biggest name internationally, at home it's much closer - the decade's two best-sellers have been Six60 and the pop-opera trio Sole Mio, who topped the EOY album chart four times from 2013–2017.
(Note* The all-NZ chart wasn't around in 2010, recorded as starting on 31 October 2011.
Streaming was added to the charts in 2016.)

2010 Singles ★ 2010 Albums*
2011 Singles ● 2011 Albums
2012 Singles ★ 2012 Albums
2013 Singles ● 2013 Albums
2014 Singles ★ 2014 Albums
2015 Singles ● 2015 Albums
2016 Singles ★ 2016 Albums
2017 Singles ● 2017 Albums
2018 Singles ★ 2018 Albums

HIGHLIGHTS from ☆ KIRIHIMETE ☆ (Xmas) and ◴ TE TAU HOU PĀKEHĀ ◷ (Hogmanay)

https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music113/v4/95/e5/03/95e503f7-3e22-eee0-8460-7f71445f7c18/190295292133.jpg/268x0w.jpg
(?)

An album with something for everyone, everyone:

"Top Māori artists lift spirits with new visual album Mōhau
Rob Ruha, Ria Hall, Troy Kingi, Bella Kalolo, Majic Paora, Kaaterama and the East Coast Tira Waiata (Choir) sensation Ka Hao have united to create a powerful visual album, entitled Mōhau (For you)."

“Some songs were originals like 'Aue Wairua' which I wrote in the 90s, and some songs are new," Ruha explains. ... “Although this is the season to give, there are some people who we know are less fortunate and so they are discouraged in a way. So we thought as a collective that this project can be presented as a gift, something they can share among their family and loved ones.” – (Te Ao news)

Various Artists - MŌHAU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEl7sFAYfjg

Now, I know we all thought Benee's breakthrough hit "Soaked" was a breath of fresh air, but because of that, she's started pumping that sound for all it's worth and "Glitter" began 2020 as the no.1 Kiwi song after becoming a meme on Ticktock, god I hate the internet

Benee - "Glitter"
- https://youtu.be/D3gmU0GOTXI

"Is being a TikTok dance good?"
"Benee probably won’t make money off TikTok, but there are few platforms as powerful for building an immediate and global following. At over 11.5 million streams on Spotify, ‘Glitter’ has been listened to almost twice as much as ‘Find an Island,’ which might surprise anyone who’s been listening to the radio lately."

Marlon Williams popped up on the Australian new year's eve concert on the ABC (on his birthday, in fact), performing two covers – a moving rendition of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy", and also "Common People", in which the mild-mannered crooner danced around the stage like a man possessed. Guess which song this link leads to:

- https://youtu.be/2CeJ23f80LY?t=1h23m16s

In Rolling non-US rap thread 2020 I posted Randa's "Rock Bottom" single that I named the G.O.A.T., mainly thanks to the brilliant video with Hamish Parkinson. Having said that, Randa's follow-up "Toughen Up" is probably a better song, continuing their run of great tracks – a celebration of niceness with an anti-macho message. And the song's 'tough' rock sound would make it ideal for Radio Hauraki playlists, except that it doesn't suck

Randa - "Toughen Up"
- https://larzranda.bandcamp.com/track/toughen-up

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a0167685671_7.jpg

I'm not saying life in Auckland is exactly like Aroha Bridge, but the hottest ticket in town was Imugi playing the closure of a food court:

- https://youtu.be/3iB2m9254CU?t=45m30s

...so yeah, in the struggle to catch up on 2019, I'm just up to Queen's birthday. Haven't even heard Chloe Swarbrick's "OK Boomer (Remix)" yet

2019 ILM poll NZominationz :

Starting with a nomination on the metal poll – Beastwars made a shock return, reuniting in the unhappy circumstance of Matt Hyde's illness. The band's frontman went through cancer treatment in 2018, just before they made their fourth album. It seems he's doing well, as they're now on an Aus/NZ tour.

You can hear, listening to the album, how cathartic it is.
The new album is simply called IV, and its cover is the work of artist Nik Keller (who also did their previous three). The Greek goddess of health, Hygeia towers over a fallen soldier, a snake coiled around her shoulders, and a sword in her hand. – (RNZ)

BEASTWARS – IV
- https://beastwars.bandcamp.com/album/iv

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a2948879241_7.jpg

On ILM's poll, art-pop duo Purple Pilgrims' album is nominated, as is the track "Sensing Me". The album features guitar from Roy Montgomery (friend of ILM!) on "Ruinous Splendour":

Purple Pilgrims – Perfumed Earth
- https://purplepilgrims.bandcamp.com/album/perfumed-earth

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a0378203621_7.jpg

On the ILM tracks poll:

Mermaidens – "She's Running"
- https://mermaidens.bandcamp.com/track/shes-running

Broods – "Falling Apart"
- https://open.spotify.com/album/3emsEOWvKnlvAOj80KEqLE

And there are album noms for THE DEAD C and Aldous Harding.

UTR's various contributors reviewed the year

UTR's 2019 Favourite Music Moments
- https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/news/16760/UTRs-2019-Favourite-Music-Moments.utr
-

Some great tracks from later in 2019:

"ROULETTE" – CHURCH & AP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTJjQigWQ8Y

SWIDT – "BUNGA"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQBEJQJ7_JQ

Disciple Pati – "The Boy Who Cried Woman"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66UD_8RSfGc

^ That's a debut single from December (more info here).

Also in December, Soccerpractise brought out their second electronic album, Te Pō (The Night) with noticeably more guitars, more reo Māori, and their Banger Ratio is up by about 300%, which = bangers. It's also available as a dizzying "visual album".

SOCCERPRACTISE – TE PŌ
- https://open.spotify.com/album/3He6sMx8TLPhEwUNtV3KGv

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/k3zjqlR0kHk/mqdefault.jpg

A few more 2019 releases – Punk band Miss June brought out their first album, Bad Luck Party after several years together, with a more conventional '90s alt-rock sound but some rough edges still there ... Electro producer BAYNK released Someone's EP II to some acclaim, and he's launching a U.S. tour next week ... Surf-rockers Soaked Oats made their 3rd EP, Sludge Pop ... And pop singer/songwriter Theia wrote a beautiful new Christmas song, "Te Kaiwhakaora O Te Ao".

Other stories:

Very Obscure Vinyls: there's an exhibition about lathe-cut records that were made in tiny numbers in NZ. Some of the lathe-cuts (a cheap alternative to vinyl) are now valuable, if you're into Aldous Harding anyway. The exhibit's coming to Lower Hutt in February.

Boomer/Millennial soundclash: can choral singing prevent ageist intolerance?

Kia māia (Be bold) - Ria Hall spoke at the 2019 Silver Scrolls on the disregard for women and reo Māori music in sectors of the industry, and encouraged them to change. (Just in case it isn't clear, this thread is not "the way it is" in real life. Inclusion here is almost a guarantee that an artist will be as obscure as a 19th-century war)

Another ILMy nom I forgot, by Chaos In The CBD - the second track on this record from the house DJ brothers, last February:

"Green Dove" is an upbeat trip that's also mellow and weird, including more retro rave influences complemented by lush atmospheres. An intro of synth washes picks up another bumpy melodic bassline. The brothers then chop up the vocals, creating an immersive soundscape that invites you to shut your eyes.
– (Resident Advisor)

Chaos In The CBD – "Orange Blank" / "Green Dove"
- https://chaosinthecbd.bandcamp.com/album/orange-blank-green-dove

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a0976911012_7.jpg

Radio New Zealand have decided that youth radio is the future and they might build a station with a heavy focus on Kiwi music. Good luck with that! :-D

So, I'd like to a take a sec to mention some other places where New Zealand music is played and covered – and plz add others that you like, if any. I wrote before about RNZ's weekly show, Music 101.

IWI RADIO is where the largest number of NZ songs are broadcast every day, on the regional stations in each Māori tribal area:
- http://www.irirangi.net/iwi-stations.aspx
Three good ones for reo Māori music are Moana Radio (in Tauranga), MFM/Maniapoto FM (Te Kuiti) and Tūranga FM (Gisborne), and honestly the general pop mix on Atiawa Toa FM is better than anything that bigger and more cynical companies can come up with. The iwi stations do a great job on very low budgets, helped by the passion of volunteers, and sometimes by the automatic DJ machine that was going to take over RNZ Concert. (Don't praise the machine.)
An airplay chart is also compiled, Te Reo Māori Top 20.

UNIVERSITY MUSIC:

- BFM (Auckland), the show "Freak The Sheep" / video channel
- Radio Control (Palmerston North), "The Local Show" / vids
- RadioActive.fm (Wellington), "The NZ Music Show" / vids
- RDU (Christchurch), video channel / "Te Ahi Top 10"
- Radio 1 (Dunedin), "The Local" / vids

...Until now I didn't know about Radio Control's mixcloud, and neither does anyone else in the world apparently. The show that I stream the most often is R1's. New host is a bit full-on, tho

EXCITING WEBSITES:

- https://basefm.co.nz/category/video/local-eyes/
- https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/
- https://nzmusician.co.nz/
- https://nztop40.co.nz/

And further off the radar, there's always the Bandcamp tag New Zealand and Aotearoa.

A superb live band, L.A.B. have had their first hit together, and it's become the biggest Kiwi song of the moment – from their album L.A.B. III

L.A.B. - "In The Air"
https://labmusic.bandcamp.com/track/in-the-air

On the charts, some local musicians have had a very good summer. In 2020 so far, L.A.B. and Benee have reached No.2 and 3 on the main singles chart, where the last New Zealander to hit No.1 was in 2017.

The collaborative song "Ka mānu" is the current top song on the reo Māori radio chart:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIj3cKbWgRE

Ria Hall (heard in "Ka mānu") brought out her new album last week. A tribute to classic reggae bands, it's a a good follow-up to Rules of Engagement, but at 7 tracks may've been more rightly labelled as a generous EP. The instantly iconic cover is by the artist Robyn Kahukiwa.

Ria Hall - Manawa Wera
- https://riahall.bandcamp.com/album/manawa-wera

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a3428938539_7.jpg

Metal band Shepherds Reign released their first Samoan-language track as a tribute to the country of heritage of their vocalist Filivaa James and guitarist Oliver Leupolu. It's possibly the first metal track to be sung in le Gagana Sāmoa, though that's hard to ascertain. The band were supporting Alien Weaponry last week.

Shepherds Reign - "Le Manu"
https://www.thecoconet.tv/songbook/islandjams/shepherds-reign-le-manu/

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a2668439964_7.jpg

And for maximum tonal whiplash

NADIA REID - Out of My Province
- https://nadiareid.bandcamp.com/album/out-of-my-province

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a4145199521_7.jpg

The indie-folk star's third album, its title quoting Janet Frame, was written while Reid was travelling the world. Alongside guitarist Sam Taylor, the violinist Anita Clark (Motte) returns to her live band.

Nadia Reid - "Get The Devil Out"
https://youtu.be/VoRc9nBYwHo

L.A.B. - "In The Air"

A huge hit, the song eventually rose to No.1 overall, where it's stayed for 3 weeks now. A very rare achievement for a Kiwi artist.

Benee may get her first No.1 here soon – her track "Supalonely" has gone feral on TwitClock. On an unrelated note, she's also gonna try to take over the U.S., it can't be that hard.

- https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/9337519/benee-interview-supalonely-emerging-artists-spotlight

OTHER STUFF: bKIDD featured new vocalist Jarna on his rap track "Can't Take This" (a 'Visualizer' is a music video with no budget?) ... Electro artist VASILI has a stunning new album, Hidden Inside, his tenth(?) in 7 years ... Yumi Zouma released their new record, Truth or Consequences ... Some prominent Various Artists have made a Katherine Mansfield album, GET YER OWN IDEAS, MATE ... (that's not the title) ... Rappers Shiraz & LSJ had some success last year and unveiled their most polished track yet, "Whitney". They had it mixed & mastered and everything ... Estère played a session track, "Mad about Your Sea" from her upcoming album ... And, the NZSO will stream its Bach concert live on Wed 25 March at 19:30 NZT on https://nzso.co.nz/live

The coronavirus is affecting New Zealand and its musicians like anywhere else – there's a page for artists who are facing problems with money, mental health and other things:

- https://nzmusician.co.nz/news/covid-19-vs-nz-global-music-industry

Ah, that one music video TV channel we have is back! for a few months.

I guess they don't mind the comparison with Radio with Pictures...
- https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/radio-with-pictures-1976/series

WOMAD festival was one of the last events to be held, in March.

But... there was a problem.

Wellington publisher Mary McCallum went to Womad with 17,000 people each day, just before the lockdown.
It’s a fortnight since people headed home from Womad in New Plymouth, some going straight into self-isolation as a preventive measure.

The problem with Womad
- https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2020/03/31/1107877/the-problem-with-womad

If a song called "Supalonely" can't get to No.1 during a human quarantine crisis, something unusual must be happening

The rapper Melodownz signed to Def Jam last year; his party piece is probably the track "Peace Signs, Gang Signs", he also did a long-distance collab with UK MC Coops on "Infinite" in 2018.

His latest single is a change of direction, heavily influenced by drill.

'“There’s a lot of drill and darker themes in music at the moment which I love also, but I just wanted to create something that makes people happy and comfortable.” Melo describes.'

MELODOWNZ - ‘Fine’
- https://basefm.co.nz/melodownz-fine

reason I stick with this dude is goofy lines like
"I don't hang with nobody who not nice"

From last year, but whadevva:

LOU'ANA - "Move Along"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd3STQPI6PY

Old time occasional poster/long time lurker who just retrieved his password here to say that GRG67 just put out their new album on Rattle Records last week and are very good at the jazz. Their release show was terrific and they're playing again on Thursday.

https://rattle-records.bandcamp.com/album/happy-place

Also went to the Cakekitchen release show last week. Wasn't overwhelmed by the selections from the new album on a first listen, but when you're competing against the career highlights on almost 40 years that's an occupational hazard, and a new track (recorded during lockdown) was one of the highlights of the whole damn show.

https://allyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/trouble-again-in-this-town

Coming to stages in Auckland in August: black metal legends Ulcerate, whose new record is a monster.

https://ulcerate.bandcamp.com/album/stare-into-death-and-be-still

(Since The Beths have their own damn thread I assume mentioning them here is redundant...)

I hadn't heard GRG67 before! Happy Place is a great album, thx.

Sorry for implying earlier that Radio 1's Henny G was too "full-on", as I now realize that she is the world's funniest broadcaster and her emergency music show in lockdown was the best one of those. Furthermore, the playlist starts with someone called Lee F Blower and then the latest banger "Heatwave" by Randa, whose yet-to-be-completed album will, I maintain, be the Alb of the Decade if they do it right.

- https://www.mixcloud.com/Radio_One_91fm_Dunedin/nz-on-air-presents-the-local-9420-with-ashley-adelaide-henessey-sam-tom

It's not quite true that I spent the last ten months listening to that Soccerpractise album on repeat, but pretty close.

Election special: Underground doomcore merchants The Beths helped the Green Party back to parliament by performing at their campaign rally in Titirangi ... Meme MP Chlöe Swarbrick got a booming result in the vote in central Auckland, an achievement maybe even bigger than her appearing in JessB's first video in 2018 as a netball official ... The opening track on the Ulcerate album, "The Lifeless Advance", also happens to sum up the far-right party of that name ... And there's a Cannabis Referendum but the electoral commission were too stoned to count the results for about two weeks. Obviously, There Is No Weed-related Music in New Zealand, so I'm not sure why I'm mentioning it here.

This band "Dick Move" might be a bit political as well :-D
- https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/news/17818/Dick-Move-Touring-New-Album-Chop!-In-October.utr

What's Old and Still Fresh in New Zealand Music? Well for instance this 'un I wrote about long ago in the Voice:

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2008 AT 4 A.M.

Die! Die! Die!

Promises, Promises (SAF)

"So much for blue skies! What about the future?" Thus New Zealand's young punks Die! Die! Die! yap back at a preacher's "You must believe!" They aren't really asking, but they also aren't really that close to no-future angels of '77. Of course not---too many things under the bridge, including bridges---and while these neo-classic cage-rattlers demand come-on comparison, they don't cling to it. They've got their own sonic reflux, absorbing the news and vice-versa. So even Die! Die! Die!, with their shrieky little name and shrieky little songs (tattooing ear canals), find themselves pausing just long enough to explain, quite reasonably, "Well sir, this winter, I cannot believe." "Blue Skies" is the last stop on Die! Die! Die!'s second album, Promises, Promises. Their Steve Albini–recorded, self-titled 2006 debut's flying shards of impulsive/compulsive encounters were caught by walls thrown up, tracks tightened till they imploded: 10 songs, in just over 20 minutes. But now, on this Shayne (of Straitjacket Fits) Carter–produced set, walls are pushed out as inner space-junk expands; shards reappear as pieces of Wilson's personal blue skies, of old hopes and dreams. His shattered, scattered voice and guitar can't help planting some bizarre memory garden of l-u-v. The eloquent guts of Lachlan Anderson's bass will never digest such seeds very easily, and drummer Michael Prain's Keith Moon-style soloing-as-accompaniment dents craters in a common labyrinth-in-a-maze, where Wilson and "You!" grapple in reflective gear.
Die! Die! Die! play the Music Hall of Williamsburg March 29 and Highline Ballroom March 30.

This might be new:

Die! Die! Die! - "450" / "I Seek Misery"
- https://diediedie.bandcamp.com/album/450-i-seek-misery

Vanessa Worm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZREmKORfWNI

xpost Thanks! Should have known they'd be on bandcamp.

The NZMAs, now named the Aotearoa Music Awards, are happening tonight and broadcasting on The Edge TV and Three.

Haven't followed the charts much this year, but it looks like a very promising nominee lineup – there are sure to be prizes for the some of the ones mentioned above based on popularity and maybe artistry.

Paige, who collaborated with JessB last year, is up for the breakthrough artist and pop award. Meanwhile, Troy Kingi's band are four years into their project to make 10 albums in 10 genres with the new one, The Ghost of Freddie Cesar, and he's nominated for best single for "All Your Ships Have Sailed".

Troy Kingi - The Ghost of Freddie Cesar
- https://troykingi.bandcamp.com/album/the-ghost-of-freddie-cesar

Chaii ain't gonna win, but I love her

CHAII - Lightswitch EP
- https://soundcloud.com/chaiimusic/sets/lightswitch-ep-1

Jawsh 685's "Laxed (Siren Beat)" is up for best single because it became popular worldwide as a 20-second snippet, which is handy, as there's nothing more to the track. The video's pretty good tho.
(Then Jason Derulo saw an opportunity, etc etc)

the cuticles & n.t. honey (typo'd elsewhere as m.t. honey but it's n.t.) are good. crude is doing stuff again but i only heard 30 seconds of a recent gig on someone's instagram post. heazlewood has a new band called consolidated fuzz, they're probably good, i haven't heard them. i'm in a band again too, good. why do people like the veils, they're terrible.

Arm Up Ehoa; The Pigs Want To Open Carry by Captain Cooked on #SoundCloud

https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/G4AbY

Fazerdaze has a new song out: https://open.spotify.com/track/2qkAa6IrUy5WWizVE1rpeh?si=9u0qWliWSou70CfEOntp4g

It's got a great mid-nineties alt rock vibe. Less shoegazey than her previous work, with plenty of fuzzy grit.

It's been five years so hopefully a new album is coming soon!

I like the new Tiny Ruins songs, pretty indie-folk with memorable hooks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4feBg1lmrU