What's New in New Zealand Music?

Apparently there are nine threads for them O_O They win ILM! Most recent two you could use are The Clean - Compilation + The Clean Anthlogy and there other material

NZ Music Month, or is it?

http://thewireless.co.nz/system/production/content_images/images/000/003/471/full/NZMM-01-v2.gif?1462220757

Pop musician October has released her album, Ultra Red. A set of beautiful pop songs disguised as ugly industrial fuzz:

- https://open.spotify.com/album/3sLYZtrcfagCOYEv8L1IBa

https://www.muzic.net.nz/images/news/7501.jpg

Rei has unveiled his Māori-language hip hop EP, Rangatira:

- https://musicbyrei.bandcamp.com/album/rangatira

- http://musicnation.co.nz/rei-releases-groundbreaking-te-reo-maori-ep-rangatira

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a1739189705_7.jpg

JessB is a possible new hip hop star – she brought out the EP Bloom in March. Latest video is "Set It Off", with cameos :)

- https://basefm.co.nz/jessb-set-it-off

- https://soundcloud.com/ogjessb/sets/bloom-ep

https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music118/v4/c6/86/31/c686310b-ef52-e39d-95ac-26c73c83a710/192562225240.jpg/200x0w.jpg

Estère's two-part album is done now, My Design, On Others' Lives:

- https://estere.bandcamp.com/album/my-design-on-others-lives

Also recently, the new album by Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Sex & Food ... Metal band Alien Weaponry's bilingual debut album, Tū, is out tomorrow ... New Zealand's fourth most popular independent music award, the Taite Music Prize, was criticized for an exclusionary voting system, and during the ceremony the ashes of the Headless Chickens' Grant Fell (Ngāpuhi) were scattered onto the stage, a major no-no in Māori culture due to the sanctity of human remains ... Coco Solid was unimpressed with NZ music's response to the gender equality campaign Equalise My Vocals: "Now what? The industry needs to use it's resources and platforms for better & not leave it to 2 tired queer women of colour with a crowdfunded 5k to do all the fucking work".

David Dallas brought out the video to "Probably", the fourth single from the album Hood Country Club cos he's South Auckland AF

- https://youtu.be/meLtp1tYr_c

NZ Music Month coincides with comedy festival month, and some talented comedians have invented the genre of Centrist Reggae:

- https://twoheartsnz.bandcamp.com/track/legalise-it (warning, extreme content)

And the top Kiwi song of the moment: those angry reggae punks Sons Of Zion, with the furious "Drift Away":

- https://youtu.be/tq4adoBJCU8

As RMNZ has introduced a second NZ top 20 for the week's fastest-rising songs, here are some things that are bubbling under the charts under the charts:

Hi-Nes and Krisy Erin join the elite with "Never Get Me Back":

- https://youtu.be/IAVixrS8UuA

Raiza Biza brings the chill beats in "Marco Polo" ft. Bobandii:

- https://open.spotify.com/track/6WQC0R3sDNSIp4yIFcHUS3

Country-folk artist Emily Fairlight released her heartbreaking album Mother of Gloom. It's a bit sad...

- https://emilyfairlight.bandcamp.com/track/drag-the-night-in
https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a2172066623_7.jpg

(Recommended if you liked Like Splitting the Head From the Body by Womb, from earlier in 2018)
https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a0584207770_7.jpg

-

On a much sunnier note, pop band Drax Project dropped their Noon EP, but their single "Woke Up Late" has been on the NZ chart forever:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD4LgdcDdVc

And for maximum tonal whiplash, metal band Alien Weaponry bring the opposite of chill on their debut album Tū, in Māori and English, an LP that hit the top 5:

- https://youtu.be/5kwIkF6LFDc
https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a0321818772_7.jpg

TBH, all I really want to do is post episodes of Aroha Bridge and The Māori Side Steps to confuse our non-Kiwi viewers until the thread reaches 100 posts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOe67mNhWc4

i love the Chelsea Jade record which was released yesterday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s-koCm9INw

SO GOOD!

"Laugh It Off" is one of the 20 songs that might win the Silver Scroll, the prestigious "artists' choice" award. All nominees are here:

- https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/nat-music/audio/2018652990/the-apra-silver-scroll-award-2018-top-20-announced

...Chelsea Jade and 19 indie songs :-) Well, not quite, and there's a lot of really nice music on the list, but it isn't as "diverse" as they claim – it was selected by only nine people, and it shows. In the whole list there's one rap song, lots of downtempo/MOR stuff, no female Māori artists, no songs fully in Māori... (Songs in Māori have the Maioha Award, but that gets much less publicity.) At least they didn't nominate Groany, but it's all very "Music 101 on a Saturday afternoon". I'm not a big SWIDT fan, but "Conquer" leaps out of the speakers against this field.

The voting system has some problems similar to those the Taite Music Prize was criticized for. Artists enter their own songs, and must be APRA members, which shouldn't be necessary imo, if they're truly seeking the best NZ songwriting. This year's awards come after the 2017 Silver Scroll, when APRA voters chose an all-female top 5 for the first time.

Anyway in conclusion, here's Groeni, I mean, Rob Ruha.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIqQTrxc15E

The Beths, also on that Silver Scroll shortlist, have an album out too and it's the most glorious bored squally pop https://open.spotify.com/album/4NK0WVg7ZK0rIrcwFKjTIU

The new Broods single is great too!

^ These are they

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVImwSb4EYU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKG1Ddm8KgE

The Beths now have a thread, imaginatively titled The Beths

Some recent-ish stuff:

Haja, an all-star album featuring current NZ artists: Aaradhna, Chelsea Jade, Estère, JessB, Kings and Raiza Biza.

As well as that, it's a fusion of musical styles from Sudan and New Zealand. Surprisingly it was put together by rock frontman Jon Toogood, of Shihad – he first heard the Gisma Group and aghani al-banat, "girls' music", when he got married in Khartoum, Sudan. The band recorded there with him, some of which is on this album years later.

- https://open.spotify.com/album/1lCMWkUACs5TaPm7Y1KABa

- https://www.noted.co.nz/culture/music/jon-toogood-married-african-roots-nz-hip-hop-new-album

https://www.noted.co.nz/media/19898/mt0718_the-adults-haja.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_FrOD9st4M

Maybe for Discogs reasons, the label insisted on reviving the bad-but-good name "The Adults", which Toogood's supergroup used in 2011, although the two albums are quite different.

btw, Estère's radio Mixtape is highly ILM-friendly, but don't let that put you off. She even knows the words to "Akanamali" :D

Jazz hip-hop band Avantdale Bowling Club, fronted by Tom Scott of the influential rap group Home Brew, as he reflects on life and fatherhood. The band includes Julien Dyne (drums) and Guy Harrison (piano/trumpet).

- https://avantdalebowlingclub.bandcamp.com/album/avantdale-bowling-club

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a4203606936_7.jpg

And one of the sleeper hits of the year by a New Zealander, Robinson's "Nothing to Regret", it's for the young people

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

After streaming success in NZ and Australia, the song is one of the nominees at the New Zealand Music Awards 2018.

"Our culture is your culture"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4sN1etmws8

Who won the Silver Scroll, you don't wanna barely know, but Ria Hall won the Maioha Award with her song "Te Ahi Kai Po" from Rules of Engagement.

‘Te Ahi Kai Pō’ is about healing after war, and trying to find hope in times of despair. It draws on Ria’s own family history, telling the story of the Battle of Te Ranga (just south of Tauranga), where, in June 1864 the British Army took retaliation for the earlier battle at Gate Pā. Over a hundred Māori died there, some buried where they fell.

At the ceremony, local soul singer Teeks delivered a moving performance of ‘Te Ahi Kai Pō’, supported by Nick Dow and Ngā Tumanako kapa haka group. – (RNZ)

The Scrolls' main award went to Marlon Williams' ballad with Aldous Harding, "Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore", with its pleasingly literal video:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsJIDptF-2c

Williams' ‘Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore’, a duet with fellow Lyttelton musician Aldous Harding, explores the pair’s break-up. Williams said it was an honour to receive the award and paid homage to the other finalists. "To hear my name in your company is something that I treasure," he said.

Great tune.

And at the NZMAs in November, Williams won best album for Make Way for Love. Other highlights included JessB's medley performance featuring Rubi Du, and Upper Hutt Posse's Te Kupu, who filibustered the broadcast for 15 minutes by listing the names of everyone they'd ever worked with.

END OF 2018 is near, so if you want you can post your best of the year... perhaps using the classic "fake awards ceremony" style, such as "Best gangsta indie EP" or "Most improved DJ".

This was Chelsea Jade's debut album Personal Best, 10 tracks of VERY tight pop tunes, and one o_O title track

- https://open.spotify.com/album/05JyBFPtta56x6uBvIfnal

https://nztop40.co.nz/assets/record_covers/cover_5_1532656962.jpg

The new album by Yoko-Zuna and a host of guests, Voyager, continuing their cool electro-hip-hop-jazz thing. Though with the cover artwork, they're positioning themselves as the Daft Punk of New Zealand :-)

- https://yoko-zuna.bandcamp.com/album/voyager

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a3135319595_7.jpg

Coco Solid and Queen Kapussi feature in the 9-piece rap collective Fanau Spa:

- https://fanauspa.bandcamp.com/album/fanau-spa

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a0752519859_7.jpg

We each possess a different lens, voltage and ancestral life that the world rn needs to hear from - and we know this record serves a purpose bigger than what we could do as individuals. Ngā mihi mega ki a mātou katoa.

- (UnderTheRadar)

There's a whole heap of recent stuff I still need to hear, but in the meantime, from earlier in 2018, some unofficial awards:

Best conscious rap / Most conscious rap: STOP THE VIOLENCE produced by Icepro, who's worked with youth musicians in Palmerston North for years

Best song title you wouldn't think was necessary in this day and age: CHILDREN DON'T BELONG IN JAIL, Luke Buda & Don McGlashan

I have felt very upset and outraged by the reports coming out of Nauru, especially the stories of children as young as five engaging in serious self harm.

We wrote this song to raise awareness of what is happening in offshore detention, in the hope that more people will sign up to the campaign to pressure the Australian government to end the horror they have created for these little kids and their families.

Best compilation imo:

Shoegaze emo band from Wellington, Bad Friend, released their Best Of, so far. It is eleven minutes long

- https://badfriendnz.bandcamp.com/album/best-of

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a0842844951_7.jpg

The bad friend EP is great, yeah - in associated acts, the namesake EP that's just come out is v.dreamy: https://namesake.bandcamp.com/album/4-songs

Some EOY stuff:
Under The Radar's best albums/videos/songs moments: https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/news/15341/2018-End-Of-Year-Roundup.utr

The Spinoff's best local albums/singles: https://thespinoff.co.nz/music/21-12-2018/the-definitive-very-best-new-zealand-music-of-2018/

Great to see the Shiraz & LSJ video "Where Tha Pape$ @" in the former - their "Clubsmoking"'s another great no-fi video.

Namesake are very chill!

Two tracks nominated for the ILM 2018 EOY that weren't already mentioned:

Yumi Zouma's beautiful dreampop song "Powder Blue / Cascine Park", from their EP III:

- https://yumizouma.bandcamp.com/album/ep-iii

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a3174856807_7.jpg

With EP III, they grab us by the hand and take us out on a gorgeous adventure.

“Powder Blue / Cascine Park” is the first destination, and it's spellbinding. Delicate beats, a chiming guitar, and (Christie) Simpson’s stirring vocals recreate the feeling of summertime bliss. – (TheRevue.ca)

Dance track "Arbuz" by Kiwi-Italian-Melburnian producer Chambres, with vocals from Abigail Knudson:

- https://chambresband.bandcamp.com/album/arbuz

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a1753870535_7.jpg

I'm stunned that October got two separate nominations, that's my AOTY! Thank you, nommers. (and sorry for calling you nommers)

A few other 2018 things...

The solo debut Shine Your Light by Kaaterama, who's in the successful pop group Maimoa. Her first single "He Iti" is getting the iwi radio plays, but most impressive imo are her soulful tracks "Mr. Man" and "Paiheretia", with the choir of Te Reanga Mōrehu o Rātana:

- https://open.spotify.com/album/1mOUoRm61WqW68aA4wE2KA

https://www.muzic.net.nz/images/news/8188.jpg

Maybe even more chill than Namesake(!), the first EP by twin-sister duo Tāl (Shalina and Shantini Sandran), including Indian tabla and sitar:

- https://talduo.bandcamp.com/album/t-l-ep
- https://nzmusician.co.nz/music/tal-tal-ep

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a0630431439_7.jpg

In other Māori-language music in 2018, the collaborative album Te Kākano went to number 1 on iTunes in September, recorded by Pere Wihongi, Mere-Arihi Pipi-Takoko, Makaira Berry and Hamiora Tuari.

On the artier side, Allana Goldsmith brought out The Waka Kura Sessions, and Gisborne's Miss Pou made her debut.

Kiko released a blues-rock EP, Ranginui Blues, including the video to "Patupaiarehe", in which the band get attacked by the fairy-like being of the same name, it's a good watch

Also, taonga pūoro! - Rolling Classical 2018

In the singles chart this week, Six60's "Vibes" ended 6 (six!) months as the top NZ song. "Long tail"/"dumb algorithm" doesn't begin to describe it...

The new No.1 is Bene and her laid-back track "Soaked" - https://youtu.be/ubE_ac2wYPQ

We posted about the Broods single earlier – their album will be called Don’t Feed the Pop Monster. Hopefully it'll turn out to be the best thing ever and/or a Gaga rip-off, just so we get more funny interview quotes like

Caleb: "I left my phone in LA so I’ve just been off the grid. It’s amazing. I have no idea what’s going on in the world. Or what time it is. I’m just watching the sun."

and

Georgia: "I don’t like the word lucky. I think we’re fortunate."

that Bene song is so good. Looking forward to the Broods album, all of the tracks they’ve released so far have been enjoyable to varying degrees.

It's only Bene's second song to be released - the first was "Tough Guy" in 2018. Guess she must've played more songs live this summer.

Apparently "Soaked" first became a radio hit in Australia, on Triple J's 2018 EOY list.

And Broods' album is out, UNLEASH THE MONSTER

- https://open.spotify.com/album/1zVzO9st0ZXLCH6YmgAzYF

1-listen review: it's good! I like it nearly as much as the Chelsea Jade album, with which it shares quite a lot in common sonically, nice word. Critics seem to agree it's a 5.0 out of 10.0, and skim-reading their equally mediocre numerology, it's because the band haven't changed their sound. Which reads more like a dig at electro-pop than anything. (There's one track that might be a baggy Madchester tribute... if that helps.) But "Peach" is prob the bangin'est song on there.

Another album from the ILM poll:

By experimental electronic musician OMIT, Clinton Williams – the vast 5-album set Enclosures 2011-2016

- https://endofthealphabetrecords.bandcamp.com/album/enclosures-2011-2016 (also released on Picadisk)

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a2370721155_7.jpg

OMIT employs home-built instruments constructed from modified electric motors and salvaged sound sources to create a startlingly original soundworld. It is a world he inhabits alone, isolated in the small town of Blenheim in southern New Zealand, but it involves a deep exploration of the human condition. Over the years OMIT’s music has become less noisy and more sparse and minimal, as open signal patterns and oblique textures pass each other in haunted spaces.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDJq5Wu-Lvc

Nadia Reid's new song, and a radio interview:

- https://podcast.radionz.co.nz/aft/aft-20190213-1310-nadia_reid_live_and_solo-128.mp3

"She will release her third album later this year, and previews one of the songs from it, which was written after a New Years Eve in Levin. It's called 'All Of My Love'." – (RNZ)

And as mentioned in the interview above, Teeks has got an orchestra!

- https://www.noted.co.nz/culture/music/teeks-apo-soul-man-orchestrates-next-big-move

Teeks is also performing at WOMAD 2019 (Aotearoa section) along with Nadia Reid, Charlotte Johansen, Finn Andrews, KORA, Niko Ne Zna, Ria Hall and The Black Seeds.

https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/news/15611/CHAII-Shares-Debut-Single-Digebasse-Enough--Video.utr

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q00SjA7DSc

“My concept was simply a commute. A journey through places and people, spreading loving vibes. At the same time, putting a positive light on the middle east. I was doing this in respect to all the underground artists who have to hide away because of their art. Covering up felt empowering and badass.”

– UnderTheRadar.co.nz

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