Willie Moon Shows ‘Wit’ and ‘Invention’ on Debut Album

Kiwi 50’s revivalist singer Willie Moon’s debut album, Here’s Willy Moon, shows ‘wit’ and ‘invention’, according to The Observer. Described by the same paper in 2011 as ‘one to…

Veils Frontman Has Accomplished a Cool Rarity

Lead singer and songwriter for London-based band The Veils, New Zealander Finn Andrews, 29, has “accomplished something rare and cool, namely a guitar-based record that transcends easy categorization,”…

Hayley Westenra ‘Thrilled’ to be Back in Taiwan

New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra has told the Taipei Times that she is thrilled to be in Taiwan again and is looking forward to her performances. The 25-year-old pop and…

Fandango is Bigger and Bigger Music

Can the Phoenix Foundation’s latest album Fandango match the five stars of their last release, Buffalo, The Guardian asks in their “Album Stream” column. “Five albums into their career,…

US Talkshow Appearances

“Our next guest has been compared to everyone from Amy Winehouse to Pink. Here to perform from her new CD, Gravel and Wine. All the way from New Zealand,…

Up the charts

“After penning tracks for acts including Christina Aguilera and Adam Lambert, New Zealand pop singer/songwriter Ginny Blackmore draws her first Billboard chart ink as an artist, with her debut…

Win on Strings at Windsor

A violinist from New Zealand, Benjamin Baker, 23, has won the Windsor Festival International Strings Competition (WFISC), held in the Waterloo Chamber of Windsor Castle, beating…

All in One

“As much 50s rockabilly as dubstep devotee, there is no middle ground with the unique Mr Moon,” Gregor Hollerin writes for The Extra. New Zealand-born Moon’s…

Making a Splash

Sixteen-year-old Takapuna Grammar student Ella Yelich-O’Connor, who goes by the stage name Lorde, is included in the “March 2013 playlist: Sweat” on news site RYOT. “Cerebral,…

On the Path to Self-sufficiency

Lead singer of Echo Park-based band NO Bradley Hanan Carter was just one of 2500 bands performing in Austin at this year’s SXSW festival hoping to…

Making Music in Two Worlds

“Being a native of Auckland, singer-songwriter Simon Spire has had a foot in the door of two places since his transition to New York City,” The…

Vinyl at Length

New Zealand sextet The Phoenix Foundation feature in the Guardian’s ‘New Music’ section this week, “return with a bittersweet first taster of their 80-minute long new…

Neilson Gets ‘Better and Better’

New Zealander Ruban Neilson’s playing and song writing just gets ‘better and better’, according to The Observer. Reviewing his group’s latest CD. Unknown Mortal Orchestra II, The Observer’s Kitty…

Making Melody in Bollywood

New Zealand musician and composer Mikey McCleary lives in Mumbai where he made his first brief impression with a commercial for Coca-Cola. McCleary, 44, also writes scores for Bollywood…

Harmony in China

World-renowned harmonica player New Zealander Brendan Power, 56, whose music can be heard in the 2008 film Atonement, has been touring China this month. Based in…

Debut Accomplished and Unexpected

Auckland band Popstrangers have released their debut album Antipodes, an “accomplished and ambitious” record, according to London-based online music magazine musicOMH. “Throughout the album, Popstrangers never leave you feeling…

Commentaries on Nationality

Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Nielson, formerly of The Mint Chicks, attributes his former anonymity and general fame-shyness to, in part, being from New Zealand. Emerging on the scene via…

Outside of the Box

“The Ruby Suns is akin to other New Zealand bands in that its music doesn’t fit comfortably inside an established genre of music outside of pop,” according…

Busting into Song

She’s only 26, but New Zealander Gin Wigmore has already acted alongside Daniel Craig and recorded in Frank Sinatra’s studio. You may already have heard the first single, a…

Glowing Gold at Grammys

New Zealand pop star Kimbra, 22, has won two Grammy Awards for record of the year and best pop duo/group with Australian musician Gotye. “Somebody That…

Mythologising Mayhem

New Zealand band Unknown Mortal Orchestra is currently on tour – promoting their latest album II – in Europe before heading to the United States. Band member Oregon-based…

Yes He Can

Mosgiel man Dean O’Brien, 34, a former radio presenter, has topped the United Kingdom iTunes children’s chart this week with, The Yes I Can Club, an album…

Looking Back As If Beggars

Wellington band The Garbage & the Flowers originally released Eyes Rind as if Beggars in 1997, but these songs were recorded earlier in the decade,…

Candid For Nikon Ad

New Zealand singing star Kimbra sings Nina Simone’s “Plain Gold Ring” in this first in a Nikon-sponsored series of “Women In Music”-themed “Candid Covers.” “I was aware of Nina…

Rider Requests

Ladyhawke wants sandwich ingredients on her rider, thanks, and some socks. Speaking to the Irish Times’ Tony Clayton-Lea, ahead of a recent Dublin show, Ladyhawke said that on her…

Best of Both Hemispheres

Wellington-born composer Lyell Cresswell has lived in Edinburgh since the early 1980s writing regularly for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO). “His latest piece for them, a triple concerto premiered…

Yeah, Shuffle This

New Zealand-born singer/songwriter Willy Moon’s song ‘Yeah Yeah’ has secured prime placement: usage in Apple’s latest iPod Shuffle and Nano ad campaign. The coveted spotlight results in Moon’s first…

Loving What He Does

With his signature laid-back New Zealand-accented rambles often breaking into unintelligible hysterics and high-pitched impersonations, 39-year-old BBC 1 radio DJ-come-presenter-come-live-DJ-come-producer-come-general-music-guru Zane Lowe has attracted skepticism from…

Big Name from a Small Place

“Growing up in a small country on the other side of the world, a young girl named Kimbra Lee Johnson did what she said almost every New Zealander does…

Pleased to Meet Him

“Flying Nun is as synonymous with indie rock in New Zealand as Chemikal Underground is in Glasgow or Creation Records is in London,” John Everhart writes in a web…

Making the Right Moves

Now a veteran globe-trotting performer at the ripe old age of 22, Kimbra seems to be making all the right moves, Bill Locey writes for the Ventura County Star. “Lurkers, assorted…

Possums Take Tennessee

New Zealand string band the Johnny Possum Band will perform at the Music on the Square festival in downtown Jonesborough, Tennessee on 28 September. Kingsport Times-News describes the band: “The roots…

Hitting ‘Em With Enthusiasm

“Kimbra throws every angle of modern fem-pop at the wall with such ball-lightning enthusiasm that all of it sticks,” the Guardian’s Mark Beaumont writes in a review of the New…

In Transit Amongst Spies

Auckland singer Gin Wigmore, 26, stars alongside James Bond star Daniel Craig in a new interactive television and digital ad campaign for Heineken and the latest 007 film, Skyfall. Wigmore…

Actually Rocking The Bowery

“ gorgeous, sweeping power ballad ‘Cellophane,’ had it been released 25 years ago, would have moved entire rooms to slow dance, and I’ve got to assume only unfamiliarity held…

Cry Over This

Crowded House song Together Alone is what British music blogger Paul Sinclair wants played at his funeral. Sinclair chose the track as part of the Guardian series…

These Kids are Feeling Good

A song written by The Flight of the Conchords to raise money for medical research for children, soared straight to No. 1 on iTunes within 90 minutes of release….

Brilliantly Immature

“Bounding along without a care in the world, this New Zealand band are aptly named,” the Guardian’s Michael Cragg posts in the website’s ‘New Music’ section. “If the joyously…

Soundtrack to Youth

New Zealander Luke Yeoward, frontman of Melbourne-based band the King Cannons, talks to The Sydney Morning Herald about the inspiration for the group’s debut album, which was…

Real Presence in NY

“ is one of the sharpest writers and arrangers in his field, and while the music is airy by design – because that’s what indie-pop…

Ten Bands You Should Know

“If your knowledge of New Zealand’s music scene doesn’t extend beyond Flying Nun Records and Flight of the Conchords, then rejoice — there’s a shitload of excellent local music…

Reggae Royalty Play US

Katchafire continue their North American tour with stops in Canada, California and Guam before returning home to New Zealand with their Back to the Roots Tour through August. “There’s…

Blissfully Witty Trappings

“On his third album as Lawrence Arabia, Christchurch native James Milne perfects the project’s defining balance of dry, writerly wit and classic pop blitheness,” Doug Wallen writes…

Out of Step with Her Peers

“Gin Wigmore, a 26-year-old singer-songwriter from New Zealand, is a one-off,” Paul Lester of the Guardian declares, introducing Wigmore as ‘New Band’ No 1305. “Utterly unique. A maverick who…

In the Mood for China Girl

The Guardian recommends David Bowie’s China Girl video, featuring New Zealand model Geeling Ng, as one of seven music video recommendations “for every mood.” “Ng plays the China girl…

Taking Australia by Storm

Twelve years on since their television debut on Wellington’s regional TV station, the Flight of the Conchords, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, haven’t changed. McKenzie still looks…

New Album with Swagger

Gin Wigmore featured on MTV Australia’s ‘Local Produce’ June special. Wigmore talked to MTV about how she got her start, her plans for the year ahead and her latest…

Possums and Their Strings Hit US

New Zealand bluegrass group The Johnny Possum Band have announced tour dates for their 2012 tour of the United States. “The Johnny Possum Band has been delivering…

Not for Children

Aucklander Chelsea Nikkel a.k.a. pianist and vocalist Princess Chelsea, is the Guardian’s recommended ‘New Band’ for 1 June. “Princess Chelsea is the solo project of Nikkel, a…

Rising Star Enamours

Wellington-born singer Willy Moon “is quickly establishing himself as one of today’s more fascinating and engaging pop stars,” according to music, style and culture magazine DIY. “Ever…

She’s Got the Look

New Zealand musician Kimbra “has the potential to be like Prince,” according to Warner Brothers Records chairman Rob Cavallo. “That’s how strong her musicality is,” Cavallo says. “Kimbra’s a…

No Fake Jamaican Accents, Thanks

Wellington eight-piece band The Black Seeds – described by Clash Magazine as, “one of the best live reggae acts on the planet” – play the…

Funky Cuts for Rolling Stone

“Inventive New Zealand singer-songwriter Kimbra stopped by the Rolling Stone studio to play a few funky cuts off her experimental pop debut LP Vows.” “After impressing with her intense…

From a New Perspective

Christchurch-born singer Bic Runga, 36, has released her first album in five years, Belle. Runga, who is currently on tour in Australia, tells the Illawarra Mercury’s Kate…

Headrushing Pop Fusion

Ladyhawke’s May concert at the Ruby Lounge in Manchester is reviewed in the Guardian by Dave Simpson who says that “the verdict from the front row is…

Fashionable Favourites

Wellington band The Black Seeds latest album Dust and Dirt featured at No 4 in Deutsch Vogue’s May Playlist. “Reggae from New Zealand?” the publication questions, “Yes,” mentioning the…