This is the Buzz

Hip-hop star Auckland-born Dane Rumble and Avalanche City recently featured on ABC’s top-rating celebrity gossip show What’s the Buzz. Rumble and Dave Baxter, brainchild behind and frontman of the…

All Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs

Auckland’s Naked and Famous are included in a Guardian list of “12 new bands you have to catch” at one of this summer’s UK music festivals. “ New…

Singular Artistic Vision

Singer-guitarist of The Naked and Famous Thom Powers wasn’t as temperamental as Orson Welles but he did have a singular artistic vision his Auckland peers apparently could not comprehend….

Home and Away Favourite

Singing star Brooke Fraser — described as New Zealand’s answer to Adele — reveals to News of the World’s Dan Wootton how she’s lent some of the songs from…

Perkier Versions of the xx

“The Naked And Famous go one better than MGMT by having a girl in the band — the spectacularly named Alisa Xayalith, whose dreamy yelps combine with…

Recording Four Letter Words

New Zealand musician Simon Spire, 28, is forging a career on both sides of the globe simultaneously. Spire has lived in New York since 28. His second album, Four-Letter…

Stones Analogies Welcomed

Sam McCarthy, one half of Auckland duo Kids of 88, tells The Huffington Post’s Mike Ragogna the “whole ‘88’ thing sort of summed up the kind of cultural references…

Zowie Likes Left-Field Types

Electro pop star Aucklander Zowie — who opens Katy Perry’s shows in Australia and New Zealand during May — talks to MTV Australia about her idol Michael Jackson and…

Snoop and Rico Salute Sun

Air New Zealand’s mascot Rico has teamed up with US rapper Snoop Dogg to produce a music video for the airline. Rico, whose controversial antics promoted Air New Zealand’s…

Wizardry with Melody

“What Peter Jackson did for New Zealand tourism with the most expensive ad campaign ever — The Lord of the Rings — singer/songwriter Maisey Rika could possibly do for…

Critical darlings most promising

Art-pop quintet The Naked and Famous has been named as this year’s “most promising new act” by NME; post-award ceremony the band talks to Mark Savage of BBC 6…

Diva Loves Danny Boy

Soprano Kiri Te Kanawa is a “sucker” for sentimental Irish ballad Danny Boy. Te Kanawa is one of eight musicians asked by the Los Angeles Times to share their…

All Work for TNAF

The Naked and Famous are currently on tour in the UK and with their London performance feature in the Guardian’s weekly gig guide. The publication writes: “Essentially the project…

Finn Plays SXSW

Musician and songwriter Liam Finn launches his first-ever full band tour beginning with two gigs in Austin at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival. Finn’s next album…

Army Band humour

New Zealand’s Army Band will perform at the 6th anniversary of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in August. Major Leanne Smith, director of music for the 28-piece Band said…

Colours of Aotearoa

Whanganui-born composer Douglas Lilburn’s overture ‘Aotearoa’ and ‘Symphony No. 2’ were recently performed by the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra in Charleston; the conductor was New Zealander Grant Cooper, who…

Young Blood Take Scroll

Auckland five-piece band Naked and Famous have won the Silver Scroll prize for their smash hit “Young Blood” at the Australasian Performing Right Association’s awards held in Auckland on…

Ladyhawke at Laneway

“For an artist with such a fierce-sounding moniker, award-winning New Zealand singer-songwriter Ladyhawke — whose name conjures up anything from female shaman warriors to an Academy Award-nominated fantasy film…

Song of the Day

Tim Finn’s ballad “Persuasion”, from his 1993 album Before and After, was named ‘Song of the Day’ on January 20 by the New Jersey Star-Ledger’s Tris McCall. McCall declares…

Weighing in on the Buzz

“For the first time, probably ever, a band from is poised for huge success in the States,” The Huffington Post’s Jon Chattman predicts. “The Naked and the…

Buzz-worthy bands

“Z is For (New) Zealand,” in NME’s New Music Glossary for 2011, “a handy guide to all the buzz-worthy jargon for the coming 12 months.” “Finally it seems there’s…

Sense of spaciousness

The Phoenix Foundation’s fourth album Buffalo is reviewed by the Guardian’s Dave Simpson who writes that “songwriting this good doesn’t come along often.” Like the xx — whose sense…

North Carolina to Maine

Auckland-based guitarist Mark Mazengarb will tour with American musician Loren Barrigar “from North Carolina to Maine” later this year, after a successful 2010 collaboration in Nashville at the annual…

Taking on the World

New Zealand quintet  The Naked and Famous have already topped local singles and album charts and now they want to repeat their success globally. They’re off to a blistering…

Breaking the NY ice

Actor and comedian Jemaine Clement recently made an appearance at the opening of sporting apparel line Icebreaker’s new Manhattan store. Examiner.com wrote: “While the staff was getting ready for…

Awesome US deal

Auckland hip-hop talent David Dallas, formerly known as Con Psy, has partnered with American label Duck Down Records in a publishing, distributing, and marketing deal. The half-Samoan artist reached…

Adventure Shared

Bachelorette’s second full-length release My Electric Family is reviewed in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer by David Bowling, who writes that Alpers has “a mind that doesn’t work like the normal…

String release

The New Zealand String Quartet has recorded an album of Asian composers in St Anne’s Church, Toronto. The ensemble’s fifth disc for the label Naxos includes Tan Dun’s Eight…

U2 pay tribute

The 29 men who perished in the Pike River coal mine tragedy were honoured during the song One Tree Hill at the November 27 U2 concert, with their names…

In-tents Experience

The Auckland Theatre Company performance of Cabaret is praised by Los Angeles Times blogger Christopher Smith, who writes that company director and actor Michael Hurst is “fortunate to have…

Conchord revival

The Flight of the Conchords are in discussion to bring a live version of the cult television series to Australia and New Zealand next year. US comedian Arj Barker,…

In love with Brooke

“In early 28, I fell in love with New Zealand indie-pop-rock sensation Brooke Fraser’s second album, Albertine,” Speakers in Code blogger Jason Gonulsen writes. “I played it everywhere —…

Mozart deters crims

Since 29, in a downtown Christchurch mall, music by Mozart and other classical composers has been played over speakers to deter would-be criminals. The music has led to a…

Covering the dream

Britain’s got Talent star Susan Boyle performed Crowded House classic Don’t Dream It’s Over on The Oprah Winfrey Show in October with the cover also included on Boyle’s new…

Rocking good chat

Juice TV presenter Scotty Rocker, 3, host of the Rocker’s Hell show interviewed American popstar and 29 American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert who was in New Zealand in…

Song for consolation

Christchurch-born singer Hayley Westenra, 23, performed Taiwan on November 1 as part of her 21 Asian tour. Westenra, sang Amazing Grace at a press conference in Taipei as a…

Classic Q for Finn

Neil Finn, 52, earned a Classic Songwriter Award at the Q Awards 21 held in London at Grosvenor House on October 25. He was presented with the award by…

Waving the flag

Wellington-born singer/songwriter Brooke Fraser’s third album Flags is reviewed by Birmingham, Alabama university magazine The Samford Crimson. Reviewer Matt Davidson describes the album as “unlike any other Fraser has…

Dangerous embrace

Auckland musician Zowie (born Zoe Fleury) made the best fashion statement of the day when performing at the opening of New York’s CMJ Music Marathon in October, proclaimed New…

Obsessive Beats

Auckland singer Zowie, “New Zealand pop phenom”, is touring the United States during October. Music blogger Arjan writes: “Zowie has already received a steady amount of buzz at home…

Gin and Stan’s night

Singers Gin Wigmore, 24, and Stan Walker, 19, earned four Tuis apiece at this year’s New Zealand Music Awards held at Auckland’s Vector Arena. Wigmore’s folky debut Holy Smoke…

Musical portraiture

Photographic portraits of New Zealand musicians Bic Runga, Dave Dobbyn and Neil Finn are included in a new international coffee table book, called Music, shot by renowned New York…

Turning on the ignition

“You know what you’re going to get with Shihad — punchy hard rock, deep grooves, industrial riffing and Jon Toogood’s hypnotic vocals,” The Border Mail’s writes in a review…

One of The Dudes

Singer/songwriter Ian Morris, the frontman of Th’ Dudes has died in Napier, aged 53. Morris formed the band with school friends Peter Urlich and Dave Dobbyn in 1975 but…

Their Own chapter

Dunedin trio Die! Die! Die! is currently touring Australia and are profiled in The Sydney Morning Herald. “Die! Die! Die! is feeling right at home on seminal record label…

Clean Patience

“Legendary masters of pop” Dunedin band The Clean played Portland’s Holocene in October on the final stop of their seven-date US tour. “For all the waiting we’ve done for…

Aggressive and winsome

The Naked and Famous song “Young Blood, which recently became the first by a New Zealand band to reach No 1 in their home country for 2 years, is…

Roundhouse drama

Wellington seven-piece dub/reggae group Fat Freddy’s Drop played a sold-out gig at the Bristol Academy and at Brighton’s Concorde2 in September on their European tour. Their live experience is…

Wild Frontier Music

New Zealand-born author Garth Cartwright’s More Miles Than Money: Journeys Through American Music has been released in the United States. Cartwright describes the inspiration for the book in the…

Return post-change

Crowded House head to South Africa in October performing concerts in Cape Town and Durban before ending their tour in Johannesburg on the 3th. Neil Finn said he and…

Eclecticism for Finns

The one-woman band Annabel Alpers aka Bachelorette stopped off in Helsinki, Finland as part of her European tour playing at the city’s Club YK. The Helsinki Times wrote: “The…

Northern resonance

Northern resonance Musician Tim Finn is playing a “best-of” show in Cairns, his first show in the northern Australian city in nearly 3 years. Finn says he’ll be performing…

Picnic in Boulder

New Zealand dance troupe EyeSoar Performance opened the second day of the weekend Boulder Fall Festival in Colorado with a 3-minute modern-day circus act called, “A Delightful Show”. Shown…

From planet Wow

“Coming on like a teenage Joan Jett with a drum machine, all Pulp Fiction bangs and kaleidoscopic baton swinging, Zowie is a futuristic cheerleader from planet Wow,” writes…

Worth the Wait

Wellington-based Maori electronic duo Wai has released their second international release Ora and Guardian reviewer Andy Childs gives it four out of five stars. “Ten years ago, singer Mina…

Funding local talent

New Zealand On Air is a “generous government-funded programme that’s fast-tracking New Zealand bands on the road to stardom and beyond,” writes Lars Brandle for Australian site The Music…