Popera stars of tomorrow
Rotorua “popera” singer Elizabeth Marvelly has been signed for a rumoured three albums by record giant EMI. The 18-year-old soprano is related to Sir Howard Morrison, and toured NZ with him and…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Crowded House on Love and Loss
An LA Times review finds Time on Earth, the new album by the recently reformed Crowded House, to be a moving exploration of love and loss. “Pop music reunions are, more often than not,…
Small fish hits big time
Greymouth singer-songwriter Steve Edwards has become a star in the UK without even releasing an album. A copy of One By One, a song from his upcoming Fish out of Water album, was…
The Sweet Sound of Success
NZ company Marshall Day Acoustics has won the contract to design a $400 million concert hall in Paris. Marshall Day, together with French architect Jean Nouvel, beat 97 international design teams for the…
Finn spreads the word
Tim Finn talks about future recordings with brother, Neil, being made an Officer of the British Empire, and the recent spate of band reunions (Spilt Enz and Crowded House included) in an interview with…
The way of Music
The Way of Music by Robin Maconie (pictured), a New Zealand born composer and musicologist who studied with Olivier Messiaen and Karlheinz Stockhausen, is a listener’s guide to the hidden meanings of…
Big pond, big promise
Wellington singer/songwriter Brooke Fraser relocated to Sydney three years ago, hoping to create an Australian following to rival the one she enjoys back home. In NZ, Fraser’s first album – What to do…
Lullabies and Love Songs
Dean Wareham of Dean & Britta recently toured the US with a well-received new album, Back Numbers. Born in Wellington, Wareham first emerged on the New York indie scene in 1991 with the…
Westenra joins Celtic Woman
NZ soprano Hayley Westenra is currently touring the US with Irish group “Celtic Woman”. The group of five women – four singers and a fiddler – shot to fame on the back of a…
Finn welcomes world to his kingdom
Tim Finn has embarked on a tour of the UK and Europe to promote his latest solo album, Imaginary Kingdom. Finn wrote most of the album in NZ, which he says had a…
Don’t Dream it’s Over
A new album and world tour by Crowded House, has made headlines across the globe. According to chief songwriter Neil Finn, he and bass player Nick Seymour have been considering regrouping since the tragic death of…
Musical milestones
The Guardian gives a whirlwind overview of NZ music history, from kapa haka to deep house. Milestones of note include the formation of Split Enz in 1971, Flying Nun in 1981, and hip hop…
Kilgour flies solo
David Kilgour of seminal Flying Nun band the Clean has launched a new solo album entitled The Far Now. “The songs sprung into my lap and pretty much decided how they wanted to…
For those about to rock, we salute you
Buskers Max Tetley (11) and Alex Philpott (10) opened the show for US rock-comedy duo Tenacious D, after impressing singer Jack Black with their performance in Christchurch’s Cathedral Square. Black (School of Rock,…
Another Outstanding Achievement
NZ singer Hayley Westenra has been named one of the 10 outstanding young people in the world in the Junior Chamber International‘s prestigious annual awards (the Jaycees). The 19-year-old diva was selected from a pool…
No rocky road for Natasha
Natasha Bedingfield, has a cameo role in the sixth Rocky sequel, starring Sylvester Stallone. Originally asked to write and perform the film’s theme tune, she was convinced to make her on-screen debut by…
All grown up
Veils front man Finn Andrews is compared to Tom Waits, John Lennon and Nick Cave in a glowing Guardian review. “Andrews’ voice is no longer that of an anguished child, but the trembling…
Aotearoa meets Sao Paulo
Six NZ musicians spent three weeks in Sao Paulo, Brazil, as part of the Bacardi B-Live OE, organised by Bacardi and Wellington’s Loop Recordings. P Digsss (Shapeshifter), Barnaby Weir (Black Seeds, Fly My…
Chills still thrill
Flying Nun legends the Chills are the unlikely inspiration behind up-and-coming Swedish band Peter, Bjorn and John. The indiepop trio pay tribute to Dunedin’s finest with a song titled The Chills, on their third…
Big fish, little fish
Bic Runga talks about her new album, Birds, her “secret little country,” and being a big fish in a small pond in The Guardian. The biggest selling solo artist of all time in NZ,…
Dusty Down Under
Already triple platinum in NZ, Bic Runga’s third album – Birds – is now making waves across the Tasman. The Age: “Dark and majestic… is without a doubt Runga’s best album -…
Welcomed to the fold
Wellington band Recloose earned a positive plug in the Hamstead & Highgate after a packed gig at the Jazz CafÈ. Recloose was formed around the Detroit born producer/DJ of the same name,…
Die! Die! Die! in Arizona
Auckland art punk trio Die! Die! Die! forms part of an impressive Australasian contingent heading to this year’s South By Southwest music festival in Arizona. Tipped as one of NZ’s most promising new bands, Die! Die!…
Keith gets the Grammy
Whangarei-born country music sensation, Keith Urban, has won his first Grammy Award. Urban was named best male country vocal performer ahead of Toby Keith, Willie Nelson, George Jones, Delbert McClinton and Brad Paisley. This…
Hansen Homeward Bound?
MTV Europe’s head, New Zealander Brent Hansen has retired after nearly two decades with the company. Hansen joined MTV in 1987 as a news producer and soared through the ranks to become the President…
Brits Back Fat Freddy
Incessant European touring appear to have paid off for Wellington band Fat Freddy’s Drop. The dub/reggae/roots collective won worldwide album of the year at the annual BBC Radio 1 Gilles Peterson Worldwide Music Awards for their…
Something old, something new
The internationally acclaimed NZ String Quartet made an impressive debut in Minneapolis, performing as part of the annual Music in the Part Series in St Paul. The Quartet’s program included the world premiere of NZ composer…
The new jazz order
Stuart Nicholson, author of Is Jazz Dead (Or has it Moved to a new Address)?, names Kiwi Aron Ottignon as one of the six best new players on the international jazz scene. “Without anyone…
Urban philosophy
Whangarei-born, Caboolture (Queensland)-raised, Keith Urban is the hottest country music sensation in the world. Urban won entertainer of the year and best male vocalist at the Country Music Association Awards broadcast from…
Hayley hits America
NZ’s popera diva, Hayley Westenra, has landed the coveted opening slot for Il Divo on their U.S tour early next year. Touring with the hit operatic boy band could provide the ideal opportunity…
On living legends and future music
NZ composer and musicologist Robin Maconie has written a meticulously researched autobiography of the man many believe to be the world’s greatest living composer, German electronic music pioneer Karlheinz Stockhausen. Maconie is regarded…
Fat Freddy’s pick up
Wellington dub and reggae band Fat Freddy’s Drop took home four of the top Tuis at the New Zealand Music Awards. The band won best album and best roots album for…
Datsuns in good company
The Datsuns have been invited to play on a tribute album for the late, great BBC DJ John Peel, alongside superstars Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey, Peter Shelley, David Gilmour and Peter Hook, and fellow…
Keith Urban up for US music awards
Country music star Keith Urban has four nominations at this year’s Country Music Association Awards. Urban is up for entertainer of the year, male vocalist of the year, album of the year for…
Hayley goes to Hollywood
The career of Hayley Westenra seems set to scale further heights with the release of her second full-length album, Odyssey. In the first two weeks of its launch, Odyssey sales have surpassed international…
Fans tickled pink
Stokes Valley tribute band, The Pink Floyd Experience, whipped South African fans into a frenzy with their recent tour of the country. “This was no second-string cover band: it was obviously a highly…
Shark Attack
“More than 14,000 fans screamed along to anthems from the Split Enz and Crowded House song books. There was no doubting the brothers’ enduring relevance with songs from their latest album Everyone is Here…
Four stars for Fat Freddy
Wellington groovers Fat Freddy’s Drop recently mounted a highly successful European tour. The Observer‘s glowing review of their new album, Based on a True Story, proves the broad appeal of their distinctly Kiwi sound….
Brave New Voice
Jonathan Lemalu’s debut album, Opera Arias, is bringing the already acclaimed singer further international praise. Chicago Tribune: “Lemalu shines particularly brightly in Mozart’s music, bringing a disarming combination of voice, musicality and personality to…
Revell in Sin City
New Zealand-born (1955) composer Graham Revell has scored the soundtrack of the new Robert Rodruguez film Sin City starring Bruce Willis. Revell graduated from the University of Auckland with…
Leading the Radio One renaissance
Zane Lowe, the NZ-born DJ single-handedly credited with making BBC Radio One cool again, was named Music Broadcaster of the Year at the Sony Radio Academy Awards in London. He also picked up the…
New Wave Jazz
Acclaimed Kiwi pianist Aron Ottignon launched his debut album, Culture Tunnels, with band Aronas in April. Inspired by Pacific log drumming, the Aronas sound is an innovative take on acoustic jazz. Sydney Morning Herald:…
Thumbs up for Next Big Thing
Steriogram scores a healthy 4 out of 5 stars in iAfrica‘s music guide with their debut album Schmack. ” the slick production and tight arrangements, Schmack reverberates to the sound of five guys having…
Country music’s saviour
Since winning Male Vocalist of the Year at the 2004 Country Music Awards, NZ-born Keith Urban has cemented his place as country’s best and brightest new star with a series of sell-out gigs. In…
Rock solid
Kiwi rockers The Datsuns have a glowing review of their sophomore album Outta Sight/Outta Mind in the Indy Star. “While contemporaries such as the Strokes and the Vines stumbled with releases last year, the…
Kiwi Crusader
Having already cracked the Australian market, Kiwi hop hop superstar Scribe is now making himself heard in New York. NYT: “Scribe, 25, is at the forefront of the country’s exploding hip-hop scene -…
Grammy for Fran Walsh
From playing bass in 80s Wellington band Naked Spots Dance via a film or two, Wellington muse Fran Walsh wins a Grammy for Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media:…
Best in show
Te Vaka is the critic’s pick of the bunch in a review of new international music compilation, South Pacific Islands (Putumayo World Music). “The best tracks come from Te Vaka (which means canoe), a…
Treading a different path
Not only has Natasha Bedingfield gone double platinum in the UK, been voted Hot New Talent of 2004 by Smash Hits, and secured a million pound recording contract in the US, she also managed…
Down Under cowboy
Keith Urban took out the Best Male Vocalist category at this year’s Country Music Association awards in Nashville. Urban was the surprise winner in an all-star American field, which included Alan Jackson, George…
Luna Rendezvous
New Zealand born, Harvard educated and New York resident Dean Wareham and his band Luna track through Japan promoting their final album Rendevous. “Where the last half of Luna’s career flirted with edgier tempos…
Making it on their own
The Age profiles ex-pat band Betchadupa and finds that despite their “pop-star pedigree” (Liam Finn is son of Neil and Matt Eccles of Angels drummer Brent), they are more likely to eschew parental advice…
Icons of Indiepop
‘I Love My Leather Jacket’ by Flying Nun legends, The Chills, makes the Guardian‘s list of 10 great singles from the golden age of indiepop. “The Chills … took the so-called ‘Dunedin sound’…
Time is on their side
A Scotsman interview with Tim and Neil Finn finds that time and age has turned sibling rivalry to “sibling revelry, mate.” “There’s always a tension there between us,” says Tim. “One of us backs…
Good things take time
An Australian Rolling Stone feature examines the intimate and lengthy process behind the making of Everyone Is Here, the first collaborative album by Neil and Tim Finn in nearly a decade. “Hyperbole can’t…
Britain loves Lucie
Another half-Kiwi is making an assault on the British pop charts: 24-year-old Lucie Silvas. Born in Glasgow to a Scots mother and NZ father, Silvas grew up in NZ before moving to Leicester, where…
