Get Inspired by Brogan Kerrison as Glencoe
After being surrounded by music from a young age, New Zealand-born Brogan Kerrison started writing his own at age 14. Years later, in the tail end of 2016, he finally realised his dream of…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Singer Stan Walker Overhauls His Lifestyle
In the powerful documentary Stan Walker: The Fight of His Life, the New Zealand soul singer reveals his lengthy battle to get his strength back after a stomach cancer operation, and how at one…
The Beths Look to the Future
The Beths is an Auckland guitar pop group who recently signed to Washington DC-based Carpark Records for the release of their debut album Future Me Hates Me, due out 10 August. The band has…
Gang of Youths’ Max Dunn Talks to Rolling Stone
Founded in Sydney six years ago, Gang of Youths, which includes New Zealander Max Dunn on bass, are getting their share of attention in America after releasing two hit albums in Australia: 2015’s The…
Marlon Williams Accompanies Wild Wild Country
Despite working with a “micro-budget”, music supervisor Chris Swanson weaves an inspired sonic accompaniment to the Netflix hit Wild Wild Country, a documentary about the controversial Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his followers….
DIY Picks Matthew Young’s New Single
Every weekday, Britain’s DIY magazine brings you one essential new release to get obsessed with. This recent ‘Neu Pick’ comes from Auckland-based Matthew Young. Young is releasing new EP Fruit on 25 May, and its…
Kimbra Displays Impressive Range On ‘Primal Heart’
“If there’s any musical justice, Kimbra’s third studio album should be the one that finally catapults the New Zealander to the acclaim she deserves,” writes Mark Kennedy in a review of her latest album…
UMO Frontman Ruban Nielson Keeps it Dumb
On 2015’s Multi-Love, New Zealand-born Ruban Nielson, 38, frontman of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, saw his personal life laid out and analysed. Now, on the band’s fourth LP Sex & Food, he’s trying to keep…
Jamie McClennan Takes His Family on Tour
New Zealand-born songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jamie McClennan and Scottish singer Emily Smith have been making country folk music together for 15 years. Now they tour for the first time with their two young children…
Neil Finn to Join Fleetwood Mac
Legendary band Fleetwood Mac has announced that Neil Finn of Crowded House and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers will replace departing guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. The band’s firing of Buckingham over the group’s…
Lorde Scripts a Party and Then Brings It
Lorde’s “fast-paced, yet emotionally resonant show at TD Garden” in Boston “was a superlative showcase” for her second album Melodrama, Maura Johnston writes in a review of the recent concert for The Boston Globe. “Lorde,…
Ruban Nielson and Taika Waititi Talk NZ Roots
Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Nielson and filmmaker Taika Waititi come together over Skype to talk #PolynesianExcellence, and how their New Zealand roots help them keep it real, with Dazed magazine’s…
Tami Neilson Drops New “Sassy, brassy soul number” ‘Stay Outta My Business’
“Silver Scroll-winning soul artist Tami Neilson has shared a brassy new tune Stay Outta My Business and announced her forthcoming album Sassafrass! will be dropping this June ahead of a…
Opiuo to Take 20-Piece Syzygy Orchestra to Colorado
New Zealand-born, Australian-based electro-funk DJ Opiuo (Oscar Davey-Wraight) will travel to Colorado for a headlining show at Red Rocks on 21 April. After last year’s Red Rocks performance before Emancipator, where it was hard to…
Soul Singer Jordan Rakei Caters Directly to Fans
Jordan Rakei’s first SXSW appearance was also his first time setting foot in the state of Texas, one of the few areas of the world he had yet to visit. Born in New Zealand,…
Alien Weaponry’s Furious Debut Tū Out in June
Three teenagers from the tiny Northland town of Waipu have managed to capture imaginations with their unique thrash metal sound and commanding live performances. Now, Alien Weaponry is ready to release…
Kimbra Finds New Version of Self in Primal Heart
New York-based New Zealand-born “self-actualised star and feminist pop warrior” Kimbra, 27, is back with a new album and another version of herself, according to Interview magazine’s Erica Russell. The glossy, neon sheen of Primal…
Lorde’s Portland Performance “As Intimate as Her Dinner Table”
New Zealand pop poet Lorde, born Ella Yelich-O’Connor, manages to make even the largest venues feel intimate, writes Sararosa Davies in a review of the singer’s Portland concert in The…
Broods’ Georgia Nott Talks The Venus Project
In response to a lack of female representation on stage and in the studio, Georgia Nott – who most people will know as part of the New Zealand music duo Broods – has released…
Witch Rockers HEX Are Here to Curse the Patriarchy
Wellington folk metal band HEX have “got the ‘slightly spooky dark rock’ formula down pat, but aren’t afraid to mix it up with a bit of sneering garage rock, down-tempo riot grrrl, or big,…
Producer Obeisant Busy at His Catalogue
Music producer Sebastian Gawlik, aka Obeisant, is an artist from New Zealand who got a mighty push in 2017 when he was discovered by the Critical label and included in their Binary series, electronic music site Your…
Keala Settle Praised for Oscars Performance
“When she found herself center stage at the Oscars Sunday night” Singer Keala Settle “brought down the house with” her performance of ‘This Is Me’, “bringing an entire theater of Hollywood luminaries to their…
Jon Stevens Takes Best Of Tour to NSW
“After a career spanning decades, rock musician Jon Stevens has finally taken time to reflect on his greatest hits — and take them on the road” with his ‘best of tour’ around Australia. The…
With FAKY Anna Sawai Is Broadening Her Horizons
Loads of acts around the world are proving that the pop game is now a truly global one, and FAKY continues to show the rising appeal of modern-day Japanese pop with their latest English…
Magnetic Marlon Plays Brilliant Tiny Desk Session
“Marlon Williams is a handsome devil with a heart-stopping voice, who writes songs about vampires and horror films. This 27-year-old, New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based singer is also a teller of tales,” tastemaster Bob Boilen writes…
Vicki Lee Takes Music of Vera Lynn Across Sussex
Palmerston North singer Vicki Lee, 64, is touring Sussex, England in February with her tribute to the life and music of centenarian Dame Vera Lynn, known as the ‘Forces’ Sweetheart’. The show began life in…
Staring Down the Barrel with Aldous Harding
Aldous Harding’s sophomore album Party has every right to stake its claim as the best album of last year, according to Melbourne-based lifestyle website Broadsheet. The power of Harding’s voice was only hinted at…
Superorganism’s Harry Lets Us in on Band’s Mystique
Signing to Domino Records mid-2017, the fun pop eight-piece Superorganism has since kept a pretty exclusive profile, playing only a handful of shows throughout the entire year. With the release of their self-titled debut…
Unknown Mortal Orchestra Begin Promotion of New LP
The follow-up to New Zealand band Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s 2015 album Multi-Love, their fourth studio album, Sex & Food is out on 6 April. Bandleader Ruban Nielson described the impetus behind the album, saying he wanted to…
Opuio Releases Striking Ginger Lizard Video
New Zealand-born Melbourne-based producer Oscar Davey-Wraight, aka Opiuo, has released the official video for his brand new single Ginger Lizard, which is taken from his forthcoming EP, Syzygy 01 scheduled for release on 2…
Conductor Michael Joel Directs Fine Concert
Under the direction of New Zealand-born conductor Michael Joel, the Lakeland Sinfonia “presented a programme that was well-suited to their strengths,” according to the Westmorland Gazette’s Adrian Mullen in a review of a recent…
Marlon Williams Leads Fertile Lyttelton Music Scene
There is nothing like some personal trauma to fuel the muse of a songwriter. Acclaimed New Zealand troubadour Marlon Williams, 27, can attest to that, and the results are etched deeply into the grooves…
Kimbra’s Third Album Primal Heart Out in April
Ahead of a recent show at Chicago’s Conchord Music Hall, New Zealand singer, songwriter and producer Kimbra, 27, spoke with Jim Ryan of ChicagoNow about her third studio album Primal Heart, its theme of…
Lorde at Home with Billboard Magazine
For a minute, it’s easy to forget that Lorde is over 13,800km away, at home in New Zealand, Billboard journalist New Yorker Brooke Mazurek writes for the magazine’s latest cover story. Before their Skype connection…
Otago Band Albion Place Head Across the Tasman
Dunedin-based indie-rockers Albion Place had a big 2017, with the group’s debut album Mascuzzi Jacuzzi released in December, and their Australian summer tour about to begin. The release of Easier in May and If This…
There Are English Trees in Neil Finn’s Garden
A recent Guardian reader-curated playlist about trees includes songs from the Beach Boys, Esperanza Spalding, the Shamen and Crowded House. “Since time immemorial trees have provided people with shelter, food, lumber and even medicine. They…
Kimbra is Pop Music Royalty
Humility and elegance only begin to describe the essence of what makes New Zealander Kimbra such an unstoppable pop music force, according to EDM blog Magnetic Magazine. Kimbra, 27, is pop music royalty. With queen-like…
What Will Lorde Come up With Next?
Lorde’s Melodrama has made it into the top five of the Guardian’s 50 Best Albums of 2017, an LP the UK publication considers, “a work of insight, strength and gloriously self-aware wit.” “On the face…
Looking Back on a Decade of The Naked and Famous
Ten years into being a band, Auckland-formed group The Naked and Famous are finally living up to the first half of their name and baring it all – kind of. Victoria Wasylak of online…
Superorganism Push Pop Into the Next Dimension
From secretive internet sensations to one of the most talked about new bands around, Superorganism’s hyper-modern approach to pop is propelling them further by the day. Superorganism, an eight-piece collective which includes New Zealanders…
Oslo-Based Brady Daniell-Smith’s Debut a Hidden Gem
From hypnotic hip-hop to Japanese psych-rock, Observer critics pick some albums of 2017 that deserve a wider audience, including the work of New Zealand-born Brady Daniell-Smith, who produces the melodies for singer-songwriter Anna Lotterud…
Chelsea Jade and Boyboy Take Their Chances in LA
Singers Chelsea Jade Metcalf and Sam McCarthy, who goes by the moniker Boyboy, explain why leaving New Zealand and relocating to Los Angeles has made them better songwriters. Metcalf was used to the industry’s eyes…
Dean Wareham and Luna Cover Some Greats
“As Luna singer-guitarist Dean Wareham sings a cover of Bob Dylan’s song Most of the Time, I could swear that the New Zealander is channelling the spirit of Lou Reed,” Andrew Griffin writes in…
Royals Certifiably Diamond Rated
“Just four years after it was first released, Lorde’s breakout single Royals has been certified diamond in the US after moving 10 million units. The New Zealand-born singer-songwriter first released Royals as a free…
Ryan McPhun on His Good Band the Ruby Suns
Always trust a man in a jumpsuit, writes Sarah Illingworth for The Huffington Post. Ryan McPhun knows how to wear one well she says, and whilst performing musical acrobatics as a one-man act no…
Conductor Gemma New Displays Crisp Technique
American piano virtuoso Conrad Tao was on the programme with the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra and guest conductor New Zealander Gemma New not once but twice – playing Rachmaninoff’s Paganini Variations on the first half…
Intimate Return From Pop Newcomer Alayna
Rotorua-born R&B singer Alayna Powley, 23, who goes by the mononymous name alayna, has always wanted to make music with a certain intimacy, music that peers beneath the surface, according to the UK’s Clash…
Lorde Lands No 1 Guardian Spot for Green Light
England’s Guardian collates a list of the 100 best songs of 2017 as voted for by its critics, which Auckland-born singing sensation Lorde tops, with the single Green Light from her award-winning second album,…
Kimbra Returns on Top of the World
New Zealand singer Kimbra’s lastest single Top of the World, which will be included on her upcoming album Primal Heart, is reviewed in The Michigan Daily. “Kimbra is growing with her music, and the music…
Music Producer Fis Experiments With Saplings
Experimental producer New Zealander Fis, aka Oliver Peryman, has been challenging the restrictive structures of drum & bass since 2011, channelling the genre’s gut-churning low-end and collapsing rhythms into bizarre and brilliant new spaces….
NME Names Lorde’s Melodrama No 1 Album of 2017
“2017 has been a bad year for silly things like international relations and basic human decency,” according to NME. “It’s been a good year, though, for really important things like albums.” Lorde’s Melodrama is the…
Marlon Williams Makes Way for Love
New Zealand singer-songwriter Marlon Williams, 26, has followed up his self-titled debut announcing a headlining tour supporting new album Make Way For Love. Make Way For Love, according to Paste Magazine, is an album that…
Lorde Takes Home Six Tuis at NZ Music Awards
New Zealand singer Lorde has “scooped the pool” at the New Zealand Music awards on Thursday. She won six ‘Tuis’ at the awards: Album of the Year, Single of the Year for Green Light,…
Sapling Records to Plants Trees for Albums Sold
New Zealand drum ‘n’ bass/ambient producer Fis, real name Oliver Peryman, has a focus on reforestation through music. His new label Sapling Records is foregoing the current vinyl trend in favour of botany.
Bones Hillman On Great Circle Midnight Oil Tour
For Bones Hillman, the New Zealander who replaced Midnight Oil bassist Peter Gifford in 1987, The Great Circle “has been more than a tour. It’s reconnecting with people.” After the Oils split in 2002, Rob…
Time Travel with Aldous Harding
New Zealander Aldous Harding, who is currently promoting her album Party in Europe, has released a new single from the LP. Elation is The Guardian’s ‘Track of the Week’. Hannah Davies writes for the newspaper: “With her…
