Tag Archives: Auckland

Brooding Synth-Pop Makes Sadness Sound Lovely

Brooding Synth-Pop Makes Sadness Sound Lovely

Auckland brother-sister duo Broods, aka Georgia, 19, and Caleb Nott, 21, “make, ahem, brooding synth-pop that makes sadness sound quite lovely,” according to the Guardian’s Michael Cragg writing for the publication’s “New Music” blog. “

Lorde to Perform at Grammys 2014

Lorde to Perform at Grammys 2014

Lorde is set to perform at the Grammys 2014 award show later this month, amongst a set list that includes Katy Perry, Metallica, and Chicago. This may not be the only chance the young Kiwi…

Travelling the Inked Map of Her Father’s Life

Travelling the Inked Map of Her Father’s Life

A coloured butterfly, a pseudo-celtic armband, a giant spiral: the tattoos on New Zealander Nell Frizzell’s father are an inky historical record of his lifetime’s journey through continents, relationships, families, marriages and deaths. Ahead…

Shaping New Zealand’s landscape

Shaping New Zealand’s landscape

Notable landscape architect Thomas Woltz has an innovative and ecologically minded approach to shaping the world around us. The US-based Woltz is currently working on projects in New Zealand, which he spoke about in…

New Zealand Designer among world’s best

New Zealand Designer among world’s best

New Zealand-born designer Veere Grenney is included on the 2014 Architectural Digest’s AD100 list as one of the world’s top architects and designers. With his interiors shaped by three fundamental qualities – harmony, clarity and…

Local Video Game Makers among Best in the World

Local Video Game Makers among Best in the World

New Zealand video game makers have been lauded in major international “Best of 2013” lists, with West Auckland-based Grinding Gear Games’ Path of Exile winning GameSpot’s PC Game of the Year Award and…

Kiwi woman’s record breaking 500km run

Kiwi woman’s record breaking 500km run

A New Zealand woman has broken the world record for the farthest distance run with no sleep. The record breaking run saw Kim Allan, 47, run 500km across a period of more than 86…

Enjoy Punchy Asian Flavour at Soho’s New House of Ho

Enjoy Punchy Asian Flavour at Soho’s New House of Ho

Already big in Vietnam, New Zealand-born chef-patron Bobby Chinn is making his London debut and looks set to spice up Soho, with The House of Ho, a modern Vietnamese restaurant on Old Compton Street. “Chinn…

Lorde is “The Upstart” in NYT’s 2013 Disrupters

Lorde is “The Upstart” in NYT’s 2013 Disrupters

Auckland’s Lorde is one of the New York Times’ cultural Disruptors of 2013 – people who broke the rules in a year of artistic upheavals. She features alongside pop provocateur Miley Cyrus and rising…

Shipwreck Find Could Alter Our History

Shipwreck Find Could Alter Our History

Timbers from a shipwreck found in Kaipara Harbour have been dated to some 70 years before Captain Cook, identified as having originated in Southeast Asia as early as 1700. Captain Cook’s Endeavour encountered New…

Simba Impresses in Sydney Lion King Production

Simba Impresses in Sydney Lion King Production

22 December 2013 – South Auckland-born Nick Afoa, 27, makes a “fine musical theatre debut as the adult Simba” in an Australian musical production of Disney’s The Lion King. Afoa, “moves with the exuberant…

Treasuring Every Infinitesimal Bite

Treasuring Every Infinitesimal Bite

The food at New York’s Musket Room is “ambitious and meticulously detailed”, New York Times correspondent Ligaya Mishan writes in a review of the restaurant, which opened in Nolita in June. Owned by Aucklander…

National Theatre Role from Morning to Midnight

National Theatre Role from Morning to Midnight

Auckland-born actress Gina Bellman – who played Sophie Devereaux in American television drama series Leverage – is currently starring in Britain’s National Theatre revival of Georg Kaiser’s expressionistic 1912 play From Morning…

Talent Pool Something to Write Home about

Talent Pool Something to Write Home about

From Lorde to Gin Wigmore, to chef Matt Lambert and model Ashleigh Good (pictured), New Zealand punches above its weight, writes fellow New Zealander Kirsten Matthew for the New York Post. It’s not just pop…

Dancing Her Dreams at Paris Opera Ballet

Dancing Her Dreams at Paris Opera Ballet

16 December 2013 – Twenty-year-old Auckland dancer Hannah O’Neill, who has a lifetime contract with the world’s pre-eminent academy, the Ballet de l’Opéra National de Paris, told the New Zealand Herald recently that…

On Set with Once Upon A Time’s Tinkerbell

On Set with Once Upon A Time’s Tinkerbell

Flying around in a harness playing Tinkerbell on the set of American fairy tale drama series Once Upon A Time has been “so much fun” for Auckland-born actress Rose McIver. “I am very aware of…

Lydia Ko Rises to Fourth in the World Ranking

Lydia Ko Rises to Fourth in the World Ranking

After her first win as a professional, kiwi teenager Lydia Ko has moved up two places to number four in the world rankings. Over the weekend she won the Swinging Skirts World Ladies Masters US$800,000…

Grammy Nominee Crowned WILD Cover Girl

Grammy Nominee Crowned WILD Cover Girl

Lorde, who has been nominated for two Grammys for her hit “Royals”, up for both record of the year (for the recording) and best song (for songwriting), “stuns” on the cover of the

Global Recognition for Biofuels Pioneer

Global Recognition for Biofuels Pioneer

Loss-making biofuels innovator LanzaTech’s quest to raise more capital next year has been given a boost after it was named second “hottest” biotech company in the world. Industry bible Biofuels Digest also named the…

Ko Wins First Professional Title

Ko Wins First Professional Title

09 December 2013 – Just a matter of weeks after announcing that she had turned pro, New Zealand golfer Lydia Ko has won her first professional title. The 16-year-old won the Swinging Skirts World Ladies…

For a Vessel You Can Trust

For a Vessel You Can Trust

Three “nautical pros” of New Zealand’s multi-million dollar boat building industry feature in “The Monocle 100” special supplement of “things to sample experience and discuss.” “While Emirates Team New Zealand lost the America’s Cup in…

An Audience with Jonah Lomu

An Audience with Jonah Lomu

Rugby great Jonah Lomu – who had sixty-three caps as an All Black and is the Rugby World Cup all-time top try scorer – was in Lomond, Ireland in November to meet with fans…

Kiwi Women Lead Cultural Renaissance

Kiwi Women Lead Cultural Renaissance

Once upon a time New Zealand cultural values were based on the unholy trinity of rugby, racing and beer. Then the marketing concepts – clean and green; 100% Pure – were added to the…

Williams Takes Player of the Year Award

Williams Takes Player of the Year Award

New Zealand forward Sonny Bill Williams, 28, has been voted rugby league’s International Player of the Year, the first ever non-Australian to take the award. Williams was reduced to tears when his team-mates performed an…

Creativity Before Celebrity

Creativity Before Celebrity

Lorde has suddenly become quite famous, but in reality the 17-year-old kiwi just wants to stay out of the world of smoke and mirrors like other young popstar of today. “It’s still pretty weird,” she…

New Zealand Continues to Beat Australia with Smarts

New Zealand Continues to Beat Australia with Smarts

25 November 2013 – Auckland is the only New Zealand city, and the first of four cities from Australia and New Zealand, to make Fast Company’s list of ‘The 10 Smartest Asia/Pacific Cities’. To decide…

Joel Little on Lorde and Opening Doors

Joel Little on Lorde and Opening Doors

Starting his music career as a member of pop-punk band Goodnight Nurse in the early 2000s, kiwi Joel Little is now becoming one of the most in-demand producers on the planet after producing Lorde’s…

Kiwi Duo Grabs Attention of Billboard

Kiwi Duo Grabs Attention of Billboard

Hot on the heels of Lorde’s success, Auckland pop-synth duo Broods are making a positive international impressions of their own. The brother-sister duo, made up of Caleb and Georgina Nott, have worked closely with…

Lorde and Lydia Ko Named Time’s Most Influential Teens

Lorde and Lydia Ko Named Time’s Most Influential Teens

Kate Sheppard would be proud. 120 years after New Zealand women gained the right to vote before any other country, two young New Zealand women have become the top two most influential youths in…

Aucklander Brings Fresh Perspective to Sydney’s Art Month

Aucklander Brings Fresh Perspective to Sydney’s Art Month

New Zealand-born Scrap Wall has been named artistic director of Sydney’s largest annual celebration of art, Art Month. Wall is a well-established pioneer in the emerging art scene of his native Auckland. Wall…

Kiwi Heroines Meet in New York City

Kiwi Heroines Meet in New York City

They’ve taken the music and book worlds by storm and now Lorde and Eleanor Catton are sharing some bedtime reading. Lorde, real name Ella Yelich-O’Connor, and fellow Kiwi Catton caught up in the Big Apple…

Beyonce: NZ Tourism Ambassador

Beyonce: NZ Tourism Ambassador

New Zealand got unparalleled international exposure from the recent tour by Beyonce, arguably the biggest music star on the planet at the moment. Whether posing for an Instagram with a Kiwi fan, promotion of…

Rare Chinese Carved Rhino Horns Sale Makes Auction Records

Rare Chinese Carved Rhino Horns Sale Makes Auction Records

A pair of very rare 19th century Chinese carved rhinoceros horns has sold for a record $797,300 Auckland-based auction house Webb’s – 454 per cent above the estimate of $125,000 – $150,000. The…

Young Soccer Player off to Flying Start in US

Young Soccer Player off to Flying Start in US

Aucklander Nicolai Berry, 19, is a freshman midfielder for the University of Buffalo (UB), and amid his transition to a new culture in the United States, Berry has excelled on the pitch, according to…

Kiwi Making YouTube Waves with ‘Royals’ Cover

Kiwi Making YouTube Waves with ‘Royals’ Cover

As Lorde goes from strength to strength, covers of her number one song ‘Royals’ are sprouting like mushrooms on YouTube, and now a second Kiwi is finding fame with his take on the world…

Sonny Bill Faces the Fear

Sonny Bill Faces the Fear

Vulnerability, fear and palpable humbleness are not qualities normally associated with sporting star, Sonny Bill Williams. But in an interview with The Guardian, the footballer and occasional boxer opens up about recent and historic…

New Zealand Features in Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2014 Lists

New Zealand Features in Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2014 Lists

Two New Zealand destinations have made their way into two Lonely Planet Top Ten list,s part of Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2014. Auckland features in the top ten cities in the world to…

Walker and De Mey Are the Fashion Business

Walker and De Mey Are the Fashion Business

New Zealander Karen Walker has been named as one of the world’s most influential designers by leading industry website The Business of Fashion. Walker was one of 118 designers included on the site’s annual Bo500…

Lydia Ko Goes Pro: Teen Golf Sensation Makes Announcement With Help From Israel Dagg

Lydia Ko Goes Pro: Teen Golf Sensation Makes Announcement With Help From Israel Dagg

Kiwi golf prodigy Lydia Ko has finally announced she has turned professional – but to mix things up a bit she has done so through a YouTube video and Twitter. A two-time winner…

Musket Room Cellar Tips for Future NZ Classics

Musket Room Cellar Tips for Future NZ Classics

23 October 2013 – The sommelier at New York’s first restaurant showcasing haute New Zealand cuisine, The Musket Room suggests we start cellaring future New Zealand classics before the rest of the world catches on. Erin…

Lorde’s Bid for the Big Time

Lorde’s Bid for the Big Time

Lorde makes it into the New Yorker this week, the subject of a profile by contributor and music critic Sasha Frere-Jones, who conducted several conversations with the 16-year-old about, amongst other things, how important…

Building New Zealand’s Fashion Profile Online

Building New Zealand’s Fashion Profile Online

The New Zealand Fashion Museum is a very modern affair with a strong online presence, organising exhibitions around the country but without a physical location of its own. It is only one of a score…

Fifty Thousand Kilometre Journey Peddling for the Heart

Fifty Thousand Kilometre Journey Peddling for the Heart

After two years and 43,000km, New Zealander Jeremy Scott is almost home having been riding his bike from London since 5 October 2011, heading to his final destination, Auckland, by March next year. He made…

Pop Sensation Unfazed by Impending Global Stardom

Pop Sensation Unfazed by Impending Global Stardom

Lorde, 16, who says she chose her stage name because she wanted an aesthetically feminine aristocratic title, tells the Guardian’s Alexis Petridis that the record company “got straight away that I was a bit…

Leading Amateur Award Ahead of Pro Decision

Leading Amateur Award Ahead of Pro Decision

New Zealander Lydia Ko, 16, has received the McCormack Medal as the world’s leading women amateur for a third straight year, which was presented to her by the Royal & Ancient and United States…

Close up with Cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh

Close up with Cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh

Acadamy Award-nominee New Zealander Stuart Dryburgh is interviewed in the August issue of American Cinematographer magazine as part of the “Close-Up” section of the publication which each month features a member of the American…

Rihanna Gets a Maori Tribal Tattoo the Traditional Way

Rihanna Gets a Maori Tribal Tattoo the Traditional Way

In order to mark her recent trip to New Zealand, Rihanna decided to get a permanent reminder by having a traditional Maori tattoo added to her already vast collection of inkings. The tattoo was done…

New Age Sensitive Guy Brings Heart to the Beast

New Age Sensitive Guy Brings Heart to the Beast

Auckland-born Jay Ryan, 32, “brings a deep-voiced sensitivity to Vincent”, in his role as the “Beast” in the CBS remake of the 1980’s TV show Beauty and the Beast starring Ron Perlman and Linda…

Kiwi a la Carte Wins Michelin Star

Kiwi a la Carte Wins Michelin Star

Gordon Ramsay: Nil. New Zealand chef Matt Lambert: One. That’s the score in the highly competitive world of fine dining in New York, where the latest list of the Big Apple’s Michelin star restaurants…

SBW: Maybe, No, Yes

SBW: Maybe, No, Yes

The first question, impolitely rhetorical, was WTF? The answer to the second question – will the Kiwis still want him? – will be decided today. Sonny Bill Williams has flip-flopped. Again. After keeping the…

Auckland Art Gallery World Building of the Year

Auckland Art Gallery World Building of the Year

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki has won the coveted World Building of the Year Award at the 2013 World Architecture Festival (WAF) in Singapore. Designed by Sydney-based Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp, in…

Stand Up Winner at California Paddle Awards

Stand Up Winner at California Paddle Awards

Aucklander Annabel Anderson has been named stand up female paddler of the year at the 2013 SUP Awards in California. Anderson was the 2012 Stand Up World Series champion, Battle of the…

Plans for Icy Demonstration Flight South

Plans for Icy Demonstration Flight South

Air New Zealand is planning a demonstration Boeing 767 flight to Antarctica on 5 October, and if all goes well the airline is expected to operate two more chartered flights to “the ice” later…

Lorde Number One in the US

Lorde Number One in the US

Sixteen-year-old singer, Lorde has become the first New Zealander to top the US Billboard charts, following the release of her first album, Pure Heroine, in the US at start of this month. Her single…

When Zipper Met Kanye at No 3 Abbey Road

When Zipper Met Kanye at No 3 Abbey Road

“It’s always going to be an entertaining proposition when American hip hop star Kanye West grants someone an interview opportunity” Pedestrian TV says, and this time, New Zealand-born broadcaster BBC Radio 1 host Zane…

How The Naked and Famous Will Make It In America

How The Naked and Famous Will Make It In America

Though alternative rock bands of the last few decades have oozed cool by rejecting the music industry and pretending not to care, The Naked and Famous didn’t move 19 time zones and nearly 7,000…