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Newsletter Issue #504: 02 Apr 2018

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April Newsletter

This month brings us the very first guest editorial for 2018. Hailing from the underground rock scene in Wellington, Hault released their debut self-titled album last year. Their album was described as "...the music comes back to the fore and Hault create enough variation to keep things interesting..." by muzic.net.nz. With a solid rock history that brought them to where they are today, Hault have remained devoted to delivering a performance not presently heard from original rock line-ups.

Thanks to Sean Fitzpatrick (bass) for providing our first guest editorial for 2018.

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Creativity: don’t be afraid to grind it out.

One of my favourite song writing anecdotes concerns Justin Hayworth of The Moody Blues turning up at rehearsal one day.

Hayworth had written a song quite quickly the night before but was reluctant to present it to the rest of the band. The music felt to him to be too simple and the lyrics WAY too vulnerable; it sounded like a song penned for personal therapy.

He was very unsure about the chorus in particular – could anything be more obvious and dreary than, “and I love you, yes I love you, oh how I love you”?

The song, of course, was Nights in White Satin and played a pivotal part in launching the Moodies as a vanguard band of the emerging British prog rock scene.

So, what turned it around for a song that was almost fated to be self referential in the line ‘letters I’ve written, never meaning to send’?

In rehearsal keyboardist Mike Pinder stunned his band mates when he started to weave a haunting Mellotron counter melody through the ‘overly simple’ chord structure creating the track’s characteristic ‘hook’. The potentially fatal banality of the chorus is rescued by the heartfelt sincerity in Haywarth’s vocal performance, backed up with the trade mark power falsetto of bassist John Lodge.

None of this was in any way a reworking of the song. It was all about arrangement and sublime performance...and a writer willing to get over himself.

Those of us who write songs may well be able to relate to this struggle. There is a commonly held idea that if a song does not come quickly and easily it should just be scrapped; that good songs do not need to be forced...either by writer or by a band when presented with a draft idea.

While essentially true though, there is a wide margin between forcing something and taking the time and attention needed to make the most of raw creative output. We are talking about shaping and polishing gem stones here, not crushing coal into diamonds on demand.

For some who have a ready supply of new material to work with it is both a temptation and a luxury to throw out ideas that are potentially golden but want for a little HARD WORK. Elton John and his band for example were notorious for scrapping a song altogether if they did not nail it in less than four or five attempts.

For the rest of us mere mortal talents the ratio of inspiration versus perspiration may be very different. It may also change over time.

For myself I have songs, some of which are played in Hault that were written years ago that only now are ready for public consumption. I also have sections of songs waiting to be completed that date back just as far. Many of the songs already written when I joined the band have since been rewritten either by myself or others.

This is art. There are few actual rules and ever one of us is finding or making their own path (or both) constantly.

Enjoy the journey, but don’t fear the grind.

- Sean Fitzpatrick

APRIL FISH

A name born from the literal translation of the French term for "April Fools (day)", April Fish is pianist/singer-songwriter Katie Morton ably backed by John Costa. The music is a concoction of soundscapes with an artistic freedom that is so left of the middle, it's as if Tim Burton and Kate Bush are in command of the Starship Enterprise as it boldly accompanies Alice down the rabbit hole. Or put simply, to borrow the words of Katie's niece: "It sounds like an alien invading a circus." Shelley from MNZ spoke to Katie about all things April Fish, and here's what was said:

Kia Ora Katie,

My name is Shelley and I will be doing this interview for Muzic.net.nz. How are you?

Kia ora Shelley! I’m good thanks :)

Where did the name ‘April Fish’ come from?

In France on April 1st they say “poisson d’avril!” (“April fish!”) and try to sneakily attach fish to each other. It’s the same as our April Fool’s except with just one specific prank that probably got old decades ago.

How would you describe your music?


Theatrical? Intense? Dark? Complex? The opposite of chill, so... high-strung? Haha.

How do you come up with your lyrics and what inspires you the most when writing your lyrics?

Writing lyrics can feel like a careful dance with my peripheral vision. A combination of leading and following, trying to allow space for them to tell me which direction they want to go, and me helping guide us there. If I’m too passive or too heavy-handed or look at them too closely one of us will fall over.

What are your influences, if you have any?


I love artistic expression that is complicated and real. Music that goes unexpected places, things that not only grab attention, but insist on keeping it. I’m inspired by people who are comfortable in their own eccentric skin, and am influenced by art that teaches me something by showing me what’s possible when you test the solidity of rules and boundaries.

You’ve just released your new single Axident. It’s a good track which seems to have a somewhat scary undertone. Like you’ve committed murder. I also like the play on the word accident. Can you tell us more about it?

Hahaha thank you! This track kind of ended up on the album by, uh, not-on-purpose. We sent a couple of tracks to the guillotine because they weren’t working, so needed to replace them. I made a quick demo of Axident, which John had never heard before, and most of that original recording ended up on the final track. I was with the image of emotional baggage being almost corporeal and bloody, a situation where you thought you’d moved on but clearly you’re still wearing the effects and feeling weirdly culpable about it.

Your new album An Alien Invaded The Circus comes out on April 6th. However you are doing a live stream on April 1st (“April Fish Day”) to give people an advanced listen. Was that release date centered around that date particularly or did it just work out that way?

Yup! We like to do something to acknowledge April Fish day each year so it seemed like a perfect time to release an album!

What can people expect from the live stream?
 

John and I with bandmates from our other band, The Klaus Vermillion Quartet (also featured on the album) will play the full album, chatting between each track. There will be stories and terrible puns. We have invited Klaus himself so maybe this time he’ll actually show up.

I have listened to your new album. I don’t really know to describe it. It seems heavier than your previous release Blurred. What has the process been like from Blurred to An Alien Invaded The Circus?

Thank you so much for listening, time is precious so I appreciate that a lot! With ‘Blurred’ we were new to the process of making an album. It was also made in a pretty short space of time so I did the best I could with the limited time and experience I had. With ‘An Alien Invaded the Circus’ I knew what I wanted and felt in a better position to make it happen, so I took my time and didn’t hold back.

The album artwork is very interesting. I really love how creative it is. Without giving too much away, where did you get this idea, for the album art, from?

I was interested in the concept of what it takes to be considered an alien, who gets to decide, and what does it mean. In the example of a circus, most audience attendees likely consider the performers to be "alien" but to the circus folk, visitors come in from the outside into their terrain and are the strangers. I wanted to confront people with their own image when they look into the tent, to represent the power of each individual's eye, that we can only judge others from our own sets of experiences and therefore the way we see other people is largely a reflection of how we see ourselves. If you are an alien to me, I might be an alien to you. If I think you are "weird", I'm revealing my own limitations. Sometimes the most curious attraction in a circus is the audience.

You don’t seem to tour with your music other than the occasional local gig. Why is that? Will you tour anytime soon/at all?

I much prefer writing and recording. I’m inspired by certain types of performers and love writing songs to suit other people’s voices, so have been getting into writing for musical theatre and recruiting talented friends to sing in my place wherever possible. Playing live is a lot of fun but I personally don’t have a huge drive to be on stage, necessarily.

What music do you enjoy listening too?

Bent Knee, Fiona Apple, Emilie Autumn, Elliott Smith, Pin Up Went Down, Julie Christmas, Kimbra, Janelle Monáe, The pAper chAse, Jack Off Jill… a mix of zany, growly, authentic, intelligent, and brave.

What is the one thing you want NZ to know about yourself?

I’m on the lookout for opportunities to write for other people. For dark, twisted, quirky musical theatre. To work with people who aren’t afraid to throw themselves into whatever-it-is.

Anything else to add?

I love New Zealand, I love New Zealanders. I dunno, I was suddenly overcome with gratitude for our beautiful small country so there you go!

Thank you for doing this interview with us Katie. I wish you all the best and can’t wait to hear more!

Thank you so much, Shelley!

April Fish are Katie Morton (vocals, piano) and John Costa (war guitar, vocals).

Website Links


ANDREW MASSEURS

Andrew Masseurs is proud to release his debut solo album, called Origins (BandcampSpotifyiTunes). Recorded over the last year or so, it’s a combination of work Andrew has had lying around over the last 10 to 15 years.

"I’ve done pretty much everything on the record and have taken on mixing duties. Mixing is my new passion. So enjoyable. I’m releasing a couple of singles this month from it. The rock single So Violent and the atmospheric track, Ghost."

"Last year I had already released two singles from the album, Without You and Deep Sunrise, This year I hope to make maximum impact with a total of 7 singles to be released."

Andrew  released an album in 2011 with Wellington band Ammp, called From the Back of the Sun and an EP last year called This Chaotic Symphony.


Website Links


Origins Links

Singles



SO BELOW

Earlier this month, Alex spoke to Madeline North from So Below about performing live, writing music and her new EP II. Here's what she had to say:


Alex (interviewer): What got you started in music?

Madeline (So Below): I always had a lot of musician friends when I was younger. I kind of always thought it was something that was not necessarily something that you could just dive into, it had to be something that you'd been doing your whole life. I had friends that had been doing music since they were 12, and I didn't think it was something that was possible for me. But it was always something that I've wanted to do. 

One day I just was having a really crappy day and I sat down at my computer, opened GarageBand and made a demo. I sent it to my friend Alisa Xayalith from The Naked and Famous and she said "Wow, this is really good. I didn't know this is just something that you wanted to do. I didn't realize that you were serious about doing this." I spent a couple of years just doing demos on my laptop, and eventually, I showed one of them to Sam McCarthy from Boyboy and Kids of 88. He said "Yeah, this is great. Let's work on it." That was Drift, one of the first tracks I released from my debut EP, one of the first songs I ever properly finished.

Alex: Drift was the song that went "viral" garnering 100,000 views in a very short space of time?

Madeline: It's had a few listens. I wasn't expecting a lot; I was kind of expecting to get a couple of listens from my mom and then I'd be like "Cool. That was fun."  I woke up the next day and I had all these emails from labels and blogs asking, "Who are you?" It was crazy. It was not expected at all. That's when I realised this is actually something that I can do.

Alex: That must've been pretty shocking to wake up to?

Madeline: It was super shocking. My friends were telling me that it was good, but they're your friends and they're going to tell you what you want to hear. So, for strangers, someone you have no relationship with, and they listened to your music and they feel something and have a connection to your music, that is what makes music so fun. To have a complete stranger DM you and be "Wow, this song is my breakup song" It's the best kind of validation, when even just one person, is motivated and inspired by your music. It's the best feeling.

Alex: How has it translated to performing live?

Madeline: Yeah that is not the most fun transition. It's so different to writing in a little studio, wearing my pyjamas. Crafting the live set up takes so long, practising, and then actually doing it. It's maybe the most uncomfortable, horrible, but also the most rewarding experience I've ever done. The whole time I'm wondering "Am I going to throw up?", but I did a tour in the UK, six or seven shows, and by the end of it, I was fine. No one's there to bring you down. Everyone's there to have a good time, but you always think "They're judging me. They hate me." In saying that, it's fine playing in front of strangers; as soon as you have to play in front of anyone you know, like your family or friends, it's so much worse because they know the real you.

The first show I played was in Auckland and it was like a really intimate show. 50-60 people and it was like every single one was someone that I knew. My Dad brought all his friends from the tennis club, Mum brought a million people. It was my worst nightmare. And then a week later I opened for The Naked and Famous in front of 3000 people and it was the best show ever. There were 3000 people, but I don't know any of them.  I could fall flat on my face and it wouldn't matter because you don't have a connection with these people.

Alex: Was that one of the high points so far?

Madeline: It was definitely the biggest show I've played, and the feedback I got was really awesome. I had people coming up to me after the show saying how awesome I was, they were really excited to follow me, and asking if I had any merch.  The funny thing was I had Aaron Short and Jesse Wood in my band, who are in The Naked and Famous, so they had to wear black shirts for my show and then jump backstage and put on like a white shirt before playing in their own show.

Alex: Tell us about your song writing process

Madeline: Some songs I've written by myself; for example, Sleep, I wrote most of that on my laptop myself and then brought it to Sam McCarthy and we finished them off together. I usually just go into a room like a blank canvas with a couple of references; Maybe a word, an idea of what topics I want to sing about, and just go from there. Tempo is important; if I want to do something more upbeat and then I'd generally do drums first, and melody and lyrics after that. I always need a really strong line or hook in the chorus. My next single has the line in the chorus, "I know you think about me", and that is the vibe of the whole song. It's different for every song, and some songs take an afternoon to write, while others can take two years. For example, Visions, which is getting released tomorrow, took two years to finish. It was like pulling teeth and got reworked so many times. We've got it to a really great point and I'm super happy with it. But it did take a bit of finessing.

Alex: Do you think New Zealand, in general, is kind of starting to move away from the usual mainstream "nonsense" lyrics in pop music, towards something more meaningful and emotive lyrically?

Madeline:  I don't really know in terms of New Zealand radio, there is still a demand for that kind of pop music, and I wish that the radio played more New Zealand pop because there's so much good stuff out there. I have so many friends that do such great stuff and it's just not really being played on the radio stations outside of the "New Zealand hours" and "local" segments.  I would say that there has been more of a shift. Lorde in a way created a little bit of a shift because her stuff is not generic, typical Top 20, it's super original and unique, and I feel like she's kind of almost created a little bit of a pathway for the other people like her to get on mainstream radios. I wish that there was a little bit more support for New Zealand music in New Zealand. Kiwi music is awesome.

Alex: What kiwi artists would you recommend?

Madeline: I'm just going to recommend my friends because I love my friends. Um, well obviously love The Naked and Famous who are releasing an acoustic album soon, Boyboy just put out a song this week, and Chelsea Jade is amazing.

Alex: How is it spending so much time abroad, compared to New Zealand?

Madeline: The people that are a lot different, not necessarily in a bad way. It's a mild version of culture shock until you realize that there's really cool stuff in every place. I still find myself most comfortable in New Zealand because everyone has the same sense of humour; Americans don't really get sarcasm. It's raining outside and you say, "What a beautiful day", but they are all "What do you mean? Can't you see it's raining?". 100% sarcasm is a New Zealand thing.

Alex: Let's talk about the new EP II. Have you been working on this since the debut EP was released?

Madeline: Some of the songs we even wrote before I finished the debut EP. It's been about two years in the works.  Close is the latest song that I've finished, but Visions is the oldest song I've had. Visions was the trap.  It was like pulling teeth; every time we would get it out, we need to change this, adding things and taking things out. I re-recorded the vocals maybe four times.

Alex: In the past, and you've used a lot of reverb when recording your vocals, you were a bit shy when it came to your voice. Has that changed with the latest EP?

Madeline: I think it's changed a lot. The first EP, every song I needed the vocals to be drowned in reverb and delay; it was also the style that I really liked at the time, which I still like. With this EP and the album that I have coming out later in the year, the vocals are a lot more intimate. There is even some solo vocals and really dry vocals; I just wanted more of a dynamic range of vocals, so there are some songs that have similar vocal style to the first EP, but definitely more of a range which I'm super happy with. I'm just not necessarily scared of people hearing my voice anymore, and I'm finally comfortable enough that I can have just completely dry vocals on the track and be happy with it. I've matured a bit and that's always good for my song writing process.

Alex: What would be your favourite track?

Madeline: Out of all my tracks? Hard. One of those things musicians always talk about is finding a sound, and this is what I want to sound like. When I released Hard, I knew this is the sound I want to have. Although another song would be Drift, which was the first one. Drift had a very similar aggressiveness in the production, which is definitely the sound that I like. To me it needs to be aggressive but also really poppy. When I write a song, I don't want you to forget it. I want them to be able to remember the song and then be walking down the street and not be able to get it out of their head. That's my goal. For Hard, the chorus is really catchy, but the song is super aggressive and dark.

So Below is Madeline North.

Website Links



INSIDE THE MUZIC: Primacy and Apollo SteamTrain

Inside the Muzic: Primacy


After December's release of the collection of singles, III, which signified the departure of their vocalist Jason, the Inside the Muziccrew were invited to chat with Will, Jared, and new vocalist Rhys about everything Primacy.

Check out the video below:


Alex (Interviewer): Alrighty. Welcome to this interview from Inside The Music. Today we've got Primacy. Why don't you guys tell us your names and your roles in the group?

Jared (Guitarist): I am Jared. I play the rhythm guitar and I am also the engineer for the bands' recordings.

Will (Drummer): My name is Will, I'm the drummer

Rhys (Vocalist): Hi, my name's Rhys. I'm the lead singer and I just recently joined primacy.

Alex: You guys are in the groove metal genre?

Rhys: Yeah, We're a combination of everyone's different styles, so I think we've ended up being in a pocket that could be defined as that, but we try to fluctuate out of that and not be quite so obvious.

Alex: What would be the big musical influences that shape your music?

Jared: What's it? That's a difficult one because it's completely different for everybody in the band. Personally, I'm a big fan of alternative metal. Deftones is a big one for me. I also listen to a lot of different genres though, so quite a bit of hip-hop and ambient music as well. So maybe not the hip-hop, but most of it makes its way into the music.

Will: I listened to a wide variety of music. My father introduced me to a wide variety of music when I was a child, but I tend to listen to a lot of extreme music, but also hip-hop, and from time to time I try to listen to new music as well. When somebody releases something locally, I try to get it and listen to it and expand my horizons, stay current, rather than getting stuck listening to Judas Priest, which is what I tend to do.

Rhys: Yeah. Lots of different styles of music, but I think vocally, Bring Me The Horizon and newer nu-metals styles like that are big influences on me and even older groups like Linkin Park. It got me to love metal and it's just grown from there. I'm looking forward to putting some of my influence on the new music that comes from the band. Basically just been trying to take over where it was left off with Jason previously.

Will: He's been pretty busy recently because he's got to learn all the old tracks that had lyrics written for them. We've got eight tracks waiting, that are already tracked to add vocals to those. So he's got quite a bit of work on his plate at the moment. 

Read the full interview here

Inside the Muzic: Apollo SteamTrain


While up in Auckland for his inaugural Auckland show with Apollo SteamTrain, Brendan McCarthy sat down for a chat with the Inside the Muzic Crew

Check the video out below:


Alex (Interview): Welcome to this episode of Inside The Muzic, today we are talking to Brendan from Apollo SteamTrain. Good to have you up in Auckland. You are Tauranga based?

Brendan (Vocals/Guitar): I've just battled the motorway, only a four-hour trip today, but I'm here. I hope the rest of the band is on their way in.

Alex: Auckland traffic. Never underestimate it.

Brendan: Absolutely. It seems to have gotten heaps worse since I left 12 years ago. I used to have a driving job in Auckland and I thought it was bad then.

Alex: While Ed Sheeran is also in town, you've got a show at the Ding Dong Lounge?

Brendan: We are here to play our first Auckland gig, with a band called Ocean Beach, who are old mates of mine from Dunedin days, and Subscond, who are Hamilton and Auckland based, that we met last year playing Nivara lounge. Looking forward to it and hoping a few people are going to come along that aren't going to Ed Sheeran.

Alex: How did the band get started? I hear you were the pioneer.

Brendan: I just got sick of playing covers, which I'd been doing for about four or five years from when I first moved to Tauranga. I used to play a lot of original music in my twenties, and that just sort of ended because of family, commitments, and life. Life got in the way. I got back into music and got into covers but realized I really want to play my own stuff.  That was 2014 and  I didn't know any musicians that wanted to play original music in Tauranga at that point. So I went into a studio and demoed a whole heap of tracks by myself. Due to life and day job commitments, it took about 15 months. 

Coming out the other side, I played it to my old friend Jan Hellriegel and she signed a publishing deal straight away, and then a couple of tracks were used in Shortland Street. Off the back of that mild success, I thought I could see something quite good happening here. In the start of 2016, I started to look around for the best musos and it's taken a year and a half to finally get that line up right. The band's been playing; seven or eight gigs last year, and three or four in 2016. We've recently moved to a four piece and the lineup is good. It feels right for reproducing the studio sound. It's a bit of a journey and a bit slower in the evolution of a brand new band than if we were 20 years younger. But it's good, we're enjoying ourselves.

Alex: So you did all the recording yourself? All the musical instruments?

Brendan: Almost. We did live drums. I'm not good enough to track at a studio level, so I used a session drummer, I did the bass and guitar, and the producer at the studio did some keyboard, piano, made up some strings for a few bits and pieces. It was just pretty much myself and this guy, Tim and come up with what we call the demos. It was originally going to be a studio project, and I was just going to put it out there as an album, but when we started to get a few industry interests, we decided to slow down. We took that batch of songs and got one remixed by Clint Murphy.

Through the MMF (Music Manager Forum) I met James Southgate (Devilskin's current manager), he said: "Let's get a track in front of Clint Murphy in the UK". I don't know who he was at the time. He came back and of course, the sounded pretty huge, so we've got one huge sounding track. If we put one huge selling track out there, people are going to want another one at the time we didn't. So we slowed down completely, practised, saved some money and went to Roundhead Studio to record two more with Greg Haver. They went through the Jason Nick Portman/Clint Murphy chain and that is what Brain Bell Jangler is, the first of that Roundhead session last year. Now we're on sort of a journey of rinse and repeat where, Brain Bell Jangler been playing for about two months and so we're on the end of life for that single, and the new one is ready to go.

Alex: How did you find your other musicians in your band?

Brendan: The old-fashioned way, mostly. The drummer, it's a long story. Les Robinson was the drummer for a while, but he's now done a complete Dave Grohl and jumped on the guitar. He had a notice up on a music shop board advertising himself as a bass player because he's one of those people that you hire who can play anything. I do solo gigs to get money, playing covers on an acoustic guitar stuff, to get money to put into originals for recording videos. I found the notice and then rung him up. The guy had said he can play the drums as well. I rang him up to see if he wanted to come in and jam, and he's like, "Yep, cool". I said I've got a gig tonight, and he says "I'll bring my bass" but no, I want you to play the drums. He just says "Yeah, it'll be alright". We do this gig with him on bass, and if he can play the bass like that, I didn't even need to see him play the drums. I asked him to do the drumming gig and that's how I met him. 

We had another bass player that I knew from local circles, but then he got really busy, and I found Ian Clark through Facebook. We did a few gigs as a three-piece, but while this all this recording and was going on we realized that we needed to be a four-piece, and it's taken us most of 2017 to the find the right person. What got Lee to do the Dave Grohl thing and moved to the guitar and a drummer that I've known for years called James Bos in the Tauranga music circle for quite a while. Got him on the drumkit. Now we're four dudes living the dream.

Read the full interview here

NZ MUSIC NEWS

Newcomers and past winners announced as finalists for the
2018 Vodafone Pacific Music Awards


The finalists for the 2018 Vodafone Pacific Music Awards have been announced at the Otara Music Arts Centre, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

New Zealand-born, Berlin-based neo-soul singer Noah Slee leads the 25 finalists who are set to be honoured at the Pacific Music Awards ceremony on 24 May at the Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau, Auckland.

Noah is up for four awards off the back of his debut album Otherland including Pacific Media Network Best Pacific Urban Artist, NZ Music Commission Best Pacific Male Artist, NZ On Air Best Pacific Music Video (along with Si Jay Gould) for his single Radar, and Recorded Music NZ Best Pacific Music Album – which is an official Tui.

Onehunga hip hop crew SWIDT tore up the stage last year at the Vodafone Pacific Music Awards with a high energy performance of their hit 312.

The group return this year, with finalist nods for both Pacific Media Network Best Pacific Urban Artist and Recorded Music NZ Best Pacific Music Album for their debut album Stoneyhunga.

Another hip hop artist garnering attention at the moment is Kings, who is a finalist for NZ Music Commission Best Pacific Male Artist and SIT/MAINZ Best Producer for his self-produced debut album Chapter One.

Full Article and Finalist List

Taite Music Prize - Classic Album Winner Announcement

Independent Music NZ announces the 2018 recipient of the Classic Record which aims to acknowledge New Zealand's rich history of making fine albums that continue to inspire us and that also define who we are.

This year's judging panel have given the nod to The Headless ChickensStunt Clown (Flying Nun 1988) as one of Aotearoa's classic records.

The award will be presented to members of the band at the official Taite Music Prize 2018 ceremony, Tuesday April 17th, The Winter Garden at The Civic,
Auckland.

Vocalist and guitarist for Headless Chickens, Chris Matthewsreacted with his trademark humour, “When I heard that we’d won the Classic Album award I was shocked and stunned... that there’s no prize money! I thought that on the 30th anniversary of the release of Stunt Clown I was finally going to be able to give up my day job. Oh, well, cheers and better living, everyone!”

Full Article

Taite Music Prize - Finalist Announcement

Independent Music NZ (IMNZ) is very pleased to announce that the finalists for the Taite Music Prize 2018 have been confirmed. Now in its ninth year, the Taite Music Prize recognises outstanding creativity for an entire collection of music contained on one recording.

Named after the late Dylan Taite, one of New Zealand’s most respected music journalists, the prize-winner will receive a cash prize of $10,000 to be spent as they wish, thanks to Taite Music Prize founding partner Recorded Music NZ; recording time at Red Bull Studios Auckland; and a year’s supply of Red Bull product. This year’s eight finalists, from a lengthy list of 92 nominations submitted by record labels both independent and major from across the country, are:

Aldous Harding - Party (Flying Nun Records)
Fazerdaze - Morningside (Flying Nun Records)
Grayson Gilmour - Otherness (Flying Nun Records)
Kane Strang - Two Hearts and No Brain (Dead Oceans)
Mermaidens - Perfect Body (Flying Nun Records)
Nadia Reid -Preservation (SPUNK!)
Teeks - The Grapefruit Skies (Teeks)
The Bads - Losing Heroes (The Bads)

Full Article

Record Store Day with Warner Music NZ

Warner Music New Zealand is proud to share the exclusive titles that will be available on Saturday, April 21st, universally recognised as Record Store Day. We celebrate this special event with a treasure trove of exclusive titles pressed on 7” and 12” vinyl available at independent record stores throughout New Zealand.

Record Store Day was conceived in 2007 at a gathering of independent record store owners and employees as a way to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding independently owned record stores in the US and internationally. The first Record Store Day took place on April 19, 2008. Today there are Record Store Day participating stores on every continent except Antarctica.

Full Article

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- New Releases -



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- April Gigs & Tours -

(in no particular order)

7 April @ Wellington Waterfront, Wellington

Local


5 April @ Totara Street, Tauranga - 13 April @ Altitude, Hamilton - 14 April @ Galatos, Auckland
19 April @ Armadillos, Nelson - 20 April @ The Australasian Hotel, Greymouth - 21-22 April @ Sullivans, Christchurch
5 April @ San Fran, Wellington - 6 April @ Globe Theatre, Palmerston North - 7 April @ 4th Wall Theatre, New Plymouth
12 April @ The Boathouse, Nelson - 14 April @ Murchison Theatre, Murchison - 15 April @ Blue Smoke, Christchurch
19 April @ Common Room, Hastings - 20 April @ Nivara Lounge, Hamilton - 21 April @ Vic Theatre, Auckland
6 April @ Sitting Room Sessions, Napier - 7 April @ Moon, Wellington - 13 April @ Tuning Fork, Auckland
14 April @ Butter Factory, Whangarei - 15 April @ Leigh Sawmill, Leigh
7 April @ Southern Cross Garden Bar, Wellington - 20 April @ Leroy's Bar, Wellington
4 April @ Rippon Vineyard, Central Otago - 5 April @ Gibbston Valley Winery, Central Otago
7 April @ Hanover Hall, Dunedin - 11 April @ The Exchange, Christchurch - 13 April @ Nelson
19-21 April @ Suite Gallery, Wellington
6 April @ Deville Cafe and Bar, Nelson - 7 April @ Mussel Inn, Onekaka, 13 April @ Tuning Fork, Auckland
14 April @ Haumoana Hall, Hawkes Bay - 20 April @ The Captain Cook Tavern, Dunedin
21 April @ Blue Smoke, Christchurch - 27 April @ Lucky Bar, Whanganui - 28 April @ Sculpture Festival, Kimbolton
28 April @ Joseph Street Kitchen, Palmerston North
5 April @ Moon, Wellington - 8 April @ Blue Smoke, Christchurch - 12 April @ Grainstore Gallery, Oamaru
13 April @ The Captain Cook Tavern, Dunedin - 14 April @ Sherwood, Queenstown - 19 April @ Wine Cellar, Auckland
21 April @ Folk, Tauranga
6 April @ Foxglove, Wellington - 8 April @ Ostro, Auckland - 12 April @ Carlton, Christchurch
13 April @ Vault 21, Dunedin - 14 April @ Yonder, Queenstown
18 April @ The Meteor Theatre, Hamilton - 21 April @ The Anglican Hall, Coromandel
22 April @ Kauaeranga Hall, Thames - 23 April @ Baycourt X Space, Tauranga - 24 April @ The Dome Room, Gisborne
26 April @ The Old Dairy Factory, Norsewood - 27 April @ CHB Municipal Theatre, Waipawa
29 April @ Ohawe Hall, Hawera
6 April @ Space Academy, Christchurch - 7 April @ The Captain Cook Tavern, Dunedin
13 April @ Whammy Bar, Auckland - 14 April @ Caroline, Wellington

International

3 April @ Horncastle Arena, Christchurch - 5 April @ TSB Arena, Wellington - 6 April @ Spark Arena, Auckland
9 April @ Trusts Arena, Auckland - 10 April @ Claudelands Arena, Hamilton - 12 April @ TSB Arena, Wellington
12 April @ Spark Arena, Auckland - 15 April @ Horncastle Arena, Christchurch
14 April @ Studio, Auckland - 15 April @ San Fran, Wellington
19 April @ Spark Arena, Auckland
20 April @ Spark Arena, Auckland - 21 April @ TSB Arena, Wellington - 24 April @ Horncastle Arena, Christchurch
21 April @ Crystal Palace, Mt Eden - 22 April @ The Vic, Devonport - 23 April @ St Peters on Willis, Wellington
24 April @ The Piano, Christchurch
24 April @ Spark Arena, Auckland
29 April @ Logan Campbell Centre, Auckland
19 April @ Powerstation, Auckland
24 April @ Whammy Bar, Auckland - 25 April @ Valhalla, Wellington
27 April @ Shed 6, Wellington - 28 April @ Logan Campbell Centre, Auckland - 29 April @ The Foundry, Christchurch
30 April @ Union Hall, Dunedin
4 April @ Whammy Bar, Auckland - 5 April @ Meow, Wellington - 6 April @ Totara Street, Tauranga
7 April @ Yot Club, Raglan
29 April @ Valhalla, Wellington
13 April @ Logan Campbell Centre, Auckland
Dave Flynn
5 April @ Old St Paul's Cathedral, Wellington - 6 April @ Cabana, Napier - 14 April @ Absurdistan, Kaiwaka

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MUZIC.NET.NZ NEWS

New Artists


The following new artist pages have been created on muzic.net.nz during the past month:

Carnivorous Plant Society Andrew Masseurs
Aura of Chaos Enoch
Solo Ono Astro Children
The Blackbird Ensemble Jessie Cassin
Howick Brass LOST BiRD
A.U.R.A Lunavela
Roy Hudson Yimmy


It is 100% FREE to create a muzic.net.nz artist listing, 
and you'll get free access to update your page, as well as access to add mp3 and photo galleries: 

Useful Links


Important 2018 Music Industry Dates

Muzic.net.nz - What we do for Musicians and Bands

Self-Promoting Gigs and Tours

Marketing Tools to aid with Self Promotion

Muzic.net.nz - Promo Photos

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New Reviews


Check out our latest reviews at the below links:

Tom Lee-Richards - Mini LP Review: Out of the Oddness
Written by Corinne

Streakers - Single Review: BDSM
Written by Trevor

How To Human - Single Review: Devil in Your Pocket
Written by Kerry M

Dead Celeb - Album Review: Dead Celeb
Written by Alex

Pale Lady - Single Review: Empty Space
Written by Alex

Gig Review: Clap Clap Riot @ Whammy Bar, Auckland - 23/02/2018
Written by Paul

Matt Hay - Album Review: Something Blue
Written by Alex

Festival Review: Auckland City Limits 2018
Written by Paul

So Below - EP Review: So Below
Written by Corinne

Jamie McDell - Single Review: Tori Feat. Kasey Chambers
Written by Shelley

Depths - Album Review: Endless
Written by Matt M

Gig Review: Silence The City @ Backbeat, Auckland - 2/3/2018
Written by Shelley

Dead Favours - Single Review: Better The Weather
Written by Shelley

Emily Fairlight - Single/Video Review: The Escape
Written by Janise

Robby Thorne - Album Review: The White Thorn Track
Written by Peter

Gig Review: Stellar* @ The Tuning Fork, Auckland - 09/03/2018
Written by Alex

Eb & Sparrow - Album Review - Seeing Things
Written by Corinne

Andrew Masseurs - Album review - Origins
Written by Jacquie

Delaney Davidson - Album review - Shining Day
Written by Jacquie

Gig Review: Storm the Gates Festival @ Trusts Arena, Auckland, 17/03/2018
Written by Alex

Temples on Mars - Album Review: Temples on Mars
Written by Alex

Gig Review: Apollo SteamTrain @ Imbibe Bar, Tauranga - 10/03/2018
Written by John

Thomas Oliver - Album Review: Live at the Crystal Palace
Written by Kerry M

Gig Review: Ed Sheeran @ Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland - 24/03/2018
Written by Paul

Darren Watson - Album review: Too Many Millionaires
Written by Jacquie

Super Narco Man - EP Review: Dank Mammoth Deluxe EP
Written by Paul

Gig Review: Prophets of Rage @ Spark Arena, Auckland - 20/03/2018
Written by Paul

Solo Ono - EP Review: Rogue Planet
Written by Kerry M

Gig Review: Hollywoodfun Downstairs @ The Wine Cellar, Auckland 23/03/2018
Written by Alex

Album Review: Local Musicians Music Vol 4
Written by Corinne

Astro Children - Single Review: Beneath the Visible Surface
Written by Alex

Gig Review: Apollo SteamTrain @ Ding Dong Lounge, Auckland 24/03/2018
Written by Alex

Single Review: **JOY** featuring Mark Vanilau - The String of Strength
Written by Alex

Single Review: Harry Parsons - Real
Written by Alex

New Telepathics - Album Review: The End Of War
Written by River

Gig Review: Mastodon & Gojira @ Trusts Arena, Auckland 31/03/18
Written by Alex

Simon Hirst - Album Review: Feet of God
Written by Trevor

All of our reviews can be read here.
All our interviews can be read here.
Email [email protected] if you would like us to review your music.

---

New Photos


We've added some incredible photos during the past month - check them out at the below links:


Coastella
Photos by Reef



Ed Sheeran
Drax Project
Photos by Calden
Email [email protected] if you would like us to photograph you.


Tour Features





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All muzic.net.nz tour features can be viewed here
Email team@muzic.net.nz if you would like us to create a tour feature for you.


ABOUT MUZIC.NET.NZ NEWSLETTERS

Our very special NZ MUSIC MONTH newsletter is going out on Sunday, 6 May 2018!

If you are a NZ musician and you would like to promote your music,
we would love to feature you in our newsletter
and you can choose the date which suits you

We can also feature record labels, venues, music stores, music websites...
anything that has something to do with NZ music

Check out this forum and email [email protected] for more information about our newsletters

Muzic.net.nz newsletters are currently sent out to over 8580 members!
with this number growing every day, featuring in our newsletter is an excellent promotional tool

Access our newsletter archives here

- The muzic.net.nz team

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