Kia ora guys,  

New year, new music, new newsletter editor (me!).

Many of you are probably well into the swing of the new year by now but some things (and people) are still returning to reality. I’ve been away for the last month on a road trip to the top of the north island. The drive allowed ample time for music. I’m not personally one for podcasts (or silence) so after the 25th hour on the road I felt as though I’d exhausted every album, playlist and single that I knew of.  

Conveniently, I also lost my phone the day before I went away so I have been entirely removed from city life and all of the stress that’s included, spending nights in sleepy towns and gorgeous beaches. I feel as though the new year is just only coming into view.  For all the pleasantries of the far north, for all the people-less beaches and roadside fruit stalls, I really did miss the crowds of people that make music exciting. I am even happy to put up with Wellington’s sad excuse for a summer in exchange for its shining example of a gig scene. Pleasantly, gigs are rife here and I hope they are wherever you are too. 

We’ve had many Summer festivals already go ahead in January, and more to come over the next couple of Summer months. I’m personally still mourning the loss of Laneway, but even so there are still some amazing music events to look forward to. Especially the smaller scale gems, which is where I think New Zealand really thrives.  

Let’s all just forget about the-year-that-shall-not-be-named and go positively forth into 2021. Keep up with Muzic.net.nz, keep supporting NZ music. It’s going to be a good year for us and I’m very excited to be here for it! 

Beth xXx

On a sunny summer evening in the capital, local band Bad Hagrid played a set in the Wellington Botanical Gardens as part of the Gardens Magic series. The series is always an exciting time in the city and it's shown in the crowd. Bad Hagrid's set was fun, lively and engaging. Muzic.net.nz caught up with them before the gig to chat about their summer, recent tour and future plans. Here's what happened...

Bad Hagrid at Wellington Gardens Magic, 2021.

Who is Bad Hagrid? Is he Good Hagrid’s alter ego?

Bad Hagrid is the atmospheric antithesis of good and bad. Who somehow, miraculously created the body of a rugged, bumbling buffoon with wild ideas, sleepless nights and a thirst for psychedelic noises.  

What festivals have you been to/played at over summer and what did you think?

We've played Sanctuary Sounds in the Hawkes Bay, our drummer, Rollyz went to Twisted Frequencies and are about to play Gardens Magic. But other than that, we've pottered around the motu creating new songs and noises. 

Are there any festivals still to come?

No, Bad Hagrid is currently on the composition buzz and exploring some new sounds for the winter.  

In your FB bio it states that you are New Zealand’s 68th best drag show. What is your goal in terms of this as a band? Is number 1 one day on the cards?

We hope to get slightly worse. We aren’t in it for the title. Bad Haggy just likes to dress up and be Bad Haggy.  

What do you think of Wellington?

It’s pretty mean. Haggy likes it so much were are currently writing a concept album about the landmarks and enigmatic characters of Wellington's music scene.  

Do you have any specific hopes or expectations for tonight's gig?

We hope for some nice sun, a cool breeze, and plenty of kani kani. Maybe a dog or two to pat would be nice.  

How was the tour! What was the most memorable gig?

The tour was amazing! Haggy met some beautiful people all around. We couldn't pick a favourite place, but a stand out could be our Show with Ripship and DARTZ at The Wine Cellar in Auckland... Including a run in with Auckland's finest parking warden, which almost ended in the loss of all our gear. It was big, fun, had interesting music with an ecstatic crowd. Two of Wellingtons best Bands stormed Tamaki Makaurau and met the amazing Ripship. Haggy enjoyed very much.  

Any movements planned for 2021?

2021 is the year our dearest Haggy takes his shirt off and gets serious. Chest hair for all to see. We are working with animators, designers and videographers to create hecking sick content for you's fullahs. We have also been blessed by our producer, engineer and wizard Sutherland Sounds. (PLUG: www.sutherlandsounds.com). He will be working with us through the year and is responsible for our debut album Bad Hagrid and The Planet and The Androgynites ( badhagrid.bandcamp.com).  

Haggy loves you all. All answers are from Bad Hagrid himself. 

Find out more about Bad Hagrid

Hailing from Palmerston North and with a varied career including radio hosting, music production, and a focus on community building within the NZ music scene, Decktrik AKA Samir Loumachi sat down with Gareth from Muzic.net.nz for a chat:

You have quite a varied CV in the music industry – can you give us a bit of background on how you got started?

I got into DJing just over 10 years ago. I started discovering electronic music, mashups, and remixes for the first time. I was fully addicted to computers as a kid, so when mum gave me time-out from the screens, I got into radio as the next best thing. Ministry of Sound Sessions on ZM, Our:House Radio on George and BBC Radio 1 Dance were the main staples for my music discoveries. I started getting into making bootleg mashups, remixes, and mixtapes on Mixcraft 5.

I met some music friends in school who ran an internet radio station and joined in. We all found our way into DJing and music production. With all our free time after school and the internet, we got to network with lots of music people in our town, country and around the world. We got to play a few house parties, fundraiser events and school balls. As I got older, I stayed passionate in DJing but also started to see the potential to DJ and play music on proper FM radio and then found my way into getting my own show on Radio Control 99.4FM. I have been on the radio for almost 8 years now.

As I got older, artists like Martin Solveig, Swedish House Mafia, deadmau5, David Guetta, Avicii and Skrillex were all great examples of music producers who got to play their own music in a DJ fashion. I got my first ‘residency’ when I was 14 (an U18 friendly one of course) at the local Youth Space every Thursday. I practiced there alongside working at McDonalds right up till Year 13. Since then I've been doing lots of music production and picking up lots of gigs along the way.

You’re involved in behind-the-scenes work in the electronic music space, as well creating and playing music – fingers in lots of pies! What sort of work do you do on the technical side, and how does that inform your own music career?

Since I was always really good at computers, when I got onto Facebook, forums etc., I really wanted to be of service to everyone, especially people I looked up to from a young age. Being of service behind the scenes also helps you gain heaps of knowledge and opportunities. I started to find little ways to help people after school, hustles included making computer generated voice tags for DJs, sharing helpful YouTube videos and Facebook groups for people wanting to learn DJing/production, and lots of other stuff. I also helped a handful of artists in New Zealand with Facebook Verification back when expression of interest forms were more laidback. I could keep going, but we'd be here all day!

Recently I've helped people with music distribution, setting up Spotify for Artists, helping artists setup APRA accounts and more. I'm really staunch towards maximum NZ music in all my DJ sets, and radio shows, because I know it means the world to the artists and will create legacy and history to come. I'm really glad I was able to find a way to bring value to the music space, because I know what I've done has helped people heaps not just creatively but mentally. Everything from computer crashes, to sharing unused Splice credits, my philosophy is all about ensuring everyone in New Zealand has a best fighting chance to express themselves creatively, because I truly believe groundwork like this makes for a safer and more peaceful community. It's a win-win for the whole community!

How do you find the NZ music scene in terms of support and getting yourself established as an artist?

I think we're quite lucky in New Zealand in the sense that compared to many other countries around the world, we tend to support our emerging artists who may be starting out broke or with little funding quite well. I also want to take the time while I'm on this platform of voice to pass on the love and gratitude to everyone who works behind the scenes to ensure everyone in New Zealand music feels that they are supported. I recently joined the Music Producers Guild NZ Aotearoa (MPGNZ) and I take my hat off to Chris, Greg and the entire crew for all their and love mahi here. Being able to meet P-Money at Roundhead was a true blessing and honour, and his wisdom on this exact subject was pivotal for me personally. I love the mahi from Muzic.net.nz, huge up to all the independent and student radio stations, Control, Music For the People, Active, RDU, Pulzar, the list goes on...

To all the movements in electronic, Bassment, IWI, Too Much Sauce, AYEBRO/REPFM, Too Cut, Room One, Bassment, Slo Wave, Nah Zone, Sniffers, there's literally hundreds around now, so if I've missed you out just know I'm picking names from a hat here, there's literally hundreds and being able to meet these communities and know they are all genuine is the testimony I wish to share with everyone. I love the recent addition of MusicHelps in our space too.

Every time I try to take a break from the assistance, I can just taste the future of NZ music dominating all the top music charts around the globe. I've often told people at present we see a lot of UK and US tracks in our NZ top music charts, but soon it's gonna be all NZ music at the top of all the UK and US charts. We're already starting to do it right now. Lorde was definitely pivotal, she was getting airplay on GeorgeFM back when her Facebook page had about 50 likes, so you can see right there our ability to foster this vision we all see, it is totally within our lifetime to see this become an even bigger reality for New Zealand.

Where can people find your work and stay in touch with updates?

Yes, SoundCloud and Facebook above all the other places. https://linktr.ee/decktrik has everything DECKTRIK in one place. My podcast, Beat Whanau is out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify etc. and will eventually be out on YouTube too. I am starting to get the hang of Instagram... My radio shows are The Daytime Disco on Radio Control and Future Sound of Palmy on Music for the People.

You can usually find me at the local McDonalds or BP during weekend evenings, based here in Palmy North at the moment. In this sense, I like to create my own gigs where I will set mini catch ups on a specific project or skill. This works out great whenever I get a weekend off. Stay tuned for my new track Yallah coming out at the end of the year, as well as more stock music and remixes. I have a really cool gospel production cover to finish up on Man In The Mirror. I'm hoping to have a couple of tracks on some dance music labels sometime next year too.

Read the full interview here

Flogging A Dead One Horse Town celebrated 10 years together late last year and Chris Chick from Muzic.net.nz had the privilege to grab a few words from them regarding this wonderful milestone.

10 years of making music is quite the feat, thinking back to when you first started out, did you think you would ever be here 10 years later?

FADOHT is 10 years old but we’ve been jamming together for over 25 years now. We always knew we were in for the long haul.

In those 10 years, what has been the most exciting memory?

We got our first real six string, bought it at the five and dime, played it till our fingers bled. Was the summer of 2009.

What would you say to yourself 10 years ago if you had the chance?

Put your life savings on Leicester City to win the 2015-16 Premier League.

What made you want to be a punk band? and who were your main influences?

We already had the girls the money and the fame so our therapist told us we needed a hobby. We grew up idolising Kiwi bands like Bailterspace and The 3Ds, and US bands like Fugazi and Shellac.

What are your 3 favourite songs that you have produced?

Man Wearing Cape from EP2 – No haha, We’ll Decide If It’s Funny from EP4 – For Relief I Turn Back to The Folds of My Trousers from EP9 and a self-titled release through Muzai Records.

If there was one song you could have written, what would it have been?

Wind of Change by Scorpions – We are generally dead inside when it comes to emotions but the whistling intro gets us going every time.

What advice would you give any aspiring musicians wanting to get into the music scene here in NZ?

Make the music you want to make (not what you think other people want to hear), have fun, do it with friends and if you want to make a track with a 25-minute whistling intro, do it and then send us a copy.

What is the best way for people to checkout your music and are there any gigs coming up for us mere mortals to come and see you?

Search for FADOHT or Muzai Records on Bandcamp. We are hoping to have a few gigs lined up early next year. Best place to see what’s going on is through Muzai Records.

Read the full interview here

Find out more about FADOHT

All the chaos of the holiday period is winding down, but there’s still a few little festivals at which to pass the still-light February nights (and days). We’ve put together a wee guide to help you get the most out of the last official month of summer, wherever you are in Aotearoa.   

Welcome To Nowhere Festival 2021 

WHEN - Sat Feb 6th - Sun Feb 7th, 2021 
WHERE - Welcome to Nowhere, Whanganui, Manawatu-Wanganui 
PRICE - $124  
This is the 5th year of Welcome to Nowhere and it promises to be the most exciting one yet. Music, poetry, comedy and visual art at a gorgeous location in Whanganui. 

Welcome to Nowhere - 2019

Acoustic in the Park  

WHEN - Saturday 13 February and Saturday 27th February 2021 5:30pm – 7:30pm  
WHERE - Maclean Park, Marine Parade, Paraparaumu, Kapiti Coast 
PRICE – Free 
Sweet, local tunes for a couple of chilled out summer evenings in Paraparaumu. Alcohol-free, all ages event. 

Framingham Wines - Summer Session 

WHEN - Sunday 14 February 2021 2:00pm – 5:30pm  
WHERE - Framingham Wines, 19 Conders Bend Rd, Renwick, Blenheim, Marlborough 
PRICE - $28.00  
Featuring Ha the Unclear! Plus a couple of Blenheim locals Big Scout and Team Scary. There will be booze at this one but it’s all ages non the less. Worth checking out just for the tunes! 

Hyper-local music - Hosted by Creative Sounds 

WHEN - Saturday 20 February 2021 8:00pm – 11:00pm  
WHERE - The Stomach, 84 Lombard St, Palmerston North 
PRICE - $10  
Another all-ages event! Only $10! Line-up is TBA but it is sure to be an energetic one. A must-do if you’re 16 and bored in Palmerston North.

Hyper-local music

Gorge-Us Soundz

WHEN - Friday March 5th 2021 4:00pm - 12:00am
WHERE - Manawatu Gorge Track
PRICE - $50
So many local bands playing this festival near the Manawatu river. Check out Jef Minus, Seismic State, Ripple Effect and heaps more bands from the lower North Island. 

Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival 2021 

WHEN - Feb 20-28 
WHERE – Hamilton Gardens 
PRICES - Prices vary 
All sorts going on at this one. Too much to synopsise in this brief description. 

Sunset Sounds 

WHEN - Friday 5 March 2021 3:00pm – 9:45pm  
WHERE - Takapuna Beach, The Strand, Takapuna, Auckland 
PRICE - $44 - $59 
A great showcase for New Zealand female artists featuring Tami Neilson, Hollie Smith, Anna Coddington, and LAIIKA.

Waimeha Summer Party 

WHEN - Saturday 13 March 2021 2:00pm – 1:00am  
WHERE - Waimeha Camping Village, 2805 Cape Palliser Rd, Martinborough, Wairarapa 
PRICE - $66.55  
Big line-up for this one with bands from Wellington, Hawkes Bay and local performers too. Camping is available overnight for free, for that authentic festival experience.

In keeping with tradition we're opening 2021 with a chat between our shows cofounders, Danny McCrum and Bobby Kennedy. This episode also features a short interview by Emme Lentino, with Danny and Dan Antunovich. Good times!

Listen to our episodes on our website, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Player.FM, TuneIn and all other good podcast apps!

DON’T GIVE UP YOUR DAY JOB - THE PODCAST

www.dontgiveupyourdayjob.co.nz

New Artist Pages

The following new artist pages have been added to Muzic.net.nz during the past month:

New Reviews and Interviews

Check out our latest reviews and interviews at the below links:

Reviews
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New Photos

Have a look at our latest photo galleries at the below links:

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View all our previous features here

Our next issue is going out on Sunday 7 March!

If you are a NZ musician and you would like to promote your music,
we would love to feature you in one of our 2021 newsletters.
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

Email [email protected] for more info.

Muzic.net.nz newsletters are currently sent out to over 8890 members!
With this number growing every day, featuring in our newsletter is an excellent promotional tool.

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