BORDERLINE UNVEILS NEW SINGLE TERRIFY FOLLOWING SUCCESS OF ‘CHRYSALIS’ EP

Indie-pop band BORDERLINE is back with their latest single ‘Terrify’, following the critical and commercial success of their EP Chrysalis. The new track showcases the band’s signature mix of emotive lyrics, soaring melodies, and tight, dynamic arrangements, reflecting their growth as one of the most exciting acts to emerge onto the global stage.

After performing ‘Terrify’ live on their Chrysalis EP release tour and to sold-out arenas opening for Teddy Swims, the band decided it was time to release the track. Borderline says “Terrify is one of the most polished tracks we’ve put together, and it felt surreal playing it in an arena. This song gets us in our element as musicians and performers and we hope that this energy shines through and connects with people on the record just as much as it did at those shows.”

Recorded at Roundhead Studios with producer Nic Manders and mastered by Vivek Gabriel, Borderline reflects “We had the best time in the studio working on Terrify, it has such a funky vibe which we really leaned into. We spent a lot of time making sure every instrument grooved just right and had the right feel that makes you wanna dance.”

Teddy Swims declared that Borderline “just rip it out there” cementing their reputation for the commanding high energy performances that have been winning fans across the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand.

The Chrysalis EP received widespread acclaim and strong streaming support, with fans and critics praising the band’s ability to blend introspective storytelling with anthemic soundscapes. The EP featured in the College Radio Top 200 in North America and the Official Top 20 Aotearoa Albums in New Zealand. The single ‘New Romance’ reached #1 on the New Zealand Hot 20 and BBC Introducing applauded it as “Track of the Week.”

‘Terrify’ builds on this momentum, offering a fresh perspective while maintaining the band's signature style. The band explains “Terrify, for us, paints the picture of someone who may come across as frightening or scary but doesn’t care what people think and is not afraid to be themselves. There's admiration and respect for someone who can do that. We hope this song’s simple but refined sound resonates with people as much as it does for us.” 

Turkey The Bird and Liana Hart Team Up for New Single “Already Home”

Taranaki’s folk favourites Turkey The Bird have joined forces with local singer-songwriter Liana Hart to create their brand-new single “Already Home,” due for release on Friday, 31st October 2025.

Known for their infectious folk singalongs and rich vocal harmonies, Turkey The Bird have built a strong following across Aotearoa and beyond with their uplifting live shows and four studio albums. Their music blends storytelling with a playful energy that gets audiences smiling and singing along.

Joining them on this release is Liana Hart, a rising star in the Taranaki music scene whose soulful voice and heartfelt songwriting have been captivating audiences across the region. Liana’s ability to blend warmth and strength in her performance has made her one of the most exciting new voices to watch.

“Already Home” brings these two worlds together—Turkey The Bird’s signature harmonies and folk-driven instrumentation meet Liana’s intimate, emotive delivery. The collaboration reflects the spirit of Taranaki’s creative community, where established acts and emerging artists work side by side to create something new.
“Already Home” will be available on all major streaming platforms from 31st October 2025.

The Response return with single ‘Where Do You Run To?’

Fresh off the back of their latest album, The Response pivot sharply with Where Do You Run To? It’s a bold left turn for the Christchurch duo, embracing a grittier, more propulsive sound without losing their melodic touch.

Fueled by fuzzed-out guitar hooks and a beat that struts more than sprints, it’s the kind of song that sneaks up on you. There’s a swagger in the way Victoria’s bass drives the track, it’s steady, confident, and impossible to sit still to. Lyrically, Andy Knopp drops cryptic lines like breadcrumbs, while the chorus — big, bold, and custom-built for a room full of voices — drives it home.

Rather than rush headlong, Where Do You Run To? holds its nerve, letting its momentum build and simmer. It’s controlled, but kinetic. A track that keeps moving forward and takes you with it.

Where Do You Run To? is available on all major streaming platforms on October 31st. Catch The Response performing on November 29th at A Rolling Stone in Christchurch alongside Volts and Slim. Fans can follow The Response on social media for updates on upcoming releases.

BENJAMIN DROPS NEW HIP HOP SINGLE “DRIVING ME CRAZY” AFTER INSPIRING LONDON WRITING STINT

““I wrote this one as a love letter to a special someone... Produced by my long-time collaborator and best friend SR Mpofu, he absolutely understood the assignment. Probably my favourite song I’ve ever made. At the moment I’m really trying to push myself to sing more in my art and I feel like this track is a great example of that. I hope this one shows a different, more sensitive side to me and not just the hard stuff people are used to. I feel like this track is a way of me explaining how much this special someone means to me. It also shows the fears and worries and magic of stepping into something new with someone you love.””

— – BENJAMIN

Following a series of releases, “Driving Me Crazy” showcases a more sensual side of BENJAMIN’s artistry. A jazz/R&B-inspired beat layered with soaring strings creates the perfect backdrop for BENJAMIN’s intimate storytelling; a sensual reflection on loving someone through captivating lyrics.

Hailing from Central Auckland, rapper BENJAMIN is an artist that has had his foot on the gas in the local underground music scene over the last couple of years. Growing up, BENJAMIN was blessed enough to have had music embedded in his surroundings from the start, which has since been fostered to harness a unique passion and love for what he does.

Stylistically, his sound leans into a montage of east coast golden era rap, upon a set of modern cadences to forge a lethal arsenal of familiarity, smooth flowing pockets and head knocking frequencies. BENJAMIN is a narrator, and a  true storyteller at heart, balancing his own life experiences and lessons. There is a strong sense of social responsibility in his verses that clearly point to a purpose not only at a personal level, but at a place of influence he foresees for his own future.

Follow BENJAMIN on Tiktok  | Instagram | Youtube

Born and raised in Central Auckland, BENJAMIN is a lyricist and artist whose words carry both the grit of his upbringing and the grace of his evolution. His music is rooted in raw human emotion, balancing sharp penmanship with deep introspection and spirituality.

Growing up in the heart of Auckland, BENJAMIN was surrounded by a vivid mix of cultures and contrasting realities. “I could be living in a two-bedroom shoebox with my mum surviving off her income, but next door there’d be an ex-All Black in a multimillion-dollar home,” he recalls. “That diversity of circumstance and culture really shaped my art-it made it broader, more textured, and gave it essence.”

Music first entered BENJAMIN’s life before he could even spell it. One of his earliest memories is sitting in his car seat while his mum played Outkast on the way to kindy. It was more than just sound-it was escape. “No matter how rough things got, if I played that song I loved, it would take me out of there, even just for a moment.” That feeling became the foundation of his lifelong obsession with music.

By 14, he had already started writing verses in English class. “My school pages weren’t filled with work-they were filled with bars,” he laughs. School itself, though, wasn’t a fit. “I had a tough time conforming to the rigid structure of the education system. I was a square trying to fit into a circle-sized space.” After being kicked out at 16, he devoted himself to music entirely, a path that felt less like a decision and more like a divine calling.

His influences trace back to the greats of ‘90s rap-Big L, Nas, Biggie-and span to the modern giants of TDE, A$AP Mob, and Beast Coast. But his sonic palette also pulls from soul legends like Sade and Al Green, and from the creative energy of his peers back home-Mokomokai/Eno x Dirty, Nauti, SR, and NWAK. “My music is for everyone,” he says. “I want your grandma to play BENJAMIN, your little cousins, your dad at his 9 to 5. I don’t want to be in any box.”

Writing, for BENJAMIN, isn’t an act of effort - it’s a way of being. “I write every day. I don’t even feel like I have to try-it happens as naturally as breathing. Years of daily writing sharpened my pen to the point where if I hear something that resonates, the words just flow.” Inspiration, he says, comes from everywhere: human connection, other beautiful art, God, and life itself.

In the studio, he feels completely at home. “It feels like I’m exactly where I should be.” Some of his most memorable sessions have been with his best friends and longtime collaborators NWAK and SR Mpofu. “The synergy is unmatched! We know each other’s stories, and we know how to push each other.”

A recent writing trip to London marked a defining moment in his career. “It was validating and eye-opening,” he reflects. “To be in rooms with decorated producers on the other side of the world and have them genuinely impressed with my ability. It reminded me that what I’m doing is actually working. The energy in London matched mine; fast, hungry, and collaborative.”

Performing live, BENJAMIN approaches each show with reverence and ritual. “I like to spend time by the ocean before a performance to ground myself. Then a hot shower, ice-cold right before I leave, a couple of drinks to loosen up, and I just let God take the wheel.” While he’s had his share of onstage mishaps - fallen wires, forgotten lyrics, mid-set power cuts. He sees them all as lessons in presence and authenticity. “The main thing is to have fun and be 100% real. People can feel that.”

From opening for Savage, a surreal full-circle moment, given he grew up listening to him with his mum, to writing overseas, BENJAMIN remains focused on process over accolades. “I don’t really have top highlights. I just absolutely love the process.”

Still, the vision is clear. “In five years, I see myself eating extremely well off my art. Recognized as one of the best rappers in the world. Living beautifully with my family, my friends, my girl. And yeah… a Grammy would be nice,” he laughs.

More than anything, BENJAMIN wants his music to make people feel something real. “I hope it helps people feel less alone. I hope it’s cathartic. Whether it makes you happy, sad, angry, chill, or hype, I just want it to make you feel in a world that’s become so fake and surreal.”

Through his storytelling, BENJAMIN turns pain into poetry, survival into soul, and the everyday into something divine. He’s not just writing songs. He’s building bridges between struggle and spirit, between who he was and who he’s becoming.

MUKUKĀ RELEASES ANGEL'A SLOW-BURN ALT-ROCK CONFESSION

Quietly crafting in the background, artist Mukukā returns with a sound that marks the next evolution of her artistry. Her latest single ANGEL is the first release from an upcoming body of work: emotionally precise and experimental, a sonic series defined by hypnotic guitars, honest lyricism, and full creative authorship.

Stream ANGEL Here

Produced by Auckland-based sonic architect Shamplooh (Tyler O’Neill Trench), ANGEL is a catchy, guitar-led confessional. Sensual yet firm. Floaty yet grounded. The result is a track that blends alternative rock with touches of R&B, a sound that feels like both a departure and a return for the Zambian born artist.

“ANGEL is so ready to be out! I wrote the song on my producer’s couch, with his sweet dog Lula right next to me,” she shares. “We built it slowly layer by layer, draft after draft, and many cups of tea later, ANGEL was born. It’s my favourite song-child so far.”

Throughout the process, Mukukā was deeply involved in shaping everything from guitar tones to visual direction. With photography by Crystal Cheng, styling by Julia Ford (LEDORE), and creative input from longtime friends and collaborators, the visuals are as carefully considered as the sound.

“Everything I make comes from a sentimental place. Whether it’s the artwork, the lyrics, or the energy in the room... it all really really matters to me and my art.”

Behind the scenes, Mukukā has nurtured a small, dedicated community through her mailing list,  affectionately known as “the guest list”  who have quietly followed her journey as she reclaims space, reconnects with her artistry, and builds what comes next.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

Join Mukukā’s guestlist here

Follow Mukukā Here

Spdrtwnbby announces new single ‘Back to Self’ ft Jarna

After a period of reflection, Avondale’s Spdrtwnbby (pronounced spider town baby) returns with ‘Back to Self’ featuring Jarna.

Produced by big al. and mixed and mastered by Jarna, ‘Back to Self’ is a hypnagogic mirage of neo soul, R&B and art-pop, elegantly dressed in oneiric symbolism and poetic metaphors straight out of the South Pacific. For anyone who’s ever spent too long in a dream that didn’t quite sit right, before finding a way forward, there’s a sentiment to hold close here.

“This song highlights turning 25 and experiencing the lightbulb moment of realisation that choosing myself and taking care of myself are the keys to functioning at my best. ‘Back to Self’ is about giving yourself the grace to return to who you are and the things you love.” - Spdrtwnbby

Set against smooth Rhodes, sunrise guitar figures, and a head-nod drum machine groove, Spdrtwnbby and fellow singer-songwriter and producer Jarna accept the things they cannot change before basking in the reflected light as they choose themselves. “So much I could do or say / But that won’t change the way it plays out.”

‘Back to Self’ is accompanied by a gorgeously shot and framed music video directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, the powerhouse force behind the acclaimed STILL HERE documentary series. Tuiburelevu was supported on the shoot by producer duo ‘Afa (Selu-Kian Lealiifano-Faletoese and Claire Patolo), Taute Vaai (still photography) and Ralph Brown (director of photography), who helped realise the video’s fitting sensibilities. 

Recommended If You Like: Solange, Aaradhna, Tiana Khasi

About Spdrtwnbby

Spdrtwnbby is a Samoan singer-songwriter and producer from Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa. Raised in the multicultural suburb of Avondale, her music draws from the rich traditions of jazz, soul and R&B, weaving them into a braided narrative equally informed by diasporic Pasifika culture and history, pop sensibilities, and her love of contemporary visual arts. In her work, she explores what belonging can look, sound and feel like, while considering what it means to be part of Moana Oceania as a whole. 

After completing a Bachelor of Music at the University of Auckland and taking part in Tongan producer SFT’s Sample Sessions at Four Shells Kava, Spdrtwnbby spent 2023 and 2024 releasing a series of solo and collaborative singles alongside Jarna, big.al, SoulChef, StephPockets, Romiin, and Lepani. In 2025, she was named an artist-in-residence at Wheke Fortress’s Coconut Clouds Studio, an indigenous-run music studio in Onehunga, for Pasifika and Māori artists.

WEST AUCKLAND’S DOUBLE PARKED RETURN WITH INTROSPECTIVE NEW SINGLE, ‘NECKLACE’

Returning with their first new music since February’s ‘Dopamine’, West Auckland post-surf 5-piece Double Parked have released a new single, ‘Necklace’.  

An introspective anthem navigating the non-linear process of battling mental health stability, imposter syndrome, and inner demons, ‘Necklace’ finds the post-surf rockers tapping into new depth with some of their most personal songwriting to date. Contrasting soft and coarse textures with the tracks shimmering basslines building into a climax of stomping drums and sombre guitar chords, frontman Tom Purdie’s cathartic lyricism recounts a confronting portrayal of reaching mental rock bottom. Equally melancholic and therapeutic, Tom sings, “I’m finding it hard just waiting for my efforts to be reflected, hollow little heart, squeezing out the essence while heading for rejection”. 

“The instrumental for the chorus and verse of ‘Necklace’ came about in a jam as it usually does. Shortly after that, when Tommy P wrote the hook for the chorus, we knew we were onto a bit of a heater and everyone was stoked,” drummer and songwriter Chad details of the track's creative process.

“We parked it there and it remained an unfinished demo for quite some time until our drummer Chad worked his magic with lyrics and melodies, developing the story further. He has mentioned that it’s been very therapeutic for him to write and release his lyrics from this new EP out into the world, drawing upon past experiences and purging them out through his storytelling.

Having previously experienced the depths of unstable mental health and the dark places that it can take you, writing lyrics and stories from my heart and then sharing them out into the world has been comforting and almost therapeutic for me,” he adds of the single’s depth. 

“Life is beautiful, but we can’t always be on top. Sometimes we can get so numb to everything. If our music can make somebody feel something on a profound level, then I’ll be over the moon.”

In the past two years since the success of their 2023 debut EP Lost in the Groove, Double Parked have cemented themselves as one of New Zealand’s most exciting acts on the rise. The group have quickly developed a cult following with their rowdy live shows, festival sets, and tours with celebrated local and international acts including The Butlers, Lazy Ghost, and most recently supporting Australian indie-rock band The Terrys across their New Zealand tour this past September. 

Pushing forward the traditional surf-rock sound with their own genre-defying fusion labelled “post-surf”, Double Parked are redefining the subgenre for a new generation. While making music that’s quintessentially rooted in New Zealand, the group pull from a melting pot of global influences including psychedelic, punk, reggae, dub, and indie-pop, laced together from their distinctly West Coast lens.  

Keep up with Double Parked on Spotify, Instagram, Tik Tok, Youtube, and Facebook.

Verity unveils moody new single “Insomnia” a raw anthem for sleepless nights

Rising pop-soul artist Verity returns with her haunting new single “Insomnia” — a track that dives deep into the restless aftermath of toxic love and the long nights spent trying to forget.

“Insomnia is about the aftermath of a toxic relationship and the struggle to truly move on,” says Verity. “It’s that feeling when you know someone was bad for you, but you still catch yourself missing them or dreaming about the good times. Every time I try to rest, my mind brings them back, so I end up wishing I could stay awake just to escape my own dreams.”

Moody, intimate, and emotionally charged, Insomnia captures the collision between heartbreak and defiance — the kind of song that hits hardest on a late-night drive.

Written in a collaborative session with Leah, Randy, and Skye, the song was born out of a moment of shared vulnerability. What started as a casual conversation about sleepless nights quickly transformed into something much deeper.

“In the studio, I just poured out the lyrics, and with Leah, Skye, and Randy’s help, we created something special. ‘Insomnia’ was one of the first lyrics we laid down, and it just clicked.”

The team also shot a DIY music video during the same session — filmed on zero budget but overflowing with creativity, honesty, and heart. The visual is set to premiere soon, amplifying the song’s raw, cinematic energy.

At her core, Verity is an artist who believes in truth, connection, and the power of imperfection. Every lyric she writes stems from real emotion and lived experience — giving listeners permission to feel deeply, speak honestly, and find strength in their own stories.

“My music has always been about honesty — even when it’s uncomfortable. I write for the people who overthink, who love too deeply, and who are still learning to let go. ‘Insomnia’ is my way of saying: you’re not alone in that.”

With her signature blend of soulful vocals and cinematic production, Insomnia cements Verity’s place as one of Aotearoa’s most compelling new voices — an artist unafraid to reveal her heart and invite others to do the same.