CLAUDIA ROBIN GUNN 'LIKE AN ASTRONAUT'

With thanks to the support from NZ On Air, self managed artist Claudia Robin Gunn is thrilled to present the 2nd advance single for her new album for kids  Little Wild Universe.

Titled ‘Like an Astronaut’ this is a joyful, uplifting and inspiring tune that can be enjoyed by all ages.

Each single, and all the tracks on this album are being released along with their instrumental counterpart, to help empower kids and families to make these songs their own. Lyric sheets are available from Claudia’s bandcamp site. 

Claudia Robin Gunn has been twice awarded Best Childrens Song of the year and continues her search to encapsulate all the sweet and sour, the highs and lows, and especially the rainbows that come after the rain, in song.

Take a listen to Like an Astronaut:
https://smarturl.it/suflr

Laura-mae 'Betsy'

After competing in xFactor, performing an original on Maori TV, and most recently completing a North Island tour, Laura-mae is releasing her debut single ‘Betsy’ today

Having already opened for UK musicians and performed at Country Music Awards across the south, New Zealand’s up-and-coming Indie-Pop singer, Laura-mae, has a strong following across both islands. 

Laura-mae’s influencers include Ali Barter, Stevie Nicks and Ed Sheeran. From powerful drums, harmonizing chorus’ and emotively raw lyrics, Laura-mae is a household name for the Top of the South and in Country Music. Her authentic pop ballads mixed with up-tempo Indie tunes are ear-worm creations. Earlier this year Laura-mae performed at the annual capital city music festival Gardens Magic, with an audience of over 1,000 people. 2020 is the year of recording, with ‘Betsy’ ready for release date, and ‘Rug of Numbers’ lined up, Laura-mae has scheduled production sessions with New Haven (Guy Sebastian, Kira Puru).

Laura-mae has a strong repertoire of original songs ready for release in 2020 in the lead up to her Nationwide summer tour, focusing on Otago, Wellington and Top of the South where her loyal followers live. Recorded Music NZ has already confirmed ‘Betsy’ a place on their Spotify playlist Radio Scope.

New single ‘Betsy’ will be released May 13th plus, in support of the single, Laura-mae will be playing live streams every Friday at 8pm throughout Lockdown.

SOCIALS:

WEBSITE: www.laura-mae.co.nz

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/lauramaefromgoldenbay/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Lauramaefromgoldenbay/

Celebrating Aotearoa’s outstanding country musicians

Today, Recorded Music NZ and APRA are proud to recognise the outstanding contributions to New Zealand’s country music scene from the past year.

The finalists for Recorded Music NZ Te Kaipuoro Tuawhenua Toa | Best Country Music Artist are Delaney Davidson and Barry Saunders, Katie Thompson and Kendall Elise, while the finalists for APRA Best Country Music Song are ‘Any Fool With A Heart’ and ‘Hey Bus Driver’, both by Tami Neilson, ‘That Summer’ by Kaylee Bell and ‘West Coast’ by Katie Thompson.

The winners will be announced live on Radio New Zealand’s Music 101 on Saturday 30 May.

For Delaney Davidson, it all started when he met Barry Saunders at church. They were sound checking for the Churches Tour with Marlon Williams and Tami Neilson - Barry playing old gospel songs and Delaney chugging out his signature blues trance thump.

Since then, the two collaborated on the album Word Gets Around, which was released in April 2019. A nationwide tour followed the release, and they now are up for the 2020 Recorded Music NZ Best Country Artist award.

For her third studio album Bittersweet, the talented Katie Thompson worked alongside award-winning producer Ben Edwards at The Sitting Room studio in Lyttelton to create an unpretentious, confidently personal release.

This winning combination resulted in the record peaking at #7 on the Top 20 NZ Albums chart with an album drawing from classic country music in the choice of instruments, the range of tempos and moods, and the lyrical honesty of life’s mixed emotions laid bare. This can be seen on the track ‘West Coast’, which is also nominated for the APRA Best Country Music Song this year.

In 2016, Kendall Elise launched her solo career with the debut single ‘Heart Full of Dirt’, which paved the way for the Kiwi singer-songwriter’s self-produced debut EP ‘I Didn’t Stand A Chance’, released in March 2017. This first release saw her selected as a finalist for the APRA Best Country Music Song in 2017.

After recording at Neil Finn’s famed Roundhead Studios, Kendall released her Kickstarter funded debut album “Red Earth” in May 2019. A deeply introspective album of intricate storytelling brought to life with evocative instrumentation; meaningful lyricism and a golden voice.

Alongside Katie Thompson, Tami Neilson and Kaylee Bell are finalists for the APRA Best Country Music Song this year.

No stranger to the Country Music Awards, Tami has been nominated for two songs – ‘Any Fool With A Heart’ and ‘Hey Bus Driver’ – both from her 2020 album CHICKABOOM!

Tami has previously won Best Country Album four times (2009, 2010, 2012, and 2015) at the New Zealand Music Awards, and Best Female Artist at the New Zealand Country Music Awards in 2010, 2011 and 2014.

And Kaylee has had a whirlwind year as the first Australasian artist to play C2C (Country to Country) London in 2019 after being handpicked for Key West Songwriters USA and C2C Australia. Her song ‘That Summer’ is the fourth finalist for the APRA Best Country Song award this year. 

Recorded Music CEO Damian Vaughan says despite the unprecedented circumstances we find ourselves in, celebrating the achievements of our artists is essential. 

“It’s important we recognise the calibre of our talented musicians, especially with the wealth of exceptional country music which was released over the last year,” says Vaughan.

“Congratulations to this year’s finalists and while we might not be able to gather in person, you should feel proud of your achievements. I look forward to hearing the songs created after this challenging period.”

APRA Head of NZ Operations Anthony Healey adds: "Kaylee, Tami and Katie are writing great songs, playing electrifying shows and making real waves at home and around the world. Each of these amazing songwriters are absolutely at the top of their craft and it's so exciting to honour and celebrate them here in New Zealand."

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the Top Paddock Festival and the MLT Songwriting Award which usually take place in Gore, have been cancelled for 2020. However we look forward to seeing their return in 2021.

Finalists for Recorded Music NZ Te Kaipuoro Tuawhenua Toa | Best Country Music Artist

·         Delaney Davidson & Barry Saunders – Word Gets Around

·         Katie Thompson – Bittersweet

·         Kendall Elise – Red Earth

Finalists for APRA Best Country Music Song

·         Tami Neilson – ‘Any Fool With A Heart’

·         Tami Neilson – ‘Hey Bus Driver’

·         Kaylee Bell – ‘That Summer’

·         Katie Thompson – ‘West Coast’

Madeleine Howard’s New Single, No More, Is Out Now

Christchurch pop artist Madeleine Howard, today launches her powerful new single, No More, to all streaming platforms.

The dynamic, rock-infused track showcases Madeleine’s haunting vocals that merge with moody, eerie verses to make way for an unforgettable chorus. “No More is a fist-pumping jam, full of memorable hooks,” Madeleine says. “At the time I was writing it, I was influenced by a lot of pop music. Once I got the song’s chord structure in my head, everything just flowed from there.”

The release of No More launches the Hawke’s Bay native into the New Zealand music scene, something she’s been working hard to achieve since starting the SOLE Music Academy Artist Development programme. Alongside artist mentors Sacha Vee and Will McGillivray (NOMAD), who supported her to write, record and produce the new single ready for release.

“When I moved to Christchurch in 2017,” Madeleine explains. “I didn’t really know anyone in the music industry and it was quite hard to get my head around. But, once I connected with SOLE, everything started ticking along and coming together. Sacha helped me get my confidence back and we started crafting out a plan to make music. Working with Will was amazing too, I’m a big fan of his band and music.”

In the coming months, Madeleine will release consecutive singles as she gears up to launch her debut EP, Just Reaching Out, a collection of personal and emotive songs. Inspired by New Zealand female artists, such as Bic Runga and Anika Moa, Madeleine believes music should be authentic, raw and honest. She’s passionate about the power of connecting people through shared experiences, and has a knack for writing catchy melodies and layering them over memorable hooks.

To pay tribute to female kiwi songwriters she released a cover of Ladyhawkes My Delirium on the 6th April which gained a share and love from the lady herself.

SOCIAL LINKS

https://www.facebook.com/madeleinehowardmusic/

https://www.instagram.com/madeleinehoward/

Spotify

Matt Mulholland - After You Grow

You may know Matt Mulholland from his Recorder by Candlelight rendition of My Heart Will Go On, with over 31 million views, or his sell out comedy gigs which received global acclaim and coverage on Comedy Central or huge blogs like Tosh.O. You may even know him as the voice of the Wakachangi theme tune (you CAN believe in Wakachangi).

After a few years focusing on creating new material, Matt Mulholland is back with his first studio album After You Grow, which was just released on 29 April 2020.

After You Grow sees Matt pushing aside the comedy (for now) to reach into his soul with a collection of touching, heartfelt songs that showcase the lessons of years of love, life and loss. After You Grow is a collection of pop, rock, funk and soul that is a great tonic for the crazy and weird world right now. 

With over 60 million views across YouTube, this is not a Matt Mulholland most of his fans are used to seeing and songs like Knowing Love,  and I Think We Should Date (with over 210,000 streams on Spotify already)  shows a softer, more soulful and vulnerable side.

It’s not all introspective and dark though, with the energy, fun, and cheekiness that people love still shining through, including through his latest single The First Move, and the funk-pop explosion of Boy Girl Stuff.

Matt Mulholland made it back from London just before the world-wide COVID-19 lockdown made it impossible to travel, and is based on Wellington. 

After You Grow is available everywhere now - listening links are at https://mattmulholland.com

Rei - Rāpeti

‘Rāpeti’ is a Te Reo rap track, the second single from Rei’s upcoming Māori language EP Hoea due for June release. Using an interpolation of the nursery rhyme ‘Oma Rāpeti’ (Run Rabbit), Rei is comparing his running rise to the heights of the NZ music world to a running rabbit.

‘Rāpeti’ (made with support from Te Māngai Pāho) comes at the end of Rei’s busiest Summer schedule yet, playing NZ’s top festivals, RnV, One Love, Splore, Soundsplash, Festival of Lights and much more.

The new track follows Rei's double VNZMA nominated album ‘The Bridge’ (nominated for best RnB and best Māori) which has gained over 3 million streams on Spotify and seen Rei complete a 9 date tour around New Zealand. Singles from the album also achieved major playlisting across NZ’s top stations, Mai, ZM and Flava.

The release follows Rei’s Australia writing trip in March where he collaborated with various Oz artists including Olivia Foa’i and Rydah.

‘Rāpeti’ also includes additional production from D. Love (Credits on Timmy Trumpet/Savage - Freaks, Pieter T - My Baby). ‘Rāpeti’ was also mixed and mastered by Kog Studio’s Chris Chetland (mastering credits for Dua Lipa, Snoop Dog and Bebe

TROY KINGI WINS 2020 TAITE MUSIC PRIZE

The winner of the Taite Music Prize 2020 is Troy Kingi for his
deep-roots/reggae album  Troy Kingi & the Upperclass - Holy Colony Burning Acres

Auckland Live Best Independent Debut is awarded to Dunedin-based songwriter Millie Lovelock for
Repulsive Woman - Relief

Murray Cammick was presented with the Independent Spirit Award for his contributions to music through photography, journalism, radio and more!

The Independent Music NZ Classic Record award was presented to Shona Laing for her iconic album South released in 1987.

The annual Taite Music Prize awards ceremony took a slightly different stage this year due to COVID-19 regulations. Originally to take place at Auckland's Q Theatre in April, the awards ceremony found a new home via webstream on Facebook, YouTube and undertheradar.co.nz. Kiwis nationwide tuned into the prestigious awards alongside some of Aotearoa's finest musicians to watch winners accept their awards through video. 

Prime Minister, Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern delighted us with a quick appearance, presenting the main award and acknowledging the depth of loss COVID-19 has made on the music industry, "These are uncertain times but something I’m sure about is our [music] industry will be a vital contributor to New Zealand's recovery and we are working hard as a government - as we speak - to make sure that the arts are at the centre of our revitalisation."

The Taite Music Prize highlights outstanding New Zealand albums released in the past calendar year. The award is open to all genres of music from any record label and judged on artistic merit, regardless of genre or sales. Named after the late Dylan Taite, one of the country’s most highly respected music journalists, The Taite Music Prize recognises outstanding creativity in an entire collection of music contained on one recording.

The Taite Music Prize was awarded to the much-deserving Troy Kingi who delivered Holy Colony Burning Acres last July with his band The Upperclass. The album dives into worldwide indigenous politics, namely, colonisation and the crippling effects it has on today's social climate. Embedded in electrifying 70's-style deep roots/reggae, Troy Kingi takes these issues head-on with Marley-inspired political consciousness. Holy Colony Burning Acres is the third instalment in Troy Kingi's 10/10/10 series: 10 albums in 10 genres in 10 years. Keep an eye out for his next project due later this year!

Troy receives a cash prize of $12,500 from Taite Music Prize founding partner, Recorded Music NZ; recording time at the Red Bull Studios in Auckland; and a years supply of Red Bull product.

The Auckland Live Best Independent Debut was awarded to Repulsive Woman the solo project of Millicent Lovelock. One-half of alt/indie duo Astro Children, Millie has also been releasing music under the moniker Repulsive Woman since 2015. She spent 2018 at the Red Bull Music Academy in Berlin and in 2019 released her debut album Relief. The eight-track album is an elusive, guitar-driven exploration of self in the context of modern society. Millie uniquely crafts soothing melodies with intricate lyrics to convey inner-conflicts and societal pressures.

Repulsive Woman receives a $2000 cash prize and a live performance opportunity thanks to Auckland Live.

Graham Reid (esteemed journalist and founder of elsewhere.co.nz) presented the Independent Music NZ Classic Record, an award that celebrates an iconic New Zealand record that continues to inspire us today. This year's panel gave praise to Shona Laing's synth-soaked album South released in 1987 on Pagan Records (NZ). South marked a significant shift in Shona’s career where synth-pop suddenly took the reins, her insightful lyrics, both poetic and political, remained. Following South, Shona toured internationally, produced five more albums, received two APRA Silver Scroll awards and was inducted into the NZ Music Hall of Fame in 2013! Upon receiving the Classic Record award Shona expressed her joy in saying "It’s blissful. It’s the sweetest award I think I’ve ever had."

In 2019, Independent Music NZ introduced a new award to celebrate a New Zealand person whose work in the industry assists in the growth of local musicians and creatives alike. This year the Independent Spirit Award was presented to Murray Cammick who continues to be a highly influential figure in music. Cammick has been an exemplary all-rounder in the music industry since the '70s, having contributed through his work in photography, journalism, radio and more. He co-founded seminal music magazine RipItUp in 1977 and with Simon Lynch, launched Southside Records in 1989 (Moana and the Moa Hunters, Upper Hutt Posse, Ngaire). Cammick documented important cultural moments including Bob Marley's visit to Aotearoa in 1979. His "fly on the wall" approach meant he was able to capture rare and unique moments of big stars including Iggy Pop, George Benson, Debbie Harry and Siouxie Sioux. 

MC’s for the evening’s proceedings were 95bFM’s Sarah Thomson and IMNZ Chairperson and founder of Loop Recordings, Mikee Tucker.

The Taite Music Prize panel tasked with determining the finalists was made up of an extensive selection of music media/industry specialists. The finalist judges made their decision based entirely on the artistic merit on the album. Sales, genres, artist recognition or popularity are not contributing factors in their decision-making process.

Milly Tabak & The Miltones share video for 'Honest Woman', the title track from forthcoming album

Milly Tabak & The Miltones share the video for 'Honest Woman', the title track from the band's forthcoming second album. The video features footage of frontwoman Milly Tabak photoshoot ready, juxtaposed against the setting of the farm where she lives. The pre-lockdown footage is melded with adorable video snippets of Tabak as a small girl, a clever solution for a time when video shoots are not possible.

"Creating videos is a little bit tricky when you can't bring the whole team together," Tabak says. "But thanks to some footage we took during a photoshoot and some home videos from my childhood, the brilliant Sam Linstrom has been able to create a video that truly reflects what 'Honest Woman' is about.  I love it."

The album is expected to be released in July on vinyl via Border Music and digitally via DRM. 'Honest Woman' is out now on streaming services.