GRAEME JAMES THE LONG WAY HOME

"Graeme James is a name that should be remembered"
Bleistiftrocker (Germany)
 
"…grin-inducing, chipper pop folk sounds…a positively masterful array of instrumental expertise coupled with knee-weakening velveteen vocals…”
Indie Shuffle

"...one of the most interesting songwriters on the current scene..."
Il Fatto Quotidiano (Italy)
 

One of New Zealand’s most streamed indie artists, Graeme James releases his Nettwerk label debut album The Long Way Home – available everywhere on the 25th January!
 
Following his debut album of original songs News From Nowhere in 2016, The Long Way Home is an album that explores time and space through the motif of the journey.
 
“This album has a calm-before-the-storm perspective. It was written before leaving New Zealand when I felt like had no idea what the future held which was both terrifying and exciting. Uncertainty definitely makes for good songs,” Graeme says with a good-natured laugh.
 
After making a move to Europe in 2018 and with a three month North American tour under his belt, Graeme is looking forward to coming home to play his new and old favourites for his kiwi fans. 
 
With his shows regularly selling out and a raft of international experience The Long Way Home New Zealand Tour will be unmissable.
 
Tickets to his Long Way Home tour go on sale via www.graemejamesmusic.com on February 8th
 

GRAEME JAMES – THE LONG WAY HOME NEW ZEALAND TOUR

April 24th- Nivara Lounge, HAMILTON
May 2nd- The Globe, PALMERSTON NORTH
May 3rd- Common Room, HASTINGS
May 4th- San Fran, WELLINGTON
May 10th- 4th Wall Theatre, NEW PLYMOUTH
May 11th- Folk, TAURANGA
May 16th- Le Cafe, PICTON
May 17th- The Boathouse, NELSON
May 18th- Blue Smoke, CHRISTCHURCH
May 24th- Gin & Raspberry, WANAKA
May 25th- Sherwood, QUEENSTOWN
June 6th- The Tuning Fork, AUCKLAND

The Long Way Home is a warmly insightful, lushly layered modern folk album. 
 
With a youthful romantic impulsiveness coursing through the album opener, “Night Train” through to lead single, “The Times Are Changing,” which boasts a tapestry of brightly strummed stringed instruments to the album’s title track which showcases Graeme’s gift for elegantly emotive ambience, it becomes clear why Graeme’s rich storytelling is critically acclaimed.

Graeme’s dynamically layered compositions feature him playing violin, electric violin, guitar, bass, baritone ukulele, mandolin, harmonica, percussion, and beatboxing. He produces his own albums, and he faithfully recreates his textural tunes live in real time with his famous loop pedal.
 

GRAEME JAMES – THE LONG WAY HOME
Purchase The Long Way Home on bandcamp and iTunes
Stream The Long Way Home on Spotify

GRAEME JAMES – THE LONG WAY HOME NEW ZEALAND TOUR
April 24th - Nivara Lounge, HAMILTON
May 2nd - The Globe, PALMERSTON NORTH
May 3rd - Common Room, HASTINGS
May 4th - San Fran, WELLINGTON
May 10th - 4th Wall Theatre, NEW PLYMOUTH
May 11th - Folk, TAURANGA
May 16th - Le Cafe, PICTON
May 17th- The Boathouse, NELSON
May 18th - Blue Smoke, CHRISTCHURCH
May 24th- Gin & Raspberry, WANAKA
May 25th - Sherwood, QUEENSTOWN
June 6th - The Tuning Fork, AUCKLAND
 

TICKETS ON SALE FROM www.graemejamesmusic.com from February 8th

Announcing the Milk & Honey festival to celebrate International Women's Day

One night
Four cities
Five venues
Over twenty artists
In celebration of International Women’s Day
Friday March 8th 2019.

To celebrate International Women’s Day in 2019, over twenty of Aotearoa’s finest female artists are gathering across three cities to perform a series of shows on Friday March 8th.

MILK & HONEY FESTIVAL 
 
MILK & HONEY AUCKLAND
POWERSTATION
Tami Neilson, Nadia Reid, Julia Deans, Ria Hall and Sandy Mill (DJ)

WHAMMY/WINE CELLAR
carb on carb, CHAII, Cheshire Grimm, Dead Little Penny, HEX, LEXXA, Randa, October, Sami Sisters, Tooms, Wax Chattels, Valkyrie

MILK & HONEY WELLINGTON
CLUB 121
Curated by Moments
Alexa Casino (DJ), Half Queen , Peach Milk , Amy Jean
 
MILK & HONEY CHRISTCHURCH
BLUE SMOKE
Bic Runga, French_concession
 
MILK & HONEY QUEENSTOWN
SHERWOOD
Mel Parsons, Dana Sipos (Canada)
 

Tickets to each gig in the Milk and Honey Festival go on sale today fromwww.milkandhoneyfestival.co.nz
Note that each gig is stand-alone and are individually ticketed

The team behind Milk and Honey are Lani Purkis and Teresa Patterson. The two have a wealth of music industry experience between them, from management, promotion, and booking, to performing, teaching, and mentoring.

While working on other projects over the past 12 months, they began thinking about how wonderful it would be to create a series of shows where the majority of musicians and crew were women, and decided it was the perfect goal for International Women’s Day 2019.

They have three key aims:

1. To celebrate the incredibly talented women who work in all facets of the New Zealand music industry;

2. To make female artists and crew visible to younger women, and encourage them to see many different possible roles they could find for themselves in the music industry;

3. To provide a safe, inclusive, respectful festival and gig environment. 

“We really wanted to create something where younger girls and women have someone to look up to and aspire to, and something where women are very clearly visible in all parts of the event.”   

Tami Neilson states:  “I'm so excited to be part of the inaugural Milk & Honey Festival. We're going to blast the roof off The Powerstation with this powerhouse line-up! What a way to celebrate International Women's Day.”

The Sami Sisters agree: "We are super pumped to be part of Milk & Honey! It's been a while since we played and we couldn't be more excited to take part in this festival celebrating our wāhine toa on International Women's Day."
 

Tickets to each gig in the Milk and Honey Festival go on sale today fromwww.milkandhoneyfestival.co.nz

Note that each gig is stand-alone and are individually ticketed.

PAPER CRANES 'HEARTBEAT'

Pre-orders for 'Voices' available now!
'Voices' is due for release on January 18th.
Here's 'Heartbeat' from the album as a special teaser. Our tour starts on January 18 in Auckland

‘Heartbeat’ is another song from our album ‘Voices’ which is out next Friday.
Listen and buy here

You can pre-order 'Voices' here. 
 

Soulful and dreamy, ‘Heartbeat’ is about the sort of time-stopping romance that keeps you believing in the core goodness of life; a love that helps centre perspective on what matters most. 

With lush piano and a very present vocal, the song’s beautifully intertwined harmonies from Fraser and Naomi Browne are complemented by a classically simple arrangement of acoustic guitar, synth, bass and drums. Heartbeat’s intimate lyrics are left to stand out in this arrangement. 

The song was performed by Paper Cranes, with Nic Manders playing acoustic guitar, bass and Juno, and Adam Tobeck on drums. ‘Heartbeat’ was written by Paper Cranes, produced by Nic Manders and mastered by Brian Lucey from Magic Garden Mastering.

Listen and buy here

While Voices draws on our past sound, the new album explores some altogether different territory than The Road Home.

Voices delves into themes of togetherness and relationships, the echoes that pull us together and send us apart. In its darkness and lightness, the album is about doubt and freedom, the changing seasons, the decisions that lead us, the lies we’re told and the search for truth.

We are going on our first large-scale tour since we released our debut album 'The Road Home'. We will be taking a full band for all dates, except the South Island.

Tickets for the Voices Album Tour are now available from Undertheradar (except Wellington (Just The Ticket) and Palmerston North (Globe Theatre)).

We're happy to announce Auckland band Fables will be supporting all North Island shows (except Festival One). West  Auckland  Folk  Band Fables  produce  a  gentle  and  heartfelt  indie-folk  sound  which  could  warm  even  the  coldest  of  hearts.

CLICK LINKS HERE FOR PAPER CRANES ‘VOICES’ NZ TOUR

Jan 18 - Auckland - The Wine Cellar 

Jan 19 - Tauranga - Folk  

Jan 26 - Hamilton - Festival One  

Jan 27 - Hamilton - Festival One  

Feb 1 - Dunedin - Dog With Two Tails 

Feb 2 - Christchurch - Lyttelton Records 

Feb 7 - Wellington – Meow  

Feb 8 - Palmerston North – Globe Theatre 

Feb - 9 Whanganui - Lucky Bar

Feb - 10 Hastings – The Common Room
 

Praise for Paper Cranes' The Road Home

“The Road Home [has] the air of an album that’s just waiting for everyone to discover it” –Mike Alexander, Sunday Star Times

“[The Road Home] is an excellent debut by the small ensemble” 
Graham Reid, Elsewhere.co.nz

“The first full length from Paper Cranes, three years after their debut EP, proves well worth the wait, each song deserving a long pondered listen"
Finn McLennan-Elliott, NZ Musician

“The Road Home is a quiet, intricate and carefully layered set of songs”
Gary Steel, Metro Magazine

OCEAN BEACH CELEBRATE ‘SOUTHLAND BOYS HIGH’ WITH PRETTY WICKED HEAD AND SEAFOG

Ocean Beach have just released their new EP ‘Southland Boys High’ to coincide with the first day of the New Zealand summer. This 4-tracker follows on from their July debut ‘Doc Martens and Winklepickers’ (Moving Production), and with the change of season comes a change of focus.

Christmas in New Zealand for many of us means heading home to family - and to memories. ‘Southland Boys High’ is about just that: nostalgia for summers past, and the places and people that made them great. But now you’re older, and sumer can also be a time for reflection - looking back at what's brought you to where you are. And maybe being under the influence of a tipple or two.

‘Southland Boys High’ is a journey. Opener and first single 'Road to Colac Bay' is an atmospheric song of redemption and enlightenment, and the importance of friends and family, inspired by a New Year’s Eve singer Gary Dalhousie spent at Southland's beautiful Colac Bay, overwhelmed by the vast southern summer sky.

The EP covers themes such as former relationships, apathy and anxiety – and a celebration of whenua/homeland.

The 3-piece specialise in songs of shimmering resonance, interspersed with crunchy indie punk/folk. Ocean Beach is a collaboration of musicians from some influential New Zealand bands: Robert Halcrow (bass) was guitarist extraordinaire for legendary reggae band Unity Pacific (alongside Tigilau Ness – Che Fu’s father), and groundbreaking ska band The Managers; Gary Dalhousie (singer and guitarist) was in underground Dunedin band Jetty with Robin Sharma; and drummer Troy-Stanton Kerr was in Pointy Little Stick, alongside a career in the film industry.

With the trio hailing from various parts of Southland, there were connections already in place, but it wasn’t until the musicians of Ocean Beach came together in Auckland that it made sense to form a band. They take their name from the (now closed) Ocean Beach Freezing Works in Bluff, where lead singer Gary Dalhousie’s uncles worked after arriving in New Zealand from Tonga.

‘Southland Boys High’ was recorded at North Western Studios by Nick Abbott, mastered at Auralux by Angus McNaughton, and is out now on Spotify and Apple Music thanks to Dunedinmusic.com. The stunning artwork is by Warren A. Elwin.

Ocean Beach venture to the South Island for the first time as a band this summer, playing in Dunedin and Invercargill with Seafog and the legendary Pretty Wicked Head (and the Desperate Men).

Ocean Beach, Seafog and Pretty Wicked Head December dates

December 27 - Southland Musicians Club, Invercargill – Ocean Beach with Seafog and Pretty Wicked Head

December 28 – The Cook, Dunedin – Ocean Beach with Seafog and Pretty Wicked Head

MEL PARSONS – GLASS HEART ALBUM RELEASED TODAY!

Mel Parsons has today released her new album GLASS HEART - an exquisitely crafted body of work which reveals a darker, fuller side to the singer and songwriter’s acclaimed indie-folk sound.

Get GLASS HEART on iTunes / Apple / Spotify

Written across continents, Parsons started writing the record in Lyttelton, New Zealand in late 2017 and finished the last track in Los Angeles, via writing stints in far flung corners of North America - a cabin in a remote area of Washington State; rural Ohio; various locations throughout the Midwest and the far Eastern reaches of Canada’s maritime province Prince Edward Island.

GLASS HEART contains the already released singles ‘I Got The Lonely’, ‘Blame’ and ‘Just ‘Cause You Don’t Want Me’.

It also includes the new single ‘Glass Heart’, from which the record takes its name. It’s a raw and gritty track, which pairs impeccable lyricism with haunting instrumentation and showcases the magic Parsons created with the producer at the helm of the 10-track album, Mitchell Froom.

“I had been wanting to work with Mitchell for a few years, and our schedules finally aligned this year when I was on tour in America,” explains Parsons.

Widely considered one of the most idiosyncratic and eclectic producers of his era, Froom rose to prominence working on Crowded House’s debut album. He went on to work with the likes of Suzanne Vega, Elvis Costello, Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie.

“You hear about how amazing these people are - and obviously by reputation you know that they’re operating at a really high level - but it wasn’t until we started working on the songs and got into the studio that I experienced Mitchell’s quiet genius firsthand,” says Parsons.

Also in the studio in LA with Parsons was a ‘who’s who’ cast of renowned musicians, including bass player Kaveh Rastegar (John Legend, Sia), guitarist Adam Levy (Norah Jones) and drummer Ted Poor (Andrew Bird).

Back at home, Parsons is touring GLASS HEART with her own highly accomplished New Zealand-based band. Her three-date tour, which takes in Meow in Wellington on December 5; The Anthology Lounge in Auckland on December 6 and LAF in Christchurch on December 8, will be the first time Kiwi audiences have heard songs from the album played in a full set alongside well-known favourites.

Tickets available from Under the Radar.

Parsons is a full-time touring artist. In 2015, she received a Silver Scroll finalist nod for ‘Get Out Alive’. The following year she won NZCMA Best Song for ‘Alberta Sun’ and the VNZMA for Best Engineer for the DRYLANDS record. Both her debut album OVER MY SHOULDER (2009) and sophomore offering RED GREY BULL (2011) were also VNZMA finalists for Folk Album of the Year.

MOUNTAIN BOY EP ‘FROM THE DUST’ OUT TODAY

The much-anticipated EP ‘From the Dust’ is the follow up offering from artist Mountain Boy after his debut track ‘52’ hit New Zealand charts in October.

‘From the Dust' has been curated from his year long journey crafting 52 songs in 52 weeks.

"This EP feels truly special...for every song on the record, there are 12 others that didn’t make the cut. It sometimes seems like overkill that it took 52 songs to make an EP, but they all played a part”, says Clarke.

The new lead single ‘Brothers’, paired with 52, From the Dust and Golden were all recorded at Roundhead studios by award winning producer Nic Manders.

When speaking about Brothers, Clarke sheds a different light on his song writing journey. "Brothers feels different from the other songs because of how direct it is, both in the lyric and its intention.

“At its core, it’s about holding up the ones we love and sharing their burdens, even if that means giving up your ease and comfort”.

‘Brothers', a crowd favourite and catchy anthem funded by NZ on Air, will be supported by a stunning music video directed by Harvey Hayes.

Tonight, the EP comes to life with a launch party to celebrate at the exclusive ’S’ @ Spark Arena. Limited tickets are available to public at ticketmaster.co.nz.

MUSIC DOESN¹T JUST HAPPEN: RECORDED MUSIC NZ WELCOMES PROGRESS ON COPYRIGHT ACT REVIEW

Recorded Music New Zealand has welcomed the release by the Government of the Issues Paper on the review of the Copyright Act.

“It’s an exciting time to be a music fan in New Zealand, and the music industry has been a leader in the digital environment, but for this to continue it is essential that we have fit for purpose copyright laws”, said Recorded Music NZ CEO, Damian Vaughan.

“The New Zealand music industry employs over 2000 Kiwis directly and contributes over $550 million to our GDP per year, and with artists like Lorde and Opetaia Foa’I we are making our mark globally.

“This success doesn’t just happen though.  Copyright is the lifeblood of our industry, enabling recording artists and all the other Kiwis who work in the industry to be paid for their work, and supporting ongoing investment by record companies in finding and nurturing creative talent.  

“For this to continue, it is essential that New Zealand has the right copyright framework.

“While the Copyright Act provides a sound framework, some key adjustments are needed to bring it into line with the reality of today’s market. 

“The review provides an opportunity to do this and to make the law more robust and effective and the release of the Issues Paper is an important step in the process.  

“We thank MBIE and the Minister for their work on the review to date and we look forward to working through the Issues Paper in detail and making a full submission on it.”

Recorded Music NZ last month launched a position paper setting out the New Zealand music industry’s priorities for the review.

The paper, Music Doesn’t Just Happen, outlines the vital role that a robust copyright system plays in supporting New Zealand music, the need for fair and full value to be returned to those who create and invest in music, and the key issues that need to be addressed in the review. 

“Music Doesn’t Just Happen sets out a roadmap for the Government to address certain key issues, to help ensure a sustainable future for Kiwi recording artists and all those employed in our local music industry, and continued investment in developing great talent and delivering it to music fans in New Zealand and around the world”, says Vaughan.

“We have singled out four key issues that we believe need to be addressed in the review.  

“We are asking the Government to ensure fair market conditions for negotiations with digital platforms, provide for effective enforcement of copyright online, harmonise New Zealand’s copyright term with that of other OECD countries and give recording artists and record companies a fair go on copyright exceptions. 

“We will now be focused on engaging with the Government and other stakeholders over the review process to ensure that these priority areas are addressed and that our music industry can continue to thrive”, concluded Vaughan.

The full Recorded Music NZ paper, Music Doesn’t Just Happen can be found here.

ARO’S DEBUT ALBUM RELEASE & NATIONWIDE TOUR FOR MANU

“Aro mai, aro atu, arohā

To be faced, to face, to love”

Aro are setting off on their debut album release tour around the country next February to May (2019) following on from their official album release. Aro's sound is distinctly Aotearoa/NZ pop, with a range of other influences including RnB, Jazz, and Kapahaka. With 20 shows booked, the pair are taking their tunes from Whangarei to Stewart Island sharing their native bird inspired project titled ‘Manu’ (bird); a bilingual - te reo Māori & English 10 track album. The husband and wife duo made up of Charles and Emily Looker, have toured the country finding inspiration and discovering stories to share within the album.

‘Manu’ was inspired on Aro’s first nationwide tour in 2018, using the melodies, rhythms and stories of Aotearoa’s native birds, playing on their characteristics, and some of their significances for Māori to convey messages about life and identity. The songs were written from their home on wheels they call ‘Jamba’. They have put together a unique tour, celebrating the release of this album and sharing the stories of our native manu with the people of Aotearoa.

NATIONWIDE TOUR DATES & VENUES

Feb 17th | Cafe One2One | Auckland

Feb 24th | Bunker Unplugged | Auckland

March 2nd| Whangarei Quarry Gardens | Whangarei

March 8th | Kumeu Live | Kumeu

March 22nd | Luke’s Kitchen | Kuaotunu

March 24th | Eggsentric | Cooks Beach

March 29th | The Refinery | Paeroa

March 30th | Jam Factory | Tauranga

April 5th | Common Room | Hastings

April 6th | Joseph St Kitchen | Palmerston North

April 7th | Raumati Social Club | Raumati South

April 11th | Le Cafe | Picton

April 14th | Fairfield House | Nelson

April 18th | Barrytown Hall | Barrytown

April 20th | Cork Bar | Wanaka

April 21st | Sherwood | Queenstown

April 25th |  South Sea Hotel | Stewart Island

April 26th | Invercargill Brewery | Invercargill

April 27th | Bellamy’s Gallery | Dunedin

May 4th | Geraldine Music Academy | Geraldine

May 5th | Lyttelton Records | Christchurch