Loopy Tunes Preschool Music, "The Māui Dolphin"

Latest song release by Christchurch sister duo, Siu Williams-Lemi and Leah Williams-Partington of Loopy Tunes Preschool Music, "The Māui Dolphin".

A catchy, harmonious tune with Siu's son, Vaiuli, debuting as the song's rapping Māui Dolphin, set to some pacific drumming from Toa Siulangapo. This waiata was written to raise awareness for our endangered, endemic dolphin (approx. only 63 adults left in Aotearoa!), as part of a global fundraising event that Loopy Tunes were a part of, the SwitchOn Global Telethon.

This event brought together children's music artists, environmentalists, storytellers and conservationists, from all over the world, to raise much needed funds for 25 endangered species, in 25 different countries, over 25 hours!

A remix of their waiata, "The Māui Dolphin (SwitchOn remix)", is one of many in a collaborative charity album, "SwitchOn Children's Album" that was put together for the event, also. There is still time to donate if you would like to support this awesome kaupapa, by heading to the SwitchOn fundraising page.

This week, Loopy Tunes are also excited to announce the release of a song they were invited to sing for NZ Best Children's Music Artist of the Year, fleaBITE! "Tangi ki te Marama", is the te reo version of fleaBITE's "Cry to the Moon" waiata, translated by Aio Gilvray-Te Hau. A switch from their upbeat "The Māui Dolphin" song, Siu and Leah enjoyed singing fleaBITE's more mellow, melancholy song, written from a dog's perspective. Out on Saturday, 19 June, on all your favourite digital music platforms.

"Tangi ki to Marama" promo video: https://www.facebook.com/fleaBITEnz/videos/818994688734449

MASAYA MATARIKI TOUR

Masaya are on their way to a Winter tour in July for Matariki, bringing a new single “Mung Bean” to soothe the chilly chills. Joining them as special guest with the killer vocals KEEPER aka Conor McCabe/Fortunes.

Smooth and confident oozes from Raglan groovers Masaya. Formed as a 3-piece band for a University project for lead vocalists and frontman Reiki Ruawai, coaxing his sister Kaea Ruawai on the drums. The band evolved adding Jules Blewman on lead guitar from Wellington, Joe Kaptein on keyboards and Nat Hathaway on bass guitar with cousin Tiara Ruawai on backing vocals. Their music is catchy, soulful and wildly unpredictable.
The band have released an EP “Tongue & Groove” alongside two singles “Soda Dreams” and “Jamma”.

Presale tickets available from ticketspace.nz & Moshtix (Wgtn show only)

JESSICA LEIGH 'SUMMER ROYALTY'

Just in time for the sweltering northern hemisphere summer, Wellington based pop newcomer Jessica Leigh is back for 2021 with her brand new single SUMMER ROYALTY. The pop anthem is all about falling in love in the summertime, and sonically represents the warmth and fun of those feelings.

SUMMER ROYALTY is the first single from Leigh’s upcoming second EP - summerland. To bring the catchy pop track to life, she teamed up with long time producer and friend Jules Evans, who also produced her debut EP 17 - released in October last year.Leigh says that she wanted the song to “feel exactly how it felt while falling in love during the summer - free, fun and fearless.” Hence the vibrant synths, warm acoustic guitar, and lively horn section blended to summery perfection by Evans’ master hand.

LIPS ANNOUNCE TOUR OF AOTEAROA IN CELEBRATION OF THEIR NEW ALBUM I DON'T KNOW WHY I DO ANYTHING

Lips is a four-piece musical project led by Steph Brown (she/her) and Fen Ikner (he/him) based in Tāmaki Makaurau. Lips' music finds its roots in the familiar melodies of homegrown Indie, the tender embrace of Synth Pop, and the humorous side-eye of American New Wave. Ultimately resulting in a sound that's a celebration of feeling awkward and embracing it anyway.

Today they share 'Heave Ho', the second single from their upcoming album I Don't Know Why I Do Anything (out July 16).

Heave Ho! storms in with blistering bass, that's quickly followed by splintered guitar, crunchy synths and whacked out drums. The post-punk protestation is grounded by Brown’s voice, standing off to one side, back against the wall.

The music video was directed in-house by drummer Fen Ikner, who asserts "In making the video for Heave Ho, we wanted to introduce the new four-piece version of Lips as a live entity, but do something with a bit more visual impact than your standard "live" video. So I went for almost an early MTV type of thing, using animated visual effects to fly band members around these colourful Atari-y backdrops. And Steph definitely brought it in the moves department!"

To celebrate the release of I Don't Know Why I Do Anything, Lips are hitting the road, traveling the length and breadth of Aotearoa throughout Hōngongoi (July) and Here-turi-kōkā (August).

The tour is a co-headline event, with Lips sharing the van with Tāmaki Makaurau group Phoebe Rings. The band centers around the songwriting of Crystal Choi (she/her), a sought after keys player who has toured with Princess Chelsea, Chelsea Jade and A.C. Freazy. The band's dream pop echoes are further aided by the playing of Alex Freer (he/him, A.C. Freazy), Simeon Kavanagh-Vincent (he/him, Lucky Boy^), and Benjamin Locke (he/him, Sea Views). Their debut single Cheshire Cat was a favourite on the SRN stations.

The co-headline tour begins on July 24 in Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington) at Moon. The following weekend they'll travel to Te Waipounamu (South Island) to perform in Otautahi (Christchurch) at Space Academy on July 30, then Ōtepoti (Dunedin) at Dive on July 31, followed by Waihōpai (Invercargill), a the Tuatara Cafe on August 1. They'll travel back to home base in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) to perform at Neck of the Woods on August 5. Tickets for the show are available through Undertheradar.

While their debut album I Don't Know Why I Do Anything has been a long time coming, it's not like Lips haven't been busy. Since their inception in the late 00's they band have released a handful of singles and EPs, won the Silver Scroll Award in 2012 for 'Everything To Me, toured internationally as musical directors and performers in award winning musical stage play Daffodils, which they later went on to music direct and score as a feature film.

Eager to re-engage with playing original music Steph and Fen enlisted the help of Ruby Walsh (she/her, Dateline, Trip Pony) and Maude Morris (she/her, Lexxa). In 2019 the band released Guilty Talk (mixed by Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Silicon’s Kody Nielson), which went to Number 1 on NZ’s Student Radio Network. In 2020 the Covid-19 lockdowns led the band to finally finish their long awaited debut release.

SANDY MILL 'LYRICAL FLIGHT'

44SR introduce the hugely talented vocalist Sandy Mill with her debut single ‘Lyrical Flight’ on Four Four Soul Recordings. This record is a reworked version of Notenshun’s ‘Lyrical Flight’ released in 2006 on Irma Records Japan. Fresh mixes come courtesy of Lofty (Chillfunk/East West Connection), who offers a 80s soul inspired groover and a house dub. Casa Devi (44SR artist) amp up the energy with a deep soulful house vibe. Rude Boy Rupert (Garage City, Four Four Trax artist), turns out an emotive broken Beat jam and Nick Abnett hits us with a garage inspired version reminiscent of the UK sunday scene. 

Sandy Mill is one of Aotearoa’s top vocalists, a songwriter, producer, and DJ, with bragging rights in collaboration with some of New Zealand’s musical legends, Pitch Black, Don McGlashan and Neil Finn. Her 2018 debut solo EP ‘A Piece of Me’ reached NZ Top 20 charts; And she was a finalist in the 2018 Waiata Maori Music Awards for 'Best Female Solo Artist'. ‘Lyrical flight’ has been updated for 2021. Four Four Soul Recordings have delivered a package with something for everyone, and we can’t wait to share it with you.

Enjoy.

Release date:

Tracksource exclusive and streaming services-18.06.2021

General release on all platforms- 2.07.2021

Georgia Lines announces one-off show in Auckland with special guests Tijay and Brody Leigh

One of Aotearoa’s most stunning new vocal powerhouses, Georgia Lines, has announced a special one-off show at Auckland’s Anthology Lounge on Saturday July 24.

Tickets are on sale now from Under the Radar HERE

Gracing the stage with her soulful, dream-like vocals and distinctive feel-good, R&B-sprinkled-pop, Anthology Lounge is set to be sent into a trance.

Georgia Lines is joined by two other powerful female vocalists with Hamilton’s indie-pop darling, Tijay, and Auckland’s newest pop presence, Brody Leigh, appearing as special guests.

Brody Leigh is hot off her 2020 Smokefree Rockquest win, alongside her brother Ben, and known as one half of the duo Ben & Brody with their recent radio hit, ‘Open Up’. Brody Leigh is currently working on new music with her first solo single set to be released in coming months.

Indie pop songstress Tijay has already got four singles behind her, including the streaming favourite ‘Better Off’, with her EP set to be released in 2021. Tijay’s infectious grooves will certainly bring a fresh colourful vibe to the audience.

With a growing reputation as an accomplished songwriter, Georgia Lines has amassed more than 2 million streams across her platforms and has become a well known songwriter, collaborating with a cast of well-known international writers, producers and musicians. Her latest single, ‘No One Knows’ has been a hit on mainstream radio and is currently on rotation on ZM, The Hits and More FM.

Watch the video for ‘No One Knows’ here.

Georgia continues to go from strength-to-strength on the live scene and 2021 will not only see her continue to perform intimate versions of her whimsical and powerful singles, including recently opening for Reb Fountain in Auckland and performing at the inaugural TUAWAHINE concert even in Auckland on July 2.

Don’t miss Georgia Lines live alongside her special guests on Saturday July 24.

Tickets HERE

BACK TO BASICS - WELLINGTON

The Music Managers Forum Aotearoa with support from Recorded Music New Zealand is proud to present the return of the annual Back to Basics seminar in Wellington on Tuesday July 6th.   

Aimed at all who are new to artist management including self managed artists, this seminar explores the fundamentals and inner workings of the music industry. Topics will cover; contracts – band, manager, live etc, setting up a management business and the business of a band, information on APRA AMCOS, Recorded Music NZ’s Direct to Artist Scheme, funding, the differences between marketing and promotion, essential music industry agencies, income and royalties, duty of care and artist management in general. 

Two experienced music industry professionals will be presenting and sharing their indispensable knowledge and answering questions from attendees.  


Lorraine Barry – Manager: Sir Dave Dobbyn, Tom Scott, Team Dynamite, Aaradhna

Cushla Aston – Manager: Louis Baker

Back to Basics Seminar Wellington

When: Tuesday 6th July 2021
Time: 6.00pm – 7.30pm
Venue: Room 1D08, School of Music & Creative Media Production, Massey University, Block 1, Entrance C, Wallace Street Mt Cook

To RSVP for your place or for more information on joining the MMF Aotearoa contact lorraine.owen@mmf.co.nz or visit www.mmf.co.nz

JUNE MEMBERS HANGOUT SESSSION - NZ ON AIR

The Music Managers Forum Aotearoa are pleased to announce the June Members Hangout.  These hangouts are more intimate on-line sessions, held via Zoom for 10 to 15 MMF members.  This allows for a more intimate group learning environment where our members can be upskilled in important areas of music management.

The Hangout for June is:

NZ on Air – with David Ridler Head of Music

David has been the Head of Music at NZ On Air since 2016. He has also previously worked at NZ On Air as  a radio promotions NZ music ‘plugger’ in the early 2000s, and Assistant NZ Music Manager from 2008-2012. David has also had a career in radio programming and operations, with stints at radio stations as varied as Radio Hauraki, More FM, Radio Active, Classic Hits and Channel Z.

In this session David can talk you through all the music funding is available via NZ on Air (New Music Single, New Music Project, New Music Development, Waiata Takitahi, New Music Pasifika, New Music Kids)  along with New Tracks, Radio Plugging, Pitching to Spotify and Apple Music.

Date:                Monday 21st June

Time:               6.00pm – 7.00pm

RSVP:               For MMF members only lorraine.owen@mmf.co.nz

                        Limited to 10 – 15 places, but if there is demand we will schedule a second session

Due to the limited places please note if you RSVP and then fail to attend the session without notifying us, you will not be eligible for future sessions.