Grief, Desperation, and Dial Tones in Liberty’s Most Personal Track Yet with New single “Call Me Back, Babe” out today

Hawkes Bay / Auckland, NZ - 20-year-old pop artist Liberty peels back the layers of heartbreak in her new single “Call Me Back, Babe” a stripped-back acoustic-pop track that spirals through the emotional chaos of wanting someone who’s already let go.

“It’s about going through a breakup and wanting to talk to your ex, but they won’t call you back,” Liberty says. 

Co-written and produced with Lucid Heist at Parachute Studios, the track pairs Taylor Swift-style songwriting with Gracie Abrams-inspired production, intimate, vulnerable, and raw. Despite working together in Auckland, both artists are originally from Hawke’s Bay, adding a full-circle feeling to their first-ever session.

“Call Me Back, Babe” weaves sonic details that reflect the emotional unraveling, from voicemails and clock ticks to EQ’d guitars mimicking phone calls. But unlike previous singles, Liberty and Lucid kept the production purposefully minimal to let the lyrics cut through.

“I’m really proud of the songwriting on this one,” she shares. “Writing it was healing for me. I hope it can do that for someone else.”

One standout lyric “My friends think I’m crazy, my God they almost hate me” captures the isolation of going back to someone your friends doesn’t understand. It’s that honest, messy emotional space that Liberty is quickly becoming known for.

“Call Me Back, Babe” is her 4th release, coming out 5th December 2025. Liberty’s work has already earned her 350K+ followers across TikTok and Instagram, 110K+ streams on her debut single “I Wanna,” radio support from ZM, The Edge, and Radio NZ, and had music charting at #5 on the Hot NZ Singles Chart.

Chart topping Kiwi pop starlet PRINS drops powerful new single ‘HEAVEN OR HELL’

After shooting to the top of the charts last month with her recent single, ‘COOL’, PRINS is back with another absolute banger, ‘HEAVEN OR HELL’.
 

The driving, pop track infused with liquid drum and bass is also the title for her hotly anticipated EP, due out in 2026. Watch this space!
 

The new single finds the New Zealand powerhouse in a contemplative mood and standing steadfast in her determination to keep pushing the boundaries with her distinctive brand of electro-pop that has taken the global music scenes by storm.
 

Sitting bang smack in the middle of strength and vulnerability, ‘HEAVEN OR HELL’ captures PRINS’ artistry in its purest form. “I’ve always been drawn to contrast: light and dark, power and pain. ‘HEAVEN OR HELL’ is honest, cinematic, and unapologetic, which is exactly how I approach my music and my career. I don’t shy away from the messy parts of chasing a dream. I translate them into something beautiful and real. That balance between chaos and clarity is the core of who I am as an artist.”

'HEAVEN OR HELL' is also a reflection of the last couple of years of PRINS’ life: “Chasing a dream in LA, feeling all highs and lows at its most extreme. It captures the constant push and pull between euphoria and exhaustion, confidence and doubt, faith and chaos. It’s about surrendering to the process, trusting that even when you’re standing in the fire, it’s shaping you into who you’re meant to become.” she says.

“More than anything, I hope listeners feel seen in that space between the highs and the heartbreak - the part where you’re fighting for something bigger than yourself and still learning to let go.”

Written in LA, PRINS explains that ‘HEAVEN OR HELL’ went through a few iterations before she landed on the exact sound and vibe she was after, which fans can also expect on her upcoming EP.

“It ended up being reproduced four times before it finally felt right. I reworked the entire track alongside the rest of the EP. The process was long, but it mirrored what the song represents - evolution, surrender, and learning to trust timing,” she says.

“As the title track of my upcoming EP, HEAVEN OR HELL, it captures the last two years of my life navigating the LA scene, chasing big dreams, and finding peace in the chaos.”

WEST AUCKLAND’S DOUBLE PARKED SHARE RAUCOUS LATEST SINGLE, ‘BUTTERCUP’

Off the back of last month's cathartic single release ‘Necklace’, West Auckland post-surf rockers Double Parked have shared another new single, ‘Buttercup’. 

Drenched in distorting reverb, gritty guitar riffs, and heavy drums, ‘Buttercup’ jolts with anxious and urgent energy, meshing half-spoken, half-sung verses with a raucous, high-charged hook. “Light me up a cigarette, I can’t feel my face, suck it up, buttercup, am I even breathing?” Vocalist Tom cries. Co-written between the whole band, the track's melancholic songwriting embodies the feeling of being on the verge of a nervous breakdown. “‘Cause I’m loyal like a dog, you can cut me up and bruise me, and you know I’ll never leave, you can fuck me up and use me”. 

“This song might make people realise the breakdown is right around the corner,” Tom reflects. “But also that we all go through those things, and a broken bone heals even stronger than before. So take every failure as a lesson and a blessing to grow. Life’s hard, but you never know when the tables turn and you’ll be exactly where you need to be.”

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. This Summer, the band are set to perform at the country's biggest new years festival Rhythm & Vines, and perform a headline show at Auckland’s Tuning Fork on December 13th.

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 Indie, Alternative, Post-Punk, Psych and Surf, laced together from their distinctly West Coast lens.  

Friday 5th December: Emerson Wraps Up 2025 With Her 6th Release, “Amy”

Amy marks Emerson’s fifth collaboration with producer Harry Charles and her sixth release of 2025. Their partnership has already delivered four singles that charted on the NZ Hot 20, including her breakout track You Really Must Hate Me, which passed 100,000 Spotify streams, was spotlighted by Beats Per Minute (US), and secured four Spotify Editorial placements. The momentum continued with Tip of My Tongue, which landed on four Apple Music and two Spotify editorial playlists, alongside a strong sub-A rotation on ZM.  

Her rising momentum has also taken her onto some of Aotearoa’s biggest industry stages, including IMNZ’s Going Global Showcase and the NZ On Air showcase series. To close out the year, she’ll step onto the Rhythm and Vines stage — her first ever festival appearance and a major milestone in a breakout year.  

Artist Bio

Winner of the 2024 Smokefree Rockquest Solo/Duo category, Emerson has spent 2025 cementing her place as one of Aotearoa’s most exciting new pop voices. In the past year, she’s opened for Borderline, Will Swinton, and Frankie Venter, completed her first national tour with Dani Josie (Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, and Auckland), and two headline shows at Big Fan and The Tuning Fork.

A multi-instrumentalist and seasoned performer, Emerson grew up in musical theatre and competitive dance, bringing that same powerhouse stage energy to every show. Since 2022, she has sharpened her artistry through a string of successful local indie bands—switching between bass, rhythm guitar, and lead vocals—before stepping fully into her own as a dynamic pop artist and songwriter to watch.

Beyond her solo work, Emerson has become a sought-after collaborator, writing and toplining with artists such as Frankie Venter, Teo Glacier, Keenan Te, Macey, Rosetta, Ladyhawke and Gin Wigmore. She was selected for Parachute Studio’s Song Week, curated by Alice Ivy, where she collaborated with icons Gin Wigmore and Ladyhawke. She has also spent time in Melbourne and Sydney writing with a range of artists and producers through Unified Music Group and Mushroom Music Publishing, further sharpening her craft and expanding her creative network.

MILES CALDER Shares New Single + Video ‘Go Slow’

Today, songwriter Miles Calder shares new single ‘Go Slow’ and accompanying music video.

As the latest single from his forthcoming Keeping Up EP, ‘Go Slow’ continues Miles’ collaboration with producer Samuel Flynn Scott (The Phoenix Foundation) and Tui-award winning engineer Lee Prebble (The Phoenix Foundation, L.A.B, The Black Seeds), recording and mixing the song at his studio The Surgery.

A cinematic and sparse meditation on taking time and choosing your pace of life, ‘Go Slow’ shifts between distinct movements: The murky opening guitar hook and spacious verses give way to soaring choruses and floating jam sections. The richly layered arrangement showcases long-time bandmates Nick George (drums), Steve Moodie (bass), Chris Armour (guitar) and Dayle Jellyman (keys) as well as layered backing vocals from Deanne Krieg aka WHIM (Congress of Animals, Dawn Diver, Ida Lune).  

The otherworldly music video plunges us into a surreal ocean, with Miles playing in slow-mo waves and blown out colours. Making the video himself, Miles “simply cobbled together some footage from holiday and played with the edit and colour until it felt it fit the different vibey parts of the song”. It transports the viewer and sinks us into the trippy underwater calm. 

Miles Calder released his solo debut album Autopilot Life in 2021, a self-reflective delve into waking up from an unexamined life, dressed in a psychedelic folk-rock palette that evoked late-era Beatles as much as contemporaries like Kevin Morby and Father John Misty. The album won over new fans and critics alike & led to a nomination for a prestigious Aotearoa Music Award (Te Kaipuoro Taketake Toa | Best Folk Artist 2022). 

PICKLE DARLING Expands the World of Bots with Companion EP crumple zones

Following the release of their fourth album, Ōtautahi’s own Pickle Darling reemerges with crumple zones, a companion EP that reimagines and expands the sonic world of Bots. Following a track record of acclaim — from 2023’s Laundromat, featured in Rolling Stone AU/NZ’s “80 Best New Zealand Albums of the Decade So Far,” to 2025’s praised Bots — the EP affirms Lukas Mayo’s reputation as one of Aotearoa’s most inventive indie-pop voices. While Bots was meticulously assembled, this new collection embraces a more immediate, live-inspired energy, offering alternate takes, acoustic reinterpretations, and a collaboration with Father/Daughter labelmate, Anna McClellan.

The EP’s focus track, ‘massive everything (alternate version)’ explores the ways we protect ourselves utilizing our emotional crumple zones. “The original version of the song is much more synthetic, but I recently discovered Nashville guitar tuning and was playing everything with that tuning. I wanted a lush, guitar filled version of this song to exist in the world too” shares Mayo. Delicate finger picking carries ‘human bean (alternate version),’ a cute, stripped-down rendition of the original. ‘pinwheels (featuring Anna McClellan)’ is a long-awaited collaboration brought to life in a delightfully messy, acoustic-first approach. Anna’s vocals were recorded casually on a phone, background sounds intact, evoking a sense of immediacy and nostalgia, the kind of small, carb-filled comforts that define personal memory. 

The EP also plays with the visual side of music-making: artwork inspired by layered woodcut prints explores alternative colors and textures, mirroring the experimental spirit of the songs themselves. Pickle Darling approaches this project as a weekend workshop rather than a full-length album’s labor, letting the process be playful, expansive, and free from pressure.

Te Karanga Trust Welcomes Rising Artist Makayla for Sony Music Group’s “Season of Giving” Community Event

Te Karanga Trust is proud to announce a special one-night event with Sony Music Group’s annual Season of Giving initiative, celebrating youth, creativity, and community connection. The event will take place at The Button Factory in Auckland, home to Te Karanga’s fortnightly youth programme DOJO, a creative safe space for emerging young artists to learn, grow, and perform.

Since 2004, Te Karanga has been a safe home for young people from all walks of life, with a strong foundation in supporting Māori and Pacific rangatahi. We create space for identity, healing, creativity, and leadership — uplifting every young person who comes through our doors, while honouring the cultures at the heart of our community.

Season of Giving is Sony Music Group’s global charity initiative, supporting organisations focused on community wellbeing and music education. This year, Sony has chosen Te Karanga Trust as a recipient, acknowledging the Trust’s 20+ year commitment of uplifting rangatahi through mentoring, leadership, wellbeing support, and creative pathways.

As part of this initiative, Sony is sending rising Aotearoa singer-songwriter Makayla —recent winner of the 2025 Waiata Māori Music Award for Best Māori Female Solo Artist—to share live music and kōrero with Te Karanga youth and whānau. Makayla will engage directly with young people involved in Te Karanga’s creative development and Navigators programmes, offering inspiration, visibility, and encouragement.

The event also highlights the incredible talent emerging from Te Karanga’s Wāhine Navigators Programme, with supporting performances by SIRCÉ, SANCY, and Red Creek — three young wāhine who represent the strength, resilience, and creativity of the next generation.

ARTIST PROFILES — WĀHINE NAVIGATORS

SANCY A member of the Te Karanga Wāhine Navigators Programme for the past two years, 18-year-old Indian-born singer-songwriter SANCY brings heartfelt vocals and honest, emotional storytelling to her music. Raised in Māngere and a Play It Strange finalist, she writes about love, relationships, and the journey of breaking free from toxic cycles. Her sound is raw, expressive, and deeply personal — the voice of a young woman discovering her power and identity through music.

Red Creek is a 25-year-old Peruvian-born Latina artist who arrived in Aotearoa in 2017. Blending Hip Hop and R&B with a powerful emotional delivery, she creates music shaped by healing, survival, and the reclamation of voice. Raised in Peru’s national choir system, music became her lifeline and pathway to expression. She joined Te Karanga’s DOJO programme in May 2025, where she continues to grow as an artist and storyteller, expressing truths she once felt unable to share.

SIRCÉ is a 28-year-old singer and creative artist who has spent the past four years in Te Karanga’s South Navigators programme and was the very first participant in the Wāhine Navigators pathway. Her music is rooted in joy, self-expression, and emotional honesty. Creating helps her step beyond her comfort zone, connect with herself, and give meaning to her experiences. Through her music, SIRCÉ shares stories and emotions that words alone cannot hold — offering something real, vulnerable, and deeply felt to her community.

This visit is made possible through the Sony International Justice Fund, and Te Karanga are proud recipients of this support. The Fund backs Te Karanga’s Navigators Programme and has recently extended funding to strengthen kaupapa across Te Ika-a-Māui. Sony’s commitment helps Te Karanga continue delivering youth-led initiatives, cultural identity development, and safe creative pathways for rangatahi.

Te Karanga Trust is honoured to host Makayla and to work alongside Sony Music Group in empowering young people and strengthening community connections through music, storytelling, and shared experience.

Israel Starr & The Mighty Asterix Release “Special Selection” A father-and-son anthem over 30years in the making

When Israel Starr (Ngāti Porou )teams up with his father, the legendary Mighty Asterix, the result is something truly special. Their new single, “Special Selection”, is a powerful celebration of family, legacy, and reggae culture.

Written and co-produced by the father-and-son duo, Special Selection captures a feeling that’s been more than three decades in the making. Taking inspiration from the golden era of early-1980s reggae, the track is both a celebration and a “we’ve finally made it” moment — the sound of generations meeting in harmony.

With its warm tempo, uplifting chord progression, and soulful melodies, Special Selection feels like the start-of-summer anthem that plays just after the darkness fades and new life begins. It’s that song that hits as the sun rises again — when the world exhales.

Blending roots authenticity with Israel’s distinctive modern production, Special Selection is a feel-good reggae anthem that offers a welcome counterbalance to the world’s noise. For three minutes, it takes listeners away — leaving them with a lasting sense of hope, light, and love.

The single — released via BlessUp Music and distributed by DRM New Zealand — will be available on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music from Friday, 14 November.

A Legacy of Sound — Israel Starr

Based in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, Israel Starr (Ngāti Porou) is a multi-Platinum and Gold-certified artist, producer, and label founder whose blend of authentic roots reggae, funk, and world music has earned him some of the country’s highest accolades — including Best Roots Artist at the Aotearoa Music Awards and two-time winner of Best Reggae Album at the National Māori Music Awards.

The son of reggae legend The Mighty Asterix, Israel’s connection to music runs deep through his whakapapa and upbringing within the Twelve Tribes of Israel Rasta community. Surrounded from childhood by musical greats such as Che Fu, Herbs, and Chong Nee, he learned his craft directly from Aotearoa’s reggae pioneers — with his father as his biggest teacher and inspiration.

A child of sound-system culture, Israel’s work embodies both roots authenticity and forward-thinking production. His acclaimed 2022 album Keepers of the Flame was praised by journalist Martyn Pepperell as:

“One of the most ambitious reggae and dub albums recorded in Aotearoa since the dawn of the 21st century.”

While reggae writer The Groove Thief hailed it as:

“A true cultural and musical triumph.”

Across his career, Israel has collaborated with reggae royalty including Lutan Fyah, Luciano, Gappy Ranks, Million Stylez, Mutabaruka, and Exile the Brave, alongside Aotearoa favourites Tiki Taane, Lion Rezz, Melodownz, Awa (Nesian Mystic), Tomorrow People, and Sons of Zion.

Outside of performing, Israel runs the independent label BlessUp Music, home to 10 number-one singles, five top-ten hits, two Platinum records, two Gold records, and over 20 million Spotify streams. He was a finalist for Breakthrough Manager of the Year at the MMF Awards and continues to mentor emerging Pacific artists through production, live shows, and community work.

His track “Spiritual Healing” was featured by Sir David Rodigan on BBC Radio 1 Xtra in  2022, further cementing his place as one of the Pacific’s leading voices in reggae and Rastafari culture.

“I love making music because it’s one of the only things in my life that has no rules,” says Israel Starr.

About The Mighty Asterix

The Mighty Asterix is a pioneer and legend of Aotearoa’s reggae movement. Beginning his journey in Palmerston North in the late 1970s and rising through Auckland’s Twelve Tribes of Israel community, Asterix became known for his powerful ragga vocals and commanding stage presence. From early Deepgrooves releases and collaborations with DLT, Stinky Jim, and Unitone HiFi, to recent work with Salmonella Dub, he remains one of New Zealand’s most respected reggae voices — a foundation artist whose influence spans generations.