EMERGING SINGER-SONGWRITER KARLESHIA REVEALS HAUNTING, ATMOSPHERIC SINGLE ‘HOLY LOW’

After a difficult seven years away from music, Ōtautahi-based artist KARLESHIA breaks their silence with ‘Holy Low’, the first single from their forthcoming debut EP CHURCH TRAUMA, set for release Friday 30 October.

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Crossing genre divides between indie, alt-folk and dark-ambient song-writing, Karleshia creates immersive emotionally driven music that blends intimate lyricism, cinematic atmosphere, and a raw, potent vocal presence.

An emotionally unflinching track, ‘Holy Low’ introduces an artist who is making a return to music following a life-altering and devastating break with the church. The former worship leader has emerged years later, having processed and turned their trauma into a powerful body of songs exploring faith, identity, sexuality and the difficult work of finding your way back to yourself.

‘Holy Low’ is a beautifully visceral track, showcasing Karleshia’s soaring and otherworldly vocal. The lyrical content speaks to a complicated and highly personal reckoning of their faith, and the chasm between what they was taught to believe in, and the treatment they eventually experienced within that community.

‘Holy Low’ is the first glimpse into a body of work that emerged from that cognitive dissonance of their faith, and is the first track off their upcoming debut EP CHURCH TRAUMA, four brutally honest tracks that strip back the searingly painful realities of losing the faith you have built your life and identity around.

With their identity in music firmly aligned with their involvement in church, ‘Holy Low’ serves as a searing critique of the structural patriarchal bias, hierarchies and contradictions they experienced from church leaders after spending over a decade devoted to and immersed in, their church community.

The single reveals the painful realities of religious exploitation, written from Karleshia’s first-hand experience of feeling used by a church movement at too young an age to realise it. 

Says Karleshia: “‘Holy Low’ is about the perils of being invested in a church movement so young that I did not realise I was being used. Lines like "Here's your pedestal, in my image" are a blatant reflection on all the hard work I felt I had put in, only for some married man to be seen as better than me and that all my work, faith, and effort was in vain”.

‘Holy Low’ is not simply a song about leaving a church. It is the sound of someone taking back their voice back after being told they no longer had a place to use it. And after seven years of silence, KARLESHIA now has plenty to say.

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EMERGING IRISH SINGER-SONGWRITER DÓNAL GUNNING DROPS NEW SINGLE ‘BREATHING’ – AN ANTHEMIC CELEBRATION OF LIFE

Dublin-born, Aotearoa-based artist Dónal Gunning is gearing up for the release of his debut album NO OTHER OPTION this October, with new single ‘BREATHING’, offering the first taste of what’s to come.

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Since moving to New Zealand in 2022 to pursue music full-time, Dónal has been steadily building his place in the local scene – releasing two EP’s and a string of singles, touring nationally twice, and his debut international tour of Ireland.

‘Breathing’ is a song about wanting more out of life. It’s about escape, connection and those moments when you’re looking for something – or someone – to make you feel fully alive again.

Imbuing a restless, carefree and fun energy, ‘Breathing’ has the vibe of an unforgettable road trip with celebratory champagne-fuelled nights and the feeling that there’s always something happening just around the corner. 

With a catchy, anthemic chorus, the song turns the simple act of breathing into a metaphor for letting go, reconnecting with yourself, and finally being able to breathe.

There’s a pure pop sensibility to the melody, while the song also carries the grit and attitude of Dónal’s rock and grunge influences.

If you’ve seen Dónal live, you’ll know that the energy doesn’t stop when the record does. He’s a natural performer with a knack for bringing a room together – part Irish charm, part rock ‘n’ roll mischief, and a whole lotta fun.

Dónal and his band THE BUCKS, will be hitting the road across New Zealand this summer, bringing ‘Breathing’ and the new album to stages around the country.

After a few years of finding his feet in Aotearoa, Dónal Gunning is ready to make some noise, and ‘Breathing’ is an excellent place to start.

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HEAVY ALT-METAL ROCK OUTFIT HAAST HUNTER ANNOUNCE DEBUT ALBUMPLASTIQUE

Formidable Kirikiriroa / Hamilton four-piece HAAST HUNTER, today release their debut studio album PLASTIQUE, ten tracks of heavy-hitting hard rock and powerful metalcore that blurs the line between crushing heaviness and haunting atmosphere.

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PLASTIQUE is the sonic home for a string of recent blistering singles from the band, including title track ‘Plastique’, ‘Soul(e)Scape’ and ‘Dead Moon’, and featuring album focus track ‘Chrysalis’ – watch the new video from Ten Of Swords HERE.

Blending visceral riffs, cinematic production, and emotionally charged storytelling, the album marks a defining moment for the ferocious quartet, with the introduction of a new vocalist Sinaea Elizabeth alongside founding member James Harper (vocals/guitar); Chris Gudsell (bass); and Mitch Walker (drums). 

With renowned Producer Scott Seabright at the helm, together Elizabeth and Harper create a dynamic vocal contrast, both moving effortlessly between vulnerability and aggression to give the album an emotional weight that feels both intimate and panoramic.

PLASTIQUE is more than an emotionally charged collection of songs - it’s a concept album set within Haast Hunter’s dystopian ‘Post System’ universe. Every track contributes to a larger narrative, taking listeners from deep feelings of internal conflict to the triumph of eventual transformation.

Examining identity in an age of performance and pretense, PLASTIQUE considers the psychological cost of modern life, and the search for meaning after personal and societal collapse. Themes of mental health, addiction, transformation, grief, and hope are woven through towering riffs, ambient electronics, soaring melodies, and crushing breakdowns.

Since emerging from New Zealand’s underground heavy scene, Haast Hunter have steadily built a reputation for emotionally resonant song-writing and cinematic live performances, combining modern alt-metal with contemporary metalcore. 

This is a fast-rising band who unapologetically craft songs that are as immersive as they are explosive, and PLASTIQUE is an album that firmly cements Haast Hunter as one of Aotearoa’s most exciting and compelling new heavy acts. 

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Aotearoa Music Organisations share 2026 NZ Music Industry Manifesto

The New Zealand music industry contributes nearly $1 billion to GDP and builds this country’s brand in international markets more effectively than any advertising campaign. Our music is a source of pride and inspiration for audiences across Aotearoa, reflecting our unique cultural identity. Yet the music industry receives only a fraction of the government’s arts funding.

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Led by Recorded Music NZ, APRA AMCOS NZ, the New Zealand Music Commission and other key industry partners, the Manifesto calls on government and political parties to commit to targeted action to help our industry reach its full potential.

This election year, we are asking government and political parties to commit to targeted action to help our industry reach its potential.

The Music Manifesto outlines the contribution of Aotearoa music and details the seven asks for the next government to develop the domestic music sector and grow music exports for Aotearoa.

We have seven key asks for government action:

1. Music Industry Growth Strategy – Recognise music as a growth industry alongside screen and games

2. Copyright Law & AI Regulation – Hold the line and protect artists’ rights to choose how their work is used

3. Music Infrastructure & Artist Development – Aotearoa is bursting with musical talent but the infrastructure needs support

4. Export: Supercharge Growth – Treat music export with the strategic seriousness applied to primary industries

5. Māori Music Development – Our unique offering to the world

6. Government Levers: Discoverability – Use existing tools to amplify Aotearoa music

7. Music Education – The talent pipeline begins in the classroom

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Ms. Mia returns with powerful new single "Still Here" – A cinematic anthem about making up for lost time

Auckland singer-songwriter Ms. Mia returns with Still Here, out August 27th, a cinematic contemporary pop single about making up for lost time after life's setbacks. Written in the early hours of the morning, the song grows from quiet introspection into a soaring anthem of hope, reminding listeners that while the past can't be changed, the future is still ours to shape.

Still Here began as an intimate piano ballad before unfolding into a cinematic contemporary pop anthem, with live drums, bass, sweeping strings and layered harmonies amplifying the song's emotional journey.

"Still Here is about recognising that while we can't change the past, we still get to choose what we do with today," says Ms. Mia. "It's for anyone who's ever felt like they've lost time or taken the long way around, but chooses hope over regret."

At its heart is the refrain, "I was broken, but I'm still here," a reminder that healing isn't about erasing the past—it's about refusing to let it define the future.

Produced and mixed by Clarissa Chai and mastered by Dave Rhodes, the single continues Ms. Mia's signature blend of heartfelt songwriting, expressive vocals and rich live instrumentation. 

The release follows a growing body of work that has established Ms. Mia as one of New Zealand's emerging independent pop artists. Her previous releases have received support from The 13th Floor, Rolling Stone AU/NZ, Juice TV, RDU 98.5FM and Radio One 91FM, with critics and audiences drawn to her emotionally honest songwriting and cinematic sound.

While Still Here acknowledges the weight of missed opportunities and life's unexpected detours, its message is ultimately one of optimism. Rather than asking what has been lost, it asks what is still possible.

"Still Here" is available on all major streaming platforms from 27th August 2026.

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Mel Parsons scores a double whammy in the Aotearoa charts with her new album, CASTLE HILL

Mel Parsons’ new album CASTLE HILL has debuted at #1 in both the Top 40 Albums Chart and the Top 20 Aotearoa Albums Chart.

The award-winning Lyttelton-based singer-songwriter follows in the footsteps of Six60, which is the only other New Zealand act to achieve the double-charting feat in 2026. It’s also the first time Mel has scored a #1 in the Top 40 album chart.

To celebrate the album’s release, Mel and her band are hitting the road for a nationwide theatre tour.

CASTLE HILL is Mel’s seventh studio album and, as well as the incredible chart results, has been met with critical acclaim:

“CASTLE HILL feels both intimate and wide open – a record shaped by place, people, and Parsons’ steady sharpening as a songwriter… It’s warm without being soft, grounded without feeling small, and easily one of her most assured releases yet.” - Muzic.NZ

“Mel Parsons has a back catalogue of important and emotionally raw songs in her quiver and CASTLE HILL takes her up a notch… A courageous and important album enjoying deserved success right out the gate.” - Elsewhere

“A collection that serves to remind us what potency lies within
Mel Parsons’ songwriting craft.” - 13th Floor

Produced by Josh Logan, CASTLE HILL was recorded live in a single room with longtime bandmates Aaron Stewart (bass) and Jed Parsons (drums), alongside guitarist Ben King of Goldenhorse/Grand Rapids.

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Plus1 presents: Mel Parsons CASTLE HILL album release tour 2026

Thursday August 27 - Theatre Royal, Nelson 

Friday August 28 - Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch

Saturday August 29 - Glenroy Auditorium, Dunedin 

Thursday September 3 - Clarence St Theatre, Hamilton  

Friday September 4 - Rangatira Q Theatre, Auckland *

Saturday September 5 - Opera House, Wellington 

Sunday September 6 - Globe Theatre, Palmerston North 
* presented by 95bFM
Funded through NZ On Air and supported by the NZ Music Commission

TOM LARK RELEASES ONE-OFF SINGLE, 'SUN'S UP'

Tom Lark – the project of multi-faceted artist and producer Shannon Fowler – has released a one-off single, 'Sun's Up'. The track is the artist's first new solo material since the 2025 release of his sophomore album, Moonlight Hotel.

"‘Sun’s Up’ is about exhausting optimism, and feeling drained by constant positive thinking," he reflects. "Sometimes it feels easier to disengage in order to keep things light."

Tom Lark was also nominated for APRA Best Country Song in May, for Moonlight Hotel's title track, and Fowler produced and contributed to Mainard Larkin's recent album Rattlesnake Boy, a concept country album about "a pro-wrestler on the skids."

Steeped in the Tom Lark persona's whimsical yet pragmatic sensibility, 'Sun's Up' continues the Tom Lark beat: sun-soaked odes to taking things as they come, and rolling with the punches.

The track is available across all key streaming platforms, and to purchase via Bandcamp

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ARTIST BIO

Tom Lark is the musical project of Shannon Fowler, a Tāmaki Makaurau-based artist and producer from Ōtautahi. Returning from a seven-year hiatus in 2023 with his debut full-length record Brave Star, Fowler returned to his first love – which turns out to be making sunburnt psychedelic folk fit for sensitive cowboys to meander and philosophise to.

Brave Star was a finalist for both the 2024 Taite Music Prize and Te Kaipuoro Taketake Toa | Best Folk Artist at the 2024 Aotearoa Music Awards – also winning the artist an APRA Silver Scroll Award Top 20 nomination in 2023 for 'Live Wires'. The record followed two eponymous Tom Lark EPs, which were released in 2011 and 2015 respectively. Those early tunes found a home locally on the Student Radio Network, and abroad on Australian radio station Triple J – where 'Something To Tell You' reached #1 Most Played.

Named one of Rolling Stone's 50 Best New Zealand Albums of 2025, Moonlight Hotel saw Tom Lark return with another watertight collection of folk pop hits with a country bent, through which the artist explores the parallels between his family's historical displacement following the 1929 earthquake that destroyed Murchison – a pioneer town in the upper West Coast of the South Island – and his own following the 2011 earthquakes that levelled much of Ōtautahi.

In August 2026, Fowler released the one-off single 'Sun's Up', having been a finalist for APRA Best Country Song in May 2026, and produced and contributed to Mainard Larkin's acclaimed Rattlesnake Boy – also released in May 2026.

Fowler was born in Ōtautahi and relocated to Tāmaki Makaurau in 2012, after a stint recording in Berlin. He works from his Okie Dokie Studio, situated just off Karangahape Road. There he has produced, co-written and engineered tracks with a delightful collection of collaborators, including Fazerdaze, Georgia Lines, The Fuzzy Robes, Merk, Randa, A.C. Freazy, Belladonna, and the mysterious Rick Shrimp.

LOUIS BAKER ANNOUNCES FULL-LENGTH ALBUM ‘TROUBLE’ + NATIONWIDE NZ TOUR DATES

Following more than a decade at the forefront of Aotearoa's contemporary soul scene, critically acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, song-writer and producer, Louis Baker announces his second, full-length studio album, Trouble, due for release on 9 October 2026 featuring the recently released title track.

To celebrate, Baker will embark on a 9-date nationwide tour across Aotearoa throughout October and November.  Performing both intimate solo shows in the South Island plus a string of shows with the band in Christchurch and across the North Island, culminating in a hometown show at Meow Nui, Wellington.  Marking his first headline shows since 2021, the tour offers a rare opportunity to experience Baker in his own headline setting. 

“I’m super excited to get back out on the road and play these songs live for the first time. There’s nothing quite like sharing that vibe with people in the room, and I can’t wait to connect with everyone through the music.” - Louis

Across nine songs, Trouble unfolds as Baker's most assured work to date. Taking shape during a time of personal growth, it balances social observation with reflections on love, resilience and the work of confronting himself. Written, produced and arranged by Baker across 2024 and 2025 from his studio in Titahi Bay, Wellington, Trouble is rooted in timeless songwriting, blending retro-soul influences with contemporary production. Warm analogue textures, expressive guitar work, lush strings, Wurlitzer keyboards, and understated, head-nod grooves sit beneath Baker's rich, emotionally resonant vocals to create a sound that is organic, expansive and unmistakably Louis Baker.

“I really enjoyed making this album. Trouble encapsulates the highs and lows: the grief of losing loved ones and friends, the love of community, social consciousness, knowledge of self, hope, gratitude and passion for the craft.” says Baker

Baker’s forthcoming second studio album Trouble is due for release on October 9, with his  9-date nationwide tour across Aotearoa throughout October and November, performing songs from the new album, for the first time, alongside favourites from across his catalogue. 

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Louis Baker ‘Trouble’ Album Release Tour Dates:

15 October – Pearl Diver, Dunedin *solo

16 October – Sherwood, Queenstown *solo

17 October – Rhyme X Reason, Wānaka *solo

22 October – Paisley Stage, Napier

23 October – Totara St, Mount Maunganui

29 October – Double Whammy, Auckland

30 October – Loons, Christchurch

31 October – Meow Nui, Wellington

06 November - Taranaki Arts Festival