From his newly released EP Secrets (released today, 14th Feb in fact), Scotland-born but Taranaki based singer Dave Ritchie Smith brings us Say It. Okay, now I’ll level with you. This Taranaki thing with the stunning amount of talented bands of varying genres has been a real eye opener for me. The region keeps delivering…

T(M)²I (pronounced Tangaroa Made Me Ill) is the newest single from Ngāti Ruapani mai Waikaremoana, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Aitutaki, Palmerston singer Geneva AM (short for Alexander-Marsters). It’s a release that’s been recorded in Te Reo and English. I’m reviewing the Te Reo release. Currently based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Geneva AM has created a minimalistic, enthralling…

Wellington indie band Dateline is the project of Katie Everingham. The band is returning with new single Choose Me, and I got chills, n’ they’re multiplyin.! No, we’re not looking at the 21st Century re-boot of Grease, it’s just me finding a way to verbalise how intense this track is. In a totally good way.…

How many people live in Taranaki that aren’t in really great bands? Asking because I’ve just been introduced to Twin Tiger (The Twin Tiger?), a four piece combo from New Plymouth who are extending my increasing appreciation for the talent pouring out of one of my favouritest regions of these islands. Comprising Craig Jones on…

Loved ones we have lost is a bittersweet thing to consider. We all have that yearning, that need, to see them, hold them, smell them, and hear their voice, jut one last time. Steffany Beck, from Portland in the USA but now resident of Ōtautahi, verbalises her wishes to see her late father one last…

Kristin Paulse is KRISTN, South African born, Tāmaki Makaurau based but currently a resident of Australia where she’s exploring numerous opportunities and contracts in the entertainment industry over the ditch. New single Lowkey is R & B blue-blood. Absolute royalty in this genre. Boasting a fey TLC vibe, a la No Scrubs backbeat as a…

Eve Kelly, proudly Ngāti Porou, Ngāpuhi and born and raised in Whakatāne, has come back to Flash-Trax with a jaw-droppingly professional piece of pop. This track, Summer Lovin‘, has funk, R & B, an incredible earworm of a melody, and one of the coolest, tightest mixes I’ve heard from the genre in quite some time.…

Tawhito is the Te Reo noun for “old”. Tāmaki-based Māori producer Mokotron, hailing from Ngāti Hine, is releasing this track from his up-coming album The United Tribes Of Bass. And we are diving deep in D & B turf. I get to review this single on Waitangi Day 2024. Recognised as Aotearoa New Zealand’s National…

Taranaki is really providing my happy place this week! Courtnay Low, a member of the fabulous Mons Whaler, is also the leader of Courtnay & The Unholy Reverie. This band takes its influences from a number of classic forms like jazz, blues, rock and roll – and have delivered an absolute monster of a rocker…

Another band from the fabulous Taranaki region, and another delightfully unique one at that. TheSlacks are not newcomers, and have had some ticks with previous hits, as well as some serious shows on their CV. Consisting of Scott Armstrong on vocals and rhythm guitar, Mark Armstrong on vocals and lead guitar, Blake Gibson on vocals…