Moana Leota is Mozie, Wairarapa-raised but now resident of Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Her new single is called Sonshine (I have spelled it correctly, before anyone brays their faux annoyance!) and once again I have been provided with something special. I’ve said before that there are certain sounds that seem to be synonymous with these islands and…

Fraser Ross, from Ōtautahi, has a delightful, playful tenor that immediately puts you at your ease. I got a great vibe from the new single Cards, the forerunner to his pending album release in March, entitled Thunderhead. Now this single is absolutely charming. It’s got a gentle, catchy melody that will draw you in. Backing…

Chances Are is a three piece unit from Tūranganui-a-Kiwa, Tāmaki Makaurau and London collectively. Alexander Grant, Lliam Powell and Maté Vella make up the unit, and I have a lot of thinking to do. Let’s get this straight, right off the bat. This is not a song for the pop charts. I’m very much put…

Tāmaki Makaurau is home to a band that brings avant-garde into a new, sonic dimension. Repairs, made up of Martin Phillips (he/him), Nicola Edwards (she/her) and James Milne (he/him), bring us their new single and promo video, Map, Territory. We’re treated to a feedback-laden wall of distorted sound, blended rather skillfully and putting me in…

Tauranga’s Sophie-Maude has just dropped her third single, Vertigo. Co-written by the artist and Ben Malone, who produced the track at Parachute (before sending it over to Kog for mastering), the song was engineered to give off the vibe of the listener being on an emotional rollercoaster. Now, all-out Pop music has a very definitive…

Hawkes Bay’s Classic Metal exponents Black Smoke Trigger bring us their new single Perfect Torture. The genre cluster these guys live in and perform from is quite literally what I grew from teenager to adult listening to. The number of close personal friends I could name who would love this band would easily top three…

Ahhh and the Ska lads have done it again! This is fabuloso! Skarpakazoo has a new single out on Friday 26th Jan with the delightful title Piss Away. Recorded at Tauranga’s Fragile Colours studio, they’ve produced another absolute foot-stomper of a single. With the message being enjoy yourself but don’t let it take you and…

How would life be if the Beastie Boys combined with the Lightning Seeds? If the hip-hop beats sitting beneath heavy-ass guitars giving off a percussive snarl, pseudo-arrogant and in your face for the sake of seeing your face retreating out of their space, with thundering bass and a vocal resonating with indie class morphing into…

From their sophomore album Still At Large, HEAVY Metal act Imperial Slave brings us their new single Exterminate. Consisting of vocalist Sam Sheppard, guitar players Isaac Lundy and Anthony Hati, bass player Achilles Manley and drummer Matt Wright, these guys bring you an absolute roar through the genre. I’m open about my musical tastes, and…

Whoooooooaaaaa, and they have done it AGAIN for me. Taranaki’s swamp-blues combo The Mons Whaler has released new single Blood, and I am horizontal with chill-out factor. Absolutely sublime song! I’m tempted to end THERE, frankly, but I’ll elaborate. We’ve got a laid-back vibe to the song as it starts. A steel guitar sound, oozing…