~MUSIC IN AOTEAROA~
Although I would have liked to have included New Zealand midi's etc in this site, they are unfortunately, as scarce as hen's teeth. If you can help me out with this, or if you think I've missed out any bands that should be mentioned,(bearing in mind that space is limited!!) please e-mail me, I would really appreciate it, and will add them ASAP!! Until then, you'll have to put up with the links, and this small list I'm afraid ;o)
You could say that the Kiwi sound is totally different to any other sound in the world, and you would be right!! Most of our bands, if anywhere have become well known in Britain or Australia rather than in America, but there have been exceptions. Who could ever forget the song 'How Bizarre' by OMC, who hail from Auckland, NZ.
Another New Zealand singer, Neil Finn (ex lead singer of Crowded House and also a member of the classic NZ band Split Enz) will soon be touring the States, (with another Kiwi icon, Dave Dobbyn), and the world promoting his new album 'Try Whistling This'. See here for tour dates. Or here for samples of Dave Dobbyn's music.
Another band that has been around forever, and did extremely well in the UK, is The Chills, with Martin Phillipps. Phillips is acclaimed as one of New Zealands most gifted songwriters, and his sound is most definitely Kiwi.Who could forget the classic 'I Love My Leather Jacket'.They are on the Flying Nun label, so be sure to visit their site to find out more about The Chills, and hear some audio samples as well. Other artists on this label are Bike, Bressa Creeting Cake, Garageland, and Headless Chickens, who are one of my favourites Also of note on this label are Chris Knox (who also just played in New York), Loves Ugly Children, and Superette.
Hello Sailor are another classic Kiwi Band .. here's their website! Two of my favourite Hello Sailor songs are Blue Lady and Tears of Blood, and their site features unplugged clips of both, along with other audio and video clips.
Bic Runga has recently been released in the USA, after her album 'Drive' did extremely well here at home. She is currently in the middle of a US tour. Click here for dates, or here to sample some of Bic's music - my faves are Sway and Drive. Another on SonyMusics New Zealand label are Strawpeople. Click here for a sampler of Strawpeoples music, my favourites are Sweet Disorder, Taller than God, and Under the Milky Way.
Shihad have been around for a while now, and continue to enjoy great success. One of our favourites was the song 'Home Again', which my eight year old absolutely thrashes!!! An up and coming band are The Feelers, who stormed the charts with 'Pressureman', and now have a new single out - Venus. The Feelers now have an official site which is still under construction, but you will find tour dates for the upcoming Australian Tour which they are playing as support to Matchbox 20. Another new band is EyeTV, but I have been unable to find a website that WORKS for them ... if you can help, please please PLEASE e-mail me!! The same applies for Head Like A Hole!!!!!
For Maori artists, with a distinctive Maori flavour, you can't beat the Tangata website. Or for more bands, try Resonance out for size. They have a comprehensive listing, though not all of their links are active :o(
AND HOW DO WE STACK UP IN THE CHART DEPARTMENT?? DO WE LISTEN TO DIFFERENT MUSIC TO THE REST OF THE WORLD?? CHECK OUT THE NEW ZEALAND MUSIC CHART WEEKLY TOP 50!!
KIWI RADIO ON THE NET
The stations listed here all offer live feed, with the exception of one .. my station, which has a website, but no audio feed as yet ... hopefully this will be remedied soon, cos C93 ROCKS!! In the meantime, try these sites out:
Wellington: ActiveFM (Victoria University) * ChannelZ * MoreFM
Auckland: bFM * MoreFM (and no, it's not the same station!)
Kiwi Internet Radio - solely for the Net
Rotorua: TheEdge
if you know of any more stations that are on the net .. let me know!