NZ Music Month - Discover New: Singles

In celebration of New Zealand Music Month 2018 we've put together a four-part series exploring this year's theme of Discover New. Each week we'll present a range of artists bubbling up from the underground who we feel are representative of the depth and breadth of Aotearoa's emerging musical talent. To kick things off, we've selected top notch recent singles by artists and bands from throughout the nation who dropped their debut recordings within the last year or so - the earliest tune below is from October 2017. There's some familiar names amongst the fresh faces in the mix, an indication of our relatively small music community's capacity for mutation and reinvention. Dive in and discover crucial new local sounds - and if you like what you hear, you can show your support via seeing the artists live and / or purchasing their recordings (artists are arranged in alphabetical order)...

Blue For Noon - 'Diane'

Wellington dream-pop duo Blue For Noon shared their shimmering track 'Diane' last October, hot on the heels of their debut self-titled collection. The song sounds as enigmatic now as when we initially heard it, listen up below...

Dark Divinity - 'Exegesis'

North Island-spanning metal supergroup Dark Divinity feature members of Into Orbit and Destructatron. Along with a handful of appearances tearing up stages in Wellington, they've so far unleashed two brutal singles and one menacing clip for their song 'Exegesis' which you can experience right here...

DOG Power - 'Not Human'

How about a band so new they released their debut single last night? Christchurch's DOG Power features talents of singer Sam Perry (Zen Mantra) supported by a crack lineup including Nick Hart (Shocking Pinks), Lance Strickland (King Loser), Lawree Goodwin (Pleasure Majenta) and more. They've just wrapped up a whirlwind tour on Aotearoa, check out their spooky single 'Not Human' which asks the vital question "What is, and what's not human?"

girlboss - 'Body Con'

Wellington indie-pop four piece girlboss unveiled their debut five-song Body Con EP via up-and-coming local label Ball Of Wax Records in March, and took their sparkling new tunes on the road with a brisk national tour. Check out the woozy title track to that collection here...

Glove - 'Monkey Business'

Auckland post-punk power trio Glove have only shared two recordings so far, but the band (which features members of Sunken Seas and Mellow Grave) are already a force to be reckoned with. Their menacing latest single 'Monkey Business' is both pummelling and beguiling, listen up below...

Imugi - 'I Am'

Dance duo Imugi dropped their five song debut collection Vacasian in October, an assured collection of finely honed electronic pop with soulful vocals from singer Yery Cho. Already a fixture on Auckland's live scene, experience their signature tune 'I Am'...

Jaggers x Lines - 'Problem Drinking'

The Dunedin "trip-pop" duo of Morgan Simile and Eliana Gray have been drip-feeding us singles since last April. Listen up to Jaggers x Lines' latest single 'Problem Drinking' - a reflection on Gray's"experiences with mental illness and alcoholism"...

Lion Dixon - Love React

Auckland via Rarotonga Lion Dixon (aka Dalyan RD) has snuck out a killer run of eclectic releases on his Bandcamp page since last November's You Just Had To Be There EP (barring one mysterious track dating back to 2012, which could be considered a prologue to the artist's current flurry of activity). He's been caught live sharing local stages at recent Grow Room events and we can't resist Lion Dixon's infectious single 'Love React' from his I Can't Be Stopped! EP - wrap your ears around that track below...

Meer - 'Pomegranate'

Well-known to local partygoers as one half of Auckland hip-hop duo COOL TAN (fka HEAVY), Meer aka Reem Nabhani dropped her powerful debut solo EP Kushari in December last year. Her room-shaking tune 'Pomegranate' was a standout track from that excellent collection, listen to it here...

Vincent H.L. - 'Up All Night'

What does "new" mean anyhow? Auckland songwriter Vincent H.L. is a grizzled veteran in some ways, having played in pivotal local groups Hang Loose, Magic Factory, Teen Wolf, The Conjurors and Whipping Cats, however he's only very recently stepped out on his own as a solo artist. He dropped his debut single 'Up All Night' in March and has an album titled Weird Days on the way, check out the wry video for that tune...

Bonus track: Bloody Hell - 'My Boss Ross'

Melbourne-based rabble-rousers Bloody Hell feature ex-pats Michael McClelland (Centre Negative) and Perry Mahoney (Civil Union) amongst their members. Their debut single 'My Boss Ross' is a gripping account of power imbalances in the workplace - watch a DIY video for the tune where singer McClelland gets the email address of his boss (the eponymous 'Ross') tattooed on his arm!